Successful Launch of NCSL

The NCSL got off to a resounding start with a CMI regional Members Preview event at Silverstone on Friday 11th June. A packed day saw 6 different speakers and a whistle-stop tour of the newly re-opened circuit - and our sincere thanks go to Richard Phillips, Silverstone's Chief Executive, for explaining all the new developments to our guests and colleagues.


After opening remarks from Mike Setterfield of CMI that set the scene for the day, the Director of NCSL, Nigel Girling, linked the role, skills and responsibilities of leaders with the latest research on employee engagement to highlight the need for leaders to engage their people in a vision that inspires, motivates and empowers them to perform at their peak. He explained that the purpose of NCSL was to encourage and enable senior leaders to release the 30% or more of withheld 'discretionary' performance from their unengaged people, by using all their leadership skills to enlist the understanding, belief and commitment of all of their managers and staff.
 
Tony McCandless - the Global Transformation Lead at Dell - gave a keynote address that explored the theme of 'closing the leadership skills gap' and contained a challenge to leaders to find ways of engaging and inspiring their people through difficult, cut-laden times. He drew many interesting connections between leadership skills and the growing challenges of leading an organisation through the economic meltdown - he explored how technology both drives change and provides some tools for handling it. An excellent presentation and very well appreciated by the audience.

Ray Rowlings, Mac Mackay and Martin Goodwill took the audience through a range of issues and suggestions about ways of 'closing the leadership gap' - in a series of sessions that combined technical expertise with humour and many practical insights.

Steve Murray then took the opportunity to raise our sights with some latest figures about population growth, technological and global change - highlighting how his journey to becoming a Chartered Manager had helped him to be ready to handle the paradigm shifts in his sector and role as a senior leader.

Feedback was excellent and gives a strong indication that the leadership community supports the premise of NCSL: that leadership in this new world needs to be about engaging, enlisting, empowering and energising your people to develop, grow and continuously improve performance in every aspect and at every level.

We at NCSL plan to be in the forefront of the movement to re-focus leaders on their people and regain the agenda from those who would have us devote our energies to reports, data, KPIs, earnings per share and emails! If you support this view, engage with us through our think-tanks - join our CPD programmes - enrol on our senior-level CMI Professional Qualifications - contact us and see how you can participate.

If you disagree - contact us and tell us why!