What we’re learning

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Blackburn with Darwen (BwD) Council have been weaving strengths-based development into how they work, and it’s having a real impact on how teams lead, communicate and collaborate across departments.

Through engaging with strengths, coaching and leadership programmes, they’ve given people space to understand what they do best, and how to use those strengths in daily working life.

Getting started…

Like many councils, BwD wanted to support leadership, improve team culture and help people feel more confident in their roles. That’s where strengths coaching came in, first with senior leaders and managers, then gradually rolling out across the organisation.

This partnership wasn’t just about introducing a new way of thinking; it was about embedding it meaningfully into everyday practice. Through working side by side, the team’s confidence and capability has been growing, using their strengths to make a lasting difference in their communities.

People are getting to know themselves and their teams better

Senior leaders have shared how the approach has given them fresh insight into how they work.

For example, one leader discovered how to use her ‘arranger’ strength to delegate more, helping her team take more ownership. She said it helped her lead with more empathy and adapt her style across different teams.

“A strengths-based approach has reshaped how our teams connect and perform. It’s helped new teams build trust quickly, empowered struggling teams to rebuild morale, and enabled stronger collaboration across departments. The impact has been both immediate and lasting.”

Collaboration is improving across the board

The public health team realised they were low on ‘influencing’ strengths, so they teamed up with the comms team, who had bags of it! That has helped in leading to stronger, more effective campaigns. It’s a simple but powerful shift: bring together people with different strengths, and you unlock new possibilities.

It’s changing how people lead

Some teams have started to move from directive leadership styles to more coaching-led approaches. That shift is helping teams feel more empowered, heard and supported in their day-to-day roles.

“We’ve seen colleagues on the verge of leaving rediscover purpose and passion through strengths-based conversations. Whether it was rebuilding lost confidence, improving difficult relationships, finding clarity for career progression, or reshaping roles to better align with individual strengths, these tools have empowered people to thrive again.”

What made it stick?

• Top-level backing: Senior leaders backed the approach, championed the benefits and secured funding to keep it going.
• Internal capacity: They trained internal coaches to embed the approach long-term.
• Flexibility: As feedback came in, they adapted – offering team-specific coaching and scaling things gradually.

Still learning, still growing

Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, with barriers to overcome. Scaling the initiative across such a large organisation has taken time and not everyone was on board straight away, some staff were unsure about the value of self-reflection. But the momentum is growing. More teams are using the shared language of strengths, conversations are improving, and even retention has been boosted, with some people saying the experience reignited their confidence and commitment to their roles.

BwD Borough Council is just one example of the fantastic impact that a strengths-based approach can have when organisations invest in their people. Through engaging with Strengths Coaching, the Executive Leadership Academy and workshops/webinars in our Leadership Learning Series, they’ve been transforming individual roles, reshaping team cultures, boosting morale and strengthening connections. We’re excited to continue this journey with BwD and to support even more teams and leaders as they discover the difference Leading Through Strengths can make.

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Executive Leadership Academy 23-24

Last week, we celebrated the end of the first cohort of our Executive Leadership Academy. This 12 month programme helps leaders to develop a great sense of who they are and how they can lead change in a whole systems way in their places.

The academy included directors, chief executives and senior leaders from across the leisure sector, health, local government, education and prison services. They built relationships and connections across their own and different sectors, took a deep dive into strengths based leadership and allowed themselves the time and space to reflect and develop on their leadership styles.

Hear from the first cohort of our Executive Leadership Academy and what they gained from taking part:

For the final few days of the Academy, we took a trip to Greater Manchester and spent the day with our friends from GM Moving who shared their learning and approach to systems change.  We also took the opportunity as a group to look at how we can take what we’ve learned and build on that collectively as a new and emerging network of Leaders; with the ultimate goal of influencing change across Pennine Lancashire and beyond.

”It was great to celebrate the success of the participants in the programme, to hear about their learning, their experiences and now we are able to build on this learning as we recruit for cohort 2.”
Ken Masser – TaAF Lead of People and Place

We’re now opening up applications to join our 2024-25 Executive Leadership Academy. We’re looking for senior decision makers who want to learn about how to lead change in their place (that could be you or someone in your organisation!)

Active School’s Middle Leaders – Bringing out the brilliance

We are so proud to say a few of our newly graduated Ready Set Move Middle Leaders recently had the opportunity to share their learning and have their brilliant work in schools celebrated on an international platform!

After a successful submission process, our award winning Schools Games Organiser and Active Schools Lead, Helen Tyson, along with several of our Middle Leaders were welcomed to present at the first ever International Whole School Physical Activity Conference (WSPA).

The two day conference brought together the who’s who of global physical activity research, education partners and policymakers. TaAF approaches and impacts were shared as part of a series of world leading research, evaluation and learning with whole school approaches to physical activity.  8 TaAF Middle Leaders, our embedded researcher from Edge Hill University, Lauren Clifford and 2 further academics, Dr. Mhari Macdonald and Professor Stuart Fairclough all presented elements of the success of the data-driven decision making that we have co-created with schools.

TaAF Middle leaders were praised from colleagues across the globe on how the changes they have led in their schools are making significant changes to school practice and policy, and helping children, staff and families move more everyday. We can confidently say, that Pennine Lancashire is now on the world map for co-produced, school centred approaches to increasing equality in physical activity access for children and young people.

Read more about their stories here 

Interested in joining our next cohort of Middle Leaders?

Find out more HERE or Email Helen Tyson to find out more details.

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Learning from what came before
The early pilot, run through Ready Set Rossendale, engaged five schools and was led by a headteacher passionate about movement and wellbeing. While the intent was sound, the programme struggled to gain momentum. Capacity was stretched, planning was reactive, and it was difficult for middle leaders to find the time and clarity they needed.

Rather than viewing this as a setback, it became a valuable learning moment, a chance to pause, reflect, and ask what needs to be different?

Listening, reflecting and learning
Through honest and open conversations with middle leaders and head teachers we began to understand what they liked about the existing programme but what needed to be different.

• Schools identified a need for a well communicated calendar of diary dates so they could plan for staff to be out of class.
• Schools liked the buzz of being part of a network and wanted to retain this feeling.
• Some middle leaders felt they didn’t get to grips with the meaning of Whole School Approaches, the CAS framework or had a clear understanding of what was expected of them.

Redesigning the programme: from delivery to development

• We introduced a shared-role model, seconding an experienced School Games Organiser to become our dedicated Active Schools Lead. With time, space, and support, they were able to fully re-imagine the Middle Leaders Programme.
• A strengths-based approach underpinned the redesign. The Active Schools Lead drew on their Achiever strength, channelling their drive for completion into building structure, clarity, and trust – while recognising that meaningful change also required people with strong influencing and relationship-building skills.
• Partnerships played a key role too. Working closely with an influential and well-connected headteacher helped to shape the programme’s new direction and secure wider buy-in across schools.

Key moments of change

• Co-designing the new programme with feedback from schools and external perspectives.
• Framing the offer around personal leadership development – investing in people, not just delivery.
• Resource to free up and protect time and provide middle leaders with dedicated dates and time out of class.
• Publishing a clear, structured calendar with time protected for learning and reflection.
• Formalising the commitment and expectations of the Middle Leaders.

Changing people to change the system
The redesign of the Middle Leaders Programme shows how real change begins with people – giving them the time, confidence and support to grow. By investing in the personal and professional development of middle leaders, we’re not just creating more active schools, we’re nurturing the kind of leadership that makes lasting, system-wide change possible.

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