ILM Level 7 Certificate, Diploma and Extended Diploma in Leadership & Management

The Academy of Leadership & Management was one of the first ILM centres to offer these qualifications by distance learning.

We are also delighted to offer the new Level 8 unit The Impactful CEO. Launched in September 2024 this new unit is available to those undertaking the Extended Diploma.

Recognising the busy schedule of senior managers and the needs of their employers, the courses have been designed by our team (all of whom are highly experienced leadership & management coaches) to provide a flexible, customised learning solution.

The Certificate in Leadership and Management consists of one flexible mandatory unit 700 which helps and guides students to identify and work on the areas of leadership and management specific to their own work context and career path.

The Diploma in Leadership and Management consists of an additional unit. We have a choice of two units for students undertaking the Diploma. The first 701 focuses on presenting arguments for change, constructing business cases and leading change implementation. The second 702 focuses on the creation and maintenance of a high performance culture.

The Extended Diploma in Leadership and Management consists of another additional unit. The learner can select either unit 702 or unit 800 – The Impactful CEO. The Level 8 unit is suited to those who are at CEO or Deputy CEO level or aspire to be CEO in the next 12-18 months.

Learning activities for both blend theory and practice in order to achieve lasting impacts for both the organisation and the student.

The courses are delivered through a unique blend of executive coaching and work based learning. Students define a set of objectives designed to have a real impact on their workplace and develop these into a work based learning project.

As they progress through the course, supported by their coach, their work will focus on achieving high levels of impact for themselves and their organisation.

Their learning will evolve as they progress, drawing on both structured on-line learning and a large library of materials, provided by both the Institute of Leadership & Management and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). At the end of each unit, students present their findings and recommendations to key stakeholders.

The Certificate consists of one unit and the Diploma two units and the Extended Diploma three units. All are designed around the units of the qualifications.

The course is designed for ‘senior managers and leaders seeking to develop themselves as leaders and managers, who recognise that they need to satisfy various stakeholders and who also want to invest in their own personal brand.’

The level 8 unit, The Impactful CEO is available to those undertaking the Extended Diploma. The unit aims to provide the learner with the ability to research and evaluate complex theoretical and practical data and synthesise the results into recommendations that are original in concept, strategic in focus and impactful in outcome for self and organisation.

Students who undertake this course will probably also be looking to make the best use of resources and to understand the need to innovate and optimise performance.

They may also have to present arguments for change, construct business cases, lead change implementation and evaluate the impact of that change.

Enquiry based learning

The ILM Level 7 qualifications are delivered through Enquiry-based Learning (EBL). This is an approach to learning based on the investigation of questions, scenarios or problems.

For each unit of the qualification, you are required to complete an enquiry-based project. This process will involve you:

• creating questions (an enquiry) of your own. This will be derived from a real strategic level issue / problem or opportunity within your organisation.
• identifying supporting evidence to answer your enquiry. You will gather this in your portfolio.
• explaining the evidence you have collected to stakeholders, your executive coach and your assessor.
• connecting this explanation to the knowledge you have obtained from your investigations.
• creating an argument and justification for the explanation, by way of an Executive Summary

This approach will help you develop a number of skills including self-reliance, independence and the ability to identify, investigate and solve problems and achieve results.

The first stage of this process will be for you to explore, in more detail, what an enquiry-based approach means for you and your organisation. You will then progress to your enquiry, which will ultimately involve developing your knowledge and capability in the area of leadership and management.

Level 7 Units: Certificate, Diploma and Extended Diploma

700 Developing leadership and management capability through enquiry (20 credits)

701 Developing a high-level business case (20 credits)

702 Developing and maintaining a high-performance culture and optimising resources (20 credits)

Level 8 Unit: Level 7 Extended Diploma only

800 The Impactful CEO (20 credits)

20 credits at Level 7 – unit 1 Certificate

This unit involves applying an enquiry-based approach to developing leadership and management capability, including:

• identifying a ‘live’ leadership & management opportunity or issue within the organisation
• undertaking a data-driven project based on this issue
• evaluating the outcomes and impacts of the projects

This unit will enable you to develop the cognitive and behavioural skills necessary to undertake robust data-driven enquiry in complex environments in order to demonstrate impact upon leadership and management in a given context.

This learning is designed to take around 16 weeks.

This unit contains two short programmes (themes) of eLearning which you are advised to work through at a time of your choosing – preferably quite early in your studies as they will introduce you to some key principles of strategic leadership and management.

Leadership in Practice: This theme will enable you to appreciate the nature of the strategic leadership role and the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to perform effectively in it. It will also allow you to reflect on your learning and experience to improve your performance in such a role.

Strategic Context: This theme will enable you to appreciate the role and significance of policy and strategy. You will learn about how both are developed. This theme also focuses on how to build commitment to vision, values, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Your final portfolio for this unit will include:

• Your completed Learning Journal (up to and including Week 15)
• An Executive Summary of your learning. This will show the assessor, in broad terms, how you have met each of the assessment criteria and where the evidence is located.
• The presentation and other documents you used in your presentation to your stakeholders.
• Other evidence that you have gathered during your enquiries. Please ensure that you reference these in your Executive Summary

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• justify an enquiry-based approach as a means of developing leadership and management capability.
• design and undertake an enquiry-based approach to learning and development.
• evaluate and deliver the outcome of enquiry-based learning.

You will be asked to:

• use an enquiry-based research-orientated approach for leadership and management development.
• propose a valid enquiry which draws on existing cross cultural knowledge and current practice in leadership and management using a robust methodological approach within a realistic time frame and budget.
• undertake a robust data-driven enquiry based on an investigative proposal negotiated with stakeholders that adds additional value through active participation in a learning community.
• critically evaluate the impact on these stakeholders of the actions arising from the enquiry findings
• justify a choice of media to evidence the impact of the enquiry to satisfy and influence stakeholders and to enhance your own personal brand.
• evaluate the extent to which the impact of a rigorous data-driven enquiry has, through action, added value to you and your organisation and raised awareness of global and strategic issues in leadership and management.

You will be expected to:

• ensure that you feel comfortable with the learning approach for this unit (you were introduced to this in the course induction)
• take part in five tutorials with your executive coach.
• participate in the Leadership Forum, sharing ideas and experience with your peers.
• undertake other learning activities in relation to your enquiry.

20 credits at Level 7 – unit 2 Diploma

This unit involves developing a high-level business case for improvement that is aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives and other planned improvements, including:

• understanding the strategic context for change in order to identify a high-level business case
• being able to generate and evaluate viable options and apply decision-making techniques.
• understanding how to manage the high-level business case through to the desired business outcomes

Building a business case

This theme will enable you to understand the process of compiling and presenting a business case. It will demonstrate a range of techniques that can support the process, including making the case, evaluating a range of options and selecting the most appropriate one. Although by no means an exhaustive coverage of the subject, it provides a solid background for senior managers seeking to put together a business case and getting it passed and implemented.

This theme will help you to:

• examine the concept of the ‘business case’, in both private and public sector arenas.
• consider the process of financial appraisal and its impact on the decision making process.
• consider and evaluate a range of decision making strategies and their applications.
• be able to apply appropriate decisions making strategies in the context of your organisation.
• improve your own managerial practice.

This unit contains two short programmes (themes) of eLearning which you are advised to work through at a time of your choosing – preferably quite early in your studies as they will introduce you to some key principles.

Making the Most of Change

This theme will enable you to select appropriate leadership styles and strategies to bring about effective change in your organisation.

This theme will help you to:

• evaluate the different factors that encourage change in organisations and processes, products and services.
• compare alternative models of change management and critically assess their suitability and effectiveness for bringing about an identified change on the organisation.
• assess the potential effects of an identified change on the organisation.
• evaluate the effectiveness of alternative models of leadership in enabling change.
• justify an appropriate leadership strategy to bring about an identified change in an organisation.

During this unit, you will also have four tutorial sessions with your executive coach. The purpose of these tutorials is to support your learning and your personal and professional growth and development.

Their style is a coaching one, so topics can vary in accordance with your needs. You may also wish to use some of this time to talk through issues and challenges facing you in your professional life.

This learning is designed to take 16 weeks.

The most important elements of the Unit are:

• the requirement for the business case to be ‘high level’ – that is, that it has a strong ‘fit’ with the organisation’s strategies, goals and priorities.
• the process should draw on existing knowledge and practice.
• your initial research and your analysis and findings should be robust and able to stand up to scrutiny.
• your work should identify and account for the needs of an appropriately wide range of stakeholders.
• you should generate and evaluate a range of options, justifying your selection through a robust decision making approach.
• you should present your case in a format that is appropriate to your audience, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative arguments.
• your business case should proceed to the development of a change strategy, grounded in both theory and practice, which takes full account of diversity, risk and performance measurement.
• you need to participate in a learning community. The exact definition of this is up to you, but you need to collaborate with people who are involved in your business case and / or the change.
• you will present your findings to the key stakeholder(s), using appropriate media to do so. This will probably be a presentation and a report but may well also incorporate other approaches relevant to your organisation.
• you will need to start the change strategy and evaluate at least part of it, so when devising it you will need to make sure that you can evaluate something within the timescales of the work.

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• understand the strategic context for change to identify the requirement for a high-level business case.
• generate and evaluate viable options and apply decision-making techniques.
• understand how to select and justify the strategies required to manage the high-level business case through to the desired business outcomes.

You will be asked to:

• establish a business need that takes full account of the drivers for change and the strategic fit to organisational goals and priorities.
• propose, and obtain agreement for, the development of a high-level business case that draws on existing knowledge and current practice, uses a robust methodological approach, and takes account of the needs of stakeholders.
• evaluate viable high-level business case options and associated costs and benefits.
• justify the selection of a best business case option.
• design an appropriate change management strategy for implementing the high-level business case that takes full account of diversity, risk and performance measurement and has been informed through active participation in a learning community.
• justify choice of media to evidence the impact of the enquiry to satisfy and influence stakeholders and to enhance own personal brand.
• evaluate the impact of the enactment of a significant part of the change management strategy.

You will be expected to: –

• ensure that you feel comfortable with the learning approach for this unit.
• take part in four tutorials with your executive coach.
• participate in a Leadership Forum, sharing ideas and experience with your peers.
• undertake other learning activities in relation to your enquiry.

20 credits at Level 7 – unit 2 Diploma / unit 3 Extended Diploma

This unit requires you to use the Business Model Canvas (BMC) to make recommendations for ways that you can develop and maintain a culture of high performance, together with reflections on the leadership and management skills and perspectives required to do so.

This will involve you developing a BMC by undertaking an investigation into aspects of your organisation, or a key part of it, and identifying ways to enhance its performance, measure the related impacts and maintain the recommended improvements over time.

You will also identify implications for the leadership and management of the implementation of your findings.

This learning is designed to take 16 weeks.

This module contains two short programmes (themes) of eLearning which you are advised to work through at a time of your choosing – preferably quite early in your studies as they will introduce you to some key principles.

Indicators of Performance Measurement and Benchmarking
This course will enable you to understand how to assess and benchmark performance.

All actions have consequences, so the act of performance measurement is:

• an integral part of the management planning and control system of the business.
• now being used to assess the impact of actions on the stakeholders of the business whose performance is being measured. For example, measuring the impact of the business’s performance on customer satisfaction, as well as measuring the impact of the business’s actions and performance on employee satisfaction or local community satisfaction.

High Performance Cultures
This course will enable you to understand how to develop and maintain a culture of high levels of performance.

Successful businesses sustain their performance in the face of both internal and external challenges over time, rather than simply achieving high performance levels over the short-term or during good economic periods. Creating the right performance culture matters.

To develop a sustainable organisation with high performance levels you need two things:

• high-performance working practices – the kind of work environment that drives organisational performance and links strategy and skills to performance outcomes.
• high-performing individuals – leaders and individuals

This unit requires you to make recommendations for a strategy that can develop and maintain a culture of high performance, together with reflections on the leadership and management skills and perspectives required to do so.

This will involve you undertaking an investigation into aspects of your organisation, or a key part of it, and identifying ways to enhance its performance, measure the related impacts and maintain the recommended improvements over time.

You will also identify implications for the leadership and management of the implementation of your findings.

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• understand how to assess and benchmark performance.
• understand how to develop and maintain a culture of high levels of performance.
• understand the leadership and management skills required for future-readiness.

You will be asked to:

1. establish the BMC indicators that you will use to assess performance in your area of the business in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, financial viability, sustainability, diversity and relevance.
2. identify the metrics from within the BMC that you will use to measure and improve performance.
3. undertake a rigorous data-driven enquiry to assess and benchmark performance and identify risks and challenges to current ways of working.
4. establish BMC metrics to drive sustainability, performance and demonstrate value added.
5. critically evaluate the impact of your work and establish strategies for developing and maintaining high levels of performance that take account of stakeholder needs, identified risks, challenges and diversity
6. engage effectively with your colleagues and others to add value and ensure sustainability of high levels of performance.
7. critically review the outcomes of your work to establish the leadership and management skills and perspectives required to create and sustain long-term organisational success.
8. justify your choice of media to evidence the impact of your work and to enhance your personal brand.

You will be expected to:-

• ensure that you feel comfortable with the learning approach for this unit.
• take part in the agreed activities.
• participate in the Leadership Forum, sharing ideas and experience with your peers.
• undertake other learning activities as required.

You will be asked to produce a report at the end of this unit.

20 credits at Level 8 – unit 3 Extended Diploma only

This unit aims to provide the CEO or aspiring CEO with the ability to research and evaluate complex theoretical and practical data and synthesise the results into recommendations that are original in concept, strategic in focus and impactful in outcome for self and organisation.

The learner will create an organisational improvement plan underpinned by change management and personal leadership practices. The improvement plan format will be in line with organisational requirements and good practice.

The learner will present findings and recommendations for improvement to stakeholders, typically Board of Directors, shareholders and/or investors.  The findings should be presented against strategic context, organisational success measures in a format, style and approach appropriate to the organisational context.

It is important to note that this unit is level 8, the implications are that the learner:

• works in a complex and unpredictable context.
• exercise high level autonomy, initiative and leadership.
• conceptualises original and creative insights into complex situations.
• designs and execute research, investigations, or projects to deal with new issues.
• makes significant development to change.
• uses a range of complex knowledge and skills at the forefront of their sectors.

This learning is designed to take 16 weeks.

This Level 8 unit is suited to those who are at CEO or Deputy CEO level or aspire to be CEO in the next 12-18 months.

The learner will critically review the organisation and its leadership against its strategic context, justifying the challenges to be addressed using appropriate analytical approaches and techniques.

This review must include a justification for the identified challenges, including:

• The strategic context of the organisation including: vision, mission, values, purpose, strategies, policies, culture, management systems, organisational performance measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
• The strategic leadership of the organisation eg: leadership and management approaches, performance management, accountabilities, influencing, reflective practice, mentoring and talent development.
• Analytical approaches eg: rational-analytical, entrepreneurial, intuitive-emotional, political-behavioural
• Analytical technique eg: PESTEL, Boston – The Boston matrix, Ansoff’s – Ansoff’s matrix

The learner will create a stakeholder communication strategy aimed at a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders.

The proposal must encompass development of insights into complex strategic organisational and leadership issues and seek to identify impactful actions. The learner will be able to critically explore research to identify and present recommendations for strategic actions.

The learner will be required to formulate a research proposal that is grounded in an analysis of identified challenges and associated theories, analyse secondary research sources to inform primary research, undertake an appropriately structured review of secondary research.

Learners will be expected to critically analyse the data gathered from primary research to gain insights into potential strategic actions and personal development requirements and ethical considerations including Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI).

The results of the analysis should inform potential strategic and the personal development requirements for the senior leader. The learner will be able to synthesise improvement plans and strategies of leadership development for self and the organisation.

The learner will create an organisational improvement plan underpinned by change management and personal leadership practices. The improvement plan format will be in line with organisational requirements and good practice.

The learner will present findings and recommendations for improvement to stakeholders, typically Board of Directors, shareholders and/or investors.  The findings should be presented against strategic context, organisational success measures in a format, style and approach appropriate to the organisational context.

The learner must evaluate progress following monitoring of performance measures over a minimum of 6 months. Performance measures must be linked to: strategic context, overall organisational KPIs, objectives plans and financial/non-financial targets.

The unit culminates with the senior leader undertaking a critical review of leadership growth approaches for self and the organisation through reflective practice including making their recommendations for their own future development.

Benefits for the individual

• Enables you to develop, implement and evaluate high-level strategies.
• Enhances your strategic leadership and management development in real work.
• Provides flexibility to allow you to study topics which match your development needs and context.
• Enables you to evidence how completion of the award provides return on investment, by demonstrating how it aligns with your own and organisational needs.
• Develops knowledge and skills to support your future career objectives.
• Offers progression opportunities into further level 7 qualifications or our level 8 unit for CEOs.

Benefits for employers

• Gives senior leaders the tools to develop and evaluate their own performance.
• Combines leadership development with real work projects.
• Ensures immediate relevant and practical benefits to the organisation with assessments emerging from the work contexts.
• Enables customisation to meet the organisation’s senior leadership and development needs.
• Demonstrates ROI by enabling leaders and managers to develop their leadership and management practice within real time organisational needs.