The Open University Business School (OUBS) Course Leads Managers to Career Success
The Open University Business School (OUBS) Course Leads Managers to Career Success
The Open University Business School (OUBS) is launching a professional development
course nationwide after successful pilot schemes within the NHS and call centre
industries. Leading for Results is a 12-16 week part-time, distance learning
programme which develops skills and understanding in team leadership, performance
management, and a state-of-the-art understanding of comparative leadership styles.
Its aim is to develop individuals into leaders who can create a cohesive, motivated,
well-managed and well-led workforce where all employees are striving for the
same ends.
Feedback from the pilot schemes reveals that participants feel better able to
motivate staff after taking the course, have a better understanding of the complex
processes involved in achieving objectives, develop increased confidence and
improve their communication skills.
The Leading for Results programme combines tutor-supported workshops, specially
written material, computer-based learning tools and marked assignments. The
emphasis is on getting participants to look at aspects of their own job, and
their own organisation, and relate them to the theory and concepts of the course.
The Newcastle City Health Trust, and subsequently the 3Ns Mental Health Trust,
have encouraged 60 staff (including 12 for Newcastle social services in the
first tranche) to take the Leading for Results programme to date.
David Hicks, formerly Head of Learning and Development at NCHT and now Head
of Education and Training at the 3Ns Mental Health Trust, says the programme
has been a great success: "There was a huge learning curve and people liked
the materials and the interaction at the tutorials – each reinforced the other.
Whatever position people were in, they adopted new styles of working. They feel
more comfortable at work and they are sharing their knowledge." He believes
that it should not only be managers who benefit from such programmes. "Relationship
and communication skills go well beyond management level and many people who
are not working in management can benefit from developing leadership skills.
"Developing staff in leadership across the board can lead to a more positive
culture in any organisation so it has not just been the traditional managers
who went on the course. "We had junior, middle and senior managers, administrators,
nurses and other lead clinicians, consultant psychiatrists and union officials.
There was a selection process in place but there was also self-identification
so staff interested in the course could put themselves forward."
He hopes that in the long term the knowledge and skills staff have learned
will help change the culture of the Trust, and he says those loath to invest
in staff development should think again: "There is a feeling that if you
develop staff they will leave, but if you don’t develop them they will leave
even quicker. We have to develop staff so they feel confident and positive at
work and thereby provide the best service." The insurance giant NUD has
also piloted the Leading for Results programme.
"Leading for Results is aimed at the corporate market and can be tailored
to meet the leadership development needs of a wide range of organisations,"
said Katrina Cryer, OUBS Head of Sales.
"OUBS works with clients to ensure a good fit with existing in-house portfolios,
or to develop new initiatives."
Contact Details
Potential clients enquiring about the Leading for Results programme should contact
Nicci Carr in the OUBS Corporate Development Unit on 01908 659196 or e-mail
her at n.carr@open.ac.uk
About the Open University Business School
The Open University Business School (OUBS) is Europe’s leading business school
and the major provider of management development programmes delivered by supported
distance learning. It is one of an elite group of UK and European business schools
to hold both the prestigious EQUIS quality kitemark, awarded by the European
Foundation for Management Development (efmd), and AMBA (the Association of MBAs)
accreditation for its MBA. Currently the OUBS has 30,000 students based in the
UK and more than 40 countries. Since its inception in 1983, more than 150,000
managers have studied an OUBS course at Certificate, Diploma or MBA level. The
School is based at the Open University’s Milton Keynes headquarters in Buckinghamshire.
Its website can be found at http://oubs.open.ac.uk