Inside the Redevelopment of Springboard: A Conversation with Kirsty Lancaster 

What sparked the decision to redevelop Springboard?  

Springboard has been around for a long time and has such a profound impact across the world on the lives of the hundreds of thousands of women who have participated, as well as those around them. The feedback we receive is overwhelmingly positive, and we often hear stories of people who have completed the programme decades ago and still remember how it changed them. This tells us that Springboard works. So, you might ask, why change anything at all?  

But here’s the thing: we can’t get complacent. We want to be the best at what we do, and that means constantly asking ourselves: Is this content up to date and credible? Is it relevant for women today? Are we being truly inclusive and supportive of a wide range of experiences? 

Whenever the answer is “we can do better,” we act on it. After all, how can we credibly inspire growth in others if we’re not committed to growing ourselves? 

This redevelopment isn’t about reinventing the wheel. While there are some exciting new topics, many of the changes are more subtle – strengthening existing material, refining the structure, and making sure key ideas appear at the right moment in the development journey to deepen impact. 

The programme is still unmistakably Springboard – just refreshed, more relevant and ready for the women of today.  

What did you learn from the research and feedback that shaped this new version?  

One of the strongest messages from our research was just how valued Springboard already is. For decades, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – in fact, fewer than 2% of women say they wouldn’t recommend the programme to a friend or colleague. But that small percentage is incredibly important to us, because it shows where we can do better. Even one woman not feeling fully supported is enough for us to reflect. 

A key theme we heard was the need for greater inclusivity and relevance across a broader range of lived experiences. This became one of the most important guiding principles of the update. Springboard should support all women – no exceptions. 

We also noticed the programme could better address health and wellbeing. This was tricky because some people are perfectly at ease discussing this on the Springboard programme (and they do) but for some this can also be a deeply personal topic. To respect both approaches, we introduced a dedicated chapter in the new Reflective Journal, exploring health in a thoughtful and holistic way – from sleep, nutrition, and movement to hormonal health and preventative care. 

Finally, participants told us they wanted more practical tools to help tackle what can hold personal development back. In response, we introduced new topics such as Imposter Phenomenon, influencing skills, and habit formation – equipping women with strategies they can apply immediately, both during the programme and beyond. 

This is just some of the feedback and research that has helped us update Springboard, building on its existing strengths while being more inclusive, relevant, and supportive than ever before. 

How did you ensure the new content reflects the lived experiences of women today – across identities, backgrounds and life stages?   

Making sure the updated content genuinely reflects the lives of women today was our biggest priority. As the lead developer of the programme, I was very conscious that I hold privilege in some areas, but not in others and that no single perspective can ever represent the full diversity of women’s experiences.  

I know first-hand what it feels like to be in spaces that don’t feel designed with you in mind, and that awareness shaped every decision we made. I was determined that Springboard would never feel like it was written from just one viewpoint, it needed to be a space where everyone belongs.  

That’s why I worked closely with sensitivity readers who brought experiences of womanhood very different from my own – across ethnicity, faith, disability, neurodivergence, gender identity, sexual orientation and life stages. I’m so grateful to our sensitivity readers (Shey, Isobel, Alicia and Riffat) for sharing their worlds with me. Their honesty and generosity helped shape the programme into something far richer and more inclusive than I could have created alone. 

The new programme emphasises deeper reflection and intentionality. How does the design support meaningful, sustained personal growth? 

The thing is, if we don’t take time to reflect, we can just jump straight into action – that is a form of autopilot behaviour. Springboard has always helped women recognise those autopilot moments, where our actions are driven by familiarity and routine, instead of our values. Reflection on the other hand is that little gap where we can choose to sit with our thoughts, feelings, and ideas without having to do anything yet. And that pause? It’s essential, because it’s where we can reconnect with our values and make more intentional choices about how we want to live and work. 

The updated programme builds in more opportunities for this kind of reflection, both during workshops through group activities and between sessions using the Reflective Journal. Participants are encouraged to connect the concepts of autopilot and intention directly to situations they may recognise at work and in their personal lives, helping reflection translate into intentional action. Whether that’s unhelpful habits, goals that never quite stick, or the constant background noise of an inner critic.  

By slowing down and reflecting in this way, women are better able to make decisions that feel more fulfilling, more deliberate, and aligned with their values. It’s this deep reflection that underpins the programme’s practicality.  

Springboard has always been impactful – what did you want to enhance, refine or elevate to make it even more relevant for modern workplaces? 

Springboard has always taken a holistic approach to personal development, recognising that not every participant comes to the programme with the same career ambitions – or any ambition to “climb the ladder” at all. So the programme has intentionally avoided being overly focused on traditional career topics like CV writing, interview technique, or self-promotion, because personal growth is about more than progression alone. 

At the same time, feedback consistently told us that many participants would value more focused support in these areas. So our challenge was to refine the programme to equip women with skills that can help advance their careers without shifting the programme’s focus to career progression alone. To do this, we had to ensure it continues to support those whose workplace goals are less about promotion and more about building confidence, increasing influence, or finding greater fulfilment in their current role. 

So we introduced a new half-day session focused on influencing others- through active listening, building a positive reputation, and persuasive storytelling. These skills are highly relevant in modern workplaces, where influence is less about hierarchy or authority and more about relationships and trust. 

However, these skills are equally valuable beyond wanting to get promoted. They are about being able to express yourself clearly, advocate for your needs, and have a positive impact on the people around you – whether that’s at work, at home, or in your community. By including these topics, we have made Springboard more relevant to modern workplaces without losing its holistic, human focus. 

Can you share how the new tools and resources help participants turn insight into long-term action? 

Springboard has always been action-focused, but when I went through the programme myself, I noticed something: I was having lots of “mini-lightbulb” moments – small insights where I knew I wanted to do something differently, but didn’t yet know how. Before I could act on one, another idea would come along, and soon all these little nuggets started to get lost. It was exciting, but also a bit overwhelming. Where do I even start?  

It was then that I realised participants needed a simple way to capture these reflections and intentions – without the pressure to immediately set goals – so they could return to them when they were ready. That’s why we developed a new suite of tools at the back of the Reflective Journal. 

The first section is for intentions and reflections. You jot down your mini-lightbulb moments, then rate them on how important they are and how easy they might be to act on. This makes it simple to see which ideas are worth prioritising. 

When you’re ready, you can move these insights into the second section – the goal-setting log, where they can be turned into concrete, SMART goals. These tools help participants turn insights into intentional action – and at a pace that works for them.  So each participant finishes the programme with a plan for long term change and none of those mini-lightbulb moments get lost along the way.