Ascend leadership training
Leadership development that sticks because it starts where the others don’t: with experience first, reflection second, framework third.
Ascend is Meridian’s cohort-based leadership training program for organizations that want to build real leadership capability across their teams, not just check a development box.
The Ascend methodology
A different sequence
Most leadership training fails because it starts with the framework. It tells people what to do before they have felt the problem. Ascend is built on a different sequence.
Experience first
Participants encounter the leadership challenge before they are given a model for solving it. The problem becomes real before the solution is introduced.
Reflection second
Structured reflection connects the experience to the participant’s own leadership patterns and instincts. Learning becomes personal before it becomes general.
Framework third
The framework lands on prepared ground. Participants already understand why it matters because they have already felt the problem it solves.
Three tracks
A development path for every stage of the climb
Track 1 · Cultivation
Base Camp
For high-potential individual contributors, nominated by their organizations, building leadership before the title arrives.
Best for
- High-potential individual contributors
- People being developed for a first leadership role
- Six full days, once a month, cohort format
Session by session
- 01Base CampWho are you before anyone tells you who to be?
- 02Reading the TerrainHow do you see the world, and how does the world see you?
- 03The CandleHow do you move people when you have no authority to move them?
- 04Weather and AltitudeWhat do you do when things get hard and you have no lever to pull?
- 05Finding Your OxygenWhat sustains you, and what are you actually here for?
- 06The View From HereWho are you, what do you bring, and what are you committing to?
$24,000
per cohort
Track 2 · Construction
The Ascent
For newer managers, in their first three years of leading people, building a conscious leadership identity.
Best for
- New and first-time managers
- Managers in their first three years
- Six full days, once a month, cohort format
Session by session
- 01Base CampWho you are and what brought you here
- 02Pointing NorthWhat you actually stand for
- 03The Expedition KitWhat you naturally bring, and whether you use it on purpose
- 04The WeatherHow you show up, communicate, and influence
- 05The Rope TeamHow you see, develop, and bring out the best in others
- 06The CrestThe leader you are choosing to be
$28,000
per cohort
Track 3 · Excavation
The Summit
For experienced managers and directors (3+ years) examining and reshaping the patterns already formed.
Best for
- Experienced managers seeking to deepen their effectiveness
- Directors building high-performing teams
- Six full days, once a month, cohort format
Session by session
- 01The LedgeWhere you actually are, and what brought you here
- 02Three RopesThe patterns that hold experienced leaders in place
- 03The SherpaWhat you carry for others, and whether it helps them climb
- 04Thin AirLeadership at altitude, where the conditions change
- 05Your OxygenWhat actually sustains you, and what you have been doing instead
- 06The SummitThe full picture, the honest accounting, the path forward
$36,000
per cohort
Interested in joining a track as an individual? Join the open-enrollment interest list
Nomination, not enrollment
Participants are chosen by their organizations. That nomination is part of the work.
Cohort continuity
The same group moves through all six sessions together, so the relationships carry the learning between sessions.
On-site delivery
Sessions run at your organization, so the material is your own people and your own challenges.
Inside every session
What every Ascend session includes
- A reflection prompt sent before the session
- An opening experience before any framework is introduced
- A brain science connection, explained in plain language
- A participant workbook that belongs to the participant, not the organization
- Cohort discussion, so participants learn from each other
- A specific takeaway to use right away
- A between-session assignment that carries the work into the month
- A personal follow-up from the facilitator within 48 hours
Measuring what holds
How we measure what holds
Meridian has built a three-point measurement protocol for every coaching client and cohort, now being piloted with its first clients. Before the work begins, each participant names two to five people who see them work every week, usually their manager plus peers or direct reports. They answer a short survey of observable behaviors at the start, at the end, and again at six months. The survey also tracks behaviors the program does not target, so we can see whether the behaviors the program worked on changed more than everything else. At six months, we review each participant’s if-then plans together: which ones held under pressure and which did not. Organizations see results only in aggregate, for groups of five or more, and only with participant consent.
Investment
Private cohort engagements
Track prices above are per cohort of 8 to 24 participants (larger cohorts by arrangement, once a Meridian-certified co-facilitator is available). Pricing varies with cohort size and delivery format.
Every private cohort includes a pre-program consultation, content customized to your organization, all participant materials, and a post-program debrief with your leadership team. Organizations that combine two or more tracks receive 15% off and a complimentary two-hour alignment session for senior leadership.
Open enrollment
Not ready to bring a whole cohort in-house?
Open enrollment cohorts are planned: one track, with participants from different organizations working through it together. Join the interest list and you will hear first when a cohort is scheduled for your track.
No commitment and no cost to join the list.
Ready to bring Ascend to your organization?
Every engagement starts with a conversation about your people, your goals, and which track fits.