The Carrousel
For employers who invest in people, and for people who want to grow.
An intensive, personal development programme for (aspiring) leaders and professionals. Over six training days you work on self-insight, personal effectiveness and personal leadership, with your own learning themes. You start as the newcomer and finish as the one who helps others find their way. Guided by psychologists, in a group that challenges and confronts.
The programme at a glance
6 training days
Six Thursdays in Leiden, spread over three to four months. Between the days there is time to try out what you discover in your own work straight away.
Rolling intake
After three days a new group joins. So you are always in a small group with people who have just started and people who are further along.
Guided by psychologists
Each group is led by experienced consultants specialised in development. AVOP works to the professional ethical code of the NIP. The guidance creates a safe space for confrontation and growth.
Two groups, one movement
On every training day two groups work together: a group on day 1 to 3 and a group on day 4 to 6. After three days, your role changes. That movement is what sets The Carrousel apart from a training you complete with one fixed group.
You see yourself in someone else
You start next to people who are further along. In their struggles and their progress you recognise your own patterns, often more clearly than when it is about yourself.
You test new behaviour in a new group
After three days a group joins that you do not know yet. That is where you find out whether your new behaviour holds, outside the familiar circle where you practised it.
You grow by helping someone else along
In the second half, you are the one who is further along. You put into words what you have discovered, and see in someone else where you stood a few weeks earlier.
How The Carrousel works
Intake
A personal conversation with your guide. Together you set your learning themes. For extra depth, you can do a development assessment beforehand.
Day 1 to 3: joining
You join alongside a group that is already three days further. You work on your own learning themes and see in the others where it can lead.
Day 4 to 6: further along
The previous group has said goodbye and a new group joins. Now you are the one who is further along, and you help the new group find its way.
Completion
On day 6 you translate what you have developed to your own work. You close with your group, over drinks.
Choose the series that suits you
All training days are on a Thursday and take place in Leiden. A training day runs from 9.00 to 17.00. Day 3 and day 6 last until 19.00, because a group then says goodbye over drinks.
The days are usually two to four weeks apart. Around the holidays and the summer there is more time in between. A series that starts in spring therefore runs over the summer.
29 October 2026
places available- Day 1 to 3
- 29 October, 12 November, 26 November 2026
- Day 4 to 6
- 10 December 2026, 21 January, 4 February 2027
10 December 2026
- Day 1 to 3
- 10 December 2026, 21 January, 4 February 2027
- Day 4 to 6
- 4 March, 25 March, 15 April 2027
4 March 2027
- Day 1 to 3
- 4 March, 25 March, 15 April 2027
- Day 4 to 6
- 13 May, 3 June, 9 September 2027
13 May 2027
- Day 1 to 3
- 13 May, 3 June, 9 September 2027
- Day 4 to 6
- 30 September, 4 November, 25 November 2027
30 September 2027
- Day 1 to 3
- 30 September, 4 November, 25 November 2027
- Day 4 to 6
- 16 December 2027, 13 January, 3 February 2028
For the valuable employer, with the long term in mind
With The Carrousel an employer invests not only in skills, but in self-insight, leadership and the lasting development of people.
For the employer
- You show that your organisation offers more than work and good colleagues.
- You strengthen leadership, self-management and professional effectiveness.
- You support lasting commitment and development over the long term.
For the participant
- More self-insight, and insight into your effect on others.
- More autonomy, communicative strength and ability to connect.
- You become aware of ingrained patterns and learn to adjust them.
Who is The Carrousel for
Professionals
Who want to become more effective in their work. Who want to understand how they come across and how they can have more influence without losing themselves.
Consultants and managers
Who want to grow their personal effectiveness. Who want to handle resistance, feedback and difficult conversations better.
Leaders
Who want to grow in their role. Who want to expand their range of influence and learn to handle the tension between directing and facilitating leadership.
What participants develop
The Carrousel focuses on competencies that make the difference in everyday work practice:
- Sensitivity: reading what's at play in a group or conversation better
- Influence: steering effectively without forcing
- Authenticity: leading from your own values and personality
- Flexibility: adapting to different situations and people
Researched at the University of Amsterdam
The Carrousel has been scientifically validated by the UvA. Participants demonstrably grow in personal effectiveness, and the effects last well beyond the programme.
Practical information
Duration
6 training days on Thursdays in Leiden, over three to four months
Investment
On request, including intake and follow-up
Start dates
Next series starts 29 October 2026. All start dates →
Interested in The Carrousel?
Plan a no-obligation introduction. We discuss your learning themes or, as an employer, how to use The Carrousel for your people. And together we see which series fits.