Lead and manage: Best self, great teams, amazing together is Yes We Can Community CIC's eight-month leadership programme. Yes We Can aims to support you to learn, develop and grow what you need to flourish in your social change leadership roles.
The programme runs between September 2026 and April 2027 with in-person half day workshops at One Strawberry Lane, Newcastle, and connected North East Together online speaker series. It explores the concepts and ideas from Yes We Can's three leadership frameworks – Best self, Great teams and Amazing together. It is faciliated by Robert Laycock and Stephanie Cole.
The cost of each place is £750. You can find out more about the programme and book a place via Yes We Can's website.
The programme elements
1. Eight half-day workshops (in-person) - Starting well to connect and learning about each other; six leadership workshops exploring the concepts and ideas from Yes We Can's three leadership frameworks – Best self, Great teams and Amazing together; Ending well to reflect on our learning, make plans for ongoing learning and how we’ll stay connected, celebrate achievements
2. NET Social leadership stories (online)… joining the connected North East Together social leadership stories speaker series to hear about people’s social leadership, their leadership journeys, and what’s most important to them in their leadership (November and May)
3. NET Connect (online)…an opportunity to meet others in social leadership roles. NET Connect brings together North East Together members and network friends to connect, grow and nurture our relationships (September and March)
4. NET Platform (in person)…a platform for sharing ideas and learning in a supportive gathering, followed by social time (January and July)
The in-person and online workshops and talks are practical, participative and energising for the learning group to learn together — from Stephanie and Robert and each other — and give time out of your every day to reflect on your own leadership and what you’re learning, make plans for your ongoing learning, and connect and build relationships with your peers.
What else?
The programme is supported by learning resources, tools and templates. There's a shared lunch before the Starting well and Ending well workshops, and social time together after Ending well. You'll also be invited to the programme’s network and community of practice - Lead and manage together - to support you to keep learning, developing and growing together with your peers.
Who it is for?
The programme is for those working or volunteering in projects, initiatives and organisations working for social change, and for individuals working independently for social change, in the north east. This is for you if you are in a leadership or management role already, or want to be. It’s for experienced, new and future leaders of organisations, work, and ideas. It’s particularly designed for those without a formal leadership and management qualification looking for a practical and comprehensive introduction to key leadership and management theories, models, frameworks, tools, techniques and approaches.
Creating cultures of learning, development and growth
Yes We Can is working to create cultures of learning, development and growth in our VCSE sector in the north east. This is one of our contributions to us all having what we need to flourish in our social leadership roles.
For the next three years – 2026-2028 – we commit to running our A coaching approach and Reflective practice programmes at least once a year, and our main eight-month leadership programme – Lead and manage: Best self, great teams, amazing together – once a year.
Image credit: Yes We Can
