Leading for the Future
To optimise your experience of the programme, it is important for you to complete this in advance of the induction. What you need to do and when is outlined below, as it will take you some time to take all the steps required. We will send you fortnightly prompts to support you with this, and you can manage it around any leave you will take over the summer period, and your work priorities. Please complete it earlier if that is your preference, but do revisit the material signposted on Week 12, to be ready to contribute in the Induction.
Weeks 1, 2 and 3 – w/c 15, 22 and 29/06/2026
Read through, and complete the actions, in the introduction to the programme
Week 4 – w/c 06/07/2026
Having refreshed your understanding of the aims and overview of the programme, you may find it useful to refer to your application form for the programme, and to complete Where do I need to be? : making sense of it, as a way of focusing your thinking on your learning aims, to draft and review your learning goals. Summarise your goals in the Personal development goals for Leading for the Future and discuss and agree them with your sponsor. You will not be asked to share the contents of either of these on the programme, they are for your own personal preparation and reflection.
Week 5 – w/c 13/07/2026 Ladder of Inference
Watch the Ladder of Inference video (5 mins 23 seconds) and reflect on this in relation to yourself and others. If you have issues opening the video, save the link into your personal internet browser and access from there. In Induction, you will work in pairs on an exercise where your partner will 'take you up your ladder', for you to notice the inferences you may draw in specific situations or with specific people. To prepare, think about a recent situation or change that provoked an emotion in you. This could be positive or negative e.g. you felt excited/frustrated/confused etc. Do not use a big issue, as you will only have 10 minutes to use this model to explore a real-life experience. If your issue is too complex or has too much emotion attached to it, you will not get off the bottom rung of your ladder.
Week 6 – w/c 20/07/2026 - Theory U, the U process and the Adaptive Learning Set
The purpose of this section is to familiarise you with the theory that is used in our approach to leadership in the programmes, and that supports the work in our Adaptive Learning Sets.
Theory U
Read this quote from the EPALE interview: Otto Scharmer - To change a system you have to have the courage to step into the unknown | EPALE (europa.eu) (2021): Open mind is the capacity to suspend all habits of judgment. It is really about seeing with fresh eyes. Holding back the habitual way of judging things in order to open yourself up to allow new data to come in. In induction, we will look with a light touch at suspension of habits of judgement.
Read the EPALE interview (2021) in full, until you come to this question (as the focus from this point is on education only): Talking about schools and learning today. There is often not really an open mind. People get educated for a fixed mind. The heart in many cases is not important and your will often is also not allowed. “We will tell you what to learn!” So, according to you, what is the most important thing that should change in (adult) education and what can we do as educators or teachers to start this change?
Week 7 – w/c 27/07/2026 - Watch this Otto Sharmer -You Tube – 9.39 minutes - Introduction to Theory U.
Week 8 – w/c 03/08/2026 - Review the U Process – this is the process used to put Theory U into practice in your Adaptive Learning Set..
Week 9 – w/c 10/08/2026 - The Adaptive Learning Set (ALS)
In your induction, you will meet your Group in the morning and meet your set in the afternoon, agreeing what is important to you about how you work together. Reflect on this in advance and come prepared to discuss.
Also, think through and come prepared to give a headline of the complex issue you would find helpful to spend time reflecting on and exploring with your colleagues and facilitator, within the safe environment of your set. Frame the headline of your issue as a How can I..?’ question. Here are examples from previous participants:
“How can I develop an effective and genuinely collaborative community-planning partnership group among stakeholders with diverse interests, priorities, and levels of capacity?”
“How can I improve planning and allocation of workloads across diverse teams who sit on the periphery of each other – often their work crosses over but each team has a specific role which is out of sync.”
Your own issue may be the one that you identified in your application form, in response to question 5, or your thinking may have changed after completing the steps for your self-reflection above.
Also, consider when it would be helpful for you to present your How can I..? Your opportunities to do this are on one of the Module dates as follows:
And finally, bring any questions you have about Theory U, the U Process or contributing to the ALS.
Week 12 - w/c 31/08/2026 – Refresh on these sections in the week before induction:
If it is your preference to take notes on the slide pack, and to see the full agenda in advance, you can download the slides which are available in the Resources section at the bottom of this page.
1. Ladder of Inference - Chris Argyris
Understanding and reflecting on the Ladder of Inference can help improve decision-making by making individuals aware of their cognitive processes and biases, allowing for more accurate and objective conclusions. For more, you can:
· Review this Summary of the Ladder of Inference
· Purchase Further Reading - "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (2011) delves into how cognitive biases affect decision-making, which is relevant to understanding the steps on the Ladder of Inference.
2. Theory U - Otto Sharmer
Otto Scharmer's Theory U focuses on leading profound change. If you wish, you can purchase - Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges by Otto Sharmer. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009. This outlines the Theory U framework, including the concept of "suspension," which involves letting go of old patterns to allow for new possibilities to emerge.