The Joy

League

Academy

The Joy League

A 9-Month Leadership Immersion for Joy-Centered Leaders

Leadership is heavier than people admit. You’re holding people’s emotions, rapid change, and the quiet pressure to “get it right” while still modeling joy. On top of that, many leaders are carrying identity-based stress—the ongoing strain of leading in spaces where your story, culture, role, or way of being is misunderstood, scrutinized, or tokenized. That kind of stress shrinks creativity. The Joy League was built to widen it again. This program gives leaders protected space, skilled guidance, and a restorative rhythm so they can lead with clarity, compassion, and energy that actually lasts.

Pilot Cohort Coming Fall 2026

We’re launching the first Joy League pilot in Fall 2026. Seats will be capped at 26 participants to keep the experience intimate, high-touch, and relational.

👉 Sign up coming soon!

Access and Sponsorship

This program is designed so that participants are not expected to pay out of pocket. The Joy League will be primarily funded through community partners, philanthropic supporters, and organizational sponsors. Employers, companies, and funders can sponsor a specific participant or a seat in the cohort, and The Joy Lab Inc. will provide professional development language, outcomes, and documentation to make that easy. The goal is simple: leaders who need rest, regulation, and joy-centered training should be able to attend, and money shouldn’t be the reason they can’t.

What the Program Is

The Joy League is a structured, 9-month leadership experience that treats joy as a strategy for regulation, retention, and culture-building. You’ll get a cohort, two restorative retreats, monthly live virtual learning, and a framework you can take back to your team.

It’s not a motivational weekend. It’s a container designed for actual transformation.

How it Works

1. Pre-Work
Complete the Joy & Mindset Assessment so you arrive knowing what drains you, what fuels you, and what you want from this nine-month arc.

2. Opening Retreat (4 days / 3 nights)
A launch gathering at a restorative site like Callaway Gardens. You’ll learn the Formula for Joy™, set intentions, practice embodied leadership, and connect with your cohort.
Every participant receives single-occupancy lodging so you can decompress between sessions. Deep learning needs deep rest.

3. Monthly Virtual Intensives (Months 2–8)

Live Zoom sessions (2–3 hours) focused on:

Belief reset and leadership mindset
Joy as a daily leadership practice
Communication rooted in care, clarity, and accountability
Confidence, presence, and your “joy brand”
Community, partnerships, and networked leadership
Innovation and creative problem-solving
Sustaining joy under pressure and preventing burnout

You’ll also meet in Joy Pods—small accountability groups—for reflection, practice, and support.

4. Closing Retreat (4 days / 3 nights)
We close the circle with celebration, applied projects, recognition, and a next-steps map. You end the journey the way you began it—centered, restored, and in your own room.

(Travel and personal incidentals are typically not included.)

Why Single Occupancy?

Because this is a program for leaders who pour out a lot. Private space allows your nervous system to settle so the learning sticks. Rest is part of the pedagogy.

Who's I For?

Leaders, managers, program directors, principals, team leads, and culture keepers who want to:

Lead from care instead of control
Align daily culture with what their organization says it values
Build teams that are energized, not exhausted
Learn to navigate identity-based stress without burning out

The External Value

Organizations that send participants to The Joy League can expect:

Healthier team climates and retention
Leaders who can have hard conversations without creating harm
Culture practices that are replicable across departments
A shared language of joy-centered leadership