Simply fill in our application form! 

• Applications are accepted now for the January 2025 cohort and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
• Scholarships are available based on the pay it forward principle: if you are able to pay the full price – or even more – for the program, you will be sponsoring other women who are less fortunate than you! 
• Simply indicate in the application form, whether you are able to pay it forward, pay the regular price, or what you are able to contribute to your participation. 
• You will be notified about the result of the selection process no later than 15 December 2024.
• We reserve the right to make changes to the timeline. In this case, we will notify you accordingly.

The ACE program is ideal for you if you are looking for an advanced leadership program, one where you can express the unique challenges you may be facing as a woman who wants to expand her leadership influence and impact.

Prerequisites for participating

• You identify as a woman
• You currently work in the non-profit sector, the public service, academia or you are active in your community (and if not, join the waitlist for the next ACE program here)
• You have at least 7 years of overall professional experience
• You have at least 3 years of managerial experience with responsibility for staff
• You are able to articulate your thoughts and ideas easily in English
• You are a national or resident in one of the EU countries
• You are committed to participating in all sessions of the program 

Your peers

Your peers are carefully selected so that you can benefit from the exchange and connections with a diverse group of women leaders and change-makers.

Prerequisites for participating

• You identify as a woman
• You currently work in the non-profit sector, the public service, academia or you are active in your community (and if not, join the waitlist for the next ACE program here)
• You have at least 7 years of overall professional experience
• You have at least 3 years of managerial experience with responsibility for staff
• You are able to articulate your thoughts and ideas easily in English
• You are committed to participating in all sessions of the program

The ACE program provides a safe and supportive environment exclusively for women to reflect on their leadership journey and gain the practical tools they need to move forward in their careers and life without compromising their wellbeing.

Explore your personal leadership context

Explore your leadership context and strategies. Notice how you make choices, what distracts you and where you “excuse” yourself from living fully. 

Expand your influence and impact

Develop your authentic leadership style. Get practical tools and strategies to bolster your assertiveness and leadership finesse, visibility and gravitas.

Boost your confidence

Grow your self-awareness & confidence. Learn to play to win and take on your challenges or next-level position with self-assurance and poise. 

Become the Jedi of adaptive leadership

Learn to navigate complex situations with mastery. Overcome barriers and biases that are holding you back. 

Benefit from the Women Lead Community

Your peers will become a trusted resource, encourage your leadership journey, and enrich you in many beneficial ways during the program and beyond it.

• A toolbox with leadership hacks and strategies for clarity, impact and wellbeing.
• Personalized feedback on your leadership challenges 
• ACE workbook with leadership concepts, techniques and strategies
• Your personal playbook with your action plan, and insights on how to continue your leadership journey 
• Onsite (40 hours) and online (6 hours) workshops with faculty and an inspiring group of peer women leaders, who are  facing similar challenges 
• A certificate
• Ongoing support, including workout sessions, coaching and mentoring in the Women Lead Community

Yes – absolutely

Welcome Session (online: 15 January 2025, 17:00-19:00 CET) 

The online Welcome Session with the facilitators and your peers will set the tone for your transformative experience. You will find out how to best prepare for the program.

Take Stock & Reflect (self-paced preparation)

You will go through self-paced assignments that are carefully designed to help you reflect on your unique professional and personal journey. This will help you identify the key leadership challenge you wish to work on in the ACE program.  

Review & Upgrade your leadership game (on-site: 22-26 January 2025)

We are together Saturday afternoon to Wednesday noon, with an option to leave Tuesday night, if necessary.

5 days full of face-to-face exchanges, workshops  and reflection with faculty, coaches, and peers in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria.

You’ll be inspired by an immersive experience designed to explore how you lead, provide you with a toolbox to navigate complexity and build lasting connections with other women leaders.

Day 1: Welcome Mixer and more (afternoon and evening)

• Afternoon: The Leadership Course Welcome Mixer: Raise a Glass to Your Future.
• Evening: A game that is not just a game: Join us for an eye-opening leadership development opportunity disguised as a fun game  

Day 2: I / Me – Lead Yourself with Grace and Style

• My leadership context
• Inner and Outer Game of Leadership
• Essential competencies for self-leadership
• Breaking through your limiting beliefs

Day 3: We / Team – Ace the Workplace 

• Be the Queen of Communication
• Step Out of Your Drama Triangle 
• Strategies to Ace the Workplace’s Politics  

Day 4: The System: Seeing the Bigger Picture

• Seeing the Systems
• Polarities Management 
• Navigating Complexity
• Prepare Your Playbook

Day 5: Step into your power (morning only)

• Integration through Meditation or Conscious Movement
• Practical Acts of Self-care
• Special Time for Your Self
• Consultations with Faculty and Peers
•  

Follow-up Workshop 1: Apply & Fly (online: 12 February 2025, 17:00-19:00 CET)

• Master Your Tools – Review of Your Progress 
• Expert and Community Feedback and Support 
• Leverage your Network, Amplify Your Impact 

Follow-up Workshop 2: Soar to the Sky (online: 26 February 2025, 17:00-19:00 CET)

• Master your tools – Review of Your Progress
• Fly with the Women Lead Community  

Individual follow-up

About two months after the program, we will reach out and help you take stock of how far you’ve come, where you stand with your leadership challenges and ensure that you have what you need to reach new heights.

Individual coaching session (optional)

Your personal coach will help you consolidate your learning within the context of your own leadership challenges. This will help you find clarity on how to move confidently onwards and upwards.

Please note: the timing of the sessions may still be adapted based on availability. The final schedule will be communicated to applicants in a timely manner.

In order to fully benefit from the program, it is recommended that you allow approximately 5 hours a week over the course of six weeks in addition to the four full days of the onsite workshop.

Program Fee 

Travel, Board & Lodging

Yes, we strive to offer financial support to individuals who cannot afford the full cost of the program. This assistance is made possible through the generosity of participants who can pay it forward, helping other women in need. Please note that financial assistance is not guaranteed, and we ask each recipient to contribute a nominal amount based on their financial ability. This contribution ensures that all participants are committed to actively engaging in and completing the program. If you require a scholarship, please indicate your need and reasons in the application form.
 

Where was ACE born? 

In the muddy trenches of real life leadership. In those moments when we’ve been talked over in meetings, when our ideas were dismissed or simply ignored. When we have been expected to take minutes, serve coffee in professional meetings and laugh when our male colleagues were telling sexist jokes. In moments, when we felt: Oh dear, this would not have happened to a man. 

And then, one day we had enough of taking minutes and serving coffee in work meetings, and looking perplexed when our male colleagues were again laughing at sexist jokes. You name it. 

But what to do next? 

It is one thing to have had enough of feeling undervalued, disrespected and overlooked or simply taken for granted. But it is quite another thing to be able to do something really smart and effective about it.

Through decades of research, analysis, deep learning, self-discovery work, and countless certifications and credentials, we honed our understanding of this field. We developed a set of strategies and techniques that have helped us become better leaders and better humans. 

And now we want to share the most powerful of tools, strategies and practical hacks with other women leaders like you. That’s why we have created the ACE program. It is the culmination of years of learning, growth, and experience, and it’s our way of giving back to a community of women who deserve better.

We believe that every woman has the potential to be a powerful, effective leader, and we are ready to support you to unlock that potential. Are you ready to join us on this journey toward your professional and personal growth and success?

Angelika, Bettina, Blanka and Elke