Shaping the Future is our flagship leadership programme designed to help you step confidently into the next stage of your career.
Available exclusively to members, the programme blends high quality eLearning developed by the College with locally delivered learning alongside peers and experienced leaders.
Through facilitated small group sessions, you’ll build meaningful connections, explore leadership in depth, share ideas and projects, and grow as part of a supportive community of practice.
If you’re considering a career in leadership, this is the perfect way to start that journey. More information about the programme and what you can expect can be found below.
The programme provides facilitated small group sessions that will help you to:
- develop a network of like-minded peers
- create a community of practice
- explore different topics in more depth to gain a deeper understanding
- provide opportunities to present work/projects
- provide development opportunities.
These action learning sets provide participants the opportunity to meet virtually with fellow participants to discuss the online learning. In these sessions, you will use shared experiences to develop insight into how to get the best from yourself, nurture effective teams and achieve progress on tasks.
Applications for the next cohort opens on 5 May 2026 and closes on 31 May 2026.
The programme runs for six months, from September through to February and carries up to 12 hours learning and development time. This is to allow sufficient time to complete the entirety of the programme, whilst being flexible to participant schedules.
The programme contains the following components:
1. eLearning - Self-directed learning (3 Modules)
2. Action Learning Sets - Group learning
3. Local leader’s sessions - Group learning
4. Personal learning time for reflection and development - Self-directed learning
The programme prepares you for your career by influencing and shaping your knowledge, beliefs and attitudes to your own leadership skills and that of others.
The programme is fully contextualised to primary care and aligned to the RCGP leadership capabilities framework. By the end of the programme, participants should expect to meet the following leadership standards:
1. Demonstrating personal qualities:
a. Developing self-awareness
b. Continuing professional development
c. Acting with integrity.
2. Working with others:
a. Developing networks
b. Building and maintaining relationship
c. Encouraging contribution.
3. Managing services and resources:
a. Planning Services
b. Managing resources
c. Managing people
d. Managing performance.
4. Improving quality, safety and innovation:
a. Ensuring patient safety
b. Critically evaluating services
c. Continuous improvement and innovation.
5. Setting the direction:
a. Facilitating transformation
b. Identifying the contexts for change
c. Applying knowledge and evidence
d. Making decisions
e. Evaluating impact.
The programme is free to RCGP members.
For more information contact shapingthefuture@rcgp.org.uk.
In the words of our Shaping the Future alumni…
“It was an excellent grounding in leadership framework and knowledge through the online modules. Which were then enhanced by the action learning sets. The additional sessions with talks from current GP leaders were inspirational. All together it is an excellent course.”
“Fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders and to work through issues in small groups. This was a brilliant learning opportunity for me to develop my leadership skills.”
“The network of peers helped me to increase my ambitions and aim higher than I previously thought possible; skills that I learned about both myself and how I lead others, led me to have the confidence to organise and host the first EDI conference in Wales successfully.”
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