Leadership Academy

Supporting and developing leadership skills for councillors.

The Leadership Academy Programme is accredited by The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), the UK's leading award winning body for leadership and management.

The Leadership Academy will deliver for local leaders a step change in their leadership behaviours, strategies, skills and mindset to ensure they effectively address these challenges and opportunities.

Benefits of attending

Understanding your own leadership style and improving your leadership capabilities.
Understanding and practicing effective leadership strategies for the current environment.
Working on participants' own specific challenges from their councils.
Developing a ‘leadership toolbox' of techniques and strategies to draw on in different situations.
Taking back the learning to councils.
Working with peers from other parties and councils.
Receive an ILM accredited certificate on completion.
Overall, providing a step change in leadership effectiveness.

Local leaders are facing an environment of multiple challenges and opportunities:

austerity and budget cuts
re-shaped service delivery and commissioning
diverse community challenges
changing national policy context
complex political alliances.

In such an environment effective leadership is vital for local government.

The Leadership Academy has an enviable reputation in local government for enabling local leaders to improve their leadership capabilities. However from July 2013 onwards the Academy has been completely revised and updated – producing a cutting edge, high quality programme re-shaped to aid leaders in a particularly challenging context.

About the programme

The Leadership Academy is a leadership development programme for leading councillors based on three two-day residential modules over a three month period.

Module 1: focuses on leading through relationships. This module explores how councillors can develop, maintain and use relationships – both internal and external – to provide effective leadership at the political, organisational and wider community levels.

Module 2: looks at leading innovation and change. This module will develop councillors' ability to lead and manage complex change to improve effectiveness and efficiency and to achieve better outcomes for the community.

Module 3: explores leading communities and place. The focus is on helping councillors to communicate with and provide leadership to their communities and within partnerships to achieve growth and prosperity.

What graduates say about the programme

Over 2,200 elected members from almost every council in the country have graduated from the main Leadership Academy programme since it was launched 13 years ago.

Councillor Sue Derbyshire, Leader, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council:
"I had the confidence to go for the role as leader, feeling that I could step up and do the role. I may have had doubts without the Leadership Academy."

Councillor Mehboob Khan, Leader, Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council:
"The Leadership Academy helped me gain a greater understanding and develop my local political leadership skills. The exposure to councillors from very diverse backgrounds and authorities was priceless."

Councillor Denise Le Gal, Portfolio Holder for Change and Efficiency, Surrey County Council:
"Best thing for me was the ability to network across the country with people from different political parties and to share common issues and problems. Our underlying issues are all so similar."

Councillor Clive Woodbridge, Leader, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council:
"The Leadership Academy increased my confidence and made me feel much less out of my comfort zone in fulfilling a leadership role. I came away from each module full of ideas to try out and with a much greater understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and how I can best interact with fellow councillors and officers to the benefit of my council. One of the most valuable aspects of the course was meeting other councillors from a wide range of political and geographic backgrounds and discussing common issues and problems with them. The personal leadership challenge tackling a specific issue with support and advice from your peers, was an especially rewarding part of the course."

Councillor Patricia Callaghan, Deputy Leader, London Borough of Camden:
"Thought provoking, intellectually challenging and inspiring. Exploring this course is well worth it! The Academy does what it says, engaging you in analytical debates with your peer group, and provides a forum for members to share experiences and ambitions, emerging at the end of the course much stronger and confident in your abilities to lead."

How does it work?

Grounded in the challenges and opportunities provided by the current local government context.
Drawing on leading edge thinking.
Valuing and building on participants' own experiences and challenges.
Sharing best practice.
Ensuring higher skills development.
Providing time for reflection and self-evaluation.
Encouraging bold and ambitious leadership.

Who is it for?

Councillors who recognise the need to improve their leadership capabilities to meet the challenges they are facing day after day and for the longer term future of their council. Councillors in leadership positions, including:

leaders of councils
deputy leaders
cabinet members
leaders of political groups
scrutiny/committee chairs
opposition spokespeople.

Fees

We recognise the financial challenge facing councils and so have substantially reduced the cost of attending the programme. The cost for the first place booked for each authority is now just £1,000. The cost for each subsequent place will be £1,250. The fee covers all the costs of the programme including accommodation, meals and materials except travel costs.