Three Lessons From the YCompassion Leadership Programme
- Jun 23
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 25
I’ll be the first to say it: we probably don’t need yet another leadership programme (which is ironic, since I created the YCompassion Leadership Programme!)
The space is already full of frameworks, buzzwords, books, and five-step plans promising efficiency and impact. Some are brilliant. Some are useful. Some are a little generic for the social impact professional.
So, what about the leader who:
Wants to lead ethically, and has already read the books?
Has taken the project management training and sat through the safeguarding courses, yet still feels the weight of the "unsolvable" day-to-day?
Hasn’t been afforded professional development, navigating real-world complexity where there is no clear “right” answer, and tensions to hold by themselves?
That is the gap that YCompassion set out to explore when developing the YCompassion Leadership Programme:
How to bring compassion - the original impetus that draws us into social impact work - back into the workplace and use it to lead, collaborate, and shape our systems.
Individuals in social impact are often drawn to the sector because they are inherently compassionate. Yet, that core compassion is often left in the background. In healthcare, there is a growing, evidence-based field on how compassion translates into practice. In the social impact sector, we see much less of this focus - despite the intensity of the human and ethical challenges.
A programme beyond theory
To be honest, I was humbled by the process of designing and putting this programme out there. Every time I worked on the curriculum, I kept asking myself the same question:
Will this actually help someone navigate the messy reality of social impact leadership, or is it just adding to the noise of leadership advice?
I wanted to make sure it was the former. That's why the programme included 9 sessions over three months focusing heavily on the practical side:
6 modules with 12 concrete, evidence-based tools to put compassion into action.
3 Leadership Labs dedicated to peer coaching and working through real-world dilemmas.
1 individual coaching session to dive deep into a personal leadership challenges.
I chose this format because cutting through the noise takes more than just information. Learning how to face hard leadership questions doesn't happen in a vacuum. It requires a deliberate space to practice and challenge assumptions.
A note on methodology
These lessons draw on pre- and post-programme reflections from 19 participants from two cohorts, alongside in-depth feedback conversations. In some ways, this reflects the approach of the programme itself: starting from lived experience, rather than trying to fit complex human moments into predefined metrics.
Here is what I learned from the first two cohorts:
Lesson 1.
No one wakes up thinking they need compassionate leadership training to solve their problems.
Instead, they wake up with real, ethical dilemmas and questions they want to act on without leaving their values at the door.
The people who joined our cohorts were already kind, empathetic humans. They didn’t need to be more compassionate - they were already highly attuned to the people around them.
What they were looking for was clarity in moments that felt complex or constrained and the ability to take action algined with their values. They wanted to navigate high-pressure realities without feeling like they had to "toughen up" by shutting down their humanity.
Many participants didn't come to the programme to learn how to "lead" in the traditional sense. They came because they wanted to prevent reproducing the harm they had witnessed elsewhere.
This tracks with data we’ve collected from over 200 social impact professionals. On a scale of 1 to 10, people believe cultivating a culture of compassion is essential to impact (8.8). However, they feel less equipped to do it (5.7).
This is congruent with a recurring theme across both cohorts: the exhaustion of operating in systems that feel at times un-compassionate.
“Having worked in environments where actions did not align with the language of care, I wanted to be more intentional in creating conditions where integrity, connection, and genuine resolution can thrive - especially in the more difficult moments.”
– Sarah, Cohort 1 participant
The participants in the YCLP needed a dedicated space to unpack a simple (but not easy) question: "What is the most compassionate thing to do here?"
"Here" was usually a high-pressure reality, like:
Navigating a funding cut without pitting the "business interests" of the mission against the actual wellbeing of the team.
Staying true to social justice values when the organisational culture feels more like "institutional fear-mongering" than a movement for change.
Setting a firm boundary without it being mistaken for a lack of care.
Moving forward with a career search that felt aligned with their desires and energy.
Participants valued trying out practical tools to gain different perspectives on how to make decisions that honour human beings - including themselves - while moving the work forward.
And the YCLP cohorts began to be able to bridge that gap. Participants experienced:
A 41% increase in their confidence in the concept of compassionate leadership by the end of the programme. This matters because it gives us a shared language and the explicit permission to embrace compassion as a professional strength, rather than an afterthought. When leaders share a common vocabulary, compassion stops being a vague ideal and becomes an actionable approach.
A 45% increase in confidence to actively contribute to a compassionate culture. Moving from a baseline readiness of 6 out of 10 to an average of 8.7, participants left equipped to actively integrate and champion compassion in their own work and work environments.
What does actively contributing to a culture of compassion look like in practice? For cohort participant Ioana, this for example looked like creating an intentional ripple effect:
“I’m now considering skill shares and team building for my organisation to share what I've learned in this programme, then gradually introducing more compassionate practices into the organisational culture.”
– Ioana, Cohort 1 participant
Lesson 2.
There is no dimension of compassion that seems more important than another.
However, self-compassion is the undercurrent that creates the capacity to lead through complexity in other areas with clarity and heart.
The YCompassion Map is the core framework of the curriculum. It introduces participants to both the inner and outer dimensions of compassion – stretching from our internal sense of purpose and self-compassion to the way we show up for colleagues, partners, and wider communities.
I was curious to see if one area would resonate more than the others, but the focus across our cohorts was remarkably even.
It turns out that what was needed wasn't just one specific dimension of compassion or one specific tool; participants needed a way to integrate it across all levels of their work and lives.
Several alumni have subsequently used the Map as a compass, a reference point to turn to when they felt conflicted or unsure of their next move. Rather than a linear "how-to," the Map provides a framework to find a way back to their values and guide their actions, no matter which direction the pressure is coming from.
"I came to the programme seeking support for an external challenge, but realised I also needed to look at the inner dimensions. Ultimately, I walked away deeply appreciative of the entire Map - I needed all of it."
– Marise, Cohort 2 participant
At the same time, when looking at the quantitative data, the growth in self-compassion was the most pronounced.
In self-assessments before and after the programme, participants were asked to what extent they were able to treat themselves with the same care they'd offer a peer. The average self-compassion scores increased by 75%.
A shift towards higher levels of self-compassion isn't just a comforting "nice-to-have" well-being metric; it is the foundational site where we learn to relate to every other challenge. How we treat ourselves in a moment of failure or pressure dictates how much internal room we have to lead in other areas. This shift is what allowed participants to begin untying "internal knots", such as:
Rebuilding confidence after difficult professional experiences in workplaces.
Navigating the tension between care for the mission and care for the team and ourselves.
Managing the unique isolation that can come with leadership roles and independent consultancies.
“The programme was so powerful. It genuinely transformed how I think about self-compassion - and the idea that caring for your own needs and “filling your cup” is not selfish, but fundamental to sustaining meaningful change for others”
– Heather, Cohort 2 participant
Lesson 3.
The power of peer-support cannot be underestimated: It’s where common humanity lives.
In addition to the practical and experiential tools, the Leadership Labs were consistently consistently cited as the most valuable part of the programme (rated 8.77/10 for their utility in leading with compassion).
As is so often the case in professional development, the primary barrier to growth isn't a lack of information - it’s the friction of implementation. While the curriculum modules introduced new concepts, the Leadership Labs provided a space for those ideas to take root.
These sessions allowed participants, one by one, to bring a live dilemma to the table and receive structured coaching from their peers, practicing both giving and receiving compassion.
Crucially, participants found as much value in listening to others' challenges as they did in sharing their own. This confirms the "Common Humanity" element of compassion, the realisation that we are not alone in our struggle. Research into peer learning suggests that learning is most meaningful when it is social.
"The Leadership Labs were the most engaging part of the programme for me. The combination of practical exercises and a compassionate peer space was key to how impactful the programme felt overall."
– Carmen, Cohort 2 participant
In a sector that can feel lonely and performative, the Leadership Labs provided a space for "un-armored" dialogue. They allowed participants to realise that their struggles weren't personal failings, but tensions we are all navigating in different ways at different points in our social impact journeys.
In an increasingly transactional and impersonal world, we all want to witness and be witnessed. One of my ultimate takeaways from the programe is that people come for the tools, but they stay for the connection.
A final note
As a facilitator, I’ve had my own learnings, too. Building this has reminded me that I need these tools and approaches just as much as anyone else. It has reinforced that this work is not about having the right answers, but about continuing to engage with hard questions in a thoughtful way.
Compassion is not something we “achieve” through tick-boxing a process. It is something we return to, repeatedly, in how we relate and act - towards others and ourselves.
So, spinning back to my opening thought: Can I say for certain that the YCompassion Leadership Programme is a necessary addition to an already crowded leadership training market? I still can't say for sure.
What I can tell you with certainty is that participants walked away with a clearer understanding of how to turn compassionate intent into practice and how to hold complex pressures without compromising themselves.
In fact, participants highly recommend this programme to a colleague or friend - 9.6 on a scale from 1 to 10.
I’m grateful to the first 20 participants who engaged so openly in this process and helped shape what this programme is becoming.
What is next
We are incorporating a few intentional tweaks based on these learnings:
Expanding our collective perspective: To reflect the "Common Humanity" of the social impact sector, we are looking to broaden the diversity of our cohorts. We’d especially love to welcome more men into the conversation (with some wonderful additions already on board for Cohort 3), alongside practitioners from a wide range of roles and geographies.
Prioritising connection over titles: We are adding a dedicated introductory session to build connection early on. This gives us more space to meet as human beings before diving into the core modules.
Supporting workplace integration: We are introducing dual-enrollment spots so colleagues from the same organisation can experience the programme together, making it easier to integrate these compassionate practices back into their workplace.
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