Course outline:
Join us for our two‑part management conference that is designed for new and experienced managers looking to strengthen their leadership capabilities, enhance people‑management skills, and gain fresh, practical tools for navigating today’s workplace challenges.
Each half‑day focuses on a key capability area: Communication & Collaboration and Innovation & Change.
In a rapidly evolving workplace, managers need more than technical expertise, they need confidence, adaptability, and strong people‑leadership skills to navigate an increasingly complex workplace.
You will be part of two focused, engaging half day sessions that will equip you with practical tools in communication, collaboration, innovation, and change, supported by expert insights in areas such as neurodiversity, senior‑level communication, diversity and inclusion, and succession planning.
The conferences will focus on strategies that can be applied immediately, to enable your organisation to benefit from more confident managers, stronger teams, and enhanced leadership behaviours across the business.
Course specifics
Two engaging half day sessions focusing on the themes of Communication & Collaboration and Innovation & Change.
- Suitable for new managers, experienced managers seeking a refresher, and anyone who is looking to strengthen their leadership skills.
- A chance to enhance people‑management capabilities and gain new tools, frameworks, and practical approaches to lead yourself and others more effectively.
- Expert‑led sessions offering insights on neurodiversity, diversity & inclusion, managing upwards, succession planning, and industry‑wide changes.
Full conference agenda
Explore the Full Conference Agenda down below:
Day 1 - Mastering Management Conference
9.30AM - Welcome and Icebreaker
Welcome and Icebreaker.
9.45AM - Different Minds, Better Teams: The Manager's Guide to Neurodiversity
Bob Bannister, Imanage Performance
Your team's cognitive diversity is either your greatest untapped asset or your biggest blind spot. This practical 90-minute workshop gives you the frameworks and confidence to make it the former.
You'll move beyond generic "awareness" to understand what neurodivergence actually means for day-to-day management. Through proven tools like the Performance Enablers Matrix and the Manager's Pocket Guide, you'll learn to identify where neurodivergent employees need different support, what adjustments actually make a difference, and how to have productive conversations without making assumptions or overstepping.
We'll cut through the jargon with a straightforward categorisation of neurodivergence, explore universal management principles that work across the spectrum, and reframe neurodiversity from a deficit model to a difference model that reveals hidden strengths in your team. You'll leave with practical resources you can use immediately and a clearer understanding of how to support individual needs while building collective team performance. Designed for managers who want simple, actionable strategies—not theoretical sensitivity training.
11.15AM - Refreshment Break
Refreshment Break
11.25AM - Leadership Strategies for Managing Upwards and Building Strong Stakeholder and Client Relationships
Roger Allum, Mercia Group
In this session, Roger will share tips to equip you with practical strategies for communicating effectively with senior leaders and managing challenging client relationships. Drawing on Roger’s extensive experience working with charities, academy trusts, and governing bodies, the session highlights real‑world examples of communicating across complex stakeholder groups. Participants will explore how to adapt communication styles, influence upwards, and maintain professionalism when dealing with demanding or high‑expectation stakeholders and conflicting stakeholder priorities.
12.00PM - Cultural Intelligence: Your Passport to Meaningful Inclusion
Ulrika Malmros, Wilmington plc
In this session, we’ll dive into what inclusion truly means and why cultural intelligence matters for all of us. We’ll explore real examples of inclusive and non‑inclusive language, and we’ll unpack why becoming more comfortable with discomfort is an essential part of meaningful inclusion and growth.
12.30PM - Close of Conference
CPD Hours: 3
Day 2 - Mastering Management Conference
9.30AM - Welcome and Icebreaker
Welcome and Icebreaker.
9.45AM - A Revolution in Employment Law - what the Employment Rights Act 2025 means for you
Louise Dunford, LCD Consultancy
This is the largest single piece of UK employment legislation ever, and we will explore what we know about the changes and their impact on employers.
- Changes to family-friendly rights, and protection for pregnancy and maternity
- Sexual harassment: What is expected of employers and managers now?
- Reform of statutory sick pay and the implications
- Collective redundancies- the pitfalls
- Flexible working - further reform
- Restrictions on 'fire and rehire' and new rights for zero-hour workers
- Unfair dismissal - the new reality - expanded entitlement and unlimited damages
- Trade Unions - the new protections
- The Fair Work Agency - what it will deal with, and what it will not
- Changes to Employment Tribunal time limits and ACAS conciliation
10.45AM - Refreshment Break
Refreshment Break
10.55AM - Succession planning
TBC.
11.25AM - Refreshment Break
Refreshment Break
11.30AM - Balancing Technology, Teams and Outsourcing
TBC.
12.15PM - Q&A
Louise Conner, Mercia Group
As we bring the conference to a close, this engaging 30‑minute Q&A session offers all delegates the opportunity to ask any remaining questions, whether they relate to topics covered within the conference or to wider themes across management, leadership, and skills development.
We’ll also draw on a set of thoughtfully prepared questions gathered through the pre‑conference questionnaire, ensuring a meaningful and insightful discussion.
Questions can be shared live on the day, submitted via the chat, or posted anonymously through the Q&A function, whatever feels most comfortable for you. We encourage everyone to get involved!
12.30PM - Close of Conference
CPD Hours: 3
Conference speakers
See the conference speakers listed below:
Louise Conner
Louise Conner is Mercia’s Management and Skills Trainer. She has worked in the financial services industry for 24 years, 18 of which have been within the Learning and Development arena. This experience has allowed Louise to perfect her motivational coaching model. She offers a diverse range of courses focused on transferable workplace skills. Louise always aims to make her courses as interactive as possible to keep them fun and engaging. Her passion lies within training, and she always gets great job satisfaction from seeing people grow and develop along their career paths.
Bob Bannister
With four decades of experience driving growth and innovation, Bob Bannister is a veteran business leader. As founder and Managing Director of iManage Performance, Bob provides strategic oversight and hands-on leadership in business development, consulting, training and coaching.
Bob began his career as an engineer, completing an apprenticeship and working with leading manufacturers like Qualcast, DuPont and Philips. He later served as Senior Consultant at a specialist procurement consultancy before founding the training consultancy iManage. As a mature student, Bob earned an MBA from the University of Brighton - a pivotal moment that catalysed his entrepreneurial journey.
Roger Allum
Prior to joining Mercia, Roger worked as an audit manager at a regional firm, specialising in the financial reporting and compliance requirements of charities and academy trusts. He managed a varied portfolio, supporting organisations from small local charities to large national bodies.
He has strong sector expertise across both single academy trusts and medium‑sized multi‑academy trusts, with practical insight into academy funding, regulatory standards, and the financial challenges faced within the sector.
Roger has also served as treasurer for a community co‑operative, overseeing statutory reporting and further strengthening his governance experience.
Ulrika Malmros
Drawing on experience gained across Sweden, the United States, China, and England, Ulrika Malmros brings a strong international perspective to her work in inclusion. Her background studying and working in these diverse environments has shaped her practical understanding of cultural differences and what helps people feel able to contribute and succeed.
For the past three years at Wilmington, Ulrika has led initiatives that strengthen inclusive behaviours and support sustainable, long‑term change. She is focused on making inclusion tangible and actionable, helping teams build everyday habits and environments where people feel respected, supported, and part of something meaningful.
Discount bookings available for groups of three or more.
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