6 months of place leadership – and a lifetime of connection!
Nominations for Future Leaders Round 5 are now open! To nominate, apply or for info on the next round, get in touch now!
See current Future Leaders Round 4 candidates here and mentors here.
GM Future Leaders is Future of GM’s leadership programme for rising cross-sector talent – people starting to lead teams and/or manage major projects and stakeholder groups, including mentoring, visits & bursary places for community & voluntary organisations.
Future of GM serves place-focused practitioners, from planning to procurement, development to digital, engineering to engagement, and all Leaders programmes offer leadership skills and insight for any role.
This 6-month course combines skills workshops, field trips, a mentor, fantastic senior and peer connections and a final group assignment. All sessions are confidential and our expert facilitators provide just the right blend of safe space and challenge for a rich development experience that’s tailored to Greater Manchester. See the most recent cohort’s powerful Proposals for GM here.
Round 3 graduated on February 26th at RLB. You can see that cohort here. Congratulations all!
Future Leaders can naturally lead into Leaders Plus to further develop your high-potential teams. If you’re not sure about role or level, we’re happy to answer any questions.
We welcome public, private and third sector, for greater understanding of the context we operate in and we actively encourage nominations from under-represented groups.
Programme topics are below, and we fine-tune before each new round. Each morning workshop is paired with a relevant workshop or a field trip that puts these concepts into action:
- Understanding and optimising your leadership style
- Expansive thinking
- Managing your inner saboteur
- Building trust as a leader
- Inclusive leadership
- Impactful and influential leadership
- Developing your professional brand
For information or to inquire about the next round, please email: collette@futureofgreatermanchester.com
Huge thanks to core sponsors and champions GMCA, Trowers (our launch hosts), and to session hosts Arup, Contact Theatre, Cushman & Wakefield, Muse, Planit and Rider Levett Bucknall (our Proposals hosts)!
If you’d like to join this forward-thinking group and partner on our place leadership programmes, please email lisa@futureofgreatermanchester.com.
See here for GM Leaders Plus, here for London Future Leaders, launched in 2010, and here for our growing Alumni Network – 1,000 across the UK as of 2025!
Recent feedback:
“A super supportive and innovative environment with like-minded professionals to learn about your personal strengths and areas for development.”
“The course exceeded my expectations in that it got me thinking about the ‘politics’ of day-to-day interactions.”
“One of the most interesting and useful sessions I’ve attended in years. A real eye-opener for understanding what stress is, how it impacts on me and how I can manage it.”
“Future Leaders enabled me to look objectively at my work behaviours, strengths and weaknesses; to manage my ‘inner saboteur’… to implement small changes in my day-to-day approach that have made me calmer and more impactful with others; and to think seriously about my career aspirations.”
