Matrix

What is Matrix?

A leadership course for established leaders from all sectors and backgrounds based in a city (though a few Matrix courses cover a whole county).

Over 10-days, participants examine their locality and the world that surrounds it. They explore a range of real-life leadership challenges - based in anything from a prison to a casualty unit; a trading floor to a production plant - in small groups, learning constantly from each other, the contributors and the experience of operating in very unfamiliar situations.

The result is that participants develop an understanding of how their local area really works, the impact of their decisions and become more effective leaders at work,
and in society.

Participants can expect to:

• become more accustomed to going outside their familiar environment and better able to adapt to new situations.
• develop lasting working relationships with people they would almost certainly never have met otherwise.
• learn how to lead in situations where they have no authority and how to become the kinds of people who can build and lead collaborations when required.
• become responsible leaders who understand their local surroundings - in the national and international context - and the impact of their decisions.
• discover how their own language, behaviour and biases can get in their way as leaders.
• find how when and how they can make their own contribution in society.

What is the Matrix course format?

Over a five month period, participants complete 10 full days. Of these, six are core and a further four modules are selected by participants from a number of options.

The six core days are as follows:

• Setting the Compass: to determine what challenges the area faces.
• Resetting your radar: to look at their own biases and the impact these have on their leadership.
• Map the power: to explore the difference between power and influence and how to lead through collaboration.
• Stepping Forward: to learn about contemporary/future issues facing society and encourage participants to identify what stops them from stepping forward to take action on an issue they care about.
• Individual challenge day: to work on a leadership challenge one of their peers faces.
• Changing leaders, leading change: to reflect on what participants have learnt and work out what projects might be taken forward.

Where are Matrix courses held?

Matrix is run in cities and some counties across the UK and in several other countries in which Common Purpose operates.

What is the cost to attend a Matrix course?

The course fee is £ 4,225 + VAT.

How can I apply to attend Matrix?

Complete the online application form at right and choose the date and location you want.

You can also download the Course Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form and send both by post or fax to your local Common Purpose office.

For more about the overall application process, please visit the application page.

"The challenges were just that - testing our thinking and rationale in real environments, but allowing different approaches and views to be aired.  This really offered huge amounts of learning for me.

The discussions that followed from each challenge and on each day were thought provoking and certainly made me look at how I operate and where I could improve.

I also had the opportunity to set a challenge and I have been using the feedback from the group ever since to develop my business.  Having set a challenge Common Purpose offered some ideas on how to change our business - challenging the number of Inspectors we have, the ratio of staff to team leaders and so on.  We have run with these and stemming from the original ideas we are developing savings that will recoup several hundred thousands of pounds over the coming year."

Chris Haward, Head of Contact Management, Leicestershire Constabulary