Preparing talented women for leadership

Duration: Typically 3 days, with additional coaching sessions, delivered at a venue of your choice, anywhere in the UK.

Course leader Kate Jennings is a highly qualified and experienced trainer, coach and consultant with an industry background in product development, working with major retailers. Kate developed the programme in response to a desire by employers to see more women in leadership roles within the traditionally male preserves of IT, science and engineering. Focused on overcoming the specific obstacles real women have identified, and drawing on years of leadership and professional skills training expertise, Kate helps delegates break through glass ceiling that has held many women back in the past.

Programme goals and rationale

It has been widely recognised that women are under-represented in engineering, technology and science in general, and in leadership roles within these sectors in particular. Part of the reason for this is the difficulty many women have in entering and navigating a male dominated culture. The low numbers of women in leadership roles can contribute to this culture, and also make it harder for aspiring female leaders to identify role models to follow.

In order to succeed in this environment, women need to be confident and assertive, as well as possess a range of skills to manage other people and play the political game successfully. The purpose of this programme is to develop the leadership skills, capability and confidence of aspiring women leaders so that they can flourish as leaders today, and provide superb role models for women in engineering, technology and science in the future.

It will help them achieve:

Increased assertiveness and confidence
Ability to navigate the political landscape
Ability to think more strategically
Confidence to tackle difficult issues with their manager and / or colleagues
Improved interpersonal and communication skills
Ability to handle pressure and increase their resilience
Increased presence in the workplace.
Enthusiasm to take on more responsibilities
More focus

Who is it for?

This programme has been designed for new and aspiring women leaders in IT, science, technology and engineering. So whether currently in a management role or a potential manager of the future, this course provides delegates with the tools to overcome the specific difficulties women can face building a career in technical and scientific sectors.

Programme outline

The programme typically comprises 3 days with additional coaching sessions, and will cover the three key areas of:

Increasing personal impact
Leadership & Management
Strategy, power and politics

The sessions have a mix of theory and practical exercise so that all the learning is applied to their day-to-day situations. Individuals are encouraged to complete an Action Plan to try new behaviours and skills back at work.

Key characteristics of the programme

The individual coaching sessions enable delegates to focus on individual issues.
The group environment enables delegates to share common experiences while relating the material to their own work environment
Additional reading material enables delegates to explore the subjects covered to stretch and challenge their thinking.

Key content

Please click on the headings below for details.

Session 1: Increasing personal impact

The primary purpose of this section is to:

Enable delegates to increase their visibility and operate more confidently within a male environment.

The session will cover:

Increasing personal impact
Recognising unconscious gender bias
Enhancing visibility and voice
Identifying preferred influencing style and how to adapt it (questionnaire completed before the course)
Communicating assertively
Five communication styles and how to spot and use each one
Handling conflict confidently
Tackling tricky conversations
Action planning

Session 2: Leading and managing your team

The primary purpose of this session is to:

Help delegates develop leadership and management practices that fit with their personal preferences and the team they’re working with to achieve objectives.

The session will cover:

Engagement science – understanding engagement of teams and motivating individuals within teams
Leadership behaviours, skills and knowledge
Leading in a man’s world – identify the areas where women traditionally lack power as leaders and learn how to overcome common obstacles to success
Management – what does it mean and how do we do it?
Setting objectives within a flexible research-orientated culture
Developing an adaptive leadership style
Action planning

Session 3: Strategy, politics and resilience

The primary purpose of this section is to:

Help delegates identify the power networks, navigate the political landscape and build networks that support and help them move forward as women leaders in the future.

The session will cover:

Strategic thinking and planning
Seeing the bigger picture
Power and politics
Understanding the political landscape and how to influence it
Increasing your personal profile in the work environment
Building networks, coalitions and support processes
Developing personal resilience
Action planning

Coaching sessions

Each delegate also receives one-to-one coaching session with the course trainer and qualified coach, Kate. The coaching is entirely tailored to them, providing an opportunity to focus on their specific needs. It can help bring fresh perspectives on personal challenges, greater interpersonal effectiveness, and increased resilience and confidence at work. They might also choose to focus on career development or voice coaching – depending on the needs. Delegates say that they find this session an extremely useful part of the programme, enabling their learning to be further applied and embedded.

We can also base this session around feedback from one of a range of psychometrics and questionnaires, including:

A 360-degree Emotional Intelligence report (completed by a range of colleagues and stakeholders that the individual works with, focussing on different aspects on Emotional Intelligence)
Traditional 360-degree appraisal
StrengthsFinder® skills assessment based on the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment
DISC
... and other options depending on your needs

Client feedback for this course

“This course was unlike any other I have been on and it has been nothing short of transformational for me! I am weaving aspects of it into areas of my life both inside and outside of work with great effect. Being able to openly share experiences with other women on the course was enlightening, particularly discussing challenging situations we have encountered and how we have dealt with them. During the course we established an ongoing network to support and motivate one another in applying the practical strategies and techniques as we go forward with our careers. Rather than being spoon-fed information or told what was best for us, Kate – as an incredibly insightful leader – engaged with each one of us throughout. This created a dynamic environment enabling us to find many of the answers or solutions ourselves, with the guidance of Kate. I am noticeably more confident and self-aware since I took part on the course and feel empowered to develop my career in a way that plays to my strengths and embraces change.”
Dr. Rachel Cavanagh, British Antarctic Survey

Find out more or book a course

If you have any questions or if you would like to speak to Kate or one of our other trainers about the Women Leaders programme, please get in touch to arrange a call.

Delivery prices

Delivery prices vary depending on the number of delegates to be trained, your choice of psychometric tools, and how the programme is adapted to meet your needs. For us to provide an initial idea of pricing please contact us with the following information:

The number of delegates to be trained
Where the course would take place
Any additional information about particular needs, goals or other parameters

Just drop us a line with these basic facts and we’ll get back to you with a no-obligation quote on the same day.

Cambridge Executive Development is a boutique learning consultancy with a small and select team specialising in management and communication skills training. Over fifteen years we’ve helped delegates from hundreds of companies, including many of the country’s biggest brands, boost their productivity and confidence, and transform their impact at work.