There are distinct challenges in working on the development of senior people, whether individually or in teams. One of the greatest is even getting them to talk about and agree to work on their own development in the first place!

Two decades of working with boards, executive committees and other senior teams have taught us that senior people, consciously or not, can subtly use their power to avoid the work and potential personal challenge of development.

More often than not the internal HR/OD/LD people who support them have to spend a great deal of time creating the access, permission and ongoing relationships required. It can feel like navigating long, unproductive detours of politics and interpersonal sensitivity.

We see all this not so much as a set of challenges to be overcome before getting to work, but as part of the work itself. And we find solutions both in its positioning (e.g. the degree to which it is directly about senior leaders themselves or, more obliquely, about other people/issues) and in its content (e.g. identifying interventions that are both effective and palatable to participants).

In this masterclass we will share our experiences of setting up and delivering development at senior levels, with you and your senior peers from among our clients and friends in large organisational life.

Specifically, we will:

• Explore and understand the nature of avoidance, resistance and collusion – all the fascinating psychological stuff that’s going on beneath the surface
• Consider our roles in the systems in which we operate and how to build greater political capital
• Explore and share strategies and tactics, on a range from the totally transparent to the shrewdly stealthy
• Help you consider how to get greater senior leadership engagement with development in your organisation