The 2026 programme will run from March until August with a meet and greet session on 26th February. Please see the dates of each group here
Applications closed at 17:00 GMT 10th November.
We will be in touch with applicants in mid-December to let them know the outcome of their application.
The programme is commissioned and funded by The Elizabeth Casson Trust and is free to participants and their employers. It is intended for occupational therapists in any area of practice, research or education and at any stage of their career.
Welcome to the Personal Leadership Development Programme. Thank you for your interest in applying.
We are very excited to bring you this opportunity in partnership with Fiona MacNeill to learn together and strengthen your personal leadership understanding and practice. This is a programme of personal reflection and growth and is not academic in its facilitation or application.
The Personal Leadership work to be completed in this programme is an opportunity to orientate yourself inside your leadership thinking.
Leadership is historically judged on actions taken. In large organisational systems, this is often influenced by the expectations of others, perceived norms and boundaries, and a culture of obedience.
This leads to the idea that where a few people are doing all of the thinking, most people are not. Without intention, this creates a culture of learned helplessness where thinking is not valued as much as action.
This programme invites you to consider a very simple observation: the quality of everything that human beings do depends on the quality of the thinking that we do first. The way we will work together across the programme is to support you to create the conditions for yourself and others to think better and to create the environment for success.
We suggest you watch and listen to the 2 videos below, of Fiona talking about the programme before you continue.
Be sure to also check out Fiona’s very helpful recording exploring the five key questions you’ll need to answer within your application. This is important as these questions will form the basis of the selection process for next year’s cohort:
Leadership is essential for taking the profession forward, whether this is demonstrated at an organisational level, a service level or at an individual level. The Elizabeth Casson Trust’s Personal Leadership Programme offers development support at the individual level, recognising that growth here will in turn grow leadership at service and organisational levels.
We believe leadership within the profession is the ability to influence and to support people in building their agency. Leaders demonstrate behaviours such as empathy, compassion and courage, and build a sense of belonging and shared vision with those they lead.
The Elizabeth Casson Trust’s Personal Leadership Programme concentrates on the development of these leadership behaviours and skills, using thinking and learning as a transformational power and giving occupational therapists a voice.
Our first programme ran in late 2020 in Scotland. Delivered by Fiona MacNeill over five months, it is based on the work of Nancy Kline’s Thinking Spaces and uses Appreciative Enquiry to explore topics.
In the video below, Fiona introduces the programme.
The participants in our first cohort wrote a letter to Elizabeth Casson to capture what involvement in the programme has meant to them.
After the positive feedback from the first cohort, our second run of the programme was widened to include occupational therapists from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales from across health, social care and education. 75 occupational therapists participated.
At this time, almost 300 occupational therapists have participated in the programme and taken their learning and skills back into their professional roles (and some have even said into their personal life too).
But what of the results?
96% of participants reported the programme had a practical impact on their leadership behaviour.
97% of participants reported a positive increase in their confidence.
90% of participants reported that the programme enabled them to think about their future as a leader and what they want/need to do next.
90% of participants reported that the programme had a positive impact on their personal resilience.
93% of delegates would recommend this programme to others.
And looking forward…
The Trust plans to offer the programme on an annual basis with a view to continuing into future years. To support this roll-out, we are also investing in the development of a cadre of facilitators to support delivery. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, please contact us.
