Our leadership and talent programmes have now welcomed 1000 alumni into the Future of London network. Find out how the “power of networks” energises place leaders to confront complex urban challenges.
After 15 years and over 60 cohorts of our leadership and talent programme, Future of London has fostered a unique, collaborative network committed to place leadership. We have now reached the 1000 alumni landmark for our valued and established programmes.
Future of London was launched to bring together built environment professionals from all sectors and across all boroughs to tackle the complex challenges that demand a cross-sector, pan-London approach.
“With the focus on solving the housing crisis and developing inclusive economies, we are all increasingly working in public-private partnerships that require a strong understanding of different stakeholders,” says Caroline Harper, Interim Managing Director at Be First and Chair of Future of London.
“Our leadership programmes equip people with the essential skills and vital networks they need to navigate complex projects with multiple partners.”
Our first Future London Leaders cohort graduated in 2010. They were a diverse group of mainly public sector candidates from London boroughs, Transport for London and the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) and a colleague from from Mott MacDonald.
READ NOW: Why place leadership runs on the power of networks, by Nicola Mathers and Lisa Tylor
Developing a strong networks is vital for future leaders
Tom Dewey, who represented the London Borough of Waltham Forest on FLL1 and recently joined our steering group as a director at Altair. He said:
“The leadership programme gave me access to a new network of professionals at a similar stage in their careers, which provided a great basis for interaction and forming bonds,”
Nnenna Urum-Eke is Assistant Director for Housing Development and Inclusive Regeneration at Lewisham Council and was in the first cohort of Leaders Plus. She said:
“If a tribe is a collection of people linked by location, values and language, then the Alumni Network is a tribe of built-environment leaders. We are linked by our ambition to ensure that the future of our cities is equitable for everyone, which is expressed through concepts like inclusive economies, social value and liveability.
“As individuals we are impactful. Together, we are a powerful force for change, and I am grateful to be part it.”
Since then, we have convened 39 more cohorts of FLL, which typically now include a third of candidates from the private sector and housing associations. In 2014, we added our next-level Leaders Plus programme, which is currently up to LP12.
In 2020, our sister organisation, Future of Greater Manchester, brought together its first group from public and private sector organisations in the city region, and has both GM Future Leaders and GM Leaders Plus programmes.
Why leaders need to embrace vulnerability
“A strong professional network is absolutely at the core of becoming a resilient leader,” says executive coach Miffa Salter of Urbancanda, who has led our London and Greater Manchester programmes for over ten years.
“Leading requires you to embrace vulnerability and that means you need a network around you. A network for me is about having, quite literally, a net that catches you. It is also a net that captures opportunity. Anybody who is going to put themselves out as a leader needs to have both that safety and that enhanced view of opportunity.”
Miffa Salter on leadership, place-making and power of networks
Our most recent addition, the Emerging Talent Programme, actively promotes ethnic diversity by offering work placements to career-starters with major sector employers. Our commitment to diversity is rooted in the understanding that networks must have diversity of thought to prevent monocultural consensus.
Developing a diverse network
More than 300 organisations from the UK and beyond are represented in the alumni network. A third are now in senior leadership positions in the public (21%) and private (13%) sectors, and three-quarters of alumni have been promoted at least once since completing a course.
“Leaders Plus was a fantastic experience,” said Tom Bridgman, previously at Lambeth Council and now Deputy Chief Executive for Place at Oxford City Council.
“What stands out was the interaction with new people bringing different perspectives and experiences within a safe space where we could test ideas and encourage each other’s development.”
The power of networks
To mark the 1000 alumni landmark, we have published an essay that explains why place leaders need to draw on the power of networks to address complex urban challenges.
“When people share a profound experience, as they do on our leadership programmes, they’re more willing to share information and offer support,” says Nicola Mathers, Chief Executive of Future of London.
“While professional networking often feels transactional, we aim to build a network based on shared values of equity and inclusion, with the goal of improving the built environment for all communities. The power of Future of London’s network comes from our deliberate attempt to harness these principles.”
Read the blog post, Why place leadership runs on the power of networks
Thanks to Future London Leaders sponsors Devonshires (and, before that, Lovell) and to Leaders Plus sponsors, Related Argent, for their long-term support of Future of London’s leadership programmes.
