Established Leaders - Senior Leaders

Seven-month programme

60 hours core commitment + additional reading and reflection

Peer-to-peer networking community

Optional mentoring and coaching

Senior Leader

We expect you to be a senior leader within your organisation. Depending on the size of your organisation, you will likely be on the SLT/SMT of your organisation and/or manage a large team of people. There is no minimum time that you have been in post, but we would expect you to have at least five years’ leadership experience in some context.

Passionate about collaborating to achieve social impact and improve equity, diversity and inclusion

We want the programme to have long lasting impact on the sector. Your interest in collaborating with your fellow participants beyond the life of the programme is key.

Working for an organisation dedicated to ending homelessness

This must be a voluntary community sector homelessness organisation. Your organisation does not need to be a member of Homeless Link.

Commitment to attendance

In order for you and your fellow participants to get the most out of the programme, we ask you to commit to attending all sessions.

Eligibility for London Cohort

• Working for an organisation based in London: This may be a national organisation, but the majority of work within your remit should be in London.

• Hybrid delivery: Established Leaders London will be run as a hybrid programme, delivered mainly in person (in central London), and some sessions online.

Eligibility for England Cohort

• Working for an organisation based in England: This may be any organisation based in England, including London.

• Hybrid delivery: Established Leaders England will be run mainly online, with a small number of sessions delivered in person in central London.

Programme Key Elements

• Welcome and Celebration sessions: All programmes will kick-off and conclude with an in-person welcome and closing session, allowing you to meet your peers as well as leaders on other cohorts, and to build trusted relationships.

• Insights Discovery foundation session: In order to become a more effective leader, it is vital to have a good understanding of your own natural leadership and communication style. Participants use a strengths-based psychometric profile tool to explore who they are as individuals and as leaders. Kindly gifted by the Insights Discovery Foundation and Ian MacKnight from the Colourworks.

• Six modules: Participants join six half-day modules, each focussing on a different aspect of homelessness charity leadership. Delivered by inspiring expert speakers and co-produced with EDI specialists and Experts by Experience, topics include Leading an organisation people want to work for, Creating a robust organisation that thrives in difficult times and Working in partnership: creating a collaborative sector. Each workshop is a half-day session, including presentation, discussion, reflection, group work and peer learning.

• Two thematic workshops: Participants will join two additional workshops: 1) Justice and Leadership to explore what inclusive leadership and equity mean in the context of homelessness organisations and 2) Systems Leadership to understand the principles of system leadership as well as skills, tools and practical approaches.

• Four Action Learning Set sessions (ALS): Action Learning is a powerful tool for developing critical-thinking, problem-solving, creative solutions and innovative practice. Action Learning Sets are a simple way to learn from each other, using the combined wisdom and skills of a diverse group of people to work through real situations faced in the workplace. You will meet three times in groups of six, with a trained facilitator. Find out more about Action Learning in Lucy and Laura's blog.

Networking and resources

• Peer-to-peer networking community: Established Leaders provides an opportunity to build relationships with other new and emerging leaders working in the homelessness sector. An online Whatsapp community enables participants to support peers during the life of the programme and beyond. The channel is used to ask questions, share learnings and offer mutual support.

• Resources: Homeless Link has produced a number of resources targeted at leaders. This includes our back catalogue of webinar recordings, which provide an opportunity to hear first-hand from CEOs and other expert speakers. Topics include Inclusive Leadership, creating more diverse and inclusive organisations, and how to involve people with lived experience authentically.

• Tools: Homeless Link has a growing catalogue of toolkits and resources to support you in developing and improving your organisation and the wider landscape, these include a co-production toolkit, a framework for strengths-based working and a toolkit to write to your local MP on the cost of living crisis.

Leadership Summit

We strongly encourage senior leaders participating in Established Leaders to attend our two-day Leadership Summit in December. This annual event provides leaders in our sector with the time and space needed to reflect on the past year and plan for times ahead, presenting the opportunity to learn from expert speakers as well as one another.

Mentoring

Mentoring offers you the opportunity to learn from a successful leader and build your knowledge of strategic issues. Initially a six-month relationship, you will be matched with a more experienced leader within the homelessness sector, offering a chance to ask questions, discuss real-life challenges and work towards personal and organisational goals.

Coaching

Leadership coaching provides a confidential, safe space for reflection and discussion, and empowers individuals to take responsibility for their own personal development. You will be matched with a qualified coach, who won’t be a homelessness expert. The role of the coach is to help you reflect to solve your own problems and to act as a “critical friend”.