Executive Education

Leading Systemic Innovation Programme at Executive Education

Executive Education Blogger — Thu, 09 May 2024 08:35:33 +0000

Leading Systemic Innovation Programme at Executive Education Executive Educ… Thu, 09/05/2024 - 08:35

In today's world, healthcare systems face unprecedented challenges. With rising levels of ill health, increasing demand, and spiralling costs, the question stands: How can we truly innovate our health and care systems from within?

It's time to rethink healthcare, focusing on holistic, person-centred care that promotes health and human flourishing across all levels of society.

Executive Education Imperial Business School's new open enrolment programme, Leading Systemic Innovation in Healthcare, steps into this critical juncture, equipping healthcare leaders with the tools and knowledge to navigate this complex environment.

This programme goes beyond traditional, siloed approaches, embracing a systems thinking philosophy. We view healthcare as a complex, interconnected ecosystem, where seemingly disparate elements – from policy decisions to patient experience – profoundly impact each other.

Traditional leadership models often focus on optimising individual silos to achieve departmental objectives. Leading systemic innovation in healthcare, however, necessitates a shift in perspective. It demands fostering collaboration across organisational boundaries, driving innovation that addresses healthcare inequities, and ultimately building a more holistic care system."

- Andy Wilkins, Programme Director

What sets this programme apart?

Our programme urges a fundamental reimagining of healthcare. By exploring innovation from a systemic level, we can start to create new meta-systemic solutions, from digital health to personalised medicine. In doing so, we aim to create a system that prioritises mental health and wellbeing alongside physical health.

A Holistic View of Health: We break free from a solely disease-centric approach. We delve into systems biology, personalised medicine, mental wellbeing and the social determinants of health, exploring how factors like nutrition, housing, education, and income inequality significantly impact health outcomes. This comprehensive understanding empowers leaders to address the root causes of disease, health disparities and promote population health.
Innovation at the Forefront: The programme isn't just about understanding challenges; it actively explores how to leverage innovation to create a more holistic and person-centred healthcare system. Participants will learn frameworks like Jobs-to-be-Done and 3 Horizons, allowing them to identify unmet patient needs and design innovative solutions that truly resonate.
Systems Leadership: Traditional leadership models often struggle in complex systems. This programme develops the specific skills and mindsets needed to lead effectively in a dynamic healthcare environment. Participants will hone their ability to collaborate across disciplines, navigate ambiguity, and foster a culture of continuous learning within their organisations.

Programme Structure: A Deep Dive

This section delves into the key trends and challenges shaping healthcare delivery today. Participants will explore frameworks like the 3 Horizons framework, allowing them to anticipate future scenarios and develop adaptable strategies. They'll also gain insights into cutting-edge areas like digital health, examining how technology can streamline care delivery, empower patients, and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

Here, participants will learn how to translate the learnings from the external world into actionable steps within their own organisations. We'll cover topics like systems leadership, fostering a culture of innovation that embraces experimentation and encourages risk-taking, and developing metrics that measure progress towards a more holistic approach to care delivery.

The programme acknowledges the undeniable link between human health and planetary health. We explore the environmental impact of current healthcare systems and investigate strategies for creating a more sustainable healthcare future. This includes examining concepts like "regenerative health" – focusing on not just minimising damage but actively restoring and nurturing the ecological systems that support human well-being.

An Experiential Activity: Putting Theory into Practice

The programme will offer a unique and engaging activity designed by the Chemical Kitchen. This activity will demonstrate the parallels between working in a kitchen and working in complex systems like healthcare. Participants will grapple with unexpected challenges, requiring them to leverage collaboration, communication, and adaptability – skills crucial for success in today's healthcare landscape.

Discover Leading Systemic Innovation in Healthcare

Executive Education

Adapt and improve: Executive Education and lifelong learning

Emma Matthews — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:06:23 +0000

Adapt and improve: Executive Education and lifelong learning Emma Matthews Wed, 22/11/2023 - 10:06

The business world is facing a skills gap, with companies preparing for a capability shortfall. Harnessing technology and increasing hiring are important responses to this, but, according to Manpower data, lifelong learning is the key solution employers are turning to, investing in workforces through upskilling and reskilling.

At Imperial Business School, we provide lifelong learning through our Executive Education division, alongside corporate partnerships and philanthropic courses that benefit wider society. We offer open programmes for individuals, customised programmes for organisations, and apprenticeship programmes. This means we can provide true lifelong learning that fits into any stage of an executive’s career.

Our online courses and on-campus teaching programmes help organisations and their staff stay up to date, broaden their knowledge, and meet critical challenges. In a business world defined by change, this flexibility allows participants to integrate lifelong learning into wherever they are in their careers.

Open programmes

We offer open programmes in specialties, including: finance and economics; healthcare; leadership; marketing; innovation and strategy; sustainability and climate; and technology, analytics and data science. These areas cover the range of emerging skills that modern executives need to keep abreast of in order to stand out from the competition.

For example, our upcoming three-month course in Executing Sustainability Strategies will equip participants to develop future-proof sustainability strategies geared to their organisations’ objectives – a key skill for leaders that highlights the importance of lifelong learning in a changing global economy. The programme will be delivered through a blended online, on-campus and virtual learning journey, integrating meditation, mentoring and coaching.

“Through knowledge sharing and experiential learning with my fellow participants, I have gained invaluable insights and a deeper understanding of effective leadership,” said Irina Tolstova, a Senior Programme Manager who took part in our Leadership in a Technology Driven World course. “Not only has the programme expanded my horizons, it has also equipped me with the tools and insights for both career advancement and leadership excellence.”

Customised programmes

Our custom executive education offer sees us partner with organisations to provide access to our knowledge, expertise and industry connections. We work with you to understand your business context, the challenges your organisation faces, and your strategic and cultural profile in order to create bespoke programmes.

In line with the ethos of lifelong learning, our speciality areas include leadership and change, finance and economics, technology and innovation, sustainability and climate, and healthcare and environment – topics that help your staff stay ahead of the curve in an ever-changing marketplace.

We recently collaborated with management consultancy firm Bain & Company to provide a world-class learning programme on ESG and sustainable development for its consultants. Imperial faculty led four virtual knowledge sessions, challenging consultants to explore the big picture in ESG, trends and data in low-carbon business, and the challenges ahead in embedding sustainable business practices.

Culminating in an immersive on-campus training day at Imperial Business School, the programme encouraged participants to experiment with new ideas, and empowered them to consult and advise on ESG and sustainability with confidence and clarity.

“Executive Education delivered a transformational learning experience for our people,” said Harry Morrison, Partner at Bain. “The programme was immeasurably enriched by expert speakers from Imperial’s Grantham Institute, and perspectives broadened by a chance to interact with next-generation entrepreneurs – Imperial alumni – who are pushing the boundaries in the ESG space.”

Apprenticeship programmes

We provide apprenticeship programmes in leadership, data and analytics, and healthcare, funded through the Apprenticeship Levy. These programmes are designed to help businesses upskill and develop their workforces throughout their careers, from aspiring professionals and leaders of the future, through to senior managers and executives.

For example, our Executive Development Programme provides one-to-one online coaching, group workshops, and virtual masterclasses delivered by leading Imperial academics. The programme is designed for managers, typically with five or more years of professional experience, looking to gain the strategic and commercial skills to progress into senior leadership.

Participants leave with a Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship, a Chartered Management Institute Level 7 Award in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice, and CMI Chartered Fellow Status. Fully funded through the Apprenticeship Levy, the programme represents a £14,000 investment in each employee’s development – a significant commitment to a culture of lifelong learning within an organisation.

Low-Carbon lessons

Lifelong learning has a particularly important role to play in helping the business world contribute to global climate targets. In 2020, in collaboration with Singapore Management University, we launched the Singapore Green Finance Centre.

Supported by corporate partners including Bank of China, BNP Paribas, Fullerton, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Schroders, SMBC, Standard Chartered and UBS, the Centre undertakes multidisciplinary research to support markets to transition to a low-carbon future, and offers courses to equip professionals with the knowledge of climate finance and practical skills needed to make this a reality. Upcoming online programmes include climate change management, sustainable investment management, and sustainability stewardship development.

Similarly, our Centre for Climate Finance and Investment, supported by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, offers online training in the financial risks and opportunities of climate change – a free executive education programme produced in partnership with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s Climate-KIC.

Get involved

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs report notes that businesses are increasingly keen for staff to embrace “a culture of lifelong learning”. At Imperial Business School, we work with you to find or create the right programme to build this culture, providing a competitive edge through keeping staff abreast of key social changes and trends, and by embedding an entrepreneurial mindset at all levels of your organisation.

If you are interested in any of our programmes, keen to discuss a bespoke course, or have any feedback on our lifelong learning and executive education offer, please contact José Rosario (Director of Business Development – Open Programmes) to discuss your requirements. If you are interested in how we might work together more broadly, for example by funding and collaborating important research in this area, do reach out to our Development or Industry Partnership teams.

22 November 2023

Executive Education

Imperial Executive Education joins group of world-leading Business Schools to bring ESG expertise to Bain & Company’s Global Operations

Lavina Advani — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:33:26 +0000

Imperial Executive Education joins group of world-leading Business Schools to bring ESG expertise to Bain & Company’s Global Operations Lavina Advani Tue, 13/12/2022 - 10:33

Imperial Executive Education has partnered with the London office of Bain & Company to provide a specialist ESG-focused training programme, upskilling the company’s consultants around the world.

In the largest move of its kind within the top tier management consulting sector, Bain & Company’s Further Academy Programme is offering an accelerated and specialised, post-graduate-level global ESG training programme to upskill all its consultants across the firm worldwide.

Faculty from Imperial Business School, Grantham Institute and Centre for Environmental Policy have collaborated to create a curriculum tailored to support the firm’s goal of integrating ESG into 100% of its client work, reflecting the global imperative for companies across sectors to build sustainability and ESG into the fabric of their businesses.

Bain’s consultants and advisors, from entry-level to senior partners, will join the programme, equipping them to better advise on ESG issues within their areas of expertise and deliver on Bain’s own ambitious sustainable development goals.

Alongside Imperial, other world class institutions such as; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, HEC Paris, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and Melbourne Business School’s Centre for Sustainability and Business in Australia, will also provide their expertise.

François Faelli, Global Managing Partner for ESG at Bain & Company, said: “Reaching net zero on a global scale requires a tremendous investment in ESG skills. The next generation of business leaders must intuitively understand how to balance financial and non-financial objectives. I am proud to say that we will very shortly have succeeded in delivering this training for thousands of our advisors who will help steer our clients towards a more sustainable future.”

David Brown, Director of Executive Education at Imperial Business School, added: "Imperial is at the forefront of research and innovation for tackling the climate emergency, building new energy solutions, circular economies and driving sustainable and inclusive development. Understanding and addressing these challenges is a core part of our mission.”

28 November 2022

Executive Education

Executive Education Diary: Why true innovation is about more than having a good idea

Lavina Advani — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 11:39:08 +0000

Executive Education Diary: Why true innovation is about more than having a good idea Lavina Advani Tue, 14/06/2022 - 11:39

Written by Paddy Hanrahan, Strategy & Innovation Director at Helpforce

I spent the first leg of my career at Accenture, a global management consultancy, where I progressed to Managing Director level. I look upon my time there as an A-Z grounding in leadership and management. Over 13 years, I learned excellent skills such as client engagement, people management, digital transformation, and delivering system change.

In 2014 I took a sabbatical, and travelled around California with my wife and nine-month old son. It was during this time that I realised I wanted to do something completely different with the rest of my career. I wanted to devote myself to social change; to use my digital skills to better expose the impact that charities make and my system change skills to do that on a far greater scale.

Since that moment, I’ve helped launch two new charities which have grown and become established UK organisations. With my current employer Helpforce, we’re trying to transform how health and care is delivered through greater involvement of volunteers and communities, and to help manage increasing demand amid an understaffed and underperforming health and social care system.

Volunteering is not a space often associated with innovation by leaders within the NHS and social care. But Helpforce has changed that. We saw that the lack of evidence around the impact of volunteers was holding back the investment and growth of health volunteering. In response we created the Insight & Impact Service, which helps simplify the evaluation process for our clients. In helping them to collect far more data, in turn, we can convert this into evidence against outcomes that health leaders care about.

I had always seen innovation as a natural part of my digital transformation remit - that the two go hand in hand - but there was room for improving my understanding of what makes a successful innovation and, crucially, how we could better use design thinking as an organisation to develop more effective client services within Helpforce.

I researched several similar courses but chose Imperial Business School’s Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach Executive Education programme due to the institution’s strong brand, the fact that they were offering the course in-person (versus virtual), and the excellent reports I got from course alumni I reached out to.

Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach May 2022

Ultimately, Helpforce is trying to deliver change in the form of volunteering projects that make a significant impact on people and services, at scale. My hope was that this course could not only improve how we develop innovation within our organisation, but also how we could extend that to our clients (those leading volunteers and volunteer projects at the ‘front line’) to help them innovate themselves.

Following completion of the course there are three main take away ideas that I will look to implement in Helpforce:

Innovation means more than having a good idea - it’s about building a scalable commercial model

Innovation is an overused term these days. How many times per day do we hear a new technology or concept described as “innovative”, “disruptive” or “a game changer?”

On day one of the course we discussed what makes an innovation. Is it an idea? A solution to a problem? Is it something new? Is it something that can scale and make an impact?

The answer is that it’s all of these things. But, crucially, an innovation must also become a successful commercial model. Your proposal must be something so useful, so valuable, that a large number of customers must want to pay for it.

This wasn’t obviously applicable to Helpforce in that we do not have customers and we do not charge for our services. However, by replacing “customers” for “users”, and “pay” for “user value”, this perspective holds completely true.

The importance of Design Research from the very start, and understanding users’ emotions

The course took the 25 course participants firmly out of their comfort zone on the second day by sending us out into the streets of London to talk to random people. It’s never easy approaching strangers, and certainly not in London!

Our goal was to undertake ‘design research’ with target users. Unlike market research which asks very structured questions of a large audience, design research aims to do insightful digging with a smaller user group. Your questions aim to get to their emotions… the frustrations and pain points, and the things that make life better and easier.

The benefit of design research is that it’s done right at the very start – well before you even have any idea around what the possible solutions to the challenge could be. From all of the peers I spoke to on the course it was this approach that was the most radical take away, rather than conducting market research to validate a solution you’ve already developed further down the line. It is certainly something which will improve how we work within Helpforce, as it will enable us to provide truly tailored health and care initiatives that go straight to the heart of what our users need.

Innovation must involve everyone

Later in the course we explored how corporations best embrace innovation. What became clear is that it won’t work just by placing the responsibility on an “Innovation Lead” or department. Innovation is best delivered when it is embedded within the culture and workings of your organisation.

Whether user, customer, employee, manager or supplier - everyone needs to be involved. That user input from the design research needs to be the source and master reference point for all innovation development. And who better than the staff to come up with the ideas and solutions?

I will soon pass on what I’ve learned to the Helpforce team and embed ‘design thinking’ in how we work, and am looking forward to seeing how we can extend this way of working to our many clients across health and care.

This article was originally published on The Economist.

14 June 2022

Executive Education

Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach

Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach is a four-day course that guides participants towards becoming champions of innovation within their organisations.

Hybrid and remote working require a shift from managing to leading

Lavina Advani — Thu, 05 May 2022 17:14:36 +0000

Hybrid and remote working require a shift from managing to leading Lavina Advani Thu, 05/05/2022 - 17:14

One of the things that drives employees crazy is a boss who micromanages them, yet it is still common practice from the C-suite down. Micromanagers parse their role in terms of two main functions, direction and control, and believe they add value by getting involved in everything.

Not so, says Frans Campher, CEO of Integral Leadership Dynamics, who has over 20 years’ experience in executive education, leadership development and as a business coach for senior blue-chip executives. In his view those who hang on to the direct and control model of people management are going to struggle to bring employees with them in a hybrid working environment.

Campher, who is also a visiting fellow and director of the executive education programme at Imperial Business School in London, says companies are only beginning to realise the scope of the challenges posed by hybrid working and that the consequences, good and bad, won’t really become apparent for another two years. In the meantime those that want to thrive will need to transform from organisations that manage people to organisations that lead them.

“What’s not going to work is managers who feel they have to control the heck out of everything, and who see hybrid as a loss of control,” he says.

“I actually find it scary that technology providers are saying we can build programmes so you can monitor your people. This completely misses the fundamental point that if you treat people as adults, they will show up as adults. If you set high expectations and ask for their input into those expectations, they will come to the party and give you discretionary effort.”

What’s not going to work is managers who feel they have to control the heck out of everything, and who see hybrid as a loss of control

Side effect

Campher notes that one of the common side effects of climbing the corporate ladder is selective amnesia.

“Someone lands a promotion and suddenly thinks they have to control everything,” he says. “They forget that when they were being led, they appreciated their freedom and being seen and heard. They also appreciated knowing that their ideas mattered, as did the opportunity to grow and develop.

“I think creating the culture and conditions that allow people to do their best work is going to be the biggest challenge of hybrid working, not trying to control their every move.”

At its simplest leading is about being, whereas managing is about doing. The typical focus of managers is the nuts and bolts of daily tasks such as budgeting, planning and organising. By contrast, leaders deal more in strategy, developing the organisational culture and motivating and inspiring those around them to keep the show on the road.

However, the transition demands more than a change of job description. It’s about recognising that now more than ever companies need leadership and organisational agility that’s equal to the growing complexity of the business environment.

I think creating the culture and conditions that allow people to do their best work is going to be the biggest challenge of hybrid working, not trying to control their every move.

Types of leader

An agile leader is someone who can operate on more than one level. In Campher’s view, it demands the ability to operate on three and the skill to combine them. He describes these three levels as expert leader, achiever leader and catalytic leader.

“As an expert leader, I’m very good at command, control, directing, planning and organising. I have one-to-one relationships with the people I work with but I don’t create a cohesive team,” he says. “An achiever leader is one who starts to work through others and builds a team.

“An expert leader will look at the next two to three months and will deal with the urgent things in front of them. An achiever leader probably has a one year horizon, they use the team more effectively and have some organisational mission and purpose. The next level up is the catalytic leader, whose job is no longer to command and control in the short- term but to totally embrace the enterprise view of the business.”

The majority of leaders fall into the expert or achiever categories, with catalytic leaders, who know how to influence, work with stakeholders and lead change, much thinner on the ground. What Campher tries to do through coaching and executive education is help people lose their direct and control mentality and see the bigger picture.

He calls it filling the “expansion gap” and he doesn’t underestimate the shift in identity this requires, pointing out that when you ask someone who has spent their career micromanaging to stop doing so, they often panic because they don’t know what to do instead.

Catalyst

“It’s asking people to accept that they are no longer the expert driving their particular function, but someone who catalyses the whole culture of an organisation,” he says. “However, you often have leaders that don’t understand this third piece. It’s not that they only hang out there. Rather they have the range to be an expert, an achiever and a catalyst and can shift up and down depending on what’s required.”

To make it easier to understand the process of moving from managing to leading, Campher draws on the work of Benjamin Zander, orchestral conductor and author of the Art of Possibility.

“Zander has a TED talk on the transformative passion of music and he talks about leaders needing to make the shift from playing an instrument to becoming the conductor,” he says. “The job of the conductor is to create shiny eyes in the orchestra so that there are shiny eyes in the audience. That’s a wonderful metaphor to use for leaders too: I need to become a ‘conductor’ who creates shiny eyes in my people.”

This article was originally published on The Irish Times.

Leadership in a Technology Driven World

Imperial Leadership in a Technology Driven World Programme is a five-day immersive course that equips participants with the skills to lead their teams through the digital age.

22 April 2022

Executive Education

Leadership in a Technology Driven World

Imperial Leadership in a Technology Driven World Programme is a five-day immersive course that equips participants with the skills to lead their teams through the digital age.

Imperial Executive Education and Emeritus launch Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Lavina Advani — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 16:02:55 +0000

Imperial Executive Education and Emeritus launch Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Lavina Advani Tue, 08/02/2022 - 16:02

The 25-week programme, launched in January 2022, offers an interdisciplinary learning experience that will help professionals build in-demand skills to give them a competitive edge in machine learning and artificial intelligence – innovative technologies that are transforming the future of business.

In response to the growing need for professionals in the fields of machine learning and AI, Imperial Business School has launched, in partnership with global online education provider Emeritus the Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. The 25-week online programme will help learners acquire a unique combination of advanced technical expertise and the business acumen to put machine learning and AI into practice – and help them navigate the search for exciting opportunities in these fields.

Many companies are almost paralysed when it comes to digital transformation. There's so much happening right now they either don't know where to begin or how to make the maximum impact with the tools they already have.

Each contributing a unique perspective to the programme, Imperial’s Professors Wolfram Wiesemann, Ruth Misener, Christopher Tucci and Senior Teaching Fellow Alex Ribeiro-Castro will help learners develop a comprehensive understanding of machine learning and AI – and verse them in the intricacies that are critical to achieving success in the field.

“Many companies are almost paralysed when it comes to digital transformation. There's so much happening right now they either don't know where to begin or how to make the maximum impact with the tools they already have,” says Professor Tucci. “Our programme prepares professionals to help businesses harness the power of machine learning and AI and understand how they can be leveraged to meet objectives – while also using technology as a source for good in the world.”

“As the impact of machine learning and AI increases, it is critical for businesses to think about how they will leverage these technologies – now and in the future,” says Erin Rosenblatt, Vice President of Professional Certificates at Emeritus. “We at Emeritus are excited to partner once again with Imperial Business School to help professionals learn the true impact of machine learning and AI and discover opportunities in a dynamic, exciting field. At Emeritus, our mission is to equip today’s leaders with tomorrow’s skills, delivering a world-class, accessible and affordable education to all.”

The Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is geared towards professionals in IT, engineering, data and business analytics, as well as recent STEM graduates and academics who want to enter an industry with high career growth potential. The 25-week programme is priced at £3,995, including instruction fees, academic materials and access to online coursework. To learn more, visit here.

27 January 2022

Executive Education

National housing providers launch diverse Future Leaders Programme in partnership with Imperial Business School

Lavina Advani — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 12:29:02 +0000

National housing providers launch diverse Future Leaders Programme in partnership with Imperial Business School Lavina Advani Mon, 25/10/2021 - 12:29

A group of national housing providers have joined together with Imperial Business School Executive Education, supported by Altair, to launch the Future Leaders Programme specifically aimed at cultivating the next sector leaders in housing. The ambition is to create a sustainable legacy by providing a diverse pipeline of participants with the skills and mindset to become future leaders. It aims to address the lack of diversity at senior leadership within the sector and make clear that diverse leadership needs to be a national focus.

The Future Leaders Programme is a robust nine-month learning journey bringing together 18 mid-level managers from ethnic minority backgrounds from across the country. It provides an opportunity for participants to work on their capacity for soft power and develop their authentic leadership style, by providing tools to help participants lead their teams, influence others and be intentional about their legacy.

The Programme has been founded by The Guinness Partnership, Abri, Sovereign Housing Association, Places for People, Bromford Group, Onward Homes, and includes a leadership journey from world-renowned Imperial Business School. Topics covered will include Leadership Purpose, Psychological Safety, and Managing your Personal Brand among others, and will be delivered by academics from Imperial College Business School and experienced industry practitioners. These content sessions combined with facilitated activities and regular peer to peer coaching, brings together both the theory and practice to help build confidence in the participants ability lead and not just manage.

Catriona Simons, Chief Executive of one of the founding members, The Guinness Partnership, said:

''The under-representation of black and ethnic minority people at senior levels across so many sectors means we risk missing out on huge talent and diversity of thought. The housing crisis is one of this country's biggest immediate and long-term challenges, and to tackle it we must ensure we are investing in our leaders now and into the future, as well as promoting an inclusive sector for all those who engage with social housing. We have an inspiring group in our first cohort, and we look forward to supporting their growth into the next generation of housing leaders".

David Brown, Director of Executive Education at Imperial Business School highlights the importance of programmes such as this:

"Increasing and improving social housing, developing a cadre of leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds, and increasing diversity are all crucial issues for 21st century Britain. Imperial is delighted to be working with Altair and a consortium of forward-thinking Housing Associations to achieve these goals in an innovative and highly effective programme. Congratulations and good luck to the first cohort".

Applications for this year of the programme have closed. however. to find out more about the programme or to discuss how you could get involved in the future please contact Darren Smith, Consultant, Altair via email at darren.smith@altairltd.co.uk.

25 October 2021

Executive Education

Imperial Business School and Corndel partner to deliver Apprenticeship Programmes

Lavina Advani — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 14:11:49 +0000

Imperial Business School and Corndel partner to deliver Apprenticeship Programmes Lavina Advani Fri, 17/09/2021 - 14:11

Imperial Business School and Corndel have launched a new strategic partnership that brings together the academic excellence of a world-leading business school and the expertise of the country’s leading professional apprenticeship provider. The partnership will result in the creation of several world-class, high-impact training courses. In England these can be fully funded through the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy.

The first course launched under the partnership is the Imperial and Corndel Executive Development Programme, which equips participants with the practical leadership skills required to motivate teams, inspire change and improve business performance.

Participants will develop and evolve their leadership skills in the context of digitally transformed organisations. Topics include understanding sources of digital value, implementing digital transformation, and navigating regulatory and cyber security challenges.

The blended technology-enabled programme includes group seminars, masterclasses and continuous, personalised one-on-one coaching.

Going live in October 2021, the 12-month programme is designed for professionals who have at least five years of management experience and are looking to progress into senior management roles. Applicants will be assessed on their ability to undertake the course rather than any previous A-level or degree-based qualification they may have.

Upon programme completion, participants will receive an apprenticeship, Chartered Management Institute qualification and Imperial College Business School Executive Education Associate Alumni status.

David Brown, Imperial Executive Education’s Director said:

“Imperial Business School is delighted to partner with Corndel in this major initiative in executive education. At Imperial, we are committed to increasing access to leading edge thinking for businesses and organisations. We want to help individuals translate learning into practice and make a difference at speed. This initiative is in response to huge demand from companies and organisations seeking to increase their capabilities in management, leadership and technology. And in this case using the terrific opportunity afforded by the Apprenticeship Levy.”

James Kelly, Corndel’s Co-Founder said:

“Corndel are delighted to be partnering with Imperial Business School to continue to redefine the traditional apprenticeship and take forward our vision of brilliant lifelong learning for all. This partnership breaks down the silo between academic excellence and vocational training. It will give a new generation of managers both the management theory and the practical workplace skills required for today’s workplace”

The Imperial and Corndel Executive Development Programme will be open to applications from October 2021. If you are interested in helping your employees build stronger leadership skills to drive performance within your organisation, please get in touch here.

2 September 2021

Executive Education

Learn more about the programme

Apprenticeship Programmes

Imperial Executive Education has partnered with Corndel, an award-winning training provider, to deliver professional apprenticeship programmes designed to drive real impact. Together, we combine Imperial's academic excellence with Corndel's tailored coaching approach, to equip businesses and individuals with the skills and confidence to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Empathy is a skill that can be learnt

Executive Education Blogger — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 11:30:18 +0000

Empathy is a skill that can be learnt Executive Educ… Thu, 22/07/2021 - 11:30

What do you think of when you think of leadership? And what does leadership entail in the current context of crisis and uncertainty?

Traditionally, leadership is broadly understood as a set of skills – a matrix of technical and certain psychological or emotional competencies geared to managing people and resources in order to optimise outcomes.

Technical or hard skills have always been very much on the radar of all aspiring leaders, and rightly so. Managing any organisation successfully is contingent on truly understanding its different mechanisms; the interplay of finance, accounting, human resource management, marketing, sales, supply management – all of the diverse cogs that turn together and that drive day-to-day operations and continuity.

More recently though, there’s a growing focus on the so-called soft skills; the more human competencies and attributes that also form an essential part of the leadership toolkit. Leadership experts and researchers have highlighted the importance of things like compassion, communication skills, active listening or empathy in motivating, aligning and optimising human performance in the workplace.

McKinsey and others have published articles and studies that reveal that “compassionate leaders” outperform others and are more successful in fostering team spirit, engagement and loyalty. And in times of crisis, such as the present pandemic, this type of leadership becomes even more critical.

So what are these soft skills? And more importantly, how do you develop them?

First off, a lot depends on your mindset. The renowned US psychologist, Carol Dweck, has dedicated her career to shedding light on our mindsets and how personality and motivation tie to success. Broadly speaking, Dweck organises leaders into two mindsets: fixed and growth.

People with a growth mindset believe that they (and others) can develop, evolve and adapt to new circumstances or contexts over time. Conversely, the fixed mindset sees human behaviour as somehow set and immutable. We are who we are, and we don’t change.

Key to developing your soft skills as a leader is first to adopt a growth mindset; to embrace the possibility of change and growth. And that means reframing failure or challenge as opportunity; acknowledging and embracing imperfection; and leveraging what Dweck calls the “power of yet” – in other words, understanding that knowledge and skills are attainable over time and with effort.

Having a growth mindset means you are open to change in the way you think, learn and develop new skills – including the soft skills that compassionate leaders will need to deploy to steer their teams and organisations out of this crisis and towards the next normal.

Imperial’s Lisa Umenyiora, Executive Director of Careers, has run studies and surveys over the course of the pandemic looking at the kinds of qualities or soft skills that are increasingly on-demand and on the radar of organisations looking to rebuild and fortify their position as we enter the post-Covid landscape.

Here are just some of them.

1. Communication

Good communication is key not only to the flow transfer or important information within a team, but also to the shared understanding of culture, values and purpose of the organisation. Leaders who are effective communicators are better able to motivate, mobilise and align people and resources, especially in uncertain and complex environments. Think about how you communicate with your team, and focus on what matters – the meaning of your messages – and on how to keep things clear and simple. Think too about the way you use your body language, and how you decide when to be quiet and to proactively listen.

2. Active listening

Listening effectively means you capture vital information at the right time from the right person. But that’s not all. Leaders who actively listen also signal to their team members that they care, value and appreciate them as individuals; and that their input, opinion and expertise matter. And this is critical to building strong interpersonal relations and engagement which are critical to weathering difficult times.

3. Candour

In “normal” times, trust matters. But in times of crisis and uncertainty, trust is absolutely vital. Effective leaders understand that building trust is a two-way process and that it hinges on transparency, candour and vulnerability. Being honest, authentic and open even – perhaps especially – when you don’t have all the answers, demonstrates that you are a leader who can be trusted; that you have the human warmth as well as the competence to rally your team around a shared purpose and act in the interest of all.

4. Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to imagine and to understand another person’s perspective, experience and feelings. It’s the ability to “put yourself in the shoes” of someone else and see things from their point of view. Not only does empathy help leaders to build stronger, supportive relationships with employees – enabling them to succeed and excel – it also helps to understand the causes of performance issues or poor outcomes.

Empathy, like the other qualities mentioned here, is a skill that can be learnt, practised and developed. Taking time to think about why an employee or colleague makes a certain proposal or suggestion before critiquing or accepting it helps unlock a deeper understanding of motivation and perspective. So too will thinking about the impact or effect of your own words and actions – and remembering to care about what that impact might be.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought about a reckoning in terms of the way we work. But there is also an imperative to re-think and reevaluate the way that we lead. And it seems likely that even as this crisis fades, a new model of effective leadership built on empathy, candour, transparency, compassion and a willingness to listen will not just endure, but will actually determine who thrives in the new normal. (And who doesn’t.)

26 July 2021

Executive Education

New ways of working require new ways of leading

Frans Campher — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 12:38:07 +0000

New ways of working require new ways of leading Frans Campher Mon, 05/07/2021 - 12:38

Stepping up to the challenge of leadership requires a shift in mindset and a continuous broadening of specific critical skills – at the best of times. Unfortunately, as we start to emerge slowly into something approximating a post-Covid economy, leadership just got all the more complex.

Being effective as a leader in the new normal is contingent more than ever on getting your workplace relationships right. It’s about understanding their role in influencing, empowering, aligning and mobilising your single most important resource: your people. The pandemic revealed even more of the nature of the indomitable human spirit. Resilience, adaptability, perseverance, the sheer capacity for creativity and self-reinvention are the finest qualities that human beings possess.

But in its wake, leaders also need to be aware and sensitive to its fallout – the seismic shifts in the way we work, the blurring of boundaries between home and professional life and the ongoing uncertainty that teams and colleagues continue to grapple with every day. Embracing new ways of working, building or rebuilding the future and navigating the challenges ahead also mean embracing new – perhaps more human – ways of leading. These include prioritising relationships, fomenting trust and psychological safety, and empowering other people to deliver their best.

Leaders can use several core principles to ensure their people are engaged, self-motivated and disposed to give their discretionary effort to deliver exceptional results at this time when they are needed more than ever.

Here are three.

1. Balance relationships with tasks.

Covid-19 has delivered many lessons.

For leaders, perhaps one of the most important is the need to prioritise their relationships with the people in their teams. During the pandemic, those leaders whose teams performed well and showed the most resilience were the leaders who focused on maintaining and nurturing their relationships first before moving on to the many pressing tasks facing the team.

They found that genuine human interaction – however seemingly small or insignificant – had a catalysing effect, boosting people’s wellbeing and sense of engagement when times were tough and profoundly uncertain. And this is an insight that can and should endure beyond the pandemic. Simply put, when we put relationships first, performance and execution improve.

Try this for yourself. In your next team meeting or one-to-one, ask your people how they are. Please find out more about their challenges and how well they are coping. There’s no need to have advice or all the answers to hand – the simple act of listening will give you deeper insight and understanding of your team members while simultaneously ensuring that they feel heard, valued, and respected.

And that’s good for morale, for team engagement, and for your business.

2. Build psychological contracts, trust and safety

Good relationships are undergirded by trust. Where there is trust, there is also space for communication, for information sharing, for learning and growing, and for the kind of innovation and creativity to occur that are the fabric of any successful team and organisation.

Trust results from purposeful contractual psychological interchanges and your capacity as a leader to create a sense of safety. That means modelling transparency, authenticity, openness and even your own vulnerability, where appropriate.

Make it a clear objective to think about your team’s working agreement. Think about how you set expectations and understand how you all get the best from each other. And try to ensure that your team members feel empowered to fail – to ideate, experiment, make mistakes and learn from them. Then, as a leader, it’s down to you to find the ways to make your people feel safe enough to give their best and discretionary effort.  

Why not find the right way to ask your team members the following kinds of questions:

How can we be even more effective while working remotely?
How do I get the best from you?
How should I communicate effectively with you?
What support do you need from me?

3. Make the expansion from managing to leading

Ask most people, and they will tell you the same thing: most of us prefer to feel inspired, stretched, trusted and appreciated than managed, controlled, or simply told what to do when it comes down to it. Giving other people enough autonomy is the key to empowering them to learn, grow, and develop new skills and aptitudes – to have agency, make their own decisions, and contribute more to the team’s success.

This is one of the essential precepts of effective leadership, and it marks the distinction between a manager and a leader of people. It is a shift in mindset – the transition from thinking about yourself as the principal player who makes everything happen to a leader who can multiply your impact through others.

Leadership is about giving other people the context, the culture and the environment to shine and bring their best selves to their work. And that means being courageous about building the bench strength around you for the whole team – and the broader organisation to succeed.

This might feel scary. You might wonder what might happen to your role as a leader if you focus on empowering others – what if they leapfrog you within the organisation? But in reality, what happens is quite different. As the tide rises, all ships rise with it.

6 July 2021

Executive Education

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