This programme, started in November 2019, is a collaboration between the Birmingham Leadership Institute (BLI), the West Midlands Combined Authority, Sport England and the BLI’s programme partner the Leadership Centre.
The aim of the programme is to evaluate the impact of existing collaborative projects and to strengthen the collaboration across the sport and physical activity sector in the West Midlands. The programme is working towards developing a collaborative culture, which helps to build learning in ‘how we work’ and to increase the number of people who are active across the West Midlands. The outcome will enable a shared culture, values and principles, which will determine the next 3-year common priorities, embrace learning and develop a shared accountability.
Our collaborative approach to the delivery of the programme is underpinned by a deep understanding of systemic leadership. At its essence, systemic leadership is an approach to leading across traditional boundaries and a move away from the heroic leader or command and control and a move towards a collaborative style of leading and way of being.
The Leadership Centre has distilled its 15 years of experience of systems working into five systems leadership capabilities: exploring contexts, convening conversations, narrating meaning, fostering innovation and personal governance. Individuals are supported on the programme to develop their capabilities in these five areas through a co-designed programme of activity.
The programme focuses on two components: whole system events and leadership labs.
Whole System Events
An open space event where colleagues from all of the different stakeholders come together to share what is important to them and the citizens they represent, share examples of where they have seen excellent collaborative leadership and conversely where poor leadership behaviours have been exhibited stifling collaborative work. The aim of the whole system events is to provide a diversity of thought across all stakeholders.
Leadership Labs
These explore a particular collaborative leadership skill, which is rooted in real life challenges. This means that individuals both develop their own leadership skills and capacity and can apply the learning to a live challenge rather than their learning just being in the abstract. Topics for the labs emerge from the whole system events.