WLN conference 2009 – Today’s and Tomorrow’s Leaders
In spite of the tube strike, 132 women and men attended the conference at the Novotel St Pancras in June. They included representatives from 62 FE colleges, sixth form colleges and adult and community learning providers, from seven support organisations including LSIS, LSN, NBP and AoC, and from three universities.
The day included a range of sessions from leaders within and outside the sector. Evaluations were very positive, with the majority commenting on how inspiring and motivating they had found the day.
For information about our speakers, go to (link with photos and bios) and for the conference photos go to (link with conference photos). Here is a summary of the sessions, with links to notes for the longer presentations.
Welcome to our second annual conference
Sally Dicketts, Chair, Women’s Leadership Network
Sally welcomed the delegates and was delighted to see that women were not daunted by the tube strike. She believed that the key to success is self-belief and self-confidence, and the purpose of the WLN is to support women in overcoming their fears and doubts. She advised delegates: “know where you want to go: an outstanding middle manager is as important as an outstanding principal”. She then introduced Penny de Valk.
Keynote speech No 1: Today’s and Tomorrow’s Leaders
Penny de Valk, CEO, Institute for Leadership and Management
Penny outlined the many factors that have changed the shape of leadership and management today. The challenge is to lead and manage change in complex circumstances. She talked about the three key skills and about the triangle of knowing, doing and being, and finished by calling on delegates to work at the edge of their capabilities.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Vera Baird, Solicitor General and MP for Redcar, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
Vera Baird apologised on behalf of Maria Eagle whose place she took at the conference. She began by speaking of the need for more women in top positions and the importance of bringing on rich talent. She quoted from WLN gender research and welcomed the measures identified such as mentoring and family friendly policies to support women. She outlined the government’s position and provided information about the new Equalities Bill.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Keynote speech No 2: Today’s and Tomorrow’s Leaders
Sara Thornton, Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police
Sara presented a background of slow progress for women in leadership positions in the police force and recalled her need to “dumb down” when she joined in 1986. She spoke of the cost on women of career progression in the police and told delegates about how she had managed to change the regulations which had hitherto made promotion difficult for women.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Key role of the principal: keeping the focus on learning
Janet Nevin, Principal, Ashton Sixth Form College
Marjorie Semple, Principal, West Thames College
Janet and Marjorie contested the notion that principals are distanced from learning and spoke persuasively of the importance of the principal’s role in leading on learning. Janet spoke of the need for principals to be passionate about learning and advised delegates to bring your own values and attributes to the job. Marjorie described how important it is to be visible to students and staff, and of her belief that the principal can make the greatest contribution to learning in the college.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
International voice
Princess Adetope A Kosoko, Registrar, Lagos State Polytechnic, Nigeria
Princess Adetope described how she had risen to the peak of her career and realised her dream. She talked of conflicts and status issues along the way. She is responsible for 2,000 staff and 50,000 students. She fascinated the audience by her description of political issues, student lock-outs and her role as negotiator. She emphasised the importance of listening when attending to the comfort levels of both staff and students and when maintaining a balance and keeping every stakeholder satisfied.
Women in selection and recruitment – a level playing field?
Peter Daley, Director, College Leadership Services, Protocol National
Peter’s presentation contained important hints and advice for those applying for principalships. He warned the audience that the time is never right – you just have to go for it now. Many men close their eyes and take the leap, women can think about it too long and be put off. He finished with advice for governors on equalities issues.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Workshop A: Keeping talented managers in the sector
Elaine McMahon, Principal, Hull College
Elaine explored with the participants what we do in the sector now and what we need to change. Discussions concluded that organisations need to be responsive and flexible to keep talented staff and that organisations would benefit through loyalty gained. But it was recognised that the current recession did create a challenge.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Workshop B: Getting the most out of mentoring and coaching for career development
Rajinder Mann, Director, Black Leadership Initiative
Rajinder started by inviting participants to describe their greatest professional achievement. She then described the mentoring process, the role of coaching in mentoring and the steps that the mentor and mentee go through. She explained the importance of having a mentoring agreement and ran through some useful dos and don’ts.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Workshop C: Three women principals describe their leadership style – to what extent can we remain ourselves when appointed to the top?
Heather Maxwell, Principal, South Devon College
Maxine Room, Principal, Park Lane Campus of Leeds City College and Principal Designate, Lewisham College
Cathy Walsh, Principal and Chief Executive, Barking College
When describing her leadership style, Heather spoke of leading learning, the importance of monitoring performance and the need to “be yourself” and “be proud”. Maxine referred to the importance of “business acumen” and of getting every staff person on the golden thread – knowing how they fit into the organisation. Cathy spoke of learning from others and how she has learned to be immodest and to promote herself.
Notes on the session: (link to PDF document)
Workshop D: Writing the successful CV
Vicki Fagg, Principal, College of North West London
Chris Tyler, Colleges Specialist, Association of School and College Leaders
Thalia Marriott, Director, Women’s Leadership Network
Vicki, Chris and Thalia talked through a set of “evaluative” questions designed to help individuals to evaluate their own CV. Participants made points about their own experience and raised concerns which were explored and discussed. The evaluative questions are contained in the summary report.
Notes on the session: (link to a PDF document)
Closing plenary: Sally Dicketts, Chair, Women’s Leadership Network
Sally remembered the beginnings of the WLN, initiated by Ann Limb, and the original vision of ensuring more women were in leadership positions. She believed that there was local, national and global evidence to show the network was still needed.
Women can change the culture and bring features of strong leadership: integrity, mutual respect, working in partnership. We need to shift the paradigm and see female leadership styles celebrated.
Sally closed the conference by thanking Thalia Marriott, Sally Hooton, Paula Hallam and the members of the steering committee for their contributions to making the day a success.
After the final session, delegates then came together for the Networking Reception sponsored by Protocol National.
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