What is Birmingham Leadership Institute?

The most pressing contemporary challenges - local, national and international – are frequently characterised by complexity, difference, disruption and conflict. The Birmingham Leadership Institute exists to research and develop the leadership required to make progress on them.

Launched in Autumn 2021, the Birmingham Leadership Institute draws on the University of Birmingham’s specialist research centres, international research community and communities of practice to ensure that the most up to date thinking and the most skilled leadership development practice is made available.

Our mission

The Birmingham Leadership Institute’s mission is to:

  • Better understand, through research and practice, the leadership required at all levels to enable progress on complex organisational, social, political, environmental, commercial and economic challenges.
  • Educate, train and develop people with the knowledge, skills and capacities to practice this leadership.
  • Inform public debate and the public understanding of leadership.

Our values

We believe that leadership always reflects values. We value:

  • Collaborative leadership across boundaries, sectors, organisations, spatial levels and areas of life.
  • Inclusive leadership that promotes, reflects and prizes diversity and seeks to develop the leadership of others.
  • Responsible leadership that seeks to enable positive and sustainable outcomes for people, places and our planet.

We work with:

  • Private sector and commercial organisations who require the necessary leadership to grow and thrive in VUCA contexts
  • Public sector organisations seeking to exercise the leadership necessary to address the interconnected needs of the people and communities they serve
  • Third sector, community-based and campaigning organisations seeking to offer effective leadership on issues of concern
  • Combinations of these organisations who seek to exercise leadership across sectors to make an effective contribution to addressing shared challenges