The work of The Praxis Centre has been part of the School of Management for over 35 years, we are dedicated to leadership and management development by focusing on an individual's (or groups of individuals) personal development. Our focus has always been on the more advanced aspects of leadership development: what comes after the learning of general management and business function skills and knowledge fundamentals. Placing organisational awareness personal insight over knowledge transfer, our inspirational ground-breaking person-centred approach to learning has earned us a global reputation for impact by using experiential and innovative learning techniques.
Our distinctive approach to leadership development is carefully designed to complement other programmes in our portfolio. We build upon general management or specialist skills, elevating individuals or groups of individuals to their next level of development. Building on the knowledge and experience they have already acquired. This could be the final ‘polish’ ahead of, or just after, a promotion. Or it could be elevating a particular aspect of leading themselves or others. Or it may just be in the realm of enhancing their impact as a leader through the way they conduct themselves or manage their, increasingly virtual and media dependent, leadership presence.
Programmes for Senior Leaders
Continuously developed over 30 years, our senior leadership programmes are primarily for experienced leaders within organisations, typically director level or equivalent, who have an existing grasp of traditional business skills. They typically already have an understanding of strategy, innovation, finance, operations and other important areas of leadership knowledge. They have often also been exposed to previous leadership development. We help in exploring practically but powerfully their existing leadership practice, and the ways they can improve this within their current and future contexts. Though each participant moulds each programme around their own needs and challenges, themes typically explored include:
- The origins of my current leadership style
- The effects of my leadership style on others
- The drivers underpinning my leadership practice
- Ways to manage and adapt my approach to leadership
- Developing ways to inspire as well as motivate
- How to increase engagement as well as achieve organisational goals
- Deepening resilience and resourcefulness
Programmes for Experienced People Managers
Our senior leadership programmes provide the vital support for experienced people managers who are making the transition into leadership. Specifically developed for busy individuals with experience in managing people, we have cultivated a suite of programmes to help practically yet meaningfully shape them into powerful leaders of people. Our programmes in this area are carefully designed to incorporate participants actual challenges into each programme, making them practical and immediately impactful. Typical development areas addressed include:
- Broadening my outlook beyond my own area
- Identifying and developing my network
- Getting the best from people by connecting with their motivation
- Removing myself from the day to day and looking further ahead
- Improved personal performance through self-awareness and increased insight
- Raised levels of organisational performance through the effective leadership of individuals and teams
- The development of new productive habits and a talent for leading people
- Dealing with increased responsibility and pressure
- Building role model behaviours
