Leadership Development Is Key To Success

19 March 2012

As the public sector continues to experience a time of transformation and change, the importance of having a highly skilled leadership team shouldn't be underestimated.

You may have already identified your future leaders; or you could be in the process of putting your team in place. Whatever stage you're at, these are the people that you feel, with the right support, can lead by example, thrive in a leadership role and help take your organisation forward.

So how can you help with the transformation of taking your team from being good managers to great leaders?

With budgets being squeezed, staff training can be viewed as a 'nice to have' but non-essential expense. But when it comes to your managerial staff, investment in their continued development should be safeguarded wherever possible. They are, after all, at the helm of your organisation and the ones whose skills and experience you're relying on to guide the business and its staff through these uncertain times.

With expenditure under increasing scrutiny, the need to demonstrate a return on your investment is greater than ever. Spend your budget wisely; look for development opportunities that will have an immediate impact on your managers and be of direct relevance and benefit to your organisation and staff.

Working in partnership with you, UDC can deliver a Developing Leadership Impact training programme directly relevant to your organisation and aimed at your mid to senior level managers.

Based on your organisation's specific business needs, the programme comprises a series of workshops and masterclasses that explore leadership concepts and frameworks.

Here managers, focusing on their own areas of expertise, will contextualise their learning, enabling them to critically reflect and review ways of working and formulate new and innovative solutions, whilst also being encouraged to share expertise and best practice.

Guest speakers from the worlds of business and academia will share real experiences of leadership and give an insight into management, offering differing viewpoints about the challenges facing the public sector and providing opportunities for further discussion and debate.

Pam Hadfield, Organisational Development and Learning Team Leader for Derby City Council, reaffirms the benefits of the training programme and summarises the impact it's having on the organisation's management team.

She says: "We've been working with the University of Derby for over ten years and this new programme addresses the needs of a changing local government. We're very confident we now have an intervention which will support the transformational management we require, and which is cost effective, innovative and inspirational."

Programme Aims

UDC is the business-to-business arm of the University and works with a number of organisations, including Derby City Council, the Primary Care Trust and Croda, to provide high quality, work-based learning solutions and accredited qualifications that improve key capabilities such as leadership, innovation, service and problem solving.

The Developing Leadership Impact programme takes place over a period of ten months and comprises up to 14 days of face-to-face delivery, including a one day workshop and two hour masterclass per month. On successful completion delegates will receive a Postgraduate Certificate in Developing Leadership Impact.

The content of the programme is designed to:

• Create a shift from a technical / operational manager to a more people-focused leader, reflecting a new leadership culture
• Enable your managers to develop more strategic responses to complex situations - a fundamental requirement of a leader in the face of organisational reviews, down-sizing and strategic outsourcing
• Create immediate organisational impact as each delegate focuses on resolving a specific organisational issue or 'leadership challenge' relevant to their area
• Feature guest speakers who will share their real experiences of leadership and management, offering different viewpoints on the challenges facing the public sector and helping to broaden your managers' thinking
• Embed a long term approach to leadership development and behaviour change through the introduction of a co-coaching and action learning programme

To discuss your requirements further contact University of Derby Corporate at udc@derby.ac.uk  or call 0800 678 3311.