Agenda
The programme consists of 5 core elements delivered over 5 continuous days:
- Leadership
- Governance
- Strategy
- Marketing and Communications
- Finance
Key issues covered throughout the programme include:
- Understanding and applying the principles of good governance
- Boardroom characteristic, structure and behaviours
- Tools to increase personal and boardroom effectiveness
- The role and responsibilities of the Board, Directors and non-executive directors (NEDs)
- Developing the strategy and setting the vision, mission and values
- Corporate social responsibility
- Leadership and creating high performing teams
- Motivating and driving performance
- Improving decision making
- Understand the key differences between direction, management and ownership
- Financial management, models and decision making
- Communication skills
- Driving the organisation through clear and effective performance measures
*The agenda is for a guide only and is subject to change
** The delivery of this programme via the virtual classroom may differ to ensure the optimum learning experience within this environment. However, the learning outcomes will remain the same.
The virtual course would be 4 x 90 minute sessions per day, with breakouts and tasks leading to the next session. The course is highly interactive and fully recorded for future reference. Please prepare for your virtual classroom course by reading our virtual classroom information guide.
***if government restrictions, advice or social distancing prevent us from running any scheduled face to face course dates, In Professional Development may opt to deliver the scheduled course date via our Virtual Classroom platform. Please click here for more details about our virtual classrooms.
- Director duties as defined in the Companies Act 2006
- Corporate and ethical governance
- Risk management in the current climate
- Offering both challenge and support in the boardroom and managing stakeholders
- Considering on-going legislative changes
- The key financial reports and metrics of a business, including cashflow, balance sheet, and profit & loss / income statements
- How to interpret the financial information from a non-financial perspective
- Understanding accounting principles and standards
- Methods that can be used by finance directors to create financial information that is non-financial friendly, including financial ratios
- Understanding the relationships between a company’s financial stakeholders and its directors / business owners
- Recognising the signs of a failing company
- How to rely on and gain the most from the finance function
- Self-awareness in leadership and 21st Century leadership practice
- Developing an inquisitive mind-set and leading organisational change and knowledge
- Managing performance and measuring progress
- Influencing a positive culture in the workplace through effective, responsible, and sustainable leadership
- Managing diverse inter-dependent teams
- Developing soft skills for performance (coaching and mentoring) and developing effective teams and resilience in the workforce
- Understanding differences between strategic and operational thinking
- Strategic business planning concepts
- Designing and managing a process for successful organisational change
- Defining the business environment and influential factors
- Reviewing a range of strategic leadership and management theories to inform best practice
- Deriving value and market share from research and insights
- Developing a brand and ‘the universal truth’
- The purchasing decision making process
- Public affairs and stakeholder communications
- Digital and social marketing
Tutors
Matt Eld -
Matt is an expert in marketing strategy and business transformation. He is a senior leader with over 25 years’ experience of improving and growing businesses, gained from a variety of senior management roles. Matt has held MD and Director posts in a FTSE 250 organisation, Marketing and Communications agency and as a business owner. A CIM Marketer by background, Matt has amassed a wealth of commercial transformation and marketing communications experience. He is an accomplished communicator and is skilled at operating at all levels of the organisation, analyzing and quickly establishing business challenges and developing sustainable solutions. He has strong influencing and negotiation skills and can drive transformation change to success with authority and a clear vision. His broad range of experience covers multiple disciplines including marketing, communications and crisis management, commercial development, change management, organisational development, IT & technology deployment, project management and business improvement.
Matt is a director level project and transformation professional with demonstrated ability to create and translate strategy into measured operational performance improvement. He has extensive experience in marketing, customer acquisition, project management, organisational redesign and commercialization, which he has gained across direct and agency environments in Higher and Further Education, Media & Publishing and Local Government sectors. He is an accomplished leader and influencer from the boardroom to front line teams across multiple location.
Caroline Forman -
I have over 20 years of experience working in small and large businesses in HR roles. I started my career in Resourcing before moving into Talent Management, Leadership development and Coaching. I have worked in start - ups, small and large global businesses within a variety of sectors including Retail, Finance, Public Sector, Manufacturing and IT.
Steve Barry -
Steve’s twenty five year career has spanned a number of sectors including Utilities, IT, Business & Professional Services including ten years as HR Director within Financial Services.
Throughout this time, he has managed several large organisational and cultural change programmes, ensuring the businesses he works with are fit for purpose and have a highly skilled and engaged workforce. Steve’s pragmatic approach to People Leadership has delivered benchmark performance and successfully achieved the Investors in People, Gold Award and being asked to act as one of IIPs Champions. In addition to his roles within Human Resources, Steve has a successful track record as the Customer Operations Director for an insurance business where he successfully demonstrated his leadership through non-HR lenses.
Now working as a full time Executive Coach and Leadership Development specialist, Steve has established himself as a trusted advisor working with Executive teams to develop people strategies and build organisational talent and professional capabilities. His client portfolio comprises national and international businesses across multiple sectors including Manufacturing, Retail, Professional Services, Local Government, Education and Tech firms. Steve also writes for professional journals and is a speaker at events regarding leadership development, employee engagement and change.
Stewart McCombe -
Stewart has a career background in corporate banking, and is a highly experienced commercial individual, who commenced a transition into the not for profit sector at the end of 2009. He now has a portfolio of Chair, Board and consultancy roles across not for profits and SMEs.
Throughout his career, Stewart has developed a proven track record in the North West corporate market. In roles covering both relationship management and business development, his key skills of brokering and relationship building ensured the management of multiple stakeholders, at all times undertaken with outstanding levels of integrity. Core to his roles at Bank of Scotland were the management of key entrepreneur relationships for the bank.
In recent years, he has rapidly developed a profile in the not for profit sector, maintaining key board roles across a range of areas, including leisure and social care
Stewart has a range of financial, operational and strategic experience in the private, public and not for profit sectors, including charities, local authorities, banking and venture capital. This has captured a range of areas, including direct roles in leisure, adult care, the arts, environment and recruitment, coupled with a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, service, retail, building products and housebuilding during his corporate banking career. Stewart is at ease in any environment, from start-up to plc boardroom.
Benefits of learning with in>pd
We know that taking time out of the office to focus on personal development can be difficult, yet the value and benefits of doing so can be immediate and exponential.
Build valuable skills
The Directors Development Programme will increase your confidence in managerial and leadership abilities; particularly in terms of formulating strategy. It will increase your knowledge and understanding of governance, financial management, problem solving and change management. Resulting in team and organisational development.
Network with peers and share best practice
During your learning experience at the Directors Development Programme, you will be able to meet other like-minded Directors and business leaders. The programme encourages and facilitates the sharing of experiences and best practice. Following completion of the programme, you will become part of an exclusive alumni, offering you access to an ever-growing community of current and future leaders.
Turn theory into practice
You will learn how to apply theories and best practices in your current role through simulations, role playing, case studies and discussions. These learning methods will enable you to apply business and management principles and theories directly into leadership practice and organisational policymaking.
Progress and improve effectiveness at Director level
The Directors Development Programme will equip you with the tools to implement strategic improvements in your workplace.
Other benefits include:
- The essential skills, knowledge, expectations and legal requirements for Directors to be effective in their role, condensed into one highly effective development programme
- Minimum time away from the office and your professional commitments
- Guidance on your strategic planning with current tools, techniques and thinking
- Share best practice and personal experiences with peers in an open, supportive and intensive learning environment
- Savings in time and costs involved in enrolling on more traditional executive development programmes
- Develop your core skills in a flexible way and without diverting your focus away from your professional duties and day to day responsibilities
- Improvement on the bottom line with your increased financial understanding and planning
- Exponential improvement in your leadership skills and personal confidence
- Measurable results with your enhanced knowledge of key strategic marketing tactics
- Success in the project you undertake with a greater understanding of how to take a project from start to completion successfully
- Improvement on your ability to influence and impact colleagues and clients
- Enhanced negotiation techniques and skills to increase your success in commercial agreements
Accreditation
You can attend the Directors Development Programme Accelerator on an accredited and non-accredited basis
The PGCert in Strategic Leadership for Directors (WBIS) is validated by University of Chester and students who successfully complete the programme will be eligible for a University of Chester award.
The PGCert is an additional cost of £2,500+vat. This includes your enrolment with the university, additional learning support, access to supporting materials and a dedicated personal supervisor that will support you with your assignment completion and submissions.
You can read move about the available qualification on our qualifications page.