the ripple effect
leadership program for leaders and change-makers

A 10-week online leadership development program
For purpose-driven managers who want to lead with more confidence, clarity, and less overwhelm

A 10-week online leadership development program
For purpose-driven managers who want to lead with more confidence, clarity, and less overwhelm

Small shifts, big waves of change

“The key is in the SMALL STEPS!
I now handle the stress and pressure from work in a more mature way.”

– Laetitia, Regional Coordinator, Global Survivors Fund

Do you recognise these challenges?

Leading in a purpose-driven organisation comes with its own specific pressures: tight budgets, teams that care deeply but are stretched thin, and priorities that shift with the context, sometimes at a cost to yourself and your team.
Many managers and leaders we have worked with express:

  • DOUBT: am I doing what’s best for both my team and the results I’m responsible for?
  • ELEVATED LEVELS OF STRESS: how can I balance all the competing priorities while the budget is tight, time is scarce, and the context in which we work is changing all the time?
  • WORRY: How do I navigate difficult conversations and feedback in a context where everyone cares deeply for the mission of our organisation?

What is not helping is that many of the management and leadership tools that are widely available tend to be outdated, not sufficiently practical, nor addressing the people-part of the role.

So, if at any point you have been wondering: Am I doing the ‘right’ thing? Could ‘this’ have been done easier or better? Is there is a way to lead while feeling less overwhelmed?

You are in the right place!

Who is LEADING this program?

Lieke van Gompel has spent over 15 years working in and alongside NGOs and humanitarian organisations – in contexts as demanding as Afghanistan, North-East Syria, Yemen, and the Central African Republic.

After training more than 1,000 leaders and managers across the world, one pattern kept emerging:

Purpose-driven leaders don’t need more theory. They need practical, immediately applicable shifts that work even under pressure, with limited resources, and in high-stakes environments.

This program is the result of everything she has learned – distilled into an online leadership development program – that’s accessible to individual leaders who would love to have the added benefit of learning with leaders from other organisations.

What results will I experience once I have finished this Leadership program?

Our leadership program aims to address the above-mentioned challenges so that at the end of it, you will experience:

  • DEEPER LEVELS OF SELF-AWARENESS which will allow you to connect deeper with others, leading to a greater level of influence.
  • MORE ENERGY at the end of your working week because you have learned how to make time work for you.
  • MORE CONFIDENCE in how you show up and communicate in your role, rather than second-guessing if you are approaching situations in the best way possible.
  • MORE COURAGE and confidence in navigating the more challenging parts of your role – such as difficult conversations.
  • REDUCED STRESS LEVELS, instead of the daily overwhelm that risks to spill into your personal life.

What will I learn concretely?

The program consists of the following modules:

Module 1 – Your Leadership Compass

We can only be as good as a leader as the extent to which we deeply know ourselves. When we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident, make better decisions, and communicate more effectively. This week dives deep into who you are as a leader and what the anchoring point is from which you connect to others. We’ll explore your deepest values, how you can use them as a compass for leading others.

Module 2 – How to manage time for more energy and less stress

As a leader you are often walking a tightrope between being available to others while also still needing to get your own job done. How can you strike a better balance? How can you end the working day with a feeling of satisfaction instead of overwhelm? During this session, we’ll explore simple shifts that have the potential to help you gain a few hours per week and feel more energized at the end of a workday.

Module 3 – Empowering Communication

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”, George Bernard Shaw said. All of us communicate, day in, day out. And yet, it is at the origin of so many misunderstandings in our interaction with others. This week will explore different elements of communication which will make you so much more effective in your role while empowering others.

Module 4 – Leading when you don’t have all the answers

Change and uncertainty are not the exception in purpose-driven work, they tend to be the norm. Yet, as a leader, chances are that people are looking to you for answers you don’t have. In this module we’ll explore how to stay grounded when the priorities keep shifting, how to make decisions with incomplete information — and bring your team along with you — and how to lead with honesty and confidence even when the way forward isn’t fully clear yet.

Module 5 – Navigating challenging conversations

As leaders it’s unavoidable that we need to have challenging conversations. The good news is, that if we navigate these conversations well, they can lead to a plethora of positive outcomes! In this session, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step approach to preparing for- and engaging in these conversations. This includes how to regulate your own and the other person’s emotions. You’ll prepare your next challenging meeting with much more confidence!

“PURPOSE-DRIVEN LEADERS DON’T NEED MORE THEORY. THEY NEED PRACTICAL, IMMEDIATELY APPLICABLE SHIFTS THAT WORK EVEN UNDER PRESSURE”

What is included in the program?

The biggest impact happens when individual, peer- and group learning are combined. Therefore, this leadership program is built up as follows:

  • A PERSONAL INTAKE CALL WITH LIEKE before the program starts to make sure this is the right fit for you and to set your personal intentions for the journey. (Because you should join feeling confident, not just hopeful.)
  • A SELF-ASSESSMENT that gives you a sense of what your strengths and what areas you’d like to focus on. It will serve as a compass for your leadership development, now and beyond this training.
  • BI-WEEKLY LIVE ONLINE TRAINING SESSIONS of 2 hours, in which we’ll connect and learn together about the shifts you can take to create more impact in your role and beyond. We have chosen a bi-weekly format as that allows time for integration before we move to another topic.
  • A PERSONALISED COACHING SESSION WITH THE FOUNDER of the Ripple Effect, to dive deep into your personal challenge (worth €350)
  • Regular (very short) EMAILS TO KEEP YOU FOCUSES AND MOTIVATED. These include additional bonus materials that you can add to the toolbox you are building.
  • TWO PEER-COACHING SESSIONS with other participants to explore challenges and learnings together. This is where the real magic happens!
  • A CLOSING CEREMONY! Depending on where the cohort members are based, this will be either online or face-to-face. In any case, we will celebrate your dedication and learning with a special Guest Speaker. The goal is to leave you proud, inspired, and connected with yourself and each other.
  • LIFELONG ACCESS to the online learning environment where all materials, sessions, and bonus materials are stored.

There are so many leadership programs, what makes this one different?

  • This program combines learning sessions with A PERSONALISED COACHING SESSION with Lieke van Gompel – the Founder – which allows for a deep-dive into your specific challenge(s).
  • It dives deep into THE PEOPLE-PART OF YOUR ROLE – the part that is often the most complex and emotionally demanding, yet rarely addressed with enough depth in other management training programs.
  • Every session ends with one CONCRETE ACTION YOU CAN APPLY THE NEXT WORKING DAY – not in an ideal world, but in the real pressured one you’re in. We work with the often underrated power of small intentional shifts to create a bigger impact.
  • The bi-weekly rhythm is intentional: you learn, apply, reflect, and return — so learning actually STICKS BEYOND THE PROGRAM itself.
  • It integrates peer-coaching sessions between peers in the cohort, allowing you to EXPAND YOUR NETWORK OF LIKE-MINDED LEADERS.
  • Learning is never a straight curve. Therefore, you’ll receive PERSONALISED CHECK-INS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK AND MOTIVATED. You are not doing this alone!

For whom?

Being a leader is not a job description, it’s about how you show up for the people around you. Therefore this program is for you if:

  • You’re in a leadership or management role in an NGO, humanitarian organisation, foundation, social enterprise, or purpose-driven company – whether in the field, at HQ, or remotely.
  • You want to learn with and from other leaders in your field, inspiring each other with your experiences.
  • You’ve been finding your own way as a leader, yet you’d like to add more structure and confidence to what your intuition is already telling you.
  • You are ready to try out little intentional shifts during the program so you can experience the power of the ripple effect.

This is not for you if:

This program is probably not for you if you’re looking for purely theoretical frameworks, or if you’re not yet ready to reflect on your own role in the dynamics around you.

Who will you be learning with?

You will be learning with peers from other purpose-driven organizations. The cohort you will be learning with will be intentionally small, a group of maximum 10 people. The reason we would like to keep it small is to be able to create a truly safe and enjoyable space to learn, reflect and share. This will be as much about you learning from each other as learning on your own.

What is your investment?

How you lead has a ripple effect on everyone around you: your team, your organisation, and yourself. This program is designed to give you the tools, space, and support to do exactly that.

Introduction price for the first cohort: €750 (excl. VAT)
First edition starting mid-September 2026 – places are limited.

As this is the first edition of the Ripple Effect Leadership Program, we are offering an introductory investment. The price will increase for future editions.
Payment in 2 instalments is available.

Here’s what’s included:

A personal intake call with Lieke before the program starts to make sure this is the right fit for you and to set your personal intentions for the journey.
5 live online group sessions (bi-weekly, 2 hours each).
1 personal coaching session with Lieke of 75 minutes, valued at €350.
2 peer-coaching sessions with fellow participants.
A self-assessment tool to guide your development now and beyond.
Regular curated resources and bonus materials.
A closing ceremony with guest speaker.
Lifelong access to all session recordings and materials.

Many participants expense this through their organisation’s personal development budget — it’s worth asking.

What people say about working with us

These testimonials reflect how participants have experienced our training and coaching programs,
which form the backbone of the first edition of the Ripple Effect Leadership Program.

Thanks to this program, I’ve learned to protect time for my own work, to say no when needed, and to give feedback in a way that really helps to motivate people. I feel I’m managing myself more easily and at a more pleasant pace. I organise my working days better and I now look at things from a different angle to optimize my work and time – and I’m feeling very happy for that!

Marine, Head of Public Fundraising,
MSF

The combination of training and coaching was exactly what I needed! The (online) training was very appropriate for my needs, and extremely well facilitated. The coaching sessions allowed me to dig deeper into my personal challenges as a manager. The key is in the small steps! I now handle the stress and pressure from work in a more mature way. Thank you!

Laetitia, Regional Coordinator,
Global Survivors Fund

Lieke is exceptional. I have participated in her trainings and coaching and both have been transformative. She brings enthusiasm, expertise, and offering fresh perspectives that have helped me tackle obstacles with confidence.
I’ve grown as manager and as an individual.

Tara, Head of Communications
International Aids Society

Ready to take the first step?

Places are intentionally limited to keep the cohort small and the learning deep.
If this resonates, reserve your place right here.

Still have some questions?

Reach out for a no-obligation conversation.
We’re happy to help you figure out if this is the right fit. Contact us HERE

Not quite ready yet?

That’s completely fine. Join one of our free webinars to get a feel for the approach. Or follow us on LinkedIn for insights that already touch on what this program covers.