Case Study
“How can we develop our managers to think more commercially?”
What They Needed
Malvern Hills District Council identified that strengthening leadership capability would be critical to achieving their ambition of becoming one of the highest-performing district councils in the UK.
The organisation wanted to develop around 50 managers to:
- Lead the council more strategically, moving beyond operational management
- Build “commercial awareness” to improve financial thinking and decision-making
- Improve collaboration across departments to create more joined-up ways of working
- Embed leadership behaviours that supported the council’s long-term goals
- Do so without removing managers from their day-to-day responsibilities for extended periods
The council required a structured, measurable programme that aligned with their competency framework and would demonstrate value for money.
In short: How do we develop commercially aware leaders in local government without disrupting service delivery?
What We Did
We designed a modular six-month Management Development Programme (MDP) followed by a Team Effectiveness and Organisational Learning strategy to extend impact beyond individual development.
The approach ensured minimal disruption to ongoing operations while promoting real behavioural change.
Key elements of the MDP:
- Six training modules (2 days each) spread over six months
- Two formal coaching sessions per manager with a qualified coach
- Two workplace-based assignments reinforcing learning through practical application
- Ongoing mentoring and support from MTD facilitators
- Regular evaluation, including 360-degree feedback, behavioural assessments and impact tracking
- Alignment to the council’s competency framework to ensure role relevance
The Team Effectiveness & Organisational Learning programme included:
- Team planning and strategy days
- Team-building activities designed to strengthen collaboration
- Cross-department working analysis to highlight interdependencies
- Best practice and performance improvement workshops
- A mentoring initiative to embed learning across the organisation
This approach ensured development was practical, continuous and sustainable.
The Difference It Made
Increase in confidence to lead strategically
Increased collaboration in cross-functional departments
Improvement in commercial awareness skills
Quality of programme design aligned to business challenges
Quality of programme delivery based on relevance and impact
Key outcomes included:
- Programme design score: 3.8/4 – described as highly practical and aligned to real leadership challenges
- Quality of delivery: 9.4/10 – facilitators were praised for relating leadership concepts to real council scenarios
- Manager confidence in leading strategically: +19% (based on post-programme review data)
- Improvement in cross-functional collaboration: +18%, evidenced through team feedback and interdepartmental project outcomes
- Increased commercial awareness: +20%, reported informally by senior stakeholders as influencing decision-making in planning, finance and service delivery
Representative feedback from managers included:
“I can now look at the bigger picture rather than just my small part of the council.”
— Hilary Law, Careline Services Officer
“I now know how to ‘lead’ rather than ‘manage’. Leadership was applied to real situations.”
— Peter Gillett, Head of Financial Services & IT
“The programme has been informative, interactive and fun… it has more than met our expectations.”
— Tina Beckett, Learning & Development Officer
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