Established Leaders - CEOs Programme Outcomes & Outline

In this introductory workshop, you will explore who you are, how you may be seen by others and what you can do to improve your performance and working relationships through increased levels of self-awareness and appreciation of colleagues.

The workshop will include:

• Perception and our unconscious biases
• The business benefits of improving self-awareness
• The Insights Discovery model of behaviour
• Personal Profiles
• Strengths, weaknesses and value to the team
• The impact my working style has on me, my work and my colleague

Module 1 - The leader in you

Every leader is different, taking a different style and approach to leadership. To be a successful leader, it’s vital to understand the real “you”, the values you are driven by, and how to use your strengths to best benefit your organisation. Now more than ever, ensuring you are an inclusive leader is paramount. And in tough times, protecting your own wellbeing becomes increasingly important, as does clarity about how your work aligns to your personal and career goals.

The module will cover:

• Understanding yourself and your natural leadership style
• Being your true self: authentic leadership and its practical application
• Building trust among those you lead: how to be open and vulnerable while remaining credible and inspiring.
• Values-based leadership: aligning your personal values with your organisational vision.
• Remaining resilient when the going gets tough: managing stress.

Module 2- It's tricky at the top

In this facilitated module, CEOs will consider the issues and challenges which keep them awake at night. From how to recruit and retain talented staff to how to respond to a death in service, this half-day session will allow participants the chance to determine the topics covered and learn from one another.

In advance of the session, participants will be invited to submit up to three strategic or operational challenges which they face, which they would like to discuss with the wider group. These may be issues they are facing as individual leaders or that their organisation is facing. From the list of topics submitted, four themes will be identified, and participants will be invited to select one or more that they would like to contribute towards in the session. This may be via preparing a presentation, circulating a reading list, or providing discussion questions for the group.

The facilitator will guide the discussion, but the learning and problem solving will come from within the group.

Module 3 - Values, strategy and governance - working with your Board

In this module we will explore your organisation’s culture and values and its link to your organisation’s strategy and governance. We will explore together the different values organisations define themselves by and how they impact your charity’s culture, and decision making. We will understand where your organisation is strategically and how your governance is helping or hindering your success.

This module will cover:

• Exploring organisational culture and how it is defined by your values.
• Strategy development and linking it to your culture and values.
• Striving for governance excellence – how the Charity Governance Code can help you on the journey.

Module 4- Creating a robust organisation that thrives in difficult times

In this module we’ll look at how to embed strategic risk and crisis management across your organisation. We’ll consider the skills and attributes you as a leader need to not only cope, but to thrive, in difficult circumstances. We’ll identify how to draw on a diverse talent pool, including lived as well as learnt experience, for idea generation, problem solving and recession proofing.

We’ll discuss realistic approaches to financial planning, how to think creatively about funding streams, and how to create structures that are agile and can quickly adapt to changing circumstances.

Finally, we’ll consider the importance of strong relationships in difficult times, including with funders, with your Board and with partner organisations.

Module 5 - Strengthening our collective voice

Advocating for better protection for those at risk of homelessness is more important than ever.

This workshop will offer practical insights and tips on how to amplify the voices of our service users and to challenge systems that aren’t working. We will collectively discuss our shared view of the most pressing issues to address and identify the best way forward.

The module will cover:

• Understanding the difference between campaigning, advocacy and influencing policy.
• Amplifying the voices of our service users and considering the views of all stakeholders.
• Identifying and analysing your key stakeholders
• Communicating with impact, including adapting your communication style for different audiences.
• Taking collective action.

Module 6 - Employing systems leadership to tackle homelessness

In this session, CEOs will consider real-life issues currently faced by the homelessness sector, putting into practice systems leadership principles to tackle the topics.

From the impact of changes in government policy on migrant rough sleeping to whether we as the voluntary sector are part of a system which creates dependency, this half-day session will allow CEOs the chance to determine the topics covered and come up with creative solutions.

In advance of the session, you will be invited to consider a “wicked problem” facing the homelessness sector. Joined at the session by people from different parts of the wider system, including people with lived or living experience of homelessness, you will work together to think holistically and collaboratively about the topic.

The facilitator will guide the discussion, but the learning and problem solving will come from within the group.

After the session, you will continue to work together on developing solutions to the wicked problem. You will be invited back together two to three months later, along with the other two Established Leaders cohorts, to discuss your findings and reflect on the systems leadership approach.

Justice and leadership

The workshop will explore leadership through the lens of justice, and we aim to co create a space for collective learning that will support you as leaders to respond practically. This workshop will cover:

• The relevance of justice to the understanding and practice of leadership
• Some different approaches to support thinking about leadership
• What it means for an organisation to be equitable, diverse and inclusive

Systems leadership

A key objective of our leadership programmes is to create systems change, through providing leaders with opportunities for partnership working and collaboration, as well as the tools, expertise and confidence to be systems leaders. This thematic workshop will cover:

• the principles of system leadership
• skills, tools and approaches that are grounded in practical application

• 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.