Demystifying Executive Presence for Women Leaders
August 24-30, 2026
Tula Vida, Costa Rica
This experience is designed for women in leadership roles who are ready to grow—but are no longer interested in traditional programs that offer insight without meaningful shift. Instead, it creates space for a different kind of development—one that focuses on how you actually show up as a leader and how that shapes your impact.
Executive presence is often talked about—but rarely made clear or actionable. It can feel elusive, difficult to name, and even harder to develop. This experience is designed to demystify executive presence—to make it visible, understandable, and actionable.
An immersive leadership experience in Costa Rica for women leaders inside organizations ready to deepen their presence, influence, and impact.
Guided by Renée Dineen, an internationally recognized leadership advisor and coach, participants are invited to explore and refine their leadership presence in a way that is both practical and transformative.
Alongside a carefully curated group of accomplished women leaders, you will engage in a high-trust environment that often becomes the kind of leadership circle many women are seeking—but rarely find inside organizations.
Together, you will explore modern leadership principles while receiving real-time, non-judgmental feedback through equine-guided experiences—where horses respond authentically to presence, energy, and intention, without filters or agendas.
Through a blend of somatic practices, coaching, and experiential learning, you will develop a deeper awareness of how your internal state shapes your external impact—allowing you to lead with greater clarity, authenticity, grounded confidence, and influence.
If this resonates with you, you may be noticing:
You know you’re capable—but you’re not always experienced the way you intend.
You’re navigating increasing expectations and visibility, and something feels slightly off in how it lands.
You’re successful—but the way you’re leading doesn’t always feel fully aligned with who you are.
You want to deepen your impact without becoming more performative.
You sense there is another level of presence available to you—but it’s hard to name or access.
What is Executive Presence, Really?
A combination of personal qualities, communication skills, + behaviors that project confidence, authority, + leadership, allowing someone to inspire trust + motivate others.
Executive presence is often described as confidence, charisma, or communication skill. But in today’s leadership environment, that definition falls short. Executive presence is the experience you create as a leader—moment to moment.
It is not something you perform. It is the result of how you:
think under pressure
regulate your internal state
relate to others in real time
shape the environment around you
express yourself authentically
In this sense, executive presence is not a single skill—it is an integrated leadership capability. And it is often the difference between leaders who are effective… and leaders who are truly impactful.
This is what we mean by demystifying executive presence—moving beyond perception and into understanding how it actually works.
Executive Presence for Women Leaders
While executive presence is a universal leadership capability, it is experienced differently for women leaders. Executive presence does not exist in a vacuum.
For women, it is shaped by a more complex set of expectations—many of which are often unspoken. Women are frequently navigating tensions such as:
being confident, but not perceived as aggressive
being collaborative, but still seen as decisive
being authentic, while also meeting implicit expectations of leadership
These dynamics are rarely addressed directly in traditional leadership development. And yet, they significantly influence how leadership is experienced, interpreted, and responded to.
As a result, many highly capable women leaders find themselves:
second-guessing how they are coming across
adjusting in ways that feel performative
or sensing a gap between who they are and how they are experienced
This is why a different approach to executive presence is required.
Traditional models often focus on external behaviors—what to say, how to communicate, how to “show up.”
But for women navigating these layered expectations, that approach can unintentionally reinforce performance rather than alignment.
This experience uses an integrated framework—Internal Clarity, Relational Intelligence, and Leadership Influence—because executive presence for women is not just about what you do. It is about how you think, how you regulate, how you relate, and how you shape the environments around you.
Internal Clarity- How you relate to yourself
Developing awareness of your internal patterns, emotional responses, and leadership assumptions—so you can lead with greater steadiness and intention, rather than reactivity.
Relational Intelligence- How you relate to others.
Building the ability to read dynamics, navigate subtle power signals, and respond with empathy and clarity—while maintaining your voice and authority.
Leadership Influence- How you shape the environment.
Communicating and leading in ways that align with who you are—so your presence reinforces, rather than dilutes, your impact.
By working across all three dimensions, leaders are able to:
reduce the need to “manage perception” through performance
develop a more grounded and consistent presence
and lead in a way that is both effective and aligned with who they
This is not about learning a “right way” to lead.
It is about understanding how your presence is shaped, how it is experienced, and how to lead with greater clarity, authenticity, and impact within the realities of the environments you operate in.
When these three dimensions are aligned, leadership becomes more grounded, more intentional, and more effective.
In today’s leadership environment, this is not a “nice to have.”It is essential.
Why This Work Matters Now
The demands on leaders today are unprecedented. Leaders must navigate complexity, performance pressure, and evolving cultural expectations—all while sustaining themselves.
For women leaders, this often comes with an additional layer.
Many women leaders are navigating unspoken and often conflicting expectations about how they should show up—balancing authority and approachability, confidence and likability, decisiveness and collaboration. These dynamics are subtle, but they shape how leadership is experienced and interpreted in powerful ways.
At the same time, the pace and intensity of organizational life can pull leaders into constant execution, leaving little space to reflect on how they are actually showing up—both in the moments that matter most and in the many moments in between.
This is where executive presence becomes critical.
Because presence is not situational—it is continuous.
It is always shaping how you are experienced—how trust is built, how influence is established, and how leadership lands with others.
And yet, it is rarely taught in a way that makes it visible or actionable.
This experience creates space to step outside the noise, slow down, and see clearly—how you are showing up, how it is impacting others, and how to lead with greater clarity, intention, and alignment.
Who This Experience is For:
This experience is designed for women leaders inside organizations who are ready to deepen their leadership presence and impact.
It is particularly relevant for those who:
Are operating at a senior level or preparing for expanded leadership responsibility
Are navigating increasing complexity, visibility, and expectation in their roles
Feel the tension between how they are expected to show up and how they want to lead
Are ready to move beyond surface-level development and explore the deeper dimensions of leadership
Want to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and alignment—without compromising who they are
Who This Experience May Not Be For:
This experience is not designed for those looking for a traditional leadership program focused primarily on tools, frameworks, or fast-paced content delivery.
It may not be the right fit if you:
Prefer highly structured, classroom-style learning with clear right or wrong answers
Are primarily looking for tactical skills or quick solutions to immediate challenges
Are not open to reflection, feedback, or exploring how your leadership is experienced by others
What You Will Achieve by Attending:
You Will…
Show up with greater composure and clarity in moments of pressure and uncertainty.
Understand and intentionally shape their Person Effect—how they are experienced by others.
Navigate competing expectations with greater confidence and self-trust.
Build trust through emotional intelligence and relational awareness.
Read and respond to organizational dynamics and power signals more effectively.
Communicate with clarity, intention, and executive-level presence.
Set and maintain clear boundaries while staying connected and authentic.
Lead in a way that feels both aligned and impactful, rather than performative.
The Experience
This is a high-impact leadership immersion intentionally designed to take place outside the pace of your day-to-day environment.
Hosted in Costa Rica, the experience combines structured leadership sessions, experiential learning, and space for reflection and integration—creating the conditions for meaningful insight and lasting change.
Rather than moving quickly through content, the experience is designed to slow down the moment. This allows you to see more clearly how you are showing up as a leader, how that is being experienced by others, and where there is opportunity to shift.
You will engage in:
Facilitated leadership sessions grounded in modern leadership principles
Experiential learning that makes executive presence visible and actionable
Equine-guided experiences that provide real-time, non-judgmental feedback
Thoughtful peer dialogue within a high-trust, carefully curated cohort
Dedicated time for reflection, integration, and intentional leadership commitments
The environment itself is intentionally designed to support this work. Stepping outside of your daily context allows you to move out of constant execution and into deeper awareness—creating the space required to reconnect with how you want to lead.
This is not about stepping away from leadership. It is about stepping into it more fully—with greater clarity, intention, and presence.
Why Horses
Working with horses offers a unique and powerful way to understand leadership presence.
Horses respond not to words, but to energy, intention, and congruence. They provide immediate, unbiased feedback on how you are showing up—making visible what is often invisible in traditional leadership settings.
Through this experience, participants gain real-time insight into how their internal state impacts others and how presence influences outcomes.
What’s included:
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Connect with the other participants and refine your intentions for attending.
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You’ll travel from Liberia International Airport to Tula Vida Ranch and back (provided you arrive at the designated time and day with the group).
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The ranch has a view of 3 stunning volcanoes, valley and sunset views, private nature paths, local flora and fauna, and natural springs, rivers, ponds, and butterflies.
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All meals are prepared on site with love using local and organic produce.
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You’ll have full access to 80 acres of property, miles of trails, waterfalls, valleys, sunset views, a spring fed pond, horses, wildlife and more.
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Enjoy an all-day adventure that includes horseback riding and thermal baths.
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Work 1:1 with Renée, including a pre-retreat call and a post-retreat coaching call 30 days after.
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Enjoy multiple days of of transformational experiences with the horses, facilitated by Sally and Eric.
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Energize the start of your day with movement and meditative practices.
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Enjoy a dreamy bodywork session with a local therapist.
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We’ll gather in the evenings to enjoy each other’s company and the beauty of the setting sun.
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We’ll celebrate our journey and appreciate each other during a fun night out on the town!
AIR FARE TO AND FROM LIBERIA, COSTA RICA, AND ANY ACCOMMODATIONS BEFORE AND AFTER THE RETREAT ARE NOT INCLUDED.
Your carefully crafted journey.
The experience is designed as a progressive leadership journey—from internal awareness to relational impact to organizational influence.
Each session builds on the last, guiding participants from understanding executive presence conceptually to embodying it in how they lead.
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A modern exploration of executive presence as an internal leadership capability, not a performative skill.
The evolving definition of executive presence in modern organizations
Why presence drives trust, influence, and credibility
How leaders unintentionally undermine their own presence
Outcome: Leaders begin to see presence as something cultivated internally before it can be authentically expressed externally.
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High-performing leaders often operate primarily from intellect. This session introduces a broader leadership model that integrates:
Cognitive clarity (Head)
Emotional intelligence (Heart)
Somatic awareness (Body)
Decision-making
Communication
Stress response
Leadership effectiveness
Outcome: Leaders develop a framework for more integrated and grounded leadership.
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Every leader creates an invisible field that influences performance, trust, and collaboration.
This session explores:
The subtle signals leaders send through energy, tone, and presence
How teams respond to regulated vs. reactive leadership
The impact leaders have on psychological safety and engagement
Outcome: Leaders become more intentional about the leadership climate they create.
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Women leaders often navigate competing expectations around authority, warmth, decisiveness, and authenticity.
Participants explore:
Cultural narratives that shape perceptions of women in leadership
How to lead with authority without losing authenticity
Expanding personal definitions of power and presence
Outcome: Leaders gain language and confidence to lead authentically within complex systems.
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This experiential session leverages equine-guided leadership exercises to reveal how leaders communicate beyond words.
Participants experience:
Immediate feedback on non-verbal leadership signals
How presence impacts trust and followership
The connection between internal state and external influence
Outcome: Leaders deepen their awareness of how they show up under pressure and uncertainty.
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The final session focuses on translating insights into sustainable leadership shifts.
Participants reflect on:
What leadership patterns are ready to evolve
What new leadership commitments they will carry forward
How to integrate these insights into their professional lives
Outcome: Leaders leave with clear leadership intentions and actionable commitments.
“As a woman in a leadership role I have had challenges with finding my voice, overcoming insecurities and advocating for myself. I sought out Renee to help me overcome these issues and have seen lasting impact. We worked together through a variety of situations where certain patterns kept showing up. Her insights were incredibly helpful in understanding myself better and if and where change was needed. After working with her I am better able to relate to others and confidently show up as a better version of myself!”
“ In the tech world, we move fast and operate under constant pressure. This experience gave me something I didn’t know I needed—the ability to slow down and see how I was actually showing up as a leader. The shift in my presence has changed how I lead my team, especially in high-stakes moments. I’m more intentional, more grounded, and ultimately more effective.”
— Vice President, Product, Technology Company
“What makes this experience so powerful is that it goes beyond traditional leadership development. The equine work and somatic awareness helped me see, in real time, how I show up under pressure. It was eye-opening. I walked away with a much stronger executive presence and a deeper ability to influence and connect with others.”
— Head of Operations, Life Sciences
Application & Selection.
The program is intentionally designed for a small, carefully curated cohort. Participation is by application to ensure a high level of alignment, engagement, and depth across the group.
We look for women leaders who are operating at a high level of responsibility and are ready to invest in their continued growth—leaders who are open to reflection, willing to explore new dimensions of leadership, and committed to how they show up and lead others.
This intentional selection process allows us to create a powerful, trust-based environment where participants can fully engage, learn from one another, and maximize the impact of the experience—while also building meaningful connections that continue through The Integration Circle, an ongoing space for reflection, support, and continued leadership growth beyond the program.
About your facilitators:
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Renée Dineen is an ICF PCC-accredited leadership and team coach, organizational psychologist, and experienced facilitator who works with leaders to deepen how they show up, lead, and create impact in complex environments.
After more than 20 years in global leadership roles across the high-tech and biotech industries, Renée made a deliberate shift toward work centered on meaning, alignment, and the deeper dimensions of leadership. Today, she leads a global practice based in California, with a particular focus on supporting women leaders inside organizations as they navigate complexity, growth, and transformation.
Her work focuses on executive presence at a deeper level—not as something performative, but as the integration of mindset, emotional awareness, and relational dynamics that shape how leaders influence others. She is known for helping leaders understand and shift their “Person Effect”—the often unseen ways they impact those around them through how they show up.
Renée brings a unique blend of organizational psychology, experiential learning, and embodied leadership practices to her work. Through immersive leadership environments, she creates space for leaders to step outside the pace of their day-to-day roles and gain real-time insight into how they lead and how their presence shapes their impact.
She is deeply committed to supporting women in stepping more fully into their role as change-makers—leaders who are grounded, self-aware, and aligned in how they lead. Her work invites leaders to integrate performance with purpose, and ambition with well-being, so they can lead with greater clarity, discernment, and impact.
Renée is a faculty member in leadership programs at Stanford University and IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has been teaching leadership for over two decades. She holds a Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and has advanced training in somatic and trauma-informed approaches through The Embody Lab.
She is a TEDx speaker, published author, and has contributed to publications including Fortune, Financial Times, and Elephant Journal. She is also the creator of immersive leadership experiences hosted in Costa Rica in partnership with leading retreat centers.
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A former London lawyer turned transformational coach and retreat leader, Sally Nilsson is a relentless pursuer of authenticity, balance, and personal growth. Her journey from corporate law to the heart of Costa Rica was guided by a deep connection with horses and a desire for a more meaningful, purpose-driven life.
Sally began her career as a lawyer at Clifford Chance in London and Hong Kong before moving in-house to a venture capital firm. She rose to General Counsel of a real estate investment firm, leading a global team of 12 lawyers. Yet, despite her professional success, she felt a calling for something more. A transformative experience on a horseback adventure in Costa Rica in 2013 ignited a profound shift—one that led her to train as an advanced certified facilitator in Equine Experiential Learning and dedicate her career to guiding others toward self-discovery and balance.
Today, Sally lives in Costa Rica, the perfect setting for deep personal growth work, and has co-created Tula Vida Ranch, an 80-acre off-the-grid retreat center nestled in the Costa Rican rainforest. Designed as a sanctuary for those seeking clarity, renewal, and alignment, Tula Vida bridges the gap between corporate comfort and personal aspiration. Through the wisdom of horses, nervous system regulation, and immersive experiences in nature, she helps leaders cultivate the discernment and resilience needed to step into their most authentic, purpose-driven selves.
Sally is certified with the Polyvagal Equine Institute, Eponaquest, My Horses My Healers, and the International Coaching Federation. She works with clients both online (coaching & training) and in-person at the Ranch, curating transformative experiences that empower individuals to lead with presence, confidence, and ease.
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With a background in martial arts, yoga, and health & wellness consulting, Eric Kolesar has spent his career guiding individuals toward self-empowerment, balance, and personal growth. He integrates neuroscience, body awareness, mindfulness, and experiential learning to help high achievers reconnect with their authentic selves and share their gifts with the world.
Eric’s expertise spans multiple disciplines, including professional life coaching, energy work, and yoga (500-hour certified instructor). His journey took a transformative turn when he discovered the profound impact of working with horses as a catalyst for personal insight and rapid transformation. He went on to become an advanced certified facilitator in Equine Experiential Learning, as well as in modalities such as the Masterson Technique and Equine-Facilitated Sand Play.
As co-founder of Tula Vida Ranch, Eric creates deeply immersive experiences in leadership, mindfulness, and personal transformation, helping high-achievers break through limiting patterns and cultivate a life of greater freedom, confidence, and joy.
Through cutting-edge neuroscience-based practices and the intuitive wisdom of horses, Eric, Sally, and the Tula Vida herd offer a unique and powerful path to self-awareness and authentic leadership.
Eric and Sally also co-founded the Tula Vida Foundation, a registered charity with a mission to rescue and rehabilitate horses as well as to provide transformative retreat experiences for those without the economic means.
We can’t wait to welcome you to Tula Vida & the Demystifying Executive Presence for Women retreat!
August 24-30, 2026
Please select your accommodation and payment option below.
You can select from a Pay-In-Full option and receive a ADDITIONAL FREE MASSAGE at the retreat (one is already included!), or you can split your payment into 2 easy payments.
Have questions? Need alternative payment plans? No problem! Click below to book a call:
To learn more about Renée and her work in the world, click here.
For more information about Sally and Eric, Tula Vida, and the accommodations, please click here.
What people say:
What you will gain.
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Develop a sense of resilience and self-assurance.
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Create an environment where others feel seen, heard, and valued. As a result, you do, too.
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Practice empathy and the ability to see the perspectives of others. Listen more deeply so you can attune to what is said and what is not.
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Use powerful communication and non-verbal skills to engage others and build trust. Maintain calmness and control under pressuer.
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Set clear intentions, gain insights around your most effective leadership style, show up genuine and always true to yourself.
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Understand your needs and boundaries, offer clear and impactful expression of ideas, and know when to listen and when to talk.
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Catalyze your executive presence and understand how your Person Effect impacts others. You’ll deepen your awareness of your strengths and limitations so you can best work with both.
THIS RETREAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE and LEADERSHIP FOR THE BETTER!
Your personal leadership power and impact will not only finally make sense, you will leave knowing exactly how to harness it!