Sense Scotland Business School developed a leadership training program in 2011 to address issues identified from staff and management surveys such as lack of promotion opportunities for internal candidates and a need for better leadership. The program consisted of 7 modules covering topics like communication, time management, and conflict resolution. It was intended to support culture change, strategic planning, and staff development. Feedback from participants showed the interactive, case-based approach helped managers link theory to practice and reflect on their own leadership styles. Over 90 staff participated in the 7 training sessions held over 9 days. Outcomes included better role understanding and improved expectations.

2. Sense Scotland Business School
Developing our Leaders
Andy Kerr, CEO
Ian Noble, Head of Training and
Learning

3. Why?
• Started September 2011
• Managers Conference 2011
– The deal
• Management Survey
• Staff Survey/Stress Survey
• Internal candidates not getting promotion
• Need for Better Leadership
• Need for Culture Change
• New Strategic Planning Process
• Governance Review

4. Objectives
• To support
– Culture Change
– Strategic Plan delivery
– Quality Assurance Programme
– New Supervision Arrangements
– New Governance Arrangements
– Staff
• Skills Development
• Retention
• Value

5. Content
Areas for support and development based on
analysis of feedback from Managers’ conference:
Communication
Time management
IT skills
Business planning
Feelings
Managing change and conflict
General management and leadership

6. Content…2
• Discussion at LT and with the course tutors
– Managers already hold registration qualifications
– Underpinning knowledge input and discursive approach
to learning
– Content and delivery in line with NOS for Leadership
and Management
– A series of modules to study in groups
– Opportunity for peer support

7. Style
Participants wanted:
• Interactive – peer support- looking at real issues together
– not abstract- safe/confidential
We also wanted:
• pre and post module exercises – linking theory to
practice
• Follow up with line managers through support and
supervision –bringing topics to life

8. The course
• Leadership (2 Days)
• Building the Team (2 Days)
• Managing Performance (1 Day)
• Managing Your Time (1 Day)
• Problem Solving & Decision Making (1 Day)
• Planning & Managing Change (1 Day)
• Managing Conflict in the Workplace (1 Day)

9. Feedback
Participants’ comments:
• Linking theories to practice made me think about why things work the way they do… keen to get
feedback form staff via evaluations and set my own objectives and areas of development
• I will be asking staff to appraise my performance so I can improve
• It was useful to see that certain patterns of team behaviour may have developed as a result of
certain previous leadership styles
• Need to think more about the motivational factors for staff
• How my approach will affect the responses I get from the team
• I need to put my head above the parapet sometimes
• Has helped me to think about what I need from my employer to enable me!
• Better understanding of why some team members behave the way they do in group situations
• Training like this makes you think about how you work with people… need to get my managers
together as a group more often

10. Feedback…2
• Importance of analysing and reflecting… looking at how I can bring my team together more
• Sometimes, as managers, we strive for harmony – overlooking the fact that constructive conflict can be
useful.
• You get better results from a team than from an individual
• Team dynamics – are we who we think we are?
• Hope to promote a more effective team through better delegation and performance management
• Discussion around barriers to good performance was really valuable – accountability and trust are both
relevant issues.
• Time stealers - exercise and solutions was really valuable
• Good time management techniques will help reduce the additional hours I work some days
• Has helped identify some of the main reasons why we don’t us our time as well as we should – and the
reason why we get stressed
• Need to consider ramifications of poor time management for whole organisation – to become a more
effective manager by organising my time and setting achievable goals and tasks

11. Feedback…3
End of course presentation to peers and LT
representatives –
• What were the key learning points for you?
• What did you do with new ideas?
• What difference has it made?

12. How many?
• 90 staff
• seven sessions over nine days plus feedback event
• Achievement recognised at annual Staff Awards event

13. Outcomes
• Better understanding of roles
• Better understanding of expectations
• Final presentations from managers

14. Further information
Please contact:
Andy Kerr akerr@sensescotland.org.uk
Ian Noble inoble@sensescotland.org.uk
www.sensescotland.org.uk