The Authentic Leadership Programme

I developed the Programme on the back of my own leadership training which I took in 2006/2007. The programme that I took lasted ten months and was designed as four modules, each lasting six days. My training had a huge impact on me personally and professionally, it fundamentally changed how I interact with others.

I have had a number of senior leadership roles during my career, without really being trained on how to do them. I realised that I was not alone in feeling like this and that others would benefit from this type of learning. So I developed the Authentic Leadership Programme to do just that, to allow people to see who they are and how they need to show up in order to have the impact they want to have. It sounds simple and it is; the challenge is that it is hard to change the habits formed in a life time without constructive, strengths-based feedback.

The Authentic Leadership Programme is based upon people's strengths and on becoming aware of where and how they 'get in their own way'. The programme focuses on our Self-Limiting beliefts and how these impact our behaviour. The one day workshops are contextual and experiential which means the participants gain experience from 'doing' exercises in the workshops, not just by being given information about Authentic Leadership. The recommended reading and Coaching are also key elements to the programme, they not only support the learning in the workshops but also outside in the workplace. The coaching can help personalise the learning and creates a structure to continue that personal development.

Historically the corporate world has focused on masculine leadership skills like strength, achievement and personal power. As the science around leadership has evolved, it has been shown that focusing on these masculine skills alone does not lead to sustainable high performance. What science has revealed is that we have to use a balance of masculine and feminine skills. The more feminine skills are things like intuition, connection and building relationships. Situational leadership requires us to learn how and when to use this more balanced set of skills.

I believe that Authentic (being more of who you are naturally) Leadership is the key to success as an individual and as an organisation. I also believe that we are all born with both Masculine and Feminine characteristics we just learn over time to demonstrate one more than the other, depending on the life and work experiences that we each have.

If you read any of the work by Daniel Goleman, he says that the most effective leaders have to be able to demonstrate four of the situational leadership styles, specifically Authoritative, Democratic, Affiliative and Coaching. The other two styles, Coercive and Pace-setting, are designed for specific situations and are unsustainable in the long term; they have the biggest negative impact on employee morale when used in situations they are not designed for. If you want more information on this, see Harvard Business Review 'Leadership that Gets Results' by Daniel Goleman.

So, back to the Authentic Leadership Programme. It is designed to help people understand their Values (unique operating system) and to make conscious choices around honouring their values. It is about having intentional impact as a leader and about being emotionally aware of their impact as a leader and about being emotionally aware of their impact and of the impact of others - as you go about living your life, at home and at work...The Authentic Leadership Programme provides the framework for people to take responsibility for their work and careers, in a way which is empowering to the individual and the organisation.

It is a six month contextual, experiential Programme which consists of five one-day workshops, four recommended reading books and twelve hours of professional coaching. For more detailed information about the course content click here.

To date over 200 people have been through or are participating in the programme in the UK, Ireland and Canada.