New – Open training programme supporting LGBTQ+ professionals to grow with confidence and purpose

Breaking Barriers: A new programme supporting LGBTQ+ professionals to grow with confidence and purpose

Pride in Leadership is delighted to announce a new partnership with On The Level to deliver Breaking Barriers, an open training programme designed to help LGBTQ+ professionals progress with confidence, connection and purpose.

Delivered online, the programme launches in March 2026, with exact dates shaped by those who register early. This is your chance to influence the timetable and secure a place in the first cohort.

Turning research into action

Last year we published our national report Barriers to LGBTQ+ Career Progression, capturing the experiences of more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ professionals across the UK. The findings were powerful and clear. Many LGBTQ+ people spoke about confidence, visibility and fear of bias shaping their career choices. Others described how early experiences of hiding their identity affected their ambition and self-belief long into adulthood.

Breaking Barriers was created to turn those insights into practical support and community connection.

What the programme offers

Breaking Barriers includes four taught modules plus ongoing access to the Pride in Leadership Mentoring Platform. Participants can join individual sessions or complete the full programme for a Certification of Participation.

The four modules cover:

• Overcoming barriers to career progression
  Understanding how identity and experience shape ambition, courage and confidence.

• How to strive for greatness and avoid mediocrity
  Raising your sights, embracing stretch and building leadership habits rooted in clarity and purpose.

• Building healthy work connections
  Creating professional relationships and networks that support visibility, advocacy and opportunity.

• Becoming a powerful LGBTQ+ person of influence
  Recognising your power, strengthening communication and learning how to influence authentically.

Participants will also be encouraged to continue their development through the PIL Mentoring Platform, with enhanced confidence and increased determination to succeed.

Timings

• Overcoming barriers to career progression | Wednesday 11 March | 9.30am – 12.30pm
• How to strive for greatness and avoid mediocrity | Wednesday 18 March | 9.30am – 4pm
• Building healthy work connections | Wednesday 25 March | 11am – 12.30pm
• Becoming a powerful LGBTQ+ person of influence | Tuesday 31 March | 9.30am – 4pm
• Mentoring – ongoing

Format and schedule

• 100% online

• Cohort starts in March 2026

• Limited to 20 participants per session

• Attend individual sessions or complete all four taught elements for a Certification of Achievement

Join the first cohort

Places are limited to 20 per session.

This is your invitation to invest in yourself, connect with others and take the next step in your career with confidence and pride. Email claire@onthelevelconsultancy.com to book your place.

Launch pricing

We know budgets are tight for both individuals and organisations, so we are offering heavily reduced launch prices for the first cohort. Standard rates are listed for transparency.

The programme elements in more detail

1. Overcoming barriers to career progression

Half day, online

Career progression is shaped not only by skills but also by confidence, visibility and lived experience. Many LGBTQ+ professionals told us their early experiences of hiding their identity, managing stigma or struggling with self-belief had a long-term impact on their career confidence and ambition.

This session explores how identity shapes your instinct to be visible, to take risks and to pursue stretch opportunities. Drawing on ideas from Travis Alabanza, David Whyte and Alan Downs, you will reflect on the stories you have carried about success and belonging, and begin to write new ones.

You will:

• Understand how your personal history has shaped confidence and ambition

• Explore what it means to be visible and courageous

• Identify internal and external barriers and how to address them

• Build strategies to strengthen self-belief and momentum

2. How to strive for greatness and avoid mediocrity

Full day, online

Many LGBTQ+ professionals choose safety rather than stretch, often due to fears around bias, visibility or perception. This session invites you to raise your sights and redefine what great leadership looks like for you.

You will explore how to lead with clarity, purpose and authenticity, and how to cultivate a culture of accountability that drives excellence in yourself and those around you.

You will:

1. Review and refine your leadership style

2. Identify traits of mediocre leadership and how to avoid them

3. Explore the benefits of authentic and purposeful leadership

4. Learn how to build a culture of accountability and excellence

3. Building healthy work connections for LGBTQ+ colleagues

90 minutes, online

Relationships shape careers. Yet the Pride in Leadership report found that many LGBTQ+ professionals feel excluded from traditional networking spaces such as sports, pubs and informal “boys’ club” circles. At the same time, connections with other LGBTQ+ colleagues were often described as faster to build, more genuine and “a superpower”.

This session helps you understand these dynamics and build a balanced professional network that supports your visibility, advocacy and progression.

You will:

• Reflect on your current network and spot gaps

• Understand why some relationships feel easier than others

• Learn strategies for building trust and advocacy

• Create a practical networking action plan

4. Becoming a powerful LGBTQ+ person of influence

Full day, online

LGBTQ+ professionals in positions of influence can shape culture, challenge norms and create more inclusive environments. Yet many underestimate their influence, or find their voice less readily heard compared with heterosexual and cisgender peers.

This masterclass helps you recognise and embrace your power, communicate with confidence and influence others effectively. You will explore your personal power sources, strengthen interpersonal impact and learn how to use your voice to drive positive change.

You will:

1. Recognise the opportunities and responsibilities that come with influence

2. Understand your power sources and how to use them effectively

3. Strengthen communication and interpersonal skills to build trust

4. Build a network of support and advocacy

5. Lead with confidence, authenticity and power

5. Continuing your journey through the Pride in Leadership Mentoring Platform

Ongoing, free

Mentoring emerged as one of the most significant unmet needs in the Pride in Leadership report. The PIL Mentoring Platform connects LGBTQ+ professionals and allies across sectors to share lived experience, build confidence and support one another’s careers.

The platform is free for everyone, but this programme prepares you to use it fully, with clear goals and a stronger sense of purpose and identity.

Join the first cohort NOW

This is your invitation to invest in yourself, connect with others and take the next step in your career with confidence and pride. Book your place now – email claire@onthelevelconsultancy.com