NewLeading and Delivering Transformational Change: Mobilising, Leading and Sustaining

Dates:

• 16 - 20 November 2026
• 15 - 19 November 2027

Workshop Overview

This workshop focuses on turning strategic change plans into coordinated, people-centred delivery. Across five practical workshop days, participants will mobilise and control implementation, engage stakeholders, lead teams, strengthen performance, realise benefits and embed sustainable change. Activities will build on the One Public Service Transformation Programme scenario, enabling participants to test tools and decisions in a realistic public-sector context.

Workshop Objectives

• Convert an approved change strategy into a practical implementation roadmap with clear workstreams, milestones, dependencies, responsibilities and governance.
• Apply effective controls to monitor delivery, manage risks and issues, and respond constructively to changing circumstances.
• Develop stakeholder engagement and communication approaches that build trust, commitment and readiness for change.
• Use emotional intelligence, influence and conflict-management techniques to lead people through uncertainty and resistance.
• Create the conditions for high-performing teams through clear purpose, collaboration, motivation, delegation and adaptive leadership.
• Align individual and team performance with programme outcomes through coaching, feedback and accountability.
• Define, track and evaluate benefits, then develop reinforcement actions that embed new behaviours, processes and ways of working.
• Present an integrated delivery, benefits-realisation and sustainability plan for the programme scenario.

Key Topics

• Mobilising and Controlling Delivery: translating strategy into delivery; mobilisation plans; workstreams and roles; schedules, milestones and dependencies; resource coordination; governance; risk, issue and change control; performance reporting and correctve action.
• Leading People Through Change Delivery: stakeholder analysis; engagement and communication planning; emotional intelligence; building trust; influencing without authority; managing resistance; negotiation and constructive conflict resolution.
• Building High-Performing Teams: team purpose, roles and ways of working; team development and dynamics; psychological safety; collaboration across boundaries; motivation and delegation; adaptive leadership; decision-making under pressure.
• Performance and Change: translating programme outcomes into individual and team objectives; meaningful performance measures; coaching conversations; constructive feedback; accountability; addressing underperformance; recognising and reinforcing progress.

Benefits and Making Change Stick: benefits identification, mapping and ownership; baselines and measures; benefits tracking and review; adoption and reinforcement; embedding new behaviours and processes; sustainability planning; lessons learned; final scenario presentations.

Scenario for attendees to progress

Using a complex, realistic public-sector transformation scenario throughout the two weeks, with new information and complications introduced each day. That way, participants progressively build a complete change programme rather than doing unrelated exercises.

Recommended scenario: "The One Public Service Transformation Programme"

The situation

A fictional public-sector organisation provides a range of services to citizens and businesses.

The organisation is facing:

• Increasing demand for services
• Tightening budgets
• Outdated technology
• Duplication between teams and departments
• Inconsistent customer experiences
• Too many manual processes
• Data held in separate systems
• Increasing expectations for digital services
• Difficulty recruiting specialist staff
• Pressure from government to demonstrate better value for money

A recent internal review has identified that different parts of the organisation are delivering similar activities independently, creating duplication, inconsistent processes and unnecessary cost.

The Chief Executive has therefore asked for a: "One Public Service Transformation Programme"

The aim is to redesign how services are delivered, reduce duplication, improve the citizen experience and create a more joined-up organisation.

The central challenge

Participants are told:

You have been appointed to the transformation team. You have 12–18 months to design and begin implementing a new operating model.

The programme needs to improve services while reducing costs, but you must take people with you and maintain service quality throughout the transition.

Workshop Director

Niran Mothada

Niran is an accomplished executive leader with unique corporate leadership experience in the civil service and local government. She has operated in multifaceted and sensitive political environments and led intense media, public, and regulatory scrutiny. Her expertise spans strategy, policy, operations, resilience, programme delivery, and leading large-scale change and transformation. She is accustomed to navigating complex organisational structures and building consensus across diverse partner ecosystems to deliver national and regional strategies and operations.

Previously Niran was Executive Director Strategy and Communications at the Greater London Authority, a member of the GLA Corporate Executive Team reporting to the Chief Office with responsibility for 300 people.  She has led Mayoral strategies and organizational development for the GLA and directed their Covid response establishing the London Recovery Board aligning cross sector strategies for post pandemic recovery.

As Head of Change and Capability, Risk and Intelligence Service at HMRC, she managed multiple change programmes and a budget of £102m for a directorate of 2500 people.  She restructured a failing change team, and implemented a lean strategy to release efficiencies and introduce KPIs to inform strategic decisions and continually improve and track performance.

This is week two of Leading and Delivering Transformational Change Toolkit.