National housing providers launch diverse Future Leaders Programme in partnership with Imperial College Business School

A group of national housing providers have joined together with Imperial College Business School Executive Education, supported by Altair, to launch the Future Leaders Programme specifically aimed at cultivating the next sector leaders in housing. The ambition is to create a sustainable legacy by providing a diverse pipeline of participants with the skills and mindset to become future leaders. It aims to address the lack of diversity at senior leadership within the sector and make clear that diverse leadership needs to be a national focus.

The Future Leaders Programme is a robust nine-month learning journey bringing together 18 mid-level managers from ethnic minority backgrounds from across the country. It provides an opportunity for participants to work on their capacity for soft power and develop their authentic leadership style, by providing tools to help participants lead their teams, influence others and be intentional about their legacy.

The Programme has been founded by The Guinness Partnership, Abri, Sovereign Housing Association, Places for People, Bromford Group, Onward Homes, and includes a leadership journey from world-renowned Imperial College business school. Topics covered will include Leadership Purpose, Psychological Safety, and Managing your Personal Brand among others, and will be delivered by academics from Imperial College Business School and experienced industry practitioners. These content sessions combined with facilitated activities and regular peer to peer coaching, brings together both the theory and practice to help build confidence in the participants ability lead and not just manage.

Catriona Simons, Chief Executive of one of the founding members, The Guinness Partnership, said:

''The under-representation of black and ethnic minority people at senior levels across so many sectors means we risk missing out on huge talent and diversity of thought. The housing crisis is one of this country's biggest immediate and long-term challenges, and to tackle it we must ensure we are investing in our leaders now and into the future, as well as promoting an inclusive sector for all those who engage with social housing. We have an inspiring group in our first cohort, and we look forward to supporting their growth into the next generation of housing leaders".

David Brown, Director of Executive Education at Imperial College Business School highlights the importance of programmes such as this:

"Increasing and improving social housing, developing a cadre of leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds, and increasing diversity are all crucial issues for 21st century Britain. Imperial is delighted to be working with Altair and a consortium of forward-thinking Housing Associations to achieve these goals in an innovative and highly effective programme. Congratulations and good luck to the first cohort".

Applications for this year of the programme have closed. however. to find out more about the programme or to discuss how you could get involved in the future please contact Darren Smith, Consultant, Altair via email at darren.smith@altairltd.co.uk.