Tees Valley Leadership Programme
Clore Leadership, the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority are delighted to be working together on an exciting programme of leadership development opportunities for the cultural sector in the Tees Valley.
Book now
Overview of the Tees Valley Leadership Programme in BSL
Programme overview
Stimulating conversation, developing skills, building confidence and creating space for peer-to-peer connection and collaboration is at the heart of our leadership programme in the Tees Valley. We are working collaboratively with a diverse mix of cultural organisations, practitioners and networks in the region to deliver a range of programming for leaders and change-makers in the Tees Valley cultural sector.
The programme is for anyone living or working in in the arts, cultural or creative sectors in the Tees Valley. If you work for an organisation, independently or as a freelancer this programme will support you to explore different qualities of leadership, enhance your skills, and expand your local and national network.
Through opportunities to connect and learn the Tees Valley programme creates space to explore what leadership means; and to develop some of the essential leadership skills we all need in our toolkits.
We recognise that everyone learns differently. The programme reflects this by offering different types of events and activities for you to engage with. These vary from leadership skills days packed full of tips and advice, to informal talks, practical hands-on group and experimental learning, mentoring and networking.
Programme fees
Some elements of the Tees Valley Leadership Programme are free, others have a ‘pay what you decide’ fee, with a recommended rate of £10 + VAT for individuals and freelancers and £25 + VAT for organisations.
“It was inspiring and warming to feel contained and able to discuss aspects of my creative life with other creatives.”
Tees Valley programme participant 2023
Programme strands
Annual Gathering
Annual Gathering – Inspiration, connection and collaboration
The Tees Valley Leadership Programme annual gathering took place on Wednesday 6 March 2024, 11 – 5pm at ARC, Stockton Arts Centre.
The gathering is a chance to connect with fellow creative and cultural professionals in the Tees Valley and dive into conversations about different leadership topics.
The next Annual Gathering will take place in 2025.
Programme information
There is a vibrant and growing creative and cultural sector in the Tees Valley that is actively creating a sense of place and identity in the region. This a chance to connect with others, reflect on the work already taking place in the Tees Valley and gain new ideas and inspiration. Invited speakers will spark thinking on a range of topics, supporting you to consider:
- How community building and networks can support your work and leadership
- How creative and community enterprise can act as a springboard for new ideas and opportunities in the places where you live and work
- How collaboration with people and organisations, within and beyond the sector, can help make sustainable change and growth possible
There will be plenty of time for discussion and conversation woven into the day. Practical workshop sessions will be a space for you to share experiences and tackle live leadership challenges with others. You will reflect on your personal leadership strengths and skills and consider how learning can be shared more widely for impact.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided as part of the day. You can provide any dietary requirements as part of the event on-boarding.
Invited speakers
- Erika Rushton, Director & Founder, Creative Economist will talk about her experience in creative and community enterprise helping to launch new ideas, build networks and secure investment for growth
- Wendy Smith, Creative Director, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music will talk about her own cultural leadership journey, her commitment to inclusion and collaborating with people and organisations to make sustainable change
- Hilary Carty OBE, Executive Director, Clore Leadership will support leaders to reflect on their strengths and skills and consider how personal leadership learning can be taken wider for impact
- Charlie Kemp, Head of Creative Place, Tees Valley Combined Authority will provide a welcome to the day
Facilitators
- Amanda Smethurst, Associate Facilitator, Clore Leadership
- Mark Robinson, Thinking Practice
What will I take away?
- Connection with other people working in arts and culture in the region
- Inspiration, new ideas and approaches gained from speakers and peers
- The chance to reflect more deeply on your own strengths and skills
- Practical tips and take-aways to help build confidence in your own work and leadership
Who is the day for?
You don’t need to have engaged with the wider Tees Valley Leadership Programme to take part. The gathering is open to all creative and cultural professionals in the region. It is relevant to freelancers, artists and those who work in organisations. You don’t have to be a in a leadership position just have a curiosity and aspiration to learn more. It’s never too early to start your leadership development journey!
The day will bring together a diverse range of individuals with a breadth of experience. We encourage people to attend who have:
- A desire to better understand leadership
- An ambition to lead, a sense of purpose and vision
- Self-awareness, authenticity and openness to learning
- A commitment and passion for the cultural sector
Tickets and cost
Tickets to join the annual gathering are on a flexible ‘pay what you decide’ basis. There is a recommended rate of £8 + VAT and tickets are bookable via Eventbrite.
Freelance bursaries
A limited number of bursaries are available for freelancers at a fixed rate of £125 towards loss of earnings incurred due to attendance at this training event. Bursaries are only available to creative and cultural freelancers living or working within the Tees Valley and a limited number are available per event. Bursaries will be allocated on a first come first served basis and are subject to your attendance at the event.
To request a freelancer bursary please tick the box at the time of booking in Eventbrite . We will contact you via email to confirm the bursary allocation for the event and outline next steps on how to make your claim. If you have any questions about the bursaries please email [email protected]
Access
We will ask for your access requirements as part of the event on-boarding. This might include (but isn’t limited to) live speech to text captioning, provision of or support for the costs for BSL interpretation; notetaking or audio description. If you would like a conversation with a member of our team before booking your place, please email [email protected]
Leadership Skills Days – BOOKING OPEN
Leadership Skills Days
These practical stand-alone leadership skills days can help you hone and craft your essential leadership skills. Packed full of useful advice and tips to take-away and apply to your own leadership, no matter what the context. They will help you reflect on different leadership styles and approaches and understand your own unique strengths and values as a leader. The content is grounded in group and experiential learning, so come along and be prepared to dive in.
Leadership skills days are led by an inspiring range of Clore Leadership contributors who all have their own unique expertise to share with you. You can pick and choose which skills day/s to sign-up for based on your needs and interests. You are welcome to attend one or multiple sessions.
The skills days will take place in venues across the Tees Valley from 10 – 4pm. A light lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Further sessions to be announced in summer 2024.
Booking is now open
Tickets for the skills days are available on a flexible pay what you decide basis. There is a recommended rate of £10 + VAT for individuals; £25 + VAT for organisations. Tickets are bookable via Eventbrite.
A limited number of freelance bursaries are available to support attendance at the skills days.
Finance for Leaders
- Date: Wednesday 8 May 2024, 10 – 4pm
- Venue: MIMA, Middlesbrough
What’s involved?
The day will give you a vital introduction to key financial processes and an understanding into their purpose and function. You will learn about best practice in relation to the financial planning and the importance of good organisation, self-management and meeting legal requirements. You will reflect on the part finance plays in your organisations’ unique story / your freelance work as well as the wider contextual picture of financial management for cultural sector leaders.
This session is open to leaders with a range of financial literacy and experience and the content will be applicable for a wide range of roles, whether you work as a freelance or within an organisation.
What will I take-away?
- An understanding of key financial processes and their purpose and function
- Insight into what makes a sound finance planning process and best practice
- A reference of key finance terms and what they mean
- Reflection on your journey as a cultural leader and the role financial planning plays in your work
Strategic Planning
- Facilitator: Anna Dinnen, Arts Consultant
- Date: Friday 17 May 2024, 10 – 4pm
- Venue: The BIS, Hartlepool
What’s involved?
This is an opportunity to explore what strategy is, the activities and people involved and the components that make up good strategies. You will learn and reflect on the benefits of working strategically and look at some tools and frameworks that help, sharing insights and experiences with peers and colleagues. You will consider strategic working post-pandemic, explore some of the challenges as well as new skills and ways of working.
However you work – be this as a freelancer, or within an organisation, this session is applicable to a wide range of roles and experiences. You will come away with a clearer understanding of the value of strategic working and the impact it can have for you and your work.
What will I take away?
- Learning around the benefits and impact of working strategically
- An understanding of the planning processes and systems and what that might look like in different contexts
- Tool, tips and strategies for working more strategically in your own context
- Reflection on your journey as a cultural leader and the role strategic planning plays in your work
Governance, the basics
- Facilitator: Keith Arrowsmith, Senior Partner (Legal), Counterculture
- Date: Thursday 11 July 2024, 10 – 4pm
- Venue: The Redcar Palace (Tees Valley Arts)
After the success of the Governance, The Basics last year, we are bringing back this session for a second time in 2024.
What’s involved?
This is a highly informative and discursive day that aims to demystify what governance means, and will cover the basics of different legal structures and the roles within them. Whether you work with boards, or are interested in becoming a trustee, you will develop a greater understanding of the responsibilities we all have within a governance structure.
However you work – be this as a freelancer, or within an organisation, this session will give you an opportunity to understand what the right governance structure is for, and some practical information about the implications of this.
What will I take-away?
- A basic overview of governance – what it means, and the importance of effective governance
- Insight into different governance structures, and the implications of these; including the role and composition of boards
- The definitions of some of the terminology used within governance contexts
- Practical tips on how to apply learning to real world situations
Who are the skills days for?
To access the skills days, you must live and/or work in the Tees Valley as a freelancer or for an organisation in the cultural sector. The days are equally valuable to freelancers, artists and practioners and to those who work within an organisation.
Each day will bring together a diverse range of people who will bring a breadth of experience and animate the group learning. To help us create the best possible mix of people we encourage people to sign up who can demonstrate:
- 3 -5 years’ work experience, in any capacity
- A desire to better understand leadership
- An ambition to lead, a sense of purpose and vision
- Self-awareness, authenticity and openness to learning
- A commitment to and passion for the cultural sector
- A curiosity as to the wider context of culture
Fees
The fee for each leadership skills day is on a pay what you decide basis. There is a recommended minimum rate of £10 + VAT for individuals; £25 + VAT for organisations.
Freelance bursaries
A limited number of bursaries are available for freelancers at a fixed rate of £125 towards loss of earnings incurred due to attendance at this training event. Bursaries are only available to creative and cultural freelancers living or working within the Tees Valley and a limited number are available per event. Bursaries will be allocated on a first come first served basis and are subject to your attendance at the event.
To request a freelancer bursary please tick the box at the time of booking in Eventbrite . We will contact you via email to confirm the bursary allocation and outline next steps on how to make your claim. If you have any questions about the bursaries please email [email protected]
Access
We will ask for your access requirements as part of the event on-boarding. This might include (but isn’t limited to) live speech to text captioning, provision of or support for the costs for BSL interpretation; notetaking or audio description. If you would like a conversation with a member of our team before making your application, or would like support in completing the application form please email [email protected]
Facilitators
Keith Arrowsmith
Keith is a solicitor helping charities and other organisations in the cultural, creative, heritage, and educational sectors. He provides guidance and assistance on governance, intellectual property, funding, business law, contracts, website regulations and charity law.
Keith a member of the Charity Law Association and is a Governance Associate for the Clore Leadership Programme. He is recommended by Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. During lockdown he was awarded an LLM for his research relating to the use of Charity Governance Codes.
Keith was played by actor Joel Fry in the recently-released Netflix film, Bank of Dave.
Tom Wilcox
Tom Wilcox is Senior Partner at Counterculture, a specialist strategic and financial consultancy providing finance/accounting, governance, business and strategic planning, capital projects, HR, fundraising and IT services to the arts, creative enterprises and charities. Tom’s clients include Tate, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, De La Warr Pavilion, Rambert Dance Company and the Lakeland Art Trust.
Tom is a Fellow Chartered Company Secretary and qualified accountant. With a strong interest in the arts and the public realm, Tom is a trustee of Gallery Estates Trust. He is also a Clore Governance Associate, and a musician/producer.
Anna Dinnen
Anna loves solving messy problems since she is a glutton for punishment – the kind where you have to unpick lots of threads and look beyond surface symptoms to help people and organisations get to grips with a particular challenge. She enjoys helping people make sense of what is going on and working through the options to move on in a positive way. This is often with leaders but she is also keen on working with whole teams, including both staff and trustees.
The work Anna enjoys commonly fits under labels like organisational development, strategic thinking, programme planning, and aligning stakeholder perspectives. Some of the organisations she has worked with include Metal, Birmingham Music Hub, Wordsworth Trust, National Glass Centre, Nesta, Theatre Genedlaethol Cymru.
Leadership with Care
Embedding Care in your Leadership
18 January 2024, 11 -1pm
Online via Zoom
A practical and creative 2-hr online session led by Jo Verrent, Director, Unlimited and Jo Hunter, CEO, 64 Million Artists. They will reflect on what care means to them as leaders and share their experience of authentically embedding cultures of care within their own organisations – sharing both successes and failures. You will explore what care can mean for yourself and others and be supported to model your own approach to care-led leadership via practical workshop activities.
Book your place
Booking has now closed for this session.
Who is this session for?
To access the session, you must live and/or work in the Tees Valley as a freelancer or for an organisation in the cultural sector. This session is valuable to a range of roles and levels of experience, whether you are a freelancer, artist, practioner or work within an organisation.
We encourage you to join the session if you have:
- At least 3 years work experience in any capacity
- An ambition to lead/ make change in your area of practice, a sense of purpose and vision
- A desire to better understand leadership
- Openness to your own learning and to supporting learning in others
- A commitment to and passion for the cultural sector
- A curiosity as to the wider context of culture and the impact this can have
What will I takeaway?
You will come away inspired, having gained insight, practical tips and takeaways on care-centred leadership and ideas on how to apply this to your own context. As part of the session you will receive a practical resource designed to help frame your thinking and map your own approach that you can takeaway and re-use as part of your leadership toolkit.
Access
The 2-hr session will take place online via Zoom. You can provide access requirements when you sign-up. This might include (but isn’t limited to) live speech to text captioning, provision of or support for the costs for BSL interpretation; notetaking or audio description. If you would like a conversation with a member of our team before booking please email [email protected]
Facilitators
Jo Hunter
Jo Hunter is the Founder and CEO of 64 Million Artists, a social enterprise inviting everyone in the UK to explore their creative potential and use it to challenge the status quo. Since they were founded in 2014, they have run bespoke programmes and nationwide campaigns for individuals, communities and leaders across schools, universities, whole cities, workplaces, cultural institutions and health and government bodies. They experiment with different ways to reconnect people with their creativity and work to understand and explore how creativity impacts positive change. Over 50,000 people take part in their January Challenge each year and they are well known for prioritising well-being, working a 4 day week and taking August off each year.
Previously Jo was Head of Strategic Development at Battersea Arts Centre, Senior Artistic Associate at Harbourfront Centre Toronto and Head of Funded Programmes at Sing Up. She also started her career in the circus and is a former presenter of BBC’s Why Don’t You? She was a Clore Fellow in 2014/15 and is a fellow of the Salzburg Leadership Forum.
Jo Verrent
Jo believes that ‘different’ is delicious not divergent. She works in arts & culture at strategic levels embedding the belief that diversity adds texture, turning policy into real action. Jo is director of Unlimited, with a mission to commission extraordinary work from disabled artists until the whole of the cultural sector does. Funded by Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, Creative Scotland, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the British Council, it commits for this work to change and challenge the world.
Jo is an artist, creating Take Me to Bed with Luke Pell, co-founding Sync with Sarah Pickthall, and is a granny.
Action Learning Sets
We are excited to announce the chance to take part in one of two action learning sets for D/deaf/disabled/neurodivergent and global majority cultural professionals in the Tees Valley region.
View the introduction to the Tees Valley action learning sets in BSL
How to apply
Applications for the action learning sets have now closed.
Action Learning Set Q&A video
What’s involved?
The opportunity includes a half-day of action learning training online via Zoom on Tuesday 23 January, 1 – 4pm. Followed by up to eight 1-hour facilitated sessions running through to summer 2024.
The half-day of online action learning training will include an introduction to the principles. As well as the tools and skills needed for the application and practice of action learning. After the training up to two action learning sets will form; each set will have access to up to a further facilitated sessions.
What is action learning?
Action learning involves a group of individuals getting together in a structured and reflective way. Hosted by a facilitator the group explores solutions to live and real challenges/questions. Through listening, reflection and questions, gentle challenge and feedback one group member (at a time) is supported to discover insights and solutions to their challenge.
Action learning sets are described as “user-led think tanks” and “a space for peer support and individual reflection”. They are also a great way of getting to know others in your field of work.
Action learning gives people the chance to step away from the pressures of their professional role. To be supported to gain new insight, different perspectives and fresh thinking on an issue. Perhaps you have a persistent challenge that won’t go away, or a new idea that you wish to stretch and develop. Maybe you are interested in the process of peer learning and reflection and want to explore this further. If so, these action learning sets could be for you.
Who are the action learning sets for?
Up to 8 D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent and 8 global majority cultural professionals. If you identify as both global majority and D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent you can choose which set you wish to join.
To take part you must work in an area of the cultural sector in the Tees Valley region as a leader or change-maker, either in an organisation or freelance. Action learning is relevant to any type of role – you could be an artist, producer, be in a senior management role or other.
We are looking for participants who can demonstrate:
- 3 -5 years’ work experience in any capacity
- An ambition to lead/ make change in your area of practice, a sense of purpose and vision
- A desire to better understand leadership
- Openness to your own learning and to supporting learning in others
- A commitment to and passion for the cultural sector
- A curiosity as to the wider context of culture and the impact this can have
What will I takeaway?
Participants will come away having:
- Developed an understanding of the principles, uses and practices of action learning
- Developed active listening and effective questioning skills
- Brought an issue or challenge to be explored with your peers
- Developed a new network of peers within your ‘set’
- Explored how to set up your own an action learning set
The online training session will include a mixture of training, practice of skills and reflective content. There will be a short action planning session at the end to put into practice the approaches and skills developed. After the training session, we will form up to two sets to practice and hone your action learning skills.
Access
The training and action learning sets will take place online via Zoom. You will be asked about your access requirements when you apply. This might include (but isn’t limited to) live speech to text captioning, provision of or support for the costs for BSL interpretation; notetaking or audio description. If you would like a conversation with a member of our team before making your application, or would like support in completing the application form please email [email protected]
Facilitators
Prince Taylor
Creative Producer is the easiest way to describe Prince’s work. Taking on different roles dependent on the shape of the collaboration, Prince ensures the power of storytelling remains focal and enhances the experience being designed. A lot of his work is informed by research into leadership, intersectionality, inclusion and education. Having worked with organisations such as The Watershed, The RWA and Rising Arts Agency, Arnolfini, East London Dance and The Arts Council, his most recent work with CARGO Movement is focused on delivering resources that will innovate how representation in education is approached at a strategic and governance level.
Sarah Pickthall
Sarah is a consultant, trainer and accredited executive coach with specialisms in disability, diversity and inclusion. With over 25 years of experience across, arts, culture, heritage, creative media, digital and education, Sarah’s work is dedicated to ensuring a broad range of voices and opinions are represented and included in the creative and cultural fabric of the UK and beyond. Sarah was one of the first women to train in Japanese Kabuki theatre and dance in Tokyo. A former television writer, performer and puppeteer for the Media Merchants, for CITV, Sarah joined Arts Council England in 2004 working in Disability Development and was the first Chair of its Disabled Workers Group.
Mentoring Programme
An exciting opportunity for six cultural leaders or change-makers in the Tees Valley region to be matched with a mentor, to build confidence, navigate current professional challenges and to plan next steps within their chosen career path. Applications to our 2023 round of mentoring have now closed. Keep an eye out for new mentoring opportunities launching in 2024.
Leadership Experiences
A series of free hosted conversations where cultural leaders and change-makers share their leadership stories with you. These sessions are packed full advice and tips on themes ranging from equity, diversity and inclusion, socially engaged practice, co-creation, education, network development and more.
Experts in the cultural sector are invited to share practical learning, rooted in both success and challenge, that you can take-away and apply to your own leadership practice. These are informal sessions with plenty of opportunity for discussion and the chance to connect with speakers and peers.
Leadership Experiences are free events and take place quarterly, either online or in-person, in the Tees Valley. Due to the conversational format of the sessions they are not be recorded when online
General eligibility criteria
To access the Tees Valley programme you must live and/or work in the Tees Valley as a freelancer or for an organisation in the cultural sector.
We are looking for a diverse range of participants who will bring a breadth of experience to the programme and animate the group learning. To help us create the best possible mix of people we will be looking for people who can demonstrate:
- 3 –5 years’ work experience
- A desire to better understand leadership and make change
- An ambition to lead, a sense of purpose and vision
- Self-awareness, authenticity and openness to learning
- A commitment to and passion for the cultural sector
- A curiosity as to the wider context of culture