The Deprogramming Company
RISE ABOVE
A 12-month leadership and culture intervention for organisations
Rise Above is a structured, 12-month leadership intervention that supports women to lead with clarity, authority and sustainable influence, while organisations take shared responsibility for the conditions that shape leadership behaviour.
In practice, participants report setting boundaries that change workload expectations, contributing more actively in senior forums, and raising issues earlier with greater clarity.
It moves beyond confidence-building and skills training to address:
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The behaviours and workplace conditions that keep talented women over-functioning, self-editing and burning energy on compliance
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Conditioned leadership behaviours (perfectionism, people-pleasing, minimising language)
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Systemic reinforcement patterns (how teams, managers and norms reward silence and over-delivery)
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And cultural norms that limit progression, voice and sustainability (so leadership becomes sustainable, not performative)
Rise Above is delivered by The Deprogramming Company in partnership with organisations committed to long-term leadership and cultural change.
Grounded in organisational psychology. Delivered at scale. Designed for lasting impact.
WHAT ORGANISATIONS GAIN
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Stronger, more diverse leadership pipelines (women who claim space, speak earlier and lead with authority)
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Higher retention of experienced, high-performing women (sustainable workload boundaries and reduced burnout risk)
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Faster decision-making and healthier challenge at senior levels (earlier intervention, clearer communication)
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Leaders who navigate complexity without burnout or compliance (intentional, grounded leadership)
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Cultural ripple beyond the cohort itself (clearer responsibilities, accountability and psychological safety)
Behaviour change you can see:
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Boundaries that change workload expectations: “Very mindful of my boundaries.”
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More voice and participation in senior spaces: “I actively participate.”
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Earlier challenge and intervention: “Intervention takes place before it’s too late.”
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Less perfectionism and people-pleasing: “Stopped trying to be perfect.”
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Team ripple: “Clearer on responsibilities and priorities.”
The result is both individual development and measurable organisational capability.
HOW IT WORKS
Rise Above combines cohort learning, individual coaching and organisational alignment to support sustained behaviour change. It is designed to create repeatable shifts you can see in meetings, decision-making and day-to-day leadership.
Core elements include:
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12-month facilitated leadership cohort
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Monthly workshops and small Power Circles (action learning sets)
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1:1 coaching with an Organisational Psychologist
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Strengths-based leadership coaching
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In-person leadership intensives
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Ongoing peer learning and resources
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Clear executive sponsorship and ownership
This architecture is designed to embed change over time, rather than relying on one-off training interventions that fade as soon as pressure returns.
DESIGNED FOR ORGANISATIONAL DELIVERY
Rise Above is delivered with organisational governance in mind, so women are not asked to carry the change alone.
Depending on context, this can include:
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Executive sponsorship and senior ownership
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Manager alignment and shared leadership language
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Diagnostics to make invisible patterns visible
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Executive-sponsored action projects
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Train-the-trainer and licensing models where appropriate
This ensures responsibility for change is shared across leaders, managers and systems - not placed on women to adapt.
WHO RISE ABOVE IS FOR
Rise Above is designed for organisations where:
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Women are present but progression slows at mid-to-senior levels
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High-performing women are burning out, disengaging or leaving (often after years of over-delivery and self-editing)
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Leadership culture rewards compliance over contribution (and challenge arrives too late)
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There is intent around gender equity, but change has plateaued
It is most often implemented by:
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HR, L&D and Organisational Development teams (we do train-the-trainer)
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Senior leaders responsible for talent, succession and culture
HOW THIS WORK IS HELD AND DELIVERED
Rise Above is grounded in organisational psychology and decades of research into gendered conditioning, leadership behaviour and workplace systems.
The programme was created by Michelle Minnikin, Chartered Organisational Psychologist and author of Good Girl Deprogramming®, and is delivered through The Deprogramming Company.
To support scale without loss of integrity, Rise Above is delivered by a small, trained cohort of facilitators.
All facilitators are:
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trained in the Rise Above methodology and frameworks
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supervised to ensure psychological safety and fidelity to the work
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supported to deliver the programme in organisational contexts with care, rigour and consistency
This model ensures organisations receive:
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the depth of a psychologically informed intervention
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the safety of professional standards and supervision
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and the scalability required for long-term cultural change
Michelle remains closely involved in the development, evolution and stewardship of the programme, ensuring the work continues to be taught and delivered with integrity.
Read Michelle’s perspective on the thinking behind Rise Above.
INVESTMENT
Rise Above is a 12-month leadership and culture intervention.
Investment typically starts from £9,000 per participant, with organisational culture work scoped separately depending on delivery requirements.
Programmes are tailored to organisational size, sector and context.
