Programme overview and purpose
This programme supports Leaders in Public Services to strengthen emotionally intelligent leadership through practical, relational skills that improve day-to-day conversations and build trust across the system. It integrates core coaching behaviours and Emotional Intelligence so leaders can build stronger, safer, more human cultures while role‑modelling relational leadership, clarity and accountability.
This 2 day programme can be stand alone or complement existing Staff College leadership programmes, allowing greater depth, exploration and practice of the relational aspects of leadership.
You don’t need to be a qualified coach to use some fundamental coaching tools and skills to enhance your effectiveness as a leader. In the context of the increasingly uncertain and complex challenges facing our communities and services, leaders don’t have all the answers.
Bringing coaching skills to our leadership ‘toolbox’ can increase our personal and interpersonal effectiveness, help us to work more constructively and collaboratively with our partnerships and teams, and role model behaviours that influence organisational cultural change.
By the end of the programme, leaders will be able to:
- Lead with humanity in complex systems: holding care and accountability together in high‑pressure environments.
- Notice more: improve self and social awareness—spot dynamics, emotions, power, unspoken concerns and early signals of drift.
- Listen better: strengthen presence, empathy and curiosity to reduce escalation and improve clarity.
- Respond with intent: choose language and approaches that create better outcomes, not just faster ones.
- Strengthen coaching skills: use focused questions, deep listening and structured reflection to unlock thinking, ownership and solutions in others.
- Shift culture: role model relational leadership that improves psychological safety, challenge, learning and feedback norms.
- Context-led learning: content anchored in real Children’s Services scenarios (multi-agency tensions, scrutiny, workforce pressure, risk decisions, complaints, high-emotion conversations).
- Experiential: plenty of skill practice with observation and feedback.
- Role-modelling throughout: facilitation style demonstrates the behaviours being taught (presence, inquiry, repair, clear boundaries).
- Applied learning between sessions: small, realistic practice commitments embedded between sessions.
- Psychological safety with challenge: a supportive environment that still builds confidence in difficult conversations.
- Transfer to workplace: tools are simple, reusable, and tailored for immediate use in the day job.
- Use and integration of the Staff College’s Coaching Skills Toolkit
Pre-work
This will be sent out to participants in advance of the first session and will require completion of tasks such as:
- Positive Intelligence (PQ) questionnaire
- Short reflection prompts: (e.g. current relationship challenges/conflicts at work)
- live dilemmas for use in practice (e.g. feedback, conflict, this can all be annonymised).
Session 1 (½ day online): Foundations and shared language
Focus: establish psychological safety, introduce shared frameworks, and start practice immediately.
Key elements:
- Programme contracting including expectations and confidentiality
- Leader as coach (behaviours)
- Importance of psychological safety: balancing challenge and care.
- Practice using breakout exercises
- Exploring Sense-making tool
Homework
- Putting learning to practice – use 1–2 “coaching behaviours” in a live conversation or meeting and share feedback in next session
Session 2 (1 day in-person): Core skills, models and practice
Focus: deepen practice, build confidence, and rehearse real-life conversations.
Key elements:
- EQ under pressure
- Building relationships across the system: influence, trust, and staying connected during disagreement.
- Feedback that lands: models for clear behavioural feedback
- Conflict navigation: tools for de-escalation and clarity
- Coaching behaviours in meetings and 1:1s
- Perceptual positions for perspective-taking, empathy, and reducing entrenched conflict.
- Role modelling
Homework/practice
Participants commit to putting both points into practice:
- at least two “coaching-style” conversations
- one planned difficult conversation using the models/tools.
Optional buddy check-in with a peer to rehearse and debrief
Session 3 (½ day online): Review progress, take stock and future actions
Focus: consolidate learning, troubleshoot barriers, and embed ongoing habits.
Key elements:
- Reflect and review
- Peer coaching
- Embedding plan: personal commitments
- Next steps: individual action plan and measurement of behavioural change.
- 7 September 2026 - registration closes
- 28 September - Prework sent out
- 14 October - online half day (9.30-12.30)
- 11 November - Full day in person
- 15 December - online half day (9.30-12.30)
Venue: The Studio, Birmingham
Programme costs
The cost will be £995 (+ VAT) per person.