Women’s Leadership

Programme
Empowering your leadership success

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected]

“A hugely inspiring programme that
will have a lasting impact on me.”
Hayley Rees,
Head of Operations
Advance your career
with this empowering
programme

Designed to help you develop your sense of purpose as a senior leader,

articulate your ambitions, and navigate challenges.
• Are you seeking clarity, authenticity and direction in your career progression?
• Do you need time and insights to identify motivators and develop your leadership skills?
• Are you ready to fulfil your leadership potential and nurture your unique leadership identity?
• Would you like to know more about how gender can impact career progression, and how organisational
change can lead to greater gender equity?

This transformational programme will inspire you to lead with authenticity, strengthening your leadership
expertise and people skills.

During the programme you will develop your unique leadership profile and understand how to apply your
skills and capabilities in a strategic way. You will learn how to successfully navigate the cultural and political
landscapes of modern organisations, overcome barriers and enhance your leadership impact.

Who is this for?

The programme is designed for experienced women managers and professionals who are readying
themselves for the move to senior leadership roles.
You will:

• Currently hold a management or leadership position in your organisation;

• Be ambitious and motivated about your future leadership career;
• Want to develop your personal influence and professional skills.

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected] 3

What to expect from
Women’s Leadership
Programme
Led by experts in the field of women’s leadership with extensive business
and academic experience, the programme offers the opportunity to
expand your leadership skills and develop an actionable plan to take
back to your workplace.
Established for over 25 years and regularly updated to reflect the latest tools, practices and strategies, the
programme is evidence-based and grounded in Cranfield’s long-standing research in the areas of gender
and inclusion. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of cross-cultural insight and ED&I in modern
organisations, and how you can influence change in these areas.

Career coaching models are used in the programme, providing a structured framework for your personal growth
and a powerful tool to help you develop a coaching mindset in your interactions with direct reports. You will
experience peer-to-peer coaching with others in the cohort, and there is also an option to book sessions with a
professional coach to continue your own development.

This unique programme offers a safe environment within a small cohort which builds trust and individual
engagement opportunities. Working in small groups allows you to reflect on organisational challenges and
explore personal development insights with other women in similar positions.

You will join a network of peers, academics and practitioners who will provide inspiration and support both
during the programme and into the future. At the end of the programme you will leave with a clear action plan for
your continued career progression, with a focus on maximising impact.

“Such a thought-provoking few days,

I feel genuinely empowered.”
Michelle Pearce
Commercial Director

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected]

Programme
structure

Designed to offer maximum flexibility, you can attend the programme

either face-to-face or online. The programme is founded on three pillars
of empowerment:

Empower to action Empower to influence Empower from within

You will review and develop Your skills and strengths alone are You will examine your individual
your strengths and practical not enough to achieve leadership identity and purpose, embracing
competencies by establishing success.We will focus on the your authenticity and recognising
a clear understanding of your any distorting beliefs that are
importance of network mapping
personal capabilities, enabling you holding you back.
and collaboration in developing
to identify and address areas for
your social capital.
development. By building your self-awareness
You will learn how intersectionality and an understanding of how
As you explore the challenges
(your social, cultural and others see you, you will uncover
of navigating organisational
personal identities) impacts your your motivations for success and
culture and internal politics, you
professional influence, and the develop a powerful personal brand.
will reflect on how institutional
significance of understanding Through deep self-reflection in a
values can impact on women,
and embracing cross-cultural supportive environment, you will
especially those in leadership
intelligence. explore how to maximise your
roles, and consider strategies for
personal influence and unleash your
challenging embedded policies
As you evaluate your approach potential.
and processes.
to building strong relationships
with senior stakeholders, you will The insights acquired during
develop clarity around impression the programme will ultimately
management tactics, and personal contribute to a strategic career
strategies on how to maximise plan. This plan, building on the
your visibility in a positive way. re-invigorated sense of identity and
energy which the programme brings,
is designed to provide the blueprint
for your success as you advance
your career up to the next level.

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected] 5

 Programme
leaders
Dr Deirdre Anderson
Deirdre is Director of the Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre in the School of
Management at Cranfield University, leading and coordinating the Centre’s work in inclusive
practices within organisations. She is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with extensive
teaching experience with undergraduates, postgraduates and in executive education, working
with students and clients to challenge, review and develop their approaches to more inclusive
cultures through individual actions and organisational practices.

Deirdre frequently presents her research at academic and practitioner conferences in the
UK and internationally. Her research encompasses inclusive leadership, gendered working
practices, flexible and hybrid working, and work/ family challenges in varying cultures.

Deirdre has held senior roles within Cranfield and elsewhere, navigating and challenging
organisational systemic and structural processes as she has progressed through her career.
Prior to academia, Deirdre spent over 20 years working within organisations as a business
psychology consultant. Her expertise focuses on design and delivery of creative and
innovative development programmes which promote change within individuals, groups and
organisations. She continues to specialise in executive leadership programmes for women.

Dr Manjari Prashar
Manjari is a visiting fellow at the Gender, Leadership and Inclusion centre at Cranfield’s
School of Management and regularly lectures on inclusive leadership and cross-cultural
management. She also contributes to research, including the Parker Review of ethnicity on
boards.

As an executive-level facilitator and executive coach, she brings an intersectional and

cross-cultural lens to her work. Manjari works with individuals to help shape personal career
journeys that embrace authenticity, visibility and confident action towards self-defined
progression. She has expertise in facilitating individual and group discussions to identify
barriers and forge a purpose-driven path towards an inclusive leadership practice.

Manjari worked with Delta Alpha Psi at organisations such as Black Women in Asset
Management, British Black Business Awards, EY’s gender and race/ethnicity programmes
and 100 Black Women Professors Now. She has contributed to the award-winning Linklaters
Women’s Leadership Programme for accelerating female talent and has coached executives
at HSBC through Cranfield’s Customised Executive Development team.

Her experience as an account manager at the Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank and as a
communications consultant at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) grounds her
in the everyday realities of work. Manjari has lived and worked in India, Canada, the United
States, France, and the UK, and she speaks English, French, and Hindi.

6 www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected]

Why
Cranfield?
Cranfield has a long and prestigious heritage not only in delivering
women’s development programmes, but also researching and
publishing on equality and diversity in the workplace:
• Cranfield launched the first major women’s management development programme in the UK in 1986
for the largest private employer of women in the country at the time.

• The ‘Women as Leaders’ open programme was launched in 1996.

• Over 2,000 women have experienced a Cranfield women’s development programme.

• The annual Female FTSE Board Report has been compiled by Cranfield since 1999, examining trends
in women’s representation on FTSE boards and research on underlying contributory factors.

• The annual Women to Watch list was introduced in 2009, showcasing senior women across sectors
and highlighting some of the vast talent pool available.

• Recent Cranfield research commissioned by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) examined ethnic
diversity of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards.

• Cranfield’s Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre is a thriving community of researchers and
practitioners investigating factors influencing equity, diversity and inclusion at work, interrogating power
and privilege, and pioneering solutions for a more representative workforce with full and effective
participation and equal access to opportunities for all.

• The Women’s Leadership Programme is evidence-based with a focus on experiential learning. Our
expert facilitators deliver an impactful and relevant experience that addresses the challenges and
concerns of today’s women leaders.

To book contact:
Cranfield Executive Development team
Tel: +44 (0)1234 754500
Email: [email protected]

For more information visit:

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp +44(0)1234 754500 [email protected] 7

Learning and courses for the decade ahead.
Our business development team are waiting to talk to you.
T: +44 (0)1234 754500
E: [email protected]
www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp

The solution described in this document is provide by Cranfield Management

Development Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cranfield University.

Every effort is made to ensure that the information in this leaflet is correct at the
time it is printed. Please check www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executive for the latest
details.

Terms and conditions can be found at www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executivetc

www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/wlp
Version 2. January 2024.
+44(0)1234 754500 [email protected]