Published on 27 March 2026 by Inspire to Change

We are excited to offer a new cohort experience for 2024! Learn how to strengthen the capacities and cultivate the conditions necessary for effective and aligned engagement in complexity.

Cohort Overview:

Leading Together is a cohort experience designed to empower participants with the skills and insights necessary to navigate and influence complex systems effectively. This program delves into the art of creating alignment within diverse ecosystems, focusing on enhancing personal and collective capacities essential for meaningful engagement in multifaceted environments. Participants will engage with advanced concepts and practices that foster a deeper understanding of systemic interdependencies, helping them to identify leverage points for impactful change.

Deep transformation of the world can only be done in a sustainable and scalable way when balance exists between well-being and well-doing. Collective Changemaker journeys create a brave/safe space where individual changemakers can slow down, recognize their shadows, discover emerging gifts, and co-create ideas to prioritize their wellbeing. We do this by deepening the relational field between individuals, creating spaces of trust that enable individuals to relax into a shared field of belonging and connection.

We are living in a world of rapid change. This emerging world requires bold innovative solutions that are sourced from a paradigm deeper than the thinking mind. Einstein said it well:“You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.” We design journeys to create deep transformative moments that enable individuals to listen for the sacred voice within themselves and in each other. From this place of ‘being’ we can source ideas for ‘doing’ that are collaborative, sustainable and anchored in new habits of wellbeing.

For true transformation to happen through non-profits, congregations, and businesses, leaders who seek to innovate need to see the whole system within which their work exists. Our journeys enable participants to co-create and prototype solutions that create change at the level of the mindsets, behaviors, cultures and systems of their communities. New default habits emerge which, when held in accountability with trusting peers, create the cumulative work of culture change.

Key Frameworks Covered in this Cohort Experience

The Leading Together Cohort delves into a range of interconnected topics, each building upon the last to create a comprehensive understanding of complex systems and transformative change. The curriculum is designed to blend theoretical foundations with practical application, providing a holistic view of ecosystem dynamics and strategies for impactful change.​

The Leading Together Cohort Experience is rooted in two key frameworks: The Tree of Alignment Framework and the Togetherness Practice Framework. Throughout the program, participants will engage with these frameworks, integrating insights into their personal and professional contexts to foster aligned and effective engagement in complex systems.

Who Should Take This Program

Overall: The program offers crucial insights and tools for anyone aiming to create impactful and lasting change by effectively aligning various facets of transformative efforts.

Roles: This program is ideally suited for leaders, activists, community organizers, evaluators, and other changemakers across various sectors who are seeking a comprehensive approach to sustainable and healthy change.

Worldview: Our most successful cohort members are those who recognize the need to evolve beyond old paradigms and are ready to embrace innovative approaches to drive meaningful change. It is particularly valuable for those dedicated to harmonizing personal development with systemic transformation, emphasizing the importance of nurturing internal capacities, external conditions, and relational dynamics as key elements of successful change initiatives.

Application: This cohort is a perfect fit for individuals who currently lead engagement strategies and find themselves grappling with traditional methods or seeking guidance to explore new possibilities.

About the Instructors

Led by a team of seasoned instructors and experts in transformative change and engagement practices, our cohort features facilitators trained in the Tree of Alignment and the Togetherness Practice. Their combined expertise spans a range of sectors, bringing a rich tapestry of insights, practical wisdom, and proven strategies for effective change management and community engagement.

Nora is the President of Inspire to Change and holds a doctorate in Evaluation Studies from the University of Minnesota. Nora is a visionary thinker who believes in the interconnectedness of systems, advocating for the strength and health of all components within these systems. She encourages clients and stakeholders to transcend conventional boundaries, fostering a unified vision for transformative change. Her approach integrates evaluation as a pivotal element in working toward this vision. Nora’s work is centered on utilizing principles-focused, developmental research and evaluation for systems change and social justice.

Nora is committed to creating shared visions that support contextualized learning and adaptation, while actively engaging people in research and evaluations that are both informative and motivational. She is renowned for her publications such as “Nine guiding principles to help youth overcome homelessness: A principles-focused developmental evaluation” (2015), “Connecting Individual and Societal Change” (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2020), and “Creative Evaluation and Engagement: Volume 1” (2022).

Vipin Thekk is an experienced facilitator, coach, design consultant, public speaker and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Changemaker Communities initiative, which weaves together influential institutions in cities to support the next generation of changemakers. He specializes in supporting and equipping individuals and teams to thrive in a rapidly changing world. He designed and built the Changemaker School districts model, where stakeholders in a school district co-create ideas to integrate ‘empathy & agency’ into the mindset, systems, and culture of the district (www.changemakercommunities.org)

Vipin recently built www.togethernesspractice.org - an innovative tool to build & deepen trust, belonging and boldness in teams to accelerate change &l impact. He uses this and other ‘relational field’ building tools to design and facilitate transformational journeys toward creating a culture of innovation, agency, and empathy in teams. He is an experienced facilitator having led transformation-based work for groups and institutions in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Vipin Thekk is also Senior Change Leader at Ashoka - the world’s largest association of leading social entrepreneurs. He has 15 plus years experience working closely and supporting social entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers.

Modules

Topic: An initial session to establish a sense of community and outline the program.

Topic: Exploring internal capacities and external conditions that provide a foundation for transformative change.

Topic: Delving into the core values and principles that ground and direct the change process, with an emphasis on how we embody these in relationship with ourselves and one another.

Topic: Focusing on developing and understanding the central vision that supports and directs growth.

Topic: Learning how to implement change strategies flexibly and responsively, tailored to specific situations and contexts.

Topic: Understanding and exploring the broader, cascading effects and sustainable impacts of transformative actions.

Topic: A concluding session for participants to present their learning, insights, and projects.

Topic: A reunion! What has happened since our last session together? What hasn't happened? What has been changing and to what effect? What isn't changing yet that you would like to see change?

Leading Together Cohort - Fast Facts

The WHAT:

This Cohort Experience is designed to empower participants to develop skills and insights necessary to navigate and influence complex systems effectively. Learn how to strengthen the capacities and cultivate the conditions necessary for effective, aligned engagement in complexity and learn to identify leverage points for impactful change.

The WHEN:

The WHO:

For anyone aiming to create impactful and lasting change by effectively aligning various facets of transformative efforts.

Ideally suited for leaders, activists, community organizers, evaluators, and other changemakers across various sectors who are seeking a comprehensive approach to sustainable and healthy change.

Led by our own evaluation and transformative change expert, Dr. Nora Johnson Murphy, PhD and by transfomational journey expert of the Togetherness Practice, Vipin Thekk, MSW.

How the Cohort Works

The Leading Together Cohort is structured as a blended learning journey that combines live virtual sessions, self-paced reflective practices, and small group collaboration. Participants meet regularly over several months, allowing for the gradual integration of new concepts into their daily leadership and engagement work. Each session is designed to build on the previous one, creating a coherent arc from individual awareness to collective action.

Between sessions, participants engage with curated resources, reflective journaling prompts, and peer learning circles. These activities are intentionally designed to deepen the relational field and support the translation of insights into practice. The cohort size is kept intentionally small to foster trust, vulnerability, and meaningful connection among participants.

What You Will Gain

By the end of this cohort experience, participants will have developed a personal and collective practice for navigating complexity with greater clarity and alignment. You will gain practical tools for sensing systemic patterns, identifying leverage points, and cultivating the inner conditions necessary for sustainable change.

• Enhanced capacity to hold multiple perspectives and navigate polarities within your ecosystem.
• Practical frameworks for aligning diverse stakeholders around shared purpose and values.
• Deeper self-awareness and resilience practices to sustain your leadership over the long term.
• A supportive network of peers committed to mutual growth and accountability.

Program Structure and Commitment

The cohort is delivered over a series of modules, each focusing on a different dimension of aligned leadership. While the exact schedule may vary by cohort, participants can expect a rhythm of bi-weekly live sessions, asynchronous reflection, and periodic small group check-ins. The total time commitment is designed to be manageable for busy professionals while still allowing for deep transformation.

Participants are encouraged to come with a real-world challenge or project from their own context. This serves as a living laboratory for applying the frameworks and receiving feedback from peers and facilitators. The program culminates in a synthesis project where participants articulate their learning and next steps for their work.

Alignment with Other Inspire to Change Offerings

The Leading Together Cohort is part of a broader ecosystem of learning experiences offered by Inspire to Change. If you are interested in exploring related programs, you may want to review our Cohort Experiences page for other immersive opportunities. For those seeking a more foundational introduction to our frameworks, the Courses page provides a range of self-paced and facilitated options.

Additionally, our Core Services page outlines how we work with organizations to embed these practices at a systemic level. If you are looking for a more arts-based or academic approach, consider the Catalyzing Change - Arts and Scholarship program. Together, these offerings form a comprehensive pathway for personal and collective transformation.

Written by Inspire to Change