The importance of creating effective leaders in business

The most successful businesses understand the link between strong, quality-driven leadership and productivity.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that if you have motivated, engaged workers, your business will be effective and productive. To turn that idea on its head, 2019’s most forward-thinking organisations also increasingly understand that in order to create motivated and engaged workers, you first need really great leaders.

This isn’t just of benefit to individual businesses; recent findings presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society (BPS) by Alan Howard and Max Choi indicate that the leadership and management skills of a country’s businesses directly affect national productivity.

So, how to create these exceptional leaders? Put simply - training and development. It’s absolutely vital to invest in leadership, including via continued professional development, in order to attract and retain the best people.

Cardiff University is the ideal partner for individuals and organisations. Our provision translates world-leading academic research into relevant, operational and impactful business practice. Our programmes are focused on implementation - turning concepts and ideas into specific actions that improve individual and organisational performance. Learning is delivered through a variety of different methods, to ensure effective knowledge transfer.

Becoming an effective leader

“The depth and knowledge of the academics are exceptional. It’s a mind-set change
Current Year 2 student on Executive MBA programme.

Studying with Cardiff University gives you access to researchers working at the frontiers of knowledge in their disciplines. As a research-led institution, you can be assured that our teaching is derived from the very latest thinking. Our Executive Education provision offers challenging programmes, including the Leadership in Business Administration (LBA), and Executive MBA. We've created a programme that is designed to fit around candidates’ work and home commitments with teaching delivered in short blocks. These programmes provide the leaders of tomorrow with the insight and the confidence to take a leading role within an organisation and create a strategic influence and effect real change.

Working with local businesses to create great leaders

“They are actively changing the way in which we do business”
Rob Phillips, Partner/Head of Property Litigation, Hugh James

Cardiff University also has a great deal of experience, and a long track record of excellence, in designing and delivering bespoke education and training programmes for organisations.
In 2016, Cardiff Business School and Hugh James embarked on a programme of learning designed to equip 10 key figures in the business with essential leadership knowledge to help develop them as leaders within a transforming organisation.

The programme covered the components of successful organisations, nurturing client relationships, high performance teams and business development. Emphasis was given to the process of embedding tools and methods throughout the whole organisation and cascading the learning.

Says Sarah Lethbridge, Director of Executive Education/EMBA at Cardiff Business School, “we explore the issues, and help companies to reach their own conclusions. When they work with us, companies feel that they have really participated in their knowledge exchange.”

Work with Cardiff University

Contact the CPD Unit to find out how we can support you or your organisation. Our dedicated team will act as your gateway, supporting you to access Cardiff University’s world-class expertise and research.