Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme 2025/26
Module resources
Here you can locate the module resources from the 2025/26 Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme.
If you have any queries, please contact lmfs@rcpsych.ac.uk.
Key dates
Module 4 Thursday 6 November, via Zoom
View pre-work and resources below.
Module 5 Thursday 4 December, via Zoom
The programme and resources are also available.
When joining the scheme we want you to take full advantage of the range of learning opportunities. When attending the online days it really helps everyone to have your camera on and to attend all the day. Your questions, contributions and reflections make for a richer learning experience for everyone whether at in person or online days for the scheme.
Whilst we aim to be flexible, we don’t record sessions as your participation live creates the unique opportunities to learn from each other and from the speakers bringing their experiences to the LMFS. Furthermore, we strongly encourage 100% attendance as this enables you to get the most of out what is on offer and it is the LMFS in its entirety which is accredited by the FMLM so please ensure you are available for all the Scheme dates before applying.
It would also be useful to discuss with your mentor or supervisor what your learning objectives might be prior to joining the scheme and ideally secure meetings for the whole year in your diary. We have advised mentors that they should be meeting with you at least every two months - if they can meet more frequently, every month, that would be ideal, especially towards the start of the year when you may need more guidance.
Get thinking about your project early and aim to have it chosen before the in-person module on 9th September. Your mentor must agree that the project is of operational or strategic importance to the trust and the range of possibilities is broad. Please see our website for a few ideas from previous fellows Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme - Alumni.
The Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme Assessment and Engagement Process
Full details of the Scheme assessment process will be shared over the coming weeks, as a Fellow you will be asked to:
- meaningfully engage with and attend all modules of the leadership programme and action learning sets
- undertake a leadership project of strategic or operational significance within your local organisation
- engage with your organisational mentor
- create a poster of your project
- undertake a quantitative evaluation of your individual development at the beginning and end of the scheme
- complete a complementary leadership and management multi-source feedback tool specifically designed for doctors (FMLM 360)
- complete a leadership Direct Observation of Non-Clinical Skills (DONCS) with your organisational mentor
- undertake a qualitative reflective evaluation of your individual development at the end of the scheme
- subscribe for complementary membership of the .
Successful completion of the RCPsych Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme is not determined by individual project success or failure. Success is more meaningfully determined by your engagement as a Fellow with the programme and the growth of your leadership behaviours in accordance with the FMLM's Leadership and Management Standards for Medical Professionals.
Leadership and Management Scheme Assessment
Your attendance
This is an assessed element towards successfully completing the scheme.
Fellows are required to meaningfully engage with and attend all 10 modules of the leadership programme and action learning sets – this will be an assessed element towards successfully completing the scheme.
Your engagement on Zoom Meeting modules
When attending the online days please have your camera on to facilitate engagement.
To facilitate a protected space for discussion Scheme modules will not be recorded or available to watch on demand.
If you have any queries please contact lmfs@rcpsych.ac.uk
Become a member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management
This is an assessed element towards successfully completing the scheme.
This is part 1 of a two-part quantitative survey mirroring the domains of FMLM's Leadership and Management Standards for Medical Professionals. It explores your leadership behaviours on a 7-point Likert scale across four levels: self, team, organisation, and system. Your responses are not used as part of any individual assessment process, but it tracks your development on the scheme, and completion is mandatory.
Closing date - Thursday 4 September.
Your FMLM 360
This is a bespoke leadership and management multi-source feedback tool specifically designed for doctors. It helps you understand how others see you and identifies your strengths and areas for development. Your RCPsych LMFS mentor must be invited to provide feedback, and alongside being a mandatory requirement of the scheme, it is also a necessary component if you would like to apply for Associate Fellowship of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.
Full details will be available in due course. Closing date 13 March 2026.
Quantitative evaluation of individual development - Part 2 of 2
Full details will be available in due course. Closing date 20 April 2026.
Reflection and Qualitative evaluation of individual development
Full details will be available in due course. Closing date 20 April 2026.
Leadership Direct Observation of Non-Clinical Skills (DONCS)
This is a recognised RCPsych Work Place Based Assessment (WPBA) and captures your experience formally on your RCPsych Portfolio Online. It is a mandatory requirement and must be completed by your RCPsych LMFS mentor.
Till, A., Sen, R., & Crimlisk, H. (2021). . BJPsych Bulletin, 1-8. doi:10.1192/bjb.2021.32
Full details will be available in due course. Closing date 20 April 2026.
If you are looking for some inspiration for your upcoming project, please
You can also view previous project summaries on this page.
These posters are the intellectual property of the presenters and are not to be shared across social media without permission.
Date of in-person module: 9 September 2025
Scheme Leads: Dr David Bishop, Dr Saleema Durgahee, Dr Marcin Ostrowski, Dr Sanah Ghafoor, Dr Ellie Swift
Module overview
The first learning day will be held in person at College headquarters in London to allow you to make connections across your cohort and meet the LMFS team. We will give you a thorough overview of the scheme, what you can expect as fellows and what we expect of you. It will be an interactive day, aiming to inspire and equip you to make the most of the year ahead. We will invite you to create some learning objectives and how this could be reflected in your portfolio.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Welcome to the Leadership & Management Fellow Scheme presentation - Dr David Bishop
Action Learning Sets presentation - Dr Ellie Swift
Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme Projects presentation - Dr Mudasir Firdosi
Your leadership-developing skills that inspire and change lives presentation - Dr Geraldine Strathdee
Date of online module: 17 September 2025
Module lead: Dr Suhana Ahmed
Module overview
Doctors should endeavour to know and understand themselves, their impact on others and be constantly striving to improve. This module supports fellows to start this process and provides them with tools to continue. The module covers how leaders across of their career spans have developed their own leadership and how their style varies. The fellows are given the opportunity to reflect on their own personalities and the impact this has on how they lead. The theory behind different leadership styles are covered alongside identifying your own values and how all these components fit together. We cover how our behaviours and leadership styles may impact others, including in some true to life scenarios involving conflict.
The module leads (with their very different personality and leadership styles!) provide you with a safe space, knowledge, tools & their own personal experience and reflections to help you develop into an authentic leader, even in the most challenging situations.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Authentic leadership: learning your own leadership style presentation-Dr Suhana Ahmed
Date of online module: 3 October 2025
Module leads: Dr Deepa Krishnan, Dr Mudasir Firdosi
Module overview
The Projects Module is designed to advance leadership development by providing fellows with essential project management skills to drive meaningful service improvement. The module combines focused knowledge bursts, opportunities to present project ideas, and insights from eminent change leaders. Using a structured approach grounded in proven improvement methodologies and tools, it emphasises meaningful engagement with staff, service users, and carers, alongside robust measurement, reflection, and continuous learning to deliver sustainable change. Experiential learning through project pitches, peer feedback, and real-time application encourages fellows to “learn by doing,” building confidence and capability to navigate complex systems, address resistance, and embed improvements. Reflection and feedback are integral throughout, ensuring leadership growth is continuous and firmly rooted in real-world challenges. The module is designed and led by Dr Deepa Bagepalli Krishnan and Dr Mudasir Firdosi, both of whom bring extensive experience in quality improvement at local and national levels.
View project summaries and posters from our Alumni here.
Module pre-work
Please send a summary (c200 words) and 3 minute video about your project to lmfs@rcpsych.ac.uk-closing date 11am, 17th September.
See above accordion for past project summaries.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Knowledge burst presentation - Deepa Krishnan
Date of online module: 6 November 2025
Module leads: Dr Katy Mason, Dr Ruslan Zinchenko
Module overview
Have you ever wondered why people behave in ways that seem irrational or counterintuitive, despite common sense and clinical guidelines? What toll does working with mental disturbance take on individuals and institutions? Can organisations become “mad”? Why is it so hard to change harmful practices?
This module explores how unconscious processes shape leadership, team dynamics, and organisational culture in psychiatry. Through four core theoretical frameworks: psychodynamic theory, group analysis, systems theory, and mentalisation theory, you’ll learn to recognise and work with hidden dynamics that influence everyday practice.
Participants are asked to complete some brief preparatory reading before the day to help them get the most out of the experience.?The day includes lectures, facilitated group discussions, experiential exercises and a case study analysing the Edenfield scandal.?
Participants will reflect on their own experiences and leave with greater self-awareness and practical tools to lead reflectively and effectively.?
An essential module for any future psychiatric leader.
Please view the Programme and Pre work
The following three resources, copies of which are also in the above pre-work, should be printed before the module to be used in interactive small group tasks:
Case study 1 A day in the life of a General Adult psychiatry SpR
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of online module: 4 December 2025
Module lead: Charlotte Cummings
Module overview
Led by Charlotte Cummings, a facilitator who specialises in organisational and leadership development in the NHS, this engaging course brings the context of our health and care system to life, offering you a clear and ‘jargon-free’ look at how decisions are made and who’s behind them.
You’ll explore the evolution of our health and care system and its key players, to understand how their decisions shape the services we deliver every day. With real-world examples, and group discussions, you’ll dive into the practical side of how policies impact your role, and the care patients receive. This session isn’t just theory—it’s about giving you the tools and insights to navigate the evolving NHS and actively contribute to improving services. This course is designed to make the politics and policies of the health and care accessible, relevant, and directly applicable to your role.
Please view the programme.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of in-person module: 16 January 2026
This module will take place in-person at the College.
Module lead: Catherine Eden
Module overview
Politics, Power, Persuasion and Partnership is a one day, immersive simulation that supports doctors to better understand the wider, local system in which they are working, the impact of organisational and big ‘P’ politics, how that understanding can help ‘get things done’ and influence change more successfully. The day supports the development of non-clinical skills such as influencing, working in partnership across organisations, preparing to defend a position publicly and receiving challenge from people who use, oversee and work with NHS staff; all skills that are vital for doctors as they advance in their career.??
Participants become leaders of a health and care economy, exploring the relationships and tensions between NHS organisations, local authorities and the VCSE sector affording a safe forum to test the water and identify the means and opportunities for integrated working within the health and care family. The day culminates in ‘the system’ presenting to a Scrutiny Committee on a current topic.
The programme and pre-work will be shared in December.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of online module: 10 February 2026
Module leads: Dr Ayesha Rahim and Dr Asif Bachlani
Module overview
The programme and pre-work will be shared in January.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of online module: 11 March 2026
This module will be led by Dr Ananta Dave and Dr Gareth Thomas
Module overview
The Inclusive Leadership: Leading Effective Teams module is a dynamic one-day session designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to lead inclusively in healthcare including the NHS. The module integrates learning from those with lived experience, expert-led discussions, and practical application exercises, ensuring that doctors develop a deep understanding of inclusive leadership principles. Through interactive sessions, participants will explore the impact of bias, the value of diverse perspectives, and strategies to foster inclusive teams and equitable healthcare environments.
The programme and pre-work will be shared in February.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of module: 29 April 2026
Module lead: Billy Boland
Module overview
Psychiatrists must be system leaders in order to improve care. Many people with mental illness have complex health problems and suffer a range of physical health, mental health, and social challenges. By working together with other parts of a health and social care system, including policy makers and the wider community, leaders in psychiatry can be more impactful in making a difference. Fellows taking the 'Connection across the system' module will learn leadership skills relevant to system leadership and hear from leaders experienced in facing these challenges. They will reflect on examples of system initiatives and experiment with how they might effect change using real world examples.
The programme and pre-work will be shared in March.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Date of module: 5 June 2026
This in-person module will take place at the College
Module leads: Dr David Bishop, Dr Saleema Durgahee, Dr Marcin Ostrowski
Module overview
The final learning day will be a place to share your experiences of the fellowship with one another, in person at the College. We will make the most of the in person setting to reflect critically on your development and to consider the what the next steps could be in people’s journeys as leaders and managers. There will also be a graduation ceremony to formally recognise your successful completion of the scheme. There will be opportunities to join our alumni, contribute to the running of the LMFS and seek associate fellowship of the FMLM.
The programme and pre-work will be shared in May.
Presentations and resources-this will be updated with slides we have speaker permission to share. Presentations available here remain the intellectual property of the speaker.
Please click here to view your ALS groups.
There will be 5 ALS sessions throughout the scheme at Modules 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 at the start of the module from 9.20-10.35.