Overview

Request more information about the programme and modules

Download application form

Download prospectus

Download Senior Leadership Development evaluation report 2021

Aim
To make you a better leader and to know what being a better leader means.

In order to
Ensure that the way you lead the delivery of healthcare is of the highest quality.

Format
We deliver three courses for senior leaders, ‘Leading Self,’ ‘Leading Others’ and ‘Leading Systems.’ You can attend just an individual module, attend the courses consecutively, or in any order you choose, however we recommend attending them in order if possible.

We believe that leadership is both deeply relational and profoundly personal. As such we focus on the development of individuals’ ability to understand themselves first through increasing their self and social awareness, understanding the impact and influence they have on others and their personal insight into their patterns and assumptions in order that they make leadership actions based on informed choices rather than unconscious habit.

Senior leaders are often engaged with complex problems that can’t be solved just with management processes and tool-kits. In order to make these problems better, leaders have to work with others, investing time in the development of stronger relationships to enable this to work. In order to develop effective relationships we must first understand ourselves.

Individuals develop this heightened awareness on the programme through the video review of team exercises, coupled with straight-talking peer to peer and faculty led feedback.
The programme is based around the core values of learning through insight and experience. Themes are introduced and developed through a mixture of cohort lectures and small group working.

Each module builds on the previous, supporting individuals to move on to considering how they lead others in teams before looking at leading across boundaries, sometimes in positions without formal authority, and developing a collaborative approach to leadership whilst developing the personal resilience required for leading complex adaptive systems in uncertain times.

Course fees
The course fees for each 3-day module are £1,500 excluding VAT.

Leading Self

Module fees: £1,500 excluding VAT

Upcoming Course Dates

Wed 19 – Fri 21 April 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 1 March 2023

Wed 20 – Fri 22 September 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 2 August 2023

Aim
To develop a deeper awareness and accountability for managing your emotions, behaviours and assumptions.

In order to
Make leadership actions based on informed choices rather than unconscious habit.

Duration
3 days

Learning Outcomes
• Understand your personal leadership context and challenges within the healthcare system.
• Become aware of personal values, principles and assumptions.
• Notice how you manage your behaviours in group situations.
• Gain awareness of how personal traits can influence performance of self and team.
• Begin to develop your personal reflective practice.

Impact

Read the evaluation report from our Leading Self module in June 2022

Leading Others

Module fees: £1,500 excluding VAT

Upcoming Course Dates

Wed 7 – Fri 9 June 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 19 April 2023

Wed 11 – Fri 13 October 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 23 August 2023

Aim
To develop your ability to influence and be informed by others.

In order to
Be a more effective leader of teams and groups.

Duration
3 days

Learning Outcomes
• Gain greater understanding of your own leadership context and challenges within the healthcare system.
• Understand roles: leader, deputies and followers.
• Deeper awareness of presence – how personal traits impact or fail to impact on the performance of self and team.
• Notice the nature of key intra-team relationships.
• Understand the dynamic demands of task, team and individual priorities.
• Further develop your personal leadership strategy.

Impact

Read the evaluation report from our Leading Others module in July 2022

Leading Systems

Module fees: £1,500 excluding VAT

Upcoming Course Dates

Wed 28 – Fri 30 June 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 10 May 2023

Wed 15 – Fri 17 November 2023

Deadline for applications:
Wednesday 27 September 2023

Aim
To understand that healthcare systems are social systems and to develop your own awareness of their patterns and appropriate points of intervention.

In order to
Appreciate the way social systems influence you as a leader and to develop methods for you as a leader to take “system changing actions”.

Duration
3 days

Learning Outcomes
• Gain a greater understanding of the importance of your own leadership context.
• Appreciate how your perceptions of the systems impact on your leadership choices within the system.
• Understand the relationship between individuals and the organisation.
• Identify how culture helps and hinders the purpose of your organisation.
• Further develop your personal leadership strategy and narrative.

Impact

Read the evaluation report from our Leading Systems module in November 2022

The practical application to a real world example provides a much deeper level of thinking and application. Having peers provide challenge has been fantastic and precise in their questioning. It completely changed my thinking and way I act and focus my attention going forward.

Really analyses and tackles the challenges of great leadership with constructive theoretical and practical advice and reflection.

I gained so much from this course. I thought the delivery was great by mixing it up between syndicate sessions and larger group lectures, and all the different exercises were very insightful, as was the feedback at the end of each day.

It was challenging and productive as usual. I reassessed my current knowledge and learnt more about the NHS system and how to use power to advance my cause/goals within the system.

Impact for individuals

TOur practical and experiential approach enables leaders to develop:

• Greater awareness of their leadership strengths and impact, in order to more effectively influence others.
• Greater resilience and ability to manage their behaviour under pressure and in different situations.
• Deeper ability to review and reflect, in order to learn from their experiences.
• Greater empathy and ability to build effective relationships with others.
• Increased confidence to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
• Greater understanding of the complex nature of the systems they lead in and problems they face, recognising the need to work through and with others in order to improve things.
• Greater recognition of the moral elements of leadership and comfortability making difficult decisions in order to do the ‘right’ thing on a difficult day.

Impact for organisations

The impact that investing in individuals’ development can have for their organisations will vary depending on the individual, what they choose to do with their learning after and the environment they go back into. Some recurring themes are:

• Engaged leaders who feel valued and invested in, and who feel more compelled to go above and beyond as a result.
• Senior leaders who understand the impact they have on others and who behave better towards their colleagues, developing an environment for their teams where constructive and honest discussions can be had, and better and more informed decisions can be made.
• Senior leaders who have greater awareness of the wider context and challenges and who focus their energies more effectively on the areas they can lead meaningful change.
• Leaders working to the top of their ticket who spend less time doing things that can be done by more junior members of the team.
• Leaders who are more likely to lead change successfully and improve services in order to improve patient outcomes.
• Teams and more junior leaders who feel empowered by their senior leaders to step up to the plate and take on more responsibility, developing them as individuals and helping them to feel more valued and committed.

Evaluation

Confidence in abilities
Evaluation of our Senior Leadership Development Programme modules delivered in 2022, 97% of those who attended were very confident or confident in their abilities against the learning objectives after attending modules, as opposed to just 37% who were before attending.

Progress towards goals
• 97% of members felt they had achieved their personal goals or made progress towards them during the course.
• 100% of members felt they had achieved their organisational goals or made progress towards them.
• 58% of members felt they had achieved their clinical goals or made progress towards them. 33% said this was not applicable. 6% said they were not sure, and the remaining 3% felt they had not achieved their clinical goals.

Overall ratings
Those attending the programme in 2022:
• 99% rated the structure of the programme (length and duration) as excellent
• 94% rated the quality of facilitation from the Staff College Faculty as excellent
• 100% said they would definitely recommend the programme to others

Further details
You can find out more about the impact of the programme we delivered in 2022 in our evaluation report 2022

Case studies
Our case study from Dr Jane Jones shares her reflections of attending the course, and the impact it had both on her and the service she leads.