Transformation Leadership Programme

TRANSFORMATION LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

Are you an aspiring design leader seeking to transition into a leadership role? Are you a subject matter expert who wants to bring your specialised knowledge to drive innovation? Are you a product owner interested in exploring innovation and design? Take your next step to lead teams, and transform yourself and your organisation. Evolve your mindset, learn novel techniques, and become a true adaptive leader with our Transformation Leadership Programme! 🌟

What is the Transformation Leadership Programme?

As today’s world experiences unprecedented shifts, leaders must do more than adapt. They must actively shape transformations. At the Digital Society School, we put people at the center of transformations.

Thus, we invite leaders to develop future-proof leadership competencies in a 22-week, facilitated and learning-by-doing program. As a transformation owner, you will learn on the job while guiding a multidisciplinary and intercultural design team to address a real transformation challenge. You will learn, create, and grow together with your team to deliver impact-driven solutions rooted in Sustainable Development Goals.

You will lead your team in exploring a complex, real-world challenge. You will gain context around the transformation you envision through research, design, and prototyping possible solutions. You will apply design methods to co-create and experiment in an iterative learning process.

How does the programme work?

Over the course of the programme, you will be acting in the role of the Transformation Owner. You will be responsible for leading, mentoring, and facilitating your trainee team undergoing the Digital Transformation Intensive Programme (DTIP) manage the process and results connected to the research question that can benefit the partner organization.

To aid this, you will learn key processes such as Scrum, Systems Design, and Design Thinking. You will learn to apply Scrum and agile methods in five sprints to navigate iteratively toward your goal. Using a systems approach, you will learn to view problems and solutions in the context of the broader system, allowing you to address the root causes and drive systemic transformation. Using Design Thinking, you will apply design as a strategic tool, generating innovative, impactful solutions grounded in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Over the course of 22 weeks, you will be leading a team of 4-5 trainees. During this period, you will receive dedicated sessions and content to support you in leading your team’s transformational journey. The sessions within the Transformation Leadership programme consist of four types of content:

• Learning Cross Fits to receive empowering content to support teams in progress
• Intervisions to get new perspectives on your challenge and share your knowledge within your circle of peers touching on ongoing cases
• Peer Masterclasses to share your expertise with your peer leaders
• Checkouts/Status Updates to learn from each other and align on action items for the coming sprint

In the Transformation Leadership Programme, we place a big emphasis on peer learning. Our small cohort setup will allow you to build your own tribe of like-minded individuals eager to grow as leaders. We encourage engagement between learners and shaping your experience together with others.

Programme timeline & tuition fees

We run the programme twice per year, along with our Digital Transformation Intensive Programme.

During 22-weeks, you will be working 1 day per week on location in Amsterdam (Tuesdays unless otherwise indicated).

The tuition fee to participate in the Transformation Leadership Programme in 2024/2025 is €4,400 with the time commitment of min. 200 hours split across project work (learning by doing) and dedicated sessions.

Next available programme editions:

Spring 2025: January 30th – July 2nd

Deadline for application:

1st round – November 15th

2nd round – December 1st

Fall 2025: August 26th – January 23rd

Deadline for application:

1st round – June 1

2nd round – June 30

*Candidates must have the legal right to work and reside in the Netherlands at the time of application and for the entire programme period.

What can you learn?

FACILITATE TRANSFORMATION DESIGN PROCESS

You will learn to create and hold a safe space for experimentation and learning around transformation. You will harness your team’s unique talents and perspectives, encouraging collaboration. You will build a shared language between your team, partners, and stakeholders.

LEVERAGE DIVERSITY

Diversity is a fundamental aspect of our team-building approach. Our trainees hail from every corner of the globe. We need different perspectives to be able to solve complex societal problems. You will learn to foster a collaborative, inclusive, and compassionate environment to leverage individual strengths and embrace the power of diversity.

APPLY METHODOLOGIES FOR CHANGE

In this program, we foster a culture of experimentation, embracing calculated risks, learning from failures, and pivoting towards success. To achieve this, you will learn key processes such as Scrum, Systems Design, and Design Thinking.

CULTIVATE PERSONAL GROWTH

You will not only grow as a professional, but also as an individual. Through the program you will cultivate your adaptable mindset to embrace change and uncertainty in your professional and personal life. You will grow your soft skills in this challenging setting for personal and professional growth.

The Programme is for:

This is more than a “regular” leadership programme.

It’s an opportunity to apply your learning directly as a transformation owner leading an active partner project within a safe learning space.

• Subject matter experts seeking to advance their professional development in innovation with new methods and techniques for team facilitation, ideation, co-creation, and prototyping.
• Individuals seeking to take the next step in their career to lead teams and drive transformation projects.
• Professionals with Master’s degree and a minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience with knowledge of project management and team management.

*Candidates must have the legal right to work and reside in the Netherlands at the time of application and for the entire programme period.

Our principles & learning competences

Digital Society School builds and fosters a diverse community of learners that integrates digital technology into society, using agile, human- and life-centered design approaches. We drive societal change by embracing the following principles:

• Uncertainty is the only certainty
• Embrace and learn from failure
• Multiple perspectives lead to better solutions
• We fall in love with the problems, not the ideas
• Show, don’t tell
• Offer what you can, ask for what you need