Leadership Applied

• Two immersive face-to-face modules delivered over six months
• A required live organisational challenge
• Monthly structured Action Learning Sets using the Manchester Method
• Research-led insight applied to real organisational problems
• Practical tools and frameworks designed for immediate impact
• Evening sessions with senior organisational leaders sharing real-world leadership challenges, decisions and lessons learned
• A selective peer cohort of senior leaders from diverse sectors
• Ongoing alumni engagement and knowledge exchange

• Clearer strategic judgement in complex, high-stakes environments
• Structured time to step back and think at organisational level
• Practical frameworks to improve performance and resilience
• Peer challenge and support from leaders operating at comparable scale
• A defined action plan shaped through rigorous discussion and application
• Continued access to a selective alumni network

• Leaders equipped to improve productivity and performance
• Clearer strategic choices aligned to long-term goals
• Stronger alignment around risk, resources and reputation
• A practical organisational action plan developed during the programme
• Sustained momentum through structured workplace application

This programme is designed for senior leaders already in position within their organisations who:

• Hold P&L accountability or significant performance responsibility
• Operate at scale with meaningful impact on organisational outcomes
• Make decisions affecting strategic direction and resource allocation
• Are responsible for delivering both current plans and future positioning

Participants are selected to ensure a high-calibre cohort with shared levels of responsibility and experience.

Admission is by application and reference. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate seniority, scale of accountability and define a live organisational challenge that will form the focus of their work between modules.

Professor Chris Bones is Programme Director for Leadership Applied and Professor Emeritus of Leadership and Creativity at Alliance Manchester Business School.

Chris brings extensive senior leadership, business education and board-level experience, having held executive roles in global organisations including Diageo and Cadbury Schweppes, led Henley Business School as Dean, and advised organisations and government on leadership, transformation and organisational change.

As an author, educator and experienced non-executive leader, Chris brings a practical, real-world perspective to helping senior leaders navigate complexity and deliver meaningful organisational impact.

If you choose to stay in Manchester during your time on Leadership Applied, you can benefit from preferential rates at the Hyatt Hotel, a modern and elegant hotel located at the heart of our campus and adjoining the Executive Education centre.

This session explores the key drivers of productivity and how leaders can identify practical opportunities to improve performance. You will consider the wider economic policy levers that shape productivity, the factors within an organisation's control, and the trade-offs leaders need to navigate when seeking sustainable improvement.

• Explore the drivers of productivity and how they affect firm-level performance.
• Use a practical framework and checklist to identify opportunities for improvement.

This session explores how leaders can create the right conditions for innovation, from individual creativity through to team culture and organisational practice. You will use practical frameworks and design thinking tools to consider how innovation can be strengthened and applied to real organisational challenges.

• Explore how creativity, culture and leadership practices support innovation.
• Apply design thinking tools to real organisational challenges.

This session helps leaders build confidence in understanding and applying AI responsibly. You will explore the opportunities, risks and governance considerations linked to AI adoption, while experimenting with practical tools that can support leadership tasks and organisational decision-making.

• Understand key AI concepts and how they can support productivity and decision-making.
• Identify responsible approaches to AI adoption within your organisation.

This session explores how organisational design, operating models and processes influence performance. You will consider practical ways to improve effectiveness, manage resources and support continuous improvement in complex and changing environments.

• Explore how structures, systems and processes shape organisational performance.
• Identify practical actions to strengthen effectiveness and adaptability.

This session explores how leaders can support people and organisations through change and transition. You will use practical models and tools to understand why change can be unpredictable, communicate with clarity and build confidence during periods of uncertainty.

• Apply practical tools to communicate clearly and support teams through change.
• Use models such as Bridges’ Transition Model and the 4C framework to strengthen leadership effectiveness.

This session explores strategy as the art of making choices. You will consider how leaders can assess strategic options, make effective trade-offs and allocate resources in a fast-paced world, including the importance of stopping some activities to focus on the priorities most likely to deliver successful outcomes.

• Explore how to judge strategic choices and trade-offs in different situations.
• Apply simple strategic models to support focus, resource allocation and decision-making.

This session introduces risk appetite and enterprise risk management as practical tools for leadership decision-making. You will explore how organisations identify, assess and manage risk, while considering how risk appetite can support responsible business growth.

• Understand how risk appetite supports better leadership decisions.
• Explore practical ways to assess, prioritise and manage organisational risk.

This session explores how leaders can build, protect and manage organisational reputation in complex environments. You will consider the links between governance, strategy, trust and legitimacy, and examine how organisations can respond effectively during reputational challenge or crisis.

• Explore the drivers of reputation, trust and legitimacy.
• Consider practical approaches to managing reputational challenges and values-based relationships.

Leadership Applied focuses on organisational performance rather than individual leadership development. It is designed for senior leaders addressing real organisational challenges, not those earlier in their leadership journey.

The programme is built around some of the most pressing issues facing organisations today, including improving productivity and performance, building high-performing cultures, managing reputation in an increasingly visible world, responding effectively to AI-driven disruption, and balancing risk, innovation and growth.

The programme explores leadership from an organisational and applied perspective, helping participants address current challenges while preparing their organisations for future opportunities.

Manchester’s history of innovation, industry, social change and original thinking provides an important backdrop to the programme.

The city itself forms part of the experience, helping create an environment that encourages fresh perspectives, practical thinking and open conversation.

Yes. You are expected to bring a live organisational challenge relevant to your role or organisation.

Throughout the programme, you will apply learning, frameworks and discussion directly to your own context, allowing you to test ideas, explore different perspectives and develop practical approaches that can be taken back into the workplace immediately.

AI and large language models are explored in the context of organisational impact, helping you understand how to cut through the noise and apply these technologies safely and effectively.

You will leave with practical tools, a clearer understanding of organisational priorities, and a structured approach to improving performance within your organisation.

The programme is designed around the real challenges facing organisations today, combining research-led insight with perspectives from experienced practitioners, guest speakers and senior peers. You will leave having been better equipped to navigate complexity, respond to emerging challenges and make more confident organisational decisions.

Leadership Applied is designed as an immersive experience. Alongside the core programme sessions, you will take part in evening speaker events, facilitated discussions, networking opportunities and activities connected to the wider Manchester experience. These elements are considered an important part of the programme and cohort experience.

Yes. Evening events, guest speaker sessions and cohort activities form part of the overall learning experience and are included within the programme.

Programme materials and scheduled programme activities are included as part of the participant package. Further details will be shared ahead of the programme.

Yes. A key part of the programme is the opportunity to build meaningful connections with senior leaders from a range of sectors and organisational contexts. The programme is intentionally designed to create space for discussion, peer challenge and ongoing collaboration.