Women's Leadership

Women's Leadership Programme

Develop your leadership capabilities and build a professional support network for life with this programme for mid to senior level women passionate about making a difference with their leadership impact.

Women’s Leadership is a practical seven-month programme that supports you to develop your leadership capabilities and tackle real-world leadership challenges alongside other talented women.

Each Women’s Leadership module helps you put a number of leadership concepts into practice, explore specific challenges and opportunities for women leaders, reflect on your personal style and strengths and further develop your leadership approach.

Participants interact with and learn from successful women leaders across public, private and not-for-profit sectors and visit organisations to see inspirational leadership in action.  You’ll also spend a day with a not-for-profit organisation to explore practical leadership issues and use your expertise to tackle real-world challenges.

Each participant also benefits from two one-to-one executive coaching sessions and is matched with a personal mentor for tailored support.

Explore WLP

Who is it for?

Are you a mid-career woman striving to senior leadership in your organisation?  Do you want to improve your own performance and that of your organisation? If so, Women’s Leadership could be for you.

This programme enables women to fulfil their authentic potential, allowing them to attain and deliver on the senior leadership roles they aspire to.

The programme is open to women working as senior managers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, senior civil servants (Deputy Directors and Directors), or local government Assistant Directors and Directors.

How you'll benefit

  • Develop your leadership strategies and toolkit to thrive in your leadership context and turn challenges into opportunities 
  • Understand how to nurture and lead high-performing teams and organisations
  • Learn from and collaborate with other inspirational female leaders
  • Grow your confidence and personal leadership style
  • Benefit from one-to-one mentoring and tailored coaching
Enquire today
A portrait of Jaspal Roopra

"The Women’s Leadership Programme has not only helped me deal with imposter syndrome but more intrinsically it has shifted my internal dialogue and mind-set. In that sense it has been transformational and really helped me to make conscious decisions as a senior BAME woman."

Jaspal Roopra

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Why we're different:

WIG's approach to leadership development

At the heart of all our programmes, WIG’s leadership development framework sets out our values and approach to leadership and learning. Our aim is to encourage and enable the mindsets, actions and behaviours that leaders need in order to successfully navigate the complexities of 21st century leadership.

For nearly 40 years, we’ve been working collaboratively with public, private and not-for-profit organisations, helping leaders to gain cross-sector insight that enriches their personal and organisational performance.  That’s what makes WIG’s leadership development programmes different – a unique focus on cross-sector peer learning brings true diversity of ideas, encourages curiosity, openness and innovation and helps individuals and organisations to find inspiration and fresh ideas from others.

Our programmes complement an organisation’s in-house delivery, bringing fresh perspective from different sectors and expanding high-value professional networks.

Programme Information

Structure

Women’s Leadership is a seven-month modular programme, from October 2023 to April 2024. Each module is structured around key leadership themes particularly relevant to women and will give participants tools or approaches to put into practice in their organisation.

  • Presence and purpose – what does leadership mean for you personally?
  • Authentic leadership and your leadership ‘brand’
  • Introduction to action learning

  • Essence – capturing your uniqueness
  • Building your own personal brand
  • Commitments to action

  • Negotiating – navigating career barriers and opportunities
  • Identifying barriers and constraints

  • Courage – stepping up and stepping out
  • Dealing with change
  • From goals to reality

  • Impact and influence
  • Develop your skills in another sector by consulting and supporting a not-for-profit
  • Gain real-world experience of an organisational challenge
  • Work collaboratively to find solutions with other participants

  • Resilience – staying healthy, staying strong
  • The next chapter
  • Transitioning and letting go

Programme team

Ruth has been working as an executive coach for the last nineteen years, and she also runs senior leadership, and team development programmes, internationally. She is committed to helping clients perform at their best, helping them develop their unique leadership talent, and transform their personal effectiveness. Ruth specialises in working with women, helping them achieve their career goals and aspirations, and is lead facilitator on the WIG Women’s Leadership Programme. Through this, and other senior women’s programmes, Ruth has successfully prepared women for executive and board level positions. 

She is currently working in a range of businesses including:  ABN Amro Bank, Mizuho Bank, BAE Systems, Mace Construction, Audit Wales, BEIS, Royal Parks, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Orange, Visit Britain, Visit Kent, ING, International Finance Group LTD, National Cancer Research Institute, Institute for Cancer Research, Competition and Markets Authority, CBI, Central Surrey Health, Civil Aviation Authority, Financial Conduct Authority, British Transport Police Authority, Browne Jacobson, ICAEW, NDA, Welsh Government, OECD, SRA, and many central government departments. 

Her clients describe Ruth as challenging, skilful, engaging, pragmatic and tough or gentle as appropriate. Her clients tend to have an appetite for development, value success, expect a high quality of balance in life and work and measure the impact of coaching on their bottom line performance.

Ruth is CEO of Teleios Consulting South East Ltd, which trades as Rema Consulting.  She feels very privileged to lead a diverse and incredibly talented team. She has a Masters Degree in Leadership Development and is an accredited life and career coach.

Ruth has a long and valued association with WIG and is excited to be part of their inspiring future.

Jean’s coaching focuses on leadership, career and personal change.  Working with female executives, leaders and managers to improve individual and organisational effectiveness and productivity. 

Jean helps clients increase their self-awareness and the impact they have on those around them, to ensure they reach their goals and continue to develop to be the best leader they can be.

Having a career spanning over 35 years Jean’s vast experience includes client facing, operational and central function roles.  She has worked in the UK, France and with global clients.  This enables Jean to support her clients in a number of areas including:

  • Performance improvement – self-awareness, confidence, imposter syndrome and personal development
  • Communications – increasing gravitas, personal brand, influence and impact
  • Career Development – promotion preparation, career change
  • People management and development – how to get the best out of those around you
  • Strategic and tactical business planning - goal setting, milestone monitoring
  • Client and Stakeholder Management – improving and maintaining strong relationships, conflict management

Jean has been a Board member for a large global digital technology company for 13 years and draws on this first-hand experience in her practice when working with executives.

Jean is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Business and Personal Coaching and also is an Emotional Intelligence Certified Practitioner and DISC (Personality Behavioural Profiling). Assessor. 

Jean’s passion is helping women achieve the success and life they desire.  

Cathy is Head of Leadership, working with the team to design and deliver all of WIG’s Leadership Development interventions to our members and beyond.  These include our flagship cross-sector leadership development programmes, organisational raids and Learning Exchange Groups between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, our personal development masterclasses and many bespoke leadership programmes for our members.

 

Cathy spent over 16 years working in different global leadership roles at the University of Cambridge, including Head of MBA Careers at the Business School, Client Director at the Business School’s Executive Education section and Head of Executive Education at the Møller Institute, Churchill College.  Before that she worked in a variety of roles in organisations spanning the private, not-for-profit and public sectors.

 

Cathy is a linguist by background and considers herself a global citizen; she has travelled widely as well as lived in Italy and Taiwan earlier in her career.  She is an experienced and trained facilitator, educator and coach in leadership development.

 

During her spare time, Cathy loves to cycle and explore beautiful landscapes; she is particularly fond of spending time in Crete, Italy and her native Scotland.

Elle has joined WIG to undertake Programme Management of both the Step Up Step Across and Women’s Leadership Programmes.

 

Originally from New Zealand, with over a decade in the UK, Elle is a people-person with an extensive client-centric background in relationship management, personal and professional development, operations, communications and events across the private sector.

 

Away from the office, Elle has an ongoing interest in Human Sciences, a passion for continued learning herself, as well as travel, quality time with loved ones, and enjoying all the diverse delights of London.

Fees

  • WIG member fee: £6,699+VAT
  • Non-member fee: £8,699 +VAT

Fees include breakfast, lunch, dinner and overnight accommodation for the residential module, lunch and refreshments for all WIG hosted modules (subject to COVID-19 restrictions), plus two one-to-one coaching sessions, membership of the WIG Alumni Network and all programme materials. If you are from a not-for-profit and would like to discuss fees please get in contact at [email protected]

WIG’s leadership development programmes are delivered through a blend of virtual and face-to-face learning to ensure the safety and wellbeing of participants within a stimulating and collaborative learning environment.

Learn more about WIG membership here.

How to apply

For more information and to apply for a place on the programme, please get in touch with our leadership team using the 'Register your interest' link below. Or you can send in an application form straight away.

Application deadline: We inform applicants if they have been successful on our early and final deadline. We advise applying before the early deadline to have the best chance of securing a place. Our application review process ensures that we have a diverse mix of cross sector participants.

Early application deadline: 28 June 2023. 
Final application deadline: 9 August 2023. 

For Civil Service participants: WIG’s leadership programmes are part of the Government Campus / Civil Service Learning. Get in touch (via 'Register my interest' button below) if you need help or advice regarding the payment process. Or use our Civil Service Learning link for further information.

Register your interest