What we do
Leadership Programmes for Female Professionals
Research has proven that more diversity in the senior management ranks boosts organisational performance. Companies with 3 or more women in senior management positions score higher for each organisational criteria than companies with no women at the top [McKinsey, Women Matter, 2007].
Yet the proportion of women in key leadership roles remain low in most organisations. As they progress through senior leadership positions, women face unique and specific challenges.
These realities can make the journey to the top a lonely and frustrating one… even in organisations that aim to support their top female talent. For organisations to optimise 100% of their talent pool, they need to support the advancement of high-potential female professionals.
Our programmes and workshops are designed to provide female professionals with the knowledge and tools to empower them to take charge of their careers. Participants will learn to:
Cope with challenges effectively;
Harness their leadership skills and experiences with confidence; and
Tap into the collective strength of a network of female leaders who can help one another.
Female Leadership Programme (FLP)
Our Female Leadership Programme (FLP) is a “win-win” product. By helping female professionals to realise their full potential, organisations for which they work also stand to gain from the former’s increased productivity.
FLP is an in-house programme designed to provide female professionals with the practical knowledge and tools to thrive in a male-dominated business environment. Through FLP, participants will feel empowered to assert their perspectives and display their talents more visibly in their roles.
This is what female professionals will learn from their participation in FLP:
Understand the importance of Gender Intelligence (GQ) and utilizing it;
Identify and acknowledge their own female leadership strengths;
Gain a new-found understanding of gender differences, biases, the (unwritten) rules of the game, empathy and resilience;
Know how to manage stakeholders effectively, and;
Build long-term business relations with customers.
Target group: Female professionals with 5–10 years of working experience
Format: Group sessions (max 12 participants)
Duration: 7 x 2 days (10 months)
Artificial Intelligence Leadership Program for Women (AILPFW)
Whether we like it or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of our existence. More than just the latest buzzword, AI is unlikely to go away any time soon.
This is why The Inclusion Factory and MIcompany, a leading AI firm based in Amsterdam and Tel Aviv, are proud to introduce our collaborative product — the first-ever AI leadership Program for women in the world.
AILPFW is perfect for high-performing and ambitious female leaders seeking to acquire or consolidate their AI knowledge and leadership skills. With AILPFW, they can be sure that they will be at the forefront of the latest business developments in our increasingly digitalised world.
To sign up or learn more about the programme, click https://micompany.nl/ai-leadership-program-for-women/.
Inclusive Leadership Workshop (ILW)
Diversity of thought is needed to enable organisations to rise to the business challenges of the future. However, diversity alone is not enough. It demands the institution of an inclusive culture to ensure that the diversity of talents is leveraged and harnessed for a collective purpose.
Inclusive cultures can only be fostered in the organisation when ALL leaders are on board. It requires inclusive leadership. The question is: how do you, as a leader, behave inclusively?
In this interactive workshop with engaging exercises, participants will have the opportunity to learn:
Business Case for D&I: Awareness of impact of D&I leadership on business outcomes
Characteristics of Inclusive Leaders: Theoretical and experiential exploration of behavioural traits of inclusive leaders
Impact of Biases: Identification and examination of biases undermining quality of leadership
Impetus for Change: Acquisition of practical tools and strategies to become effective change agents and inclusive leaders within their company and teams
Target group: junior managers, senior managers, and HR professionals
Format: Group sessions (max 12 participants)
Duration: 2 days
Sponsorship Programs for Male Sponsors and Female Protégés
Sponsorships — senior leaders’ use of their power and influence to advance the career of their protégés — have proven to be a highly successful strategic tool for career advancement. However, in today’s context, whereby over 80% of C-suites and leadership teams are male, female professionals face a distinct disadvantage… unless male leaders step up to actively advocate for high-potential female talent.
Based on my in-depth academic research study on cross-gender sponsorships, the development of a pool of proactive male sponsors for female protégés will require addressing the mindset of male sponsors. In particular, gender beliefs and norms, along with the existence of systemic factors, are key issues that will need to be tackled.
At The Inclusion Factory, we have formulated a range of targeted research-based coaching programmes for male executive sponsors and female protégés:
Sponsorship workshop: Setting Male Sponsors and Female Protégés Up for Success
Targeted at male sponsors, female protégés, and HR professionals, the aim of the workshop is to improve the effectiveness of cross-gender sponsorship assignments.
In this interactive and highly engaging workshop, we will explore the following topics:
Differences between Sponsorship and Mentorships;
Roles of male sponsors and their female protégés;
Underlying factors influencing relationships between sponsors and female protégées; and
Common pitfalls involving both parties.
Conducted in ‘Forum Theatre’ style, this session employs professional actors to simulate actual sponsorship conversations, derived from the real-life experiences of ‘audience’ members. Furthermore, it is facilitated in a way that allows for deep reflection and experiential learning, based on research-driven knowledge and expertise.
Target group: Male sponsors, Female protégés, and HR professionals
Format: In-house group session (12-15 participants)
Duration: 1 day
“Stand by Your Female Protégé”: Grooming Effective Male Executive Sponsors
Building an effective cross-gender sponsorship relationship comes with challenges. It can fail, despite good intentions, if sponsors are not aware of these challenges.
The aim of our group or one-on-one sessions is to enhance the effectiveness of male executive sponsors in promoting the advancement of their female protégés. Through these sessions, participants will learn how to build a successful relationship with their female protégés, targeted at realising a shared objective:
Foundational building blocks of a respectful and collaborative relationship;
In-depth self-examination of emotional drivers and interaction approaches; and
Strategic task and boundary management tools to provide focus and clarity.
A companion to the sponsorship programme for female protégés with similar content, the actual content of the workshop will be vastly different as it adopts the point-of-view of the male sponsor.
Target group: Male sponsors
Format: In house — one-on-one or group sessions (5-10 participants)
Duration: 2 days
“Stepping into the Limelight”: Grooming Empowered Female Protégés to Thrive in a Cross-Gender Sponsorship
The aim of the coaching sessions is to bolster the ability of high potential female protégés to optimise the outcomes of their cross-gender sponsorship experiences with their male sponsors.
Through these sessions, participants will learn how to become assertive and proactive collaborators with their male sponsors in order to accomplish the shared objective — their career advancement:
Foundational building blocks of a respectful and collaborative relationship;
In-depth self-examination of emotional drivers and interaction approaches; and
Strategic task and boundary management tools to provide focus and clarity.
A companion to the sponsorship programme for male sponsors with similar content, the actual content of the workshop will be vastly different as it adopts the point-of-view of the female protégé.
Target group: Female protégés
Format: In house — one-on-one or group sessions (5-10 participants)
Duration: 2 days
Tripartite Coaching for Cross-Gender Sponsorship Success
The aim of these tripartite sessions is to offer a safe environment with clear ground rules for the male sponsor and his female protégé to clarify their respective roles and responsibilities. The ultimate goal is to strengthen their relationship in order to optimize the ultimate objective of the sponsorship — the career advancement of the female protégé.
Target group: Male sponsor and their female protégé
Duration: 1 day
One-on-One Coaching
As an important supplementary part of our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Leadership and Cross-Genders Sponsorships programmes and workshops, we also offer individual coaching sessions for professionals on special request.
The Inclusion Factory is proud of its partnerships with experienced coaches, actors and facilitators who have proven track-records from all around the world.