For HR, People & Culture and L&D teams in UN agencies, INGOs and global organisations. Delivered in English, French and Spanish, in person, virtually or blended, in 50+ countries.
Trusted by leadership teams at
WHO · UNICEF · UNOPS · UNHCR · Airbus · Chanel · LinkedIn · Orange
A journey, not just training
Most leadership training stops at awareness
Today’s teams are more diverse and faster-changing than ever: different generations, cultures, and ways of working.
People leave the room inspired, and nothing changes in how they lead their team the following Monday. This programme is built for organisations past that stage. You already know inclusive leadership matters. What you need is a way to translate it into daily management practice over the months it takes to stick, and a way to prove to your board, your donors, or your senior leadership that it is working.
Inclusive leadership is not what you believe. It’s how you lead.
Inclusive leadership is the practice of creating the conditions where people with different backgrounds, perspectives and ways of thinking can contribute, while expectations stay clear and decisions stay effective.
At Shiftbalance we treat it as a set of observable management behaviours, not a mindset or a value statement. It shows up in who speaks first in a meeting, how disagreement is handled, how feedback lands, how decisions get made, and whether accountability and psychological safety can coexist.
“Inclusive leadership is not what you believe. It’s how you lead.”
Built for the moment your organisation is in
Most people are not promoted because they know how to manage people. This programme meets managers where they actually are.
- Managers promoted for expertise who now need a real people-leadership toolkit.
- Reorganisation, restructuring or a leadership transition changing how teams work.
- A psychological safety or engagement diagnostic that has surfaced specific gaps.
- Managers who avoid hard calls, default to consensus, or give feedback in one direction only.
- Multicultural, intergenerational, neurodiverse or hybrid teams that need more adaptive leadership.
- Leadership that wants evidence of behaviour change, not only training attendance.
Why us
Practice, not promises. Tools, not theory. Proof, not just a feeling.
Four things set this programme apart from a standard leadership course.
01
A diagnostic that tells the truth first
Before a single session runs, we listen. Stakeholder interviews and a pulse survey surface what is actually happening, and the programme is shaped around what we find.
02
Practice, not promises
Managers apply tools to real team situations between sessions, then return to reflect on what worked, what did not, and what to adapt.
03
Tools, not theory
Participants leave with feedback cards, a decision-rights template and a neuro-inclusive meeting checklist they can use in their very next meeting.
04
Proof, not just a feeling
Baseline data, coaching goals and post-programme results are compared side by side, so impact is something you can point to.
A leadership journey, not a one-off workshop
Six stages carry managers from self-awareness to measurable, everyday behaviour change.
1
Diagnose
Stakeholder interviews, pulse survey and each manager’s self-assessment.
2
Learn
Seven applied modules grounded in research and real management situations.
3
Practise
Tools tested on each manager’s own team between sessions.
4
Coach
Individual coaching turns self-awareness into a focused plan.
5
Apply
A peer sparring partner and live cases keep new habits accountable.
6
Measure
Pre- and post-programme data show what changed, and what’s next.
Seven modules, one leadership practice
Facilitation comes early, because inclusive leadership is experienced through the everyday spaces managers create: meetings, calls, decisions and difficult conversations.
01
Know Yourself as a Leader
Inclusive leadership starts with self-awareness, not a checklist.
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- Inclusive Leadership Survey: which type of leader are you today?
- Your leadership journey: inclusion, exclusion, power and belonging.
- Personal strengths, blind spots and coaching goals.
- Peer sparring pairs established for the full journey.
02
Facilitation for Inclusive Teams
Run the room so different people can actually contribute.
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- Inclusive meeting design for in-person, virtual and hybrid teams.
- Reading group dynamics, participation patterns and power in the room.
- Engagement techniques that do not privilege the loudest voice.
- Intervening when people dominate, withdraw or disagreement turns unsafe.
03
Psychological Safety with Accountability
Speaking up and holding high standards, at the same time.
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- Psychological safety in practice, from research to everyday habit.
- Feedback, decision-rights mapping and blameless retrospectives.
- Where psychological safety ends and accountability begins.
- Clear behavioural norms without forced conformity.
04
Leading in a Diverse and Changing World
Adapt your leadership to the team in front of you.
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- Power dynamics and whose voice carries more weight.
- Leading multicultural and intergenerational teams.
- Different expectations around hierarchy, feedback and decision-making.
- Diagnosing your own team and choosing a more tailored approach.
05
Neurodiversity and Cognitive Inclusion
Practical adjustments for how different minds process work.
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Neurodivergent talent sits on every team, named or not. This module gives managers concrete adjustments they can use immediately, and pairs with Shiftbalance's Neurodiversity Tips and e-learning resources.
- Executive function, sensory load, processing time and communication preferences.
- Practical adjustments to meetings, instructions, workflows and feedback.
- Reducing masking pressure and one-directional adaptation.
- Adjustment conversations that do not require formal disclosure.
06
Conflict, Tension and Difficult Conversations
Inclusion is not the same as avoiding disagreement.
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- Recognising productive disagreement versus unresolved team tension.
- Preparing and facilitating difficult conversations.
- Feedback that lands across cultures and generations.
- De-escalation, mediation fundamentals and when to call in outside support.
07
Embedding and Measurement
Make the other six modules survive after the programme ends.
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- Turning behaviours into observable, tracked indicators.
- Manager accountability structures and follow-through cadence.
- Personal and team action plans for the next 90 days.
- Leadership debrief: what changed, what still needs attention, what's next.
Individual coaching
A personalised journey, not just a shared curriculum
Individual coaching turns self-awareness into a focused plan tailored to each manager, not a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Because our coaches and facilitators are based across every continent, delivery adapts to your teams’ languages, time zones and cultural context.
Choose the shape that fits your organisation
The six-month journey is our recommended, transformational format. Shorter formats are available when your context calls for a more concentrated intervention. Every format runs in English, French or Spanish, in person, virtually or blended.
Built by people who have led through real pressure
Shiftbalance has delivered manager and leadership development inside WHO offices navigating relocation, UNOPS teams building new inclusion strategy, UNHCR through large-scale reorganisation, and Airbus Leadership University cohorts across France, Spain and Germany.
Across very different environments, the pattern holds: teams move through pressure better when managers can create psychological safety, adapt to different minds and cultures, facilitate hard conversations, and hold people accountable without shutting them down.
Programme lead: Aurélie Salvaire, Founder of Shiftbalance, is a certified PCC coach, HEC Paris graduate, facilitator, workplace mediator and published author with 20 years of experience in People and Culture across UN, INGO and corporate contexts.
“Aurélie is extremely knowledgeable and experienced at developing high energy and engaging retreats. She is very professional in her approach, taking care to develop a programme tailored to the needs of the team.”
Kathryn O’Chieng, Head of HR, WHO Regional Office for Europe
What your organisation walks away with
- Pre-programme stakeholder interviews and/or pulse diagnostic with pattern report.
- Participant self-assessment and individual growth goals.
- Full facilitation curriculum, participant workbook and applied case exercises.
- Manager toolkit: feedback tools, decision-rights template, neuro-inclusive meeting checklist.
- Individual coaching and peer-sparring structure for the flagship journey.
- Post-programme measurement report, leadership debrief and recommended next steps.
- A reusable 90-day action framework to sustain behaviour change.
Frequently asked questions
What makes this different from standard leadership training?+
Standard leadership training often transfers concepts or frameworks. This programme is built around behaviour change: managers diagnose their own patterns, practise on real cases, receive coaching, test new behaviours between sessions and return with evidence of what happened. Inclusion is not an optional add-on; it is a condition of effective leadership. Individual coaching makes it a personalised journey rather than a shared curriculum alone, and because our coaches and facilitators are based across every continent, delivery adapts to your teams' languages, time zones and cultural context.
Is this only for managers already interested in inclusion?+
No. The programme is designed for managers who need to lead diverse teams effectively, whatever language they currently use for that challenge. It is practical, non-shaming and focused on what works in real teams.
Can the programme run across languages?+
Yes. Shiftbalance facilitates in English, French and Spanish and can work with local co-facilitators in additional languages. Parallel-language cohorts can be designed for multinational organisations.
How do you support accessibility?+
We adapt materials, facilitation methods and participation options to the needs of the cohort, including participants with hearing, visual or other access requirements. Accessibility is discussed during programme design, not left to the day of delivery.
How is impact measured?+
Through a pre-programme diagnostic, participant self-assessment, individual goals, observable behaviour experiments, pulse measurement and a post-programme report focused on what changed, what did not, and what to sustain.
Can this be paired with other Shiftbalance offers?+
Yes. Common extensions include Facilitation Skills and Training of Trainers, Neurodiversity for Managers, Psychological Safety work, executive coaching and AI for HR.
Is the programme virtual, in person or hybrid?+
All three are possible. We recommend the format based on your cohort size, geography, organisational context and desired depth of behaviour change.
Is this suitable for senior leaders as well as people managers?+
Yes. The Executive Intensive can be tailored for senior leadership teams, while the flagship cohort model is designed for sustained manager development.
Let’s talk
If your managers are ready to move past leadership training and into a way of leading that sticks, we would welcome a conversation. Book a 30-minute diagnostic call or request a tailored proposal, and we will get back to you within two working days.
Email us directly at susan@shiftbalance.org
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