This unique online coaching program will help you build the community and skills you need to contribute to a more sustainable world through your work, while living a fulfilling and healthy life.
After many years of working to build a better world through sustainable food systems, it became clear to me that we need to understand more deeply what it actually means to create change. And to learn how this can be done in a way that is impactful while being sustainable, and joyful, for ourselves.
I am now certain that if we want to change the world around us, we need to better understand the world inside us. We must explore the link between transforming the systems around us and transforming the systems inside of us.
Applications are now open for the next Be the Change cohort, starting in February 2025.
Apply now to join us!
About Be the Change
The focus of the program is on your personal and professional development. Helping you build the skills, clarity and confidence you need to step into leading change in a way that is fulfilling and meaningful for you. It has been designed with care and commitment to help you:
Create a healthy integration between impactful work you love and living a fulfilling life
Clarify your sustainable career path and build the confidence to step into it
Feel heard, get your message across and build a presence that engages others
Connect to a supportive group of likeminded women from around the world
I believe learning should be joyful, engaging and immediately applicable to your life. That is why I have designed this coaching program to be fun and supportive - with your life in focus.
In a small yet international learning community you will be guided through a process to build your skills and put them into practice without overwhelm. No more piecing together information from many different books, teachers and courses!
The program is tailored to supporting aspiring female leaders working in sustainability, regeneration or food systems. It offers an authentic, safe and inspiring environment to learn from and share with one another.
Program Content
The program is practical, pragmatic, grounded in science AND considers you as a complete human being with a mind, body, emotions, relationships, and a connection to something bigger than yourself. You will get new insights, inspiration and concrete tools and practices that you can immediately apply in your day to day work and life.
The online program is built around three key modules:
Module 1: Sustainable Change
This module will help you build the foundations needed to create balance in your life, manage time and overwhelm and nourish yourself. These habits will help you stay present, grounded, energized and healthy while you make your contribution in the world. You have space to start exploring how we internalise the systems around us that we hope to shift, and see how inner and outer transformation are connected.
Module 2: Communication and Community
We enable change through how we communicate and collaborate. This module builds your skills to communicate effectively, be that through how we use speech acts, storytelling, managing difficult conversations or communicating our vision in a way that supports connection. We will also explore how we communicate with ourselves, a crucial aspect that shapes how we show up in the world.
Module 3: Callings and Courage
In the final module we explore how you are called to make a contribution in the world and what is holding you back from making the impact you would like to. What does leadership mean for you and how can you build your courage to step into it? You will leave having a better understanding of what a purposeful work really means for you and a plan to move forward.
Length and Stucture
Program Length and Structure
The program runs for 4 months. The next round will run from 10 Feb 2025 until 2 June 2025.
We limit the number of participants in the program so that we have a small and interactive group. This is not an anonymous online course, it is a group coaching program and there will be regular interaction with me as well as the other participants to keep you engaged and motivated. This will be through:
Weekly content, strategy inputs and exercises for you to do at a time that suits you. This is designed to be easily manageable alongside your life and work.
Fortnightly group calls where we further explore the material, answer any of your questions and deepen our learning from one another.
Fortnightly coaching calls where you can get more tailored 1:1 support
A workshop for each module to practice concrete skills together
Buddies for regular exchange and support with fellow participants.
“I really enjoyed the way the programme was set up. It was easy to access and go through the material but with the buddy-system and the calls it still felt very personal. I also loved the format in which the material was presented: informative, easy to understand, easy to adapt to personal lifestyles, colourful and joyful and also that a variety of media is used. I also really loved the additional material, I find the talks, podcasts and videos give a different perspective to the material. I was also really positively surprised by the impact the group had on the whole program - there was no way I was going to miss one of the group calls!”
The Community
The end of the program is just the beginning!
After you finish you can join our purpose built online community platform for ongoing inspiration, exchange and learning from one another. We host a range of masterclasses, coaching circles, meet-ups, retreats and trainings both online and in person.
You can learn more about our community here
Meet Your Program Leader
Hi, my name is
Michelle Grant and I am excited to learn with you!
I have worked in the fields of food and sustainability for nearly 20 years, most recently as the Founding Executive Director of the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich (where I continue part-time as Teaching Faculty) and as the Founder of The Great Full. I am really passionate about unlocking the potential in each of us to contribute what we can to the big challenges we face in the world today.
Education plays a central role in this and over the course of my career I have had the joy of running education programs for more than 1’500 young professionals, changemakers, researchers and students from all around the world.
Through this work I have seen that many people do not have the support they should have to be able to have an impact through their work while also living a healthy and fulfilling life.
In this program I combine my personal and professional experience navigating these topics with my training as a leadership and development coach and yoga and meditation teacher to help you build your skills and connect with a network of likeminded women from around the world!
Testimonials
Here are what some of the past participants have to say about their experience in the Be The Change Program!
“This program has been nothing short of life changing. Not only have I felt a huge internal transformation (more confidence, more assurance, more calm), the people closest to me have noticed this transformation in me as well. I cannot stress how much joy and wisdom I have derived from the community Michelle created and the content she shared.”
“Getting to be a part of a community of authentic, purpose driven ladies striving for sustainability has been very exciting. I always looked forward to our calls and workshops and the content each week. As a Nutritionist passionate about food systems and sustainability I found a program that not only sharpened me professionally but also personally. I learned how to build stable foundations with habits and practices, how to tell a story for impact and how to have difficult conversations which all support my day to day work as founder of the social enterprise Tule Vyema.”
“Be the Change was one of the most inspiring programs I have ever attended. Michelle is a great facilitator who created space for all these wonderful women to open up and share freely. As someone who understands the power of bottom-up change, and that empathy and courage are woven into the fabric of leadership, I felt that she really unlocks the potential of women who want to be part of sustainable transformation. Throughout the program, you begin to plant the seeds for the ‘change’ you want to see and really start to embody it.”
“The BTC program opened a whole new world of tools and techniques for me, to integrate in my personal and professional life and to deal with current and future challenges. I’m very grateful to have been part of this journey with so many wonderful and like-minded people and would definitely participate again!”
Would you like to hear more?
Check out the podcast episode with participants from the program to hear about the journey in their words!
“Having concrete tasks and topics to think about every week, helped me get more clarity about who I am and what I want to do (and be) in life. This stepping back and looking at my life with distance has strengthened me a lot. I now feel empowered and ready to go on this journey to empower others.”
“This program was very intense in terms of self- development. I started it very career focused, thinking about learning and improving the skills that would aid me becoming a good leader. I finished it realizing that cultivating peace of mind is my most important skill, and ended up meeting a calmer and more confident version of myself. I believe this program really supports you in building a solid ground for long-lasting transformation from the inside out.”
“I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have been a part of the Be The Change Program. While I initially joined to learn how to improve my leadership skills, diving into the topics discussed in this course brought me this and so much more. During these four months I gained a deeper understanding of myself and how I can more thoughtfully use and nurture my unique skills and passions to be fully engaged in life, to lead from the inside out. To say it was a transformative experience would be an understatement, and I thank Michelle and all the other wonderful women I met for going along on this journey with me..”
“This program is an absolute must. I want to send everyone that I work with on it! I loved the content and the way it was presented. The experience was remarkably transformative, especially for an online one, and I think this is tribute to how well you facilitate the experience. I really enjoyed working through the content on my own during the week and grappling with it and then connecting with the other amazing participants to deepen the work. I just want to share the biggest, most heartfelt thank you!”
Cost + How to Apply
The program fee is 225 Swiss Francs (CHF) per month (for early bird applications received before 1 December 2024) and 300 Swiss Francs (CHF) per month (for applications received after 1 December 2024). Billing is via a monthly payment plan for the 4 month program duration.
A limited number of scholarships are available for participants who are unable to cover the program fee. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship please indicate this in the application form.
To apply for the course please complete the application form. You will need to have the following ready:
A link to your LinkedIn profile or a short biography
A short statement of motivation (max. 250 words)
A short statement sharing what you bring to the course (max. 250 words)
Spaces in the program are limited to ensure an interactive and participatory program where you actually connect with other human beings!
Application deadlines:
We accept applications on a rolling basis until the program is filled. If you would like to join we recommend applying as soon as possible to secure your place.
Please note: Here at TGF we take your data privacy seriously. For more information, see the privacy policy.
Be The Change in Summary:
Where: Online, with calls taking place on Monday evenings at 6pm CET
When: 10 February 2025 until 2 June 2025
Deadline: We accept applications on a rolling basis until the program is full. We recommend applying as soon as possible to secure your place in the program.
Who: Women who want to make a contribution to a more sustainable world or food system through their work. Participation is limited to keep the program personal and interactive.
Cost: 225 CHF (Swiss Francs) per month for 4 months (early bird applications before 1 Dec 2024) / 300 CHF (Swiss Francs) per month for 4 months (applications received after 1 Dec 2024)
Certification: You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Questions: Just email michelle (at) thegreatfull.com and I will get back to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
+ How do I know if this course is for me?
Let me help you out – I think this course is for you if you are:
- A current or aspiring woman leader really passionate about sustainability and making the world a better place, be that through food, agriculture, nutrition, health or changing social-political-economic systems.
- Looking for support to explore how you really want to make an impact through your career.
- Feeling a bit overwhelmed with what you want to do and the time you have available to do it.
- Wanting to build your personal and professional skills to help you step more confidently into your potential.
- Wanting to be connected with an international network of likeminded and motivated peers who can support you to navigate your career now and in the future and give constructive feedback on challenges you are facing.
- Interested to find a way to do work that you love and that has an impact while living a life that supports your own wellbeing.
- Ready to find your voice, trust yourself and build your confidence to have an impact the way you would like to.
- Wanting to find more energy, focus and motivation in your work.
If that sounds like you then we would love for you to join us!
+ Why is this program only open to women?
Less than 10% of nations and major companies worldwide are run by women. Yet research shows, and the pandemic has highlighted, that women leaders perform better in a crisis. Qualities like empathy, humility, self-knowledge and vulnerability, traditionally considered feminine leadership traits, are critical in difficult times. We currently face multiple socio-ecological crises on our planet. I believe that bringing more women into leadership roles, and creating more space for feminine values generally, are important steps to enable us to collectively tackle these challenges. But beyond that, to build a more just, generative and joyful world. For these reasons, I want to play my part to help women understand and manage the multiple systemic and internalized barriers that stand between them and stepping into leadership roles. Most importantly, to realize and give value to the many leadership qualities they already possess but that are latent due to the lack of space and encouragement for them in our dominant systems. I have experienced this process first-hand and now want to create a safe space for women to come together and support one another to explore these issues as a part of the Be The Change Program and the associated community.
+ Are payment plans available?
Yes, a monthly payment plan is available.
+ Can I do this in parallel to working full time? How much time does it take each week?
Yes, the program is designed in a way that makes it easy to manage if you work full time. Generally the course requires 2 hours of time each week to complete the course material, plus the group calls every second week.
+ When will the fortnightly calls and workshops be held?
The calls are held on Monday evenings CET/CEST, subject to change depending on the time zones of participants. The workshops are held once per month on a Saturday morning CET/CEST.
+ I want to learn about the challenges related to food and sustainability - will that be covered in the course?
No. This course is tailored towards people working in the food systems and or sustainability spaces but focusses on building the personal development aspect of creating change in this field.
+ I am more advanced in my career and already have a senior leadership role. Is this course for me?
Although this course was originally designed for early and mid-career professionals, over the years we have also had participants who are more advanced in their career. If the program and the group learning format appeals to you, you are very welcome to join us. If you feel you need a more tailored or custom program, you may be better suited to 1:1 coaching. You can find out more about 1:1 leadership and career coaching at www.thegreatfull.com/coaching
+ I have a new business or start up – will I get support to set that up here?
You will not get direct business coaching, fundraising or start-up support in this course. However you will get support to build the personal and professional skills you need to be more effective as an entrepreneur.
Join a wonderful community of women to explore leading sustainable change from the inside out!
