28 May 2009

New £9.5m Leadership Development Programme for the Northwest

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has launched today (27th May) the rollout of a significant new leadership development programme across the region, following a highly successful long-term pilot project at Lancaster University.

The £9.5 million Northwest programme, known as LEAD (Leading Enterprise and Development), is an integrated learning and development programme, which will be delivered by a network of providers to businesses in the region.

LEAD is an innovative leadership programme designed specifically for, and in conjunction with, businesses with up to 20 employees in England’s Northwest.

The programme was developed and piloted by Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) with the support of the NWDA, over the past five years and over 150 business owners have been through the programme with proven results.

An independent evaluation of the initial pilot showed that 90% of business owners who took part in the programme reported an average annual sales increase of £200,000. Previous delegates have also credited the programme with, growth, improving staff productivity, and business processes which in turn has allowed them to step back and focus on the strategy and growth of the business rather than the day to day running.

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said: “Organisations have recognised leadership and management as a priority to enhance productivity and competitiveness, and over the last 20 years have devoted substantial resources to this. In contrast engagement by small and medium sized enterprises is often limited by time and financial constraints, however better skills at higher levels drive leadership and management, which are the key drivers of growth and profit.”

“The NWDA has a major role in ensuring that training, education and skills development is meeting the needs of employers and individuals in the Northwest. By working with partners throughout the region our work can benefit a range of businesses.”

LEAD concentrates on the two most important areas of the business; the business itself and the personal development of the owner manager.

The programme brings support and knowledge to owners who find themselves so wrapped up in the day to day running of the company that they find it difficult to take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. Primarily, owners arrive at the programme with specific issues they want to tackle. These issues are then tackled head-on, not theoretical problems, but real life business challenges and the programme provides structured processes and answers to specific problems.

Michael Gray from 1st Stop Finance, a past delegate of the LEAD pilot said: “We achieved a fourfold increase in turnover, with our workforce now up to 119. To grow as rapidly as we did, while also increasing profits is a difficult balancing act, but LEAD helped us to implement very effective policies allowing us to achieve the right balance.”

The expansion of LEAD will enable a further 2000 business across the Northwest to benefit from the programme up to March 2012. Thirteen new providers have been appointed to deliver LEAD across the region (see list below), forming a network of support focussed on SME growth.

Marian Ginesi of Linco Communications, a current delegate on the LEAD pilot, said: “We now feel we have a business and not a hobby. Since I started LEAD our business has tripled its turnover”

Sue Peters, LEAD director at Lancaster University Management School, said: “LEAD contributes to raising regional productivity and promotes business growth by specifically focusing on the leadership development of participating owner-managers. The findings of the pilot evaluation suggest that we have certainly made our mark.”

“The overriding feeling among owner-managers going into the programme is a sense of isolation. As well as being consumed by the need to be involved in the minutiae of delivering services to their customers and running all aspects of the business, they find it difficult to stand back from the day-to-day activities to focus on strategic planning.” Sue explained. “Our findings show that participants have learned enhanced staff development, delegation and management skills that have freed up time for to focus of the strategy and growth of the enterprise.”

The NWDA is pleased to announce a strong network of college, university and private sector partners from across the region who will deliver the programme on behalf of the Agency. The providers include:
• Greater Manchester: Knowledge Transfer International Ltd; Manchester Metropolitan University; The Manufacturing Institute (TPMI Trading) Ltd; University of Salford
• Lancashire: CX Ltd; Enterprise 4 All Ltd; Lancaster University; Learning & Skills Network Ltd; University of Central Lancashire
• Merseyside: Knowledge Transfer International Ltd; No Guru Ltd; Runshaw College; University of Liverpool
• Cheshire: Knowledge Transfer International Ltd; Manchester Metropolitan University
• Cumbria; University of Cumbria

The NWDA is playing a crucial role in response to the current economic downturn, with a number of actions being taken to meet the needs of businesses during these challenging times. To keep updated on the range of support being offered by the NWDA go to www.nwda.co.uk/supportingbusiness

For more information on business support in the Northwest visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northwest

Business owners who wish to participate on or hear more about the LEAD programme should visit www.businesslinknw.co.uk/lead 
ENDS

Notes to editors:

LEAD concentrates on two areas of the business: the business itself and the personal development of the owner-manager. The programme is made up of several elements which run alongside each other throughout the 10 months:

• Overnight Experiential – the first element of the programme is two day group activity with an overnight stay. This helps members of the cohort get to know each other and helps them start thinking about their current leadership style.
• Masterclasses – 10 masterclasses are split into two themes, business growth and leadership.
• Coaching – a solutions focussed coaching approach changes how members work with people both inside and outside their organisation.
• Action Learning Sets – a group of 6-7 cohort members who meet to discuss real business issues resolving them through listening and questioning techniques designed to establish positive actions.
• Shadowing and Exchanges – Cohort members are partnered for a series of shadowing visits and exchanges.  The process begins with a shadowing exercise where members will observe and reflect on the behaviour of their chosen exchange partner in their place of work. This is followed up by a series of exchanges where both members will go into their partner’s business and conduct a mini evaluation project.
• On-line forum- - members share what they have learnt in Masterclasses and discuss issues from Action Learning Sets. They also have access to podcasts, Masterclass presentations and additional reading.
LEAD is a 10 month programme requiring 2-3 days commitment a month. This is a high value course supported by the NWDA resulting in a maximum cost to the business of £2K.  Funding may be available through the Train to Gain L&M programme to reduce this cost further.

SME owner-managers who wish to participate on or hear more about the LEAD programme need to complete a LEAD Referral e-mail at www.businesslinknw.co.uk/lead. They will then be invited to a preview event that gives a taste of the key elements of LEAD where they will be able to sign up for the full programme as part of the application process if they wish.