In today’s fast-changing and complex public services, leadership requires more than just vision. It demands practical skills and capabilities that enable leaders to navigate through uncertainty with confidence and resilience; it requires system leadership.
This is where The Staff College’s new ” Leading in Uncertainty “ programme comes into play.
This is an intensive 4-day programme delivered across two 2-day residentials. The programme is designed to equip leaders and managers at all levels with mental models and tools needed to thrive and lead in unpredictable environments.
Bookings are now open for Cohort 2
Leading in Uncertainity Applications
Here's why investing your time in this programme is a worthwhile endeavour
- This programme will provide you with the techniques to stay agile and responsive, ensuring you can pivot quickly and effectively as circumstances change in your working environment.
- With a focus on practical tools, you'll learn how to make informed decisions even when there are multiple perspectives at play and situations are ambiguous.
- Beyond theoretical knowledge, you'll engage in hands-on exercises that enhance your ability to lead through crises. This will help you build trust and inspire confidence within your team.
- The programme offers a unique opportunity to connect with peers facing similar challenges. Through collaborative activities and discussions, you'll expand your professional network and gain new perspectives.
- The half-day format is designed to be intensive yet manageable, allowing you to integrate new skills without significant disruption to your daily responsibilities. You'll leave each session with practical takeaways that you can start using immediately.
Examples of Uncertainty:
- Financial uncertainty – budget pressures, funding reductions, rising demand and having to make difficult decisions about priorities.
- Political uncertainty – elections, changes in government priorities, new local leadership or shifting political expectations. This connects particularly well with the programme’s focus on political intelligence and planning within short-term election and financial cycles.
- Policy and legislative change – adapting services when national policy, regulation or guidance changes.
- Organisational change – restructures, changes in senior leadership, new operating models, mergers or changes to teams and responsibilities.
- Workforce uncertainty – recruitment and retention challenges, skills shortages, staff capacity and changing workforce expectations.
- Increasing or changing demand – not knowing what level or type of support children, families and communities may need in the future.
- Complex partnership working – needing to make progress when councils, health services, schools, social care and other partners have different priorities or perspectives
- Crisis and unexpected events – situations where leaders have to respond quickly without having all the information they would ideally want. The programme specifically includes developing the ability to lead through crises
- Long-term versus short-term pressures – trying to improve long-term outcomes for children and families while dealing with immediate financial and political pressures. This is directly reflected in the programme's scenario-planning session.
- Technology and service transformation – changes such as AI, digital services and new ways of working that create opportunities but also questions about how services and roles will evolve.
Our Programme includes:
- Residential element
- Practical tools to take away including personal VUCA toolkit
Join us for “Practical Tools for Uncertain Times” and empower yourself with the skills to lead effectively, no matter what the future holds.
Embrace the opportunity to transform uncertainty into a catalyst for growth and innovation.
Who should apply?
This programme is highly relevant to anyone working in public services at any managerial and leadership level. Whether you work in children’s services, health, education or social work you will find this programme will provide practical support for you in your role.
Sessions
Session 1: Connected leadership
This session will introduce key concepts from whole systems thinking and will explore ideas for leading change of complex issues. You will be introduced to, and will be given, the Staff College’s bespoke VUCA approach and toolkit.
Session 2: Leading in a Political Environment
In this session, we will consider how leadership behaviours shape culture and offer some tools for working in a political environment and improving your political intelligence.
Session 3: Planning for the Future: Children’s Futures Matter
In this session, we will use the Staff College’s scenario planning toolkit, “Children’s Futures Matter”. Using a whole family approach, this session will help us identify ways to strategically plan for the long-term for children within short term election and financial cycles.
Session 4: Reframing challenges - Don't think of an Elephant!
Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world. As a result, they shape the goals we seek, the plans we make, the way we act, and what counts as a good or bad outcome of our actions. This session will introduce us to practical ways to re-frame the challenges you face in your role.
Session 5: Managing Change In Human Services
This session offers practical ways to support your team to understand and work through change. Guided by the ‘Change House’ mental model, this session will introduce key concepts from whole systems thinking and will explore ideas for leading change of complex issues.
Session 6: Communication and conflict handling styles
Conflict is any situation in which your concerns or desires differ from those of another person, according to Thomas and Kilman; an inevitability when working in complex systems with multiple perspectives. This session will explore your approach to conflict and develop your conflict handling styles.