Common Purpose runs a number of leadership
development programmes for people at different stages in their
career.
The programmes vary in length and content but they all
involve participants and contributors from the private, public and
voluntary sectors. This mix is an integral and unique feature of
Common Purpose programmes, where the aim is to bring together
people who might ordinarily never meet in their day to day working
lives.
The programmes are facilitated by experienced professional
staff and contributors come from a huge range of backgrounds and
sectors. For example: from the legal profession, business, finance,
manufacturing, retail, transport, politics, through to those from
faith organisations, community groups, charities and aid agencies.
Contributors are leaders in their own organisations and therefore
able to provide fascinating insights into how they lead and how
they work with other bodies and individuals.
The format for Common Purpose programmes is not classroom
based learning. Instead participants are encouraged to step outside
their usual environment and grapple with real-life problems at
first hand.
This means they visit places they might never see or experience.
For example, prisons; housing developments; manufacturing plants;
stock exchanges; headquarters of public and private companies;
hospices; charities and government departments. And there is an
opportunity to see at first hand how decisions are made in a wide
range of settings, including magistrates' courts, town halls,
boardrooms and council chambers.
This helps participants gain an understanding, not only of how
other organisations function, but also how leaders in those
organisations are held accountable in different ways. For example:
a leader working for a political party may be held accountable in a
very different way to a leader whose primary responsibility is for
delivering humanitarian aid, or to a leader charged with delivering
regular profits for shareholders.
The programmes explore such differences and provide insights
into how leaders in different organisations make decisions and the
techniques they use. For example, participants from a
not-for-profit organisation might examine the use of sales
techniques used in a private sector company. Participants from
the private sector might see at firsthand how conflict resolution
techniques are used in the voluntary sector. In this way,
participants are constantly encouraged to broaden their horizons
when making leadership decisions and be willing to embrace new
approaches.
Those attending Common Purpose programmess vary: from
participants who hold established leadership roles at work and in
the community; to those who have held such a role, but are now
looking to use their leadership skills in retirement; those
beginning their careers and keen to develop their leadership
potential; right through to young people at school who want to
understand more about leadership and build on their existing
experiences.
We value diversity and constantly strive to provide equality of
opportunity as an employer and in the provision and delivery of all
our activities. We positively encourage applications from all
sections of the community and are working hard to ensure that our
courses and services meet the requirements of people with
disabilities.
Why do we do it?
What underpins all Common Purpose programmes is a belief
that society benefits from people of all ages, backgrounds and
cultures working together to help guide and shape the future of
their organisations and communities. This is best achieved when
leaders are able to realise their full potential, through
broadening their horizons and establishing firm roots in their
communities.
