LEAD Overview
Proven to support owner-managers to grow their business.
Lancaster LEAD® is a ten month programme which has been specifically designed by Lancaster University Management School for owner-managers of small to medium sized businesses. The programme concentrates on two areas of the business: the business itself and the personal development of the owner-manager, providing a framework to increase profitability, innovate and grow the business.
We have worked directly with over 250 companies on LEAD since we launched the programme in 2004 in a pilot funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency. Independent evaluation conducted by Newcastle University shows that our LEAD graduates have, on average, seen increases in profit (70% of participants), turnover (55%), employment (49%) and productivity (65%). The mean annual turnover increase reported by LEAD participants is in the order of £360,000, equal to a 13.8% annual growth rate. Their mean annual employment growth rate is 16.8%.
LEAD - Available across the UK
Under our guidance and supervision LEAD has been rolled out across North West England between 2009 and 2012 through a network of provider institutions funded by the regional development agency. Now concluded, that programme took the number of north west-based LEAD alumni to over 1,500. We still continue to deliver LEAD to suitable business owner-managers, and recruit on an ongoing basis. See tabs to the left for details of how to find out more.
In the South West of England, our partners QuoLux are providing LEAD under license from us and they have been fully trained in all aspects of the programme. Contact QuoLux to enquire about LEAD programmes in the South West.
Across Wales, our partners in Swansea and Bangor Universities are mid-way through delivering LEAD to over 600 businesses.
This autumn we will be launching LEAD in London. Please contact us for more information.
The web pages linked to this page attempt to explain in some detail what the LEAD programme is and things to consider before applying for a place on the next cohort. You can find copies of the exhaustive independent evaluations of LEAD which were conducted by academics from Newcastle University. Many past LEAD participants have provided their own views on how effective LEAD has been for them, and their case studies and videos are also here.
What value can the LEAD programme bring to your organisation? Find out more in this video.
This innovative programme integrates active teaching with practice, regularly encouraging participants to relate what they are learning to their own situations, and supporting them through coaching and action learning to apply their learning to their own businesses. Additionally, it builds on the personal experiences and knowledge of participants, enabling them to learn from one another.
‘LEAD gave me the ability to move away from ‘running’ the business to ‘growing’ the business’
‘It has helped to tackle difficult situations and look to ways of making the business more profitable and secure’
‘LEAD has helped me regain a work-life balance’
