Companies enjoy significant return on investment from leadership course

BUSINESSES engaging with a popular leadership programme could benefit from nearly five times the level of their investment.

The Leader 2 Leader programme, run by the Centre for Leadership Performance (CforLP), provides specialist leadership training across Cumbria and is aimed at those with previous management experience looking to take their next step.

OneAIM, a joint venture between Mitie and Jacobs working alongside Sellafield Ltd to deliver social impact in West Cumbria, carried out an independent Social Return on Investment of one cohort of the programme, and evaluations of the Leader 2 Leader course estimate that organisations which have delegates on the programme see on average a return on investment at a level of 4.5 times.

Alongside the launch of the next cohort, the findings of the research have been re-shared, with the data showing that the seven businesses which had representatives on the course saw a combined return of £176,000 on a £38,000 investment.

Businesses engaging with the Leader 2 Leader programme from Centre for Leadership Performance are found to benefit from 4.5 times their level of investment.

atherine Eve, a co-founder of CforLP, said: “The reason we created the Leader 2 Leader programme was to support and encourage improved leadership within Cumbrian businesses, and to bring real benefits to the local economy.

“We have witnessed first hand the marked improvement in people’s professional development, and what is particularly rewarding is seeing the results of the review which show the positive financial impact of the programme on local businesses.

“Benefits we have witnessed include delegates being motivated to drive business growth, businesses saving money by avoiding recruitment processes as they have been able to promote within and workflows being more effectively adopted to improve performance throughout the entire business.

“As delegates on the programmes come from a variety of sectors and specialist areas, collaborative partnerships with fellow delegates are forged and the Leader 2 Leader has proved its value to local businesses and organisations over the years, and we’re delighted to be able to deliver such an impactful programme.”

In addition to the financial benefits to businesses, the review also found the programme had numerous social advantages.

Executive Directors at Centre for Leadership Performance, Catherine Eve (left) and Sarah Glass.

Among the benefits were:

Improvements in family relationships, in turn improving wellbeing – happier people are more adaptable at work and less likely to suffer burnout;
Higher inclination to donate to charity;
More diversity in the workplace through wider exposure to new connections;
A significant impact on society with two SMEs created on the back of the programme.

Catherine said: “The benefits of Leader 2 Leader are far reaching and the socio-economic improvements that have been linked with the programme justifies the hard work we as an organisation and all the delegates dedicate to making it such a success.”

SMEs based in West Cumbria are given support through the Leader 2 Leader programme in the form of bursaries from OneAIM, Sellafield Ltd and CforLP. More details are available at www.one-aim.co.uk/leadershipbursaries.

To find out more about the upcoming Leader 2 Leader programmes or to express an interest, visit www.cforlp.org.uk, email catherine.eve@cforlp.org.uk or sign up to its mailing list at Centre for Leadership Performance (list-manage.com).