BUSINESS owners across Cumbria are developing their own leadership skills to implement more effective methods of managing teams in order to upskill their staff’s professional capabilities and encourage business growth.

Centre for Leadership Performance (CforLP) is experiencing an increase in bosses signing up to its popular Leader 2 Leader programme which upskills delegates’ leadership qualities by tailoring learning around their own working environments and experiences.

Since 2020, there has been a 100 per cent increase in people completing development and training courses run by CforLP, with a rise in chief executives, managing directors and other top bosses reflected in the overall increase in numbers.

Sarah Purdham founded specialist project planning and project controls consultancy Prima Uno 10 years ago and was able to develop the leadership skills she has picked up over the past decade after taking part in the Leader 2 Leader programme in 2022.

"As a business owner who had never had a business nor managed a team before, I have learned a lot over the past decade but there is still so much to learn.

"I have always wondered if I am a good leader and, as Prima Uno is continually growing and my leadership team will expand accordingly, I thought it was imperative that I had some help and guidance in being a good leader of people.

"Attending the course allowed me to make time for my own personal and business plans, and I learned how to listen more effectively and how to plan for the next stages of the company’s growth which will enable me to get the required support and a better quality of life," she said. 

Bursaries for the Leader 2 Leader course are available to SMEs, educators and non-profit organisations in the Allerdale and Copeland areas of Cumbria through OneAIM, a joint venture between Jacobs and Mitie, supported by Sellafield Limited and CforLP.

The Leader 2 Leader programme is run over the course of eight months, and encourages delegates to learn from one another’s shared experiences to complement the theory taught by experts from CforLP.