Developing Middle Leaders

The Leadership Centre believes it is important to offer opportunities for development prior to people reaching the most senior positions in organisations. That’s why we developed programmes to support middle leaders within organisations, across sectors, regions and at place-level.

Our view of leadership is one grounded in the way you behave: your willingness to take responsibility and to act. You don’t have to be at the most senior levels to be a leader – quite the reverse. So Middle Leadership matters: you’re the people who engage with everyone, get things done and make things happen. It’s where you can use your position and connections to communicate up, down and across; to act as a bridge between strategic decision-makers and frontline delivery; to influence across your organisational or sector boundaries, and to effect change.

Middle leaders often make up the largest leadership cohort in an organisation or a sector. They represent the largest proportion of the people we work with to develop their leadership capacity and confidence, and we know that this can make a real difference to individuals, organisations and communities. Our programmes are designed to equip people working in Middle Leadership with the skills, confidence and networks to navigate their unique challenges and drive meaningful change – often resulting in a transformed organisational culture and improved outcomes in places.

Expression of Interest

Key Information

Dates: Programmes are bespoke and co-designed within a framework of evidence-based leadership methods and approaches. Dates will be agreed with you, but typically programmes involve monthly engagements.

Format: A blend of residential, face-to-face workshops and online workshops

Faculty: Faculty will be drawn from our pool of local government and leadership experts

Who is the programme for?

The Leadership Centre has worked with a wide range of middle leaders from across sectors in different programme formats:

Single-organisation cohorts – for example working with one local authority’s middle leaders
Sector-based cohorts – for example middle leaders across the health sector
Cross-sector cohorts – bringing together leaders from different sectors within a region or place to enhance shared learning and collaboration

While the specific audience will depend on your needs, this programme is generally designed for those in ‘Head of’, ‘Assistant Director’, or equivalent middle leadership roles. In loose terms, the programme is for people at Tiers 2 or 3 in their organisations, although commissioners should take this as a guide and not a barrier – influence and leadership are not always hierarchically bound.

Examples of our middle leader programmes

London Leadership Programme

Benefits

The impact of each programme will be shaped by its design and focus, but participants and their organisations can expect meaningful and lasting outcomes.

For the Leader:

Greater confidence and capability to lead in complex environments
Protected time to step back, reflect, and recalibrate away from daily pressures
A trusted peer network that offers challenge, support, and inspiration long after the programme ends
Increased clarity and momentum in shaping their leadership journey and career progression

For the Organisation:

Leaders who are healthier, more resilient, and better equipped to handle pressure
Stronger leadership sustainability and a clear pipeline for succession planning
A critical mass of confident, skilled leaders whose collective impact strengthens teams and transforms culture across the organisation

Focus and Structure

All of our middle leader programmes are bespoke – designed to meet the specific needs of the cohort we are working with. Each programme is carefully crafted to balance the practical realities of day-to-day leadership with the deeper skills needed to thrive in complexity. Common themes across our leadership work include:

Leader as Coach – Developing coaching skills to empower teams and reduce the burden on middle leaders
Performance Management – Creating space to reflect on managing team performance and introducing practical tools to enhance effectiveness
The Squeezed Middle – Exploring the pressures faced by middle leaders and equipping them with strategies to navigate these challenges

Within these, we will use a number of proven approaches which help participants to gain perspective and work more effectively within their context. These may include some of the following:

Working in complexity and uncertainty
Using adaptive and systems leadership approaches
Building shared purpose across teams and organisations
Understanding and working with power and influence
Navigating political environments with confidence
Storytelling and narrative as tools for leadership

Whether you are participating yourself or commissioning a programme for your leaders, you can expect a blend of practical tools, reflective space, and cutting-edge leadership thinking – all tailored to your context.