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Report: #369343

Complaint Review: Landmark Education - Los Angeles California

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  • Reported By: Ojai California
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  • Landmark Education 5200 W. Century Ste 200 Los Angeles, California U.S.A.

Landmark Education Sexual Harrassment, Mind Games, and Unwanton Advances on Women Los Angeles California

*Consumer Suggestion: Apology on behalf of the Landmark community

*Consumer Comment: Similar Experiences

*UPDATE Employee: Unwanton Sexual Advances and Mind Games?

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Sexual Harrassment in the Los Angeles Landmark Forum Introduction Leaders Program by Landmark Education

I was already a successful woman when I started taking courses at Landmark, but since taking the Forum I started making way more money than before and my participation in the work deepened several relationships. So I kept taking courses to further my growth. I've gotten a lot out of the work, but the center in my area (Los Angeles) has some serious problems.

I was told the Introduction Leaders Program, their most demanding course, was truly a mind expanding experience. So I signed up, but found myself quickly pursued by one of the male coaches despite his knowing I was married and ALL the coaches in the program having an agreement not to date students. I told him to back off, but it didn't work. He kept finding ways to connect with me. So I told my coach and she said she'd take care of it.

Then a week later, she relayed to me that he said it was just my imagination and assured me that he was a man of integrity and was only there for my transformation. So a month later, when he found out which homework parties (private parties where coaches come to help participants with course work) I attended and showed up at one I was at, I let myself trust him which proved to be a huge mistake.

I decided to let go of my reservations and work with him. He told me I wasn't getting the work because I was blocked and kept asking about my marriage like whether I was fully expressed in my marriage and my sex life. I didn't realize it at the time, but he kept pushing me to talk about what part of my marriage wasn't working. Now while my marriage isn't perfect, I have no intention of leaving my husband and definitely want it to work and know that it will, but he kept pushing for me to work on what WASN'T working in my marriage and used examples of people who were freed up by getting out of a bad relationships.

After a while I started believing him. He made it seem like he was getting me He coached me all night and said he really wanted me to get what we were working on. He kept at it until I broke down and started crying about an affair my husband had had when we first started dating. Then while comforting me, made a pass at me and while I stopped it, it went way too far for me. In fact, I couldn't believe he even had the balls to go there after what we had discussed.

He tried to clean it up with me that night, (but all he really wanted was my word that it would stay between us) and the next day called incessantly to get me to agree not to tell anyone, not even my husband. Obviously none of this has anything to do with the model of integrity he was hired to teach. So I told him I was telling my husband and this coach actually told me to quit the program. He was upset and couldn't believe I was unwilling to trust the work.

So I told my husband and my coach and again she said she'd handle it, I thought that meant she would take it to the appropriate person at the center and have him removed. No, that means she discussed it with the offender and took his word that it would never happen again. What kind of sexual harassment policy is that? How can you trust the fox to manage the integrity of a chicken coop?

So I went to a superior coach and she told me it had already been handled, but it hadn't and she never got back to me after that and he was never removed from the program. I think it's unbelievable that a multinational corporation like Landmark would not have a sexual harassment policy or at the very least not enforce the one they have. The people in their programs open themselves up emotionally and psychologically in ways that are uncommon in our society and should not be preyed upon by the coaches in the system.

Needless to say, I dropped the course and would caution any one before taking it. While the education is great, the risk you take is not worth it, at least not in Los Angeles. It certainly wasn't worth sacrificing my marriage. Before this I had only taken weekend courses where you're in and out with very little interaction with center staff. In the longer courses, from what I'm told, it's very common for people to date and coaches to pick up on participants and, as it turns out, I wasn't the only one he made a pass at in our program and was told by my friend who remained that one of the leaders encouraged dating in the course and even questioned why any one would ever want to date someone who hadn't taken it.

Taking this course almost cost me my marriage and their leaders could careless. In fact, by turning a blind eye, they seem to be encouraging it.

LA 2
Ojai, California
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/03/2008 11:06 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/landmark-education/los-angeles-california-90045/landmark-education-sexual-harrassment-mind-games-and-unwanton-advances-on-women-los-ange-369343. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#3 Consumer Suggestion

Apology on behalf of the Landmark community

AUTHOR: Witness - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, April 22, 2012

This is a remarkable report, compared to certain other Landmark Education reports on this site, because all those commenting, so far, claim to have been participants in the Introduction Leader Program. Only about 5% of Landmark customers engage in the Assisting Program, and relatively few of these do the Introduction Leader Program, and even fewer become actual Introduction Leaders.

While a few transient exceptions may be made for those who are close to completion, coaches in the Introduction Leader Program are themselves Introduction Leaders, and, as such, "represent" Landmark.

The original report is a tale of sexual harassment at a particular Landmark center; one followup claims that this is common elsewhere. (And confuses it with dating among participants, which is an issue, but a different one.)

I am now in the Introduction Leaders Program, and the Landmark policy on sexual harassment isn't just handed out, it was read to us at the first workshop. Specific procedures are laid out for reporting sexual harassment. The complainant here did not follow her side of the policy, and, if we take the report at face value, nobody else did either. She did not describe informing the Center Manager.

She did inform two coaches, though, and those would be Program Leaders, as defined by Landmark. The Center Manager and all Program Leaders are bound by policy to immediately report a complaint of sexual harassment to the Director of Human Resources for Landmark. There is no exception for complaints believed to be wrong.

I'm saddened that, instead of standing for herself and her rights, and for all those who might similarly be harassed by the same person -- or others --, as she might have been able to do given her level of success in the work, she left the program.

Thus she left the problem in place. It is common with sexual harassment that some in an organization will be reluctant to address it. They may blame the individual harassed. It's easy to do that, I could myself point out that the account is self-serving, and the woman isn't taking responsibility for her side of this, but to focus on that would be a form of blaming the victim. For herself, I'm sure she will understand, given her experience with Landmark, I'd encourage her to acknowledge her own participation, however:

The behavior of that coach was, as reported, outrageous, and the response of her own coach was not supportive and in violation of the policy itself.

If I found that this was happening in my program, or if I saw signs that violations of policy were being encouraged or tolerated, I'd go to the Classroom Leader, and/or the Center Manager, and if I saw that the problem was being glossed over and covered up, I'd go to Corporate, as the Policy requires. I'd do that, even though I'm not a Program Leader yet, because the behavior, if accurately reported, harms everyone.

The response of another alleged ILP participant that this was all fine and normal, and blaming her for messing around, is even more outrageous. It is not fine, and it is not normal. ILP is an intense program and people do get close to each other, and that this might sometimes lead to other kinds of intimacy isn't surprising, but the policies about a coach dating a participant are clear, it is prohibited (and then possible exceptions are listed, having nothing to do with what is alleged here).

One of the commitments in ILP is to 100% integrity, and we are highly encouraged to not "step over" situations where we see another participant failing a commitment. It's not about blaming the person, or shaming them, but rather about mutual support for fulfillment of the goals of the program. I'm a very casual dresser, normally, but, last week, I pointed out to another participant that he was wearing jeans, contrary to a commitment. It served him and it served me. Now, how about "stepping over" a participant sexually harassing another? Would we strain at a gnat (jeans) and swallow a camel (seriously harmful behavior)?

The staff and assisting crew, everyone at a Center, tends to turn over rapidly. This report stands as a record of a kind of problem, years ago, that may no longer exist, or that may be less common. We don't know how common it really was, from an isolated report and two comments over many years. Landmark is, however, a human organization. Sometimes we fail our own ideals. Landmark remains the best option in its field. If I knew of a better one I'd be there in a flash.

It is a shame that this woman, who had benefited greatly from Landmark's programs, was stopped by this mess, and the mess would include what happened to her, and her own response -- or lack of same. Her coach failed her and her Program leader failed her, and Landmark owes her an apology, and, on behalf of Landmark (though I'm not formally authorized yet), I do apologize. This should never happen again, and I thank her for her courage in reporting it here.

I also encourage her, if she reads this, to talk about what happened with the Landmark Director of Human Resources. It is never too late to complete something.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Similar Experiences

AUTHOR: Maddy - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, July 08, 2011

 I saw similar experiences as the poster in the same program. 

In the Introduction Leaders Program I attended, many of the participants were having multiple affairs with each other. One was selling a fraudulent financial product he was later sued for. Another coach was actually caught telling another man how to manipulate the girls and how easy it was to get laid. There have been a number of men that have coaxed very personal information out of women only to turn around and use it against them. The higher ups only rarely get involved but most of the time they just tell you, the woman, it is because you are responsible. Oh yeah and one last one, one of their introduction leaders I met is a pretty racist guy. Real quality people...

They very much walk the line of the legal definition of a cult. They don't technically isolate you from your family because they very much want to sign up your family too! It cant be isolation if the whole family is involved!

When you do the Forum, there is someone in the back of the room called a Course Supervisor. He is actually required by Landmark policy to note all the medical professionals in the room. When you register you fill out a form which includes your profession and someone literally makes a list of all the people who work in the medical field and hands it to the leaders. Why would someone need to do this in a 'harmless self development course.' 

I hate to sound so negative but I think this organization does so much more harm than good!

Oh and for the poster, not only does that happen in Los Angeles, but on the East Coast as well. You are not alone for sure
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#1 UPDATE Employee

Unwanton Sexual Advances and Mind Games?

AUTHOR: Keeping It Real - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, November 13, 2008

Of course participants get hit on by coaches when you take courses at Landmark Education, but only because it's such a great way to get laid! Hell, it's half the reason you work as a coach.

I love meeting people in the courses I take and some times I meet them while I'm coaching and they are a particpant. And yes sometimes it gets out of hand and yes some of the coaches there are dogs about it, but that doesn't mean you should go online and start bad mouthing folks.

What you need to do is just take responsibility for the fact that you messed around on your man and clean it up with him, not the world wide web.

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