Case Study: Technical Services Leadership and Management Development Programme Summary

The Technical Services Leadership and Management Development Programme at Manchester Metropolitan University, in partnership with Next Steps Consulting Ltd., has demonstrably elevated the capabilities of technical leaders and managers. This comprehensive coaching initiative has led to significant improvements in confidence, personal effectiveness, and team effectiveness, resulting in tangible outcomes like a 70% promotion rate within four years for the initial senior cohort. The program's success highlights coaching as a powerful tool for unlocking potential, fostering psychological safety, and driving organisational growth. Given the current high level of change and uncertainty in the HE sector, coaching from external professionally qualified individuals is more critical than ever to ensure adaptability, resilience, and sustained high performance.

The Power of Coaching

Employee coaching is a powerful partnership between a coach and an individual used for unlocking an individual’s latent capabilities to propel them towards their maximum potential.  The coach provides a framework, direction, support and encouragement.  This enables the individual to develop their own solutions to their challenges, sometimes self-imposed, resulting in a continuous trajectory of growth and learning.  Self-Determination Theory states that individuals who are supported to develop their own solutions are more motivated and experience greater well-being and engagement.   

Coaching has been proven to offer significant workplace benefits. The average return on investment when employing a coach is 700%, this increases to nearly 800% when coaching executive level employees (Forbes).  This is in part due to coaching providing employees with a dedicated space to express their thoughts, concerns and aspirations, making them feel valued and heard.  This sense of psychological safety and recognition can significantly boost empowerment and motivation.  Employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6x more likely to perform their best work.  Research suggests that 51% of companies with a strong coaching culture have higher revenues compared with their competitors (Forbes).

“The coaching provided from day one has been for me, transformative and without doubt has contributed to the longevity of my career at this university. I appreciate hugely this investment in me.”

The importance of coaching in driving performance is increasingly recognised by experts. Ken Blanchard states that "In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people; they no longer can lead solely based on positional power". A collaborative and supportive leadership style, akin to coaching, is becoming essential for effectively guiding and improving individuals’ performance.  A coaching culture is critical in organisations demanding continuous improvement through change initiatives.

Next Steps Consulting Ltd

Next Steps Consulting (NSC) Ltd has been providing coaching at all levels including executive level for over 20 years.  The breadth of the NSC offer is illustrated in Figure 1.  What makes NSC unique is their track record of coaching and developing technical colleagues.  Technical colleagues are often not front and centre in organisational development planning, something the National Technician Development Centre, HEaTED and initiatives like the Technician Commitment have sought to address.  NSC and NTDC announced a partnership in 2024.

Figure 1: The breadth of the Next Steps Consulting Ltd. offer

“It has been so important that our coaches are external, bringing an outside perspective.  All the coaches are wonderful, and all sessions bring further clarity, guidance, and advice to deal with issues and situations. The coaching investment in Heads is an investment in the whole team. We filter down what we learn to our managers enabling them to filter down to their teams.”

Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the most popular UK Universities for UK UCAS applications, is rated 11th in the NSS for Student Satisfaction (The Times) and is TEF Gold.  The university has rapidly transitioned from teaching to one of the top modern universities for research quality. 

A new Technical Services senior leadership team was appointed in 2017/18 to support the university’s ambitious 'Road to 2030' strategy.  Developing the wider leadership and management capability was an early key strategic goal of the Service.  A Leadership and Management Development Programme was developed with a sector leading coaching company.  NSC came to the Manchester Met’s attention because of their track record of developing technical colleagues at the University of Birmingham. 

Executive and Senior Leadership Team 121 Coaching

The executive and senior leadership team received monthly individual coaching designed to build confidence and leadership capability.  Of the original cohort, 70% achieved promotion within 4 years.

“With coaching, I have refined my approach and learned valuable techniques that have enhanced my effectiveness. I am now much more strategic in my actions, better at decision-making, and able to drive positive results consistently.”

Group Coaching

Facilitated group coaching sessions built on key themes identified through individual coaching sessions while preserving individual’s confidentiality.  A key session resulted in the development of the service’s Core Values, now underpin service expectations and behaviours.  

Management Team Coaching

Coaching was expanded to include the management team at times of key change.  The inclusion of a senior stakeholder aligned all members of the management team's focus.  Impact was measured through line manager’s observations of performance increase.    

Personality Profiling

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a world-renowned psychometric profiling tool, was used to aid team members to understand their own personality preferences and those of their colleagues.  This resulted in improved team cohesion due to greater self-awareness and an understanding of others, an increased appreciation of team member’s diversity and strengths and thus more effective communication.

“Understanding personality types brought our team together.  We were more receptive to oneanother's wants and needs and have a much better understanding of oneanother’s strengths.  Understanding the signs team members display when they are under significant pressure helps us all to be more responsive and supportive.”

Change Management Coaching

A significant change project delivered new infrastructure and necessitated new ways of working and the combination of four individual teams with different cultures and processes.  Change management coaching not only supported team members' resilience but also focused on wellbeing.  The new team learnt approaches to increase resilience, embrace change, connect, and emerge a high performing team.

Impact

Coachees were surveyed about their experiences and the impact this has had on their career and leadership and management practice.  The qualitative and quantitative findings are presented below.

Confidence

Coachees were asked: How confident did you feel in your role when you started the coaching?

and

How confident do you now feel in your role?

Illustrated in Figure 2, on average, scores increased from 4.8 to 8.1, representing a 34% increase. 

Figure 2: Improvement in Confidence Scores

“Coaching has helped me develop a much stronger ability to mentor, support, and empower my team. I actively encourage growth, provide constructive feedback, and endeavour to create an environment where people can excel.”

Personal Effectiveness

Coachees were asked out of 10: How effective did you feel in your role when you started the coaching?

and

How effective do you now feel in your role?

Illustrated in Figure 3, on average, scores increased from 4.8 to 8.3, representing a 35% increase 

Figure 3: Improvement in Personal Effectiveness Scores

“Initially, I believed I was fairly effective in my role, but I realised there were key strategies I wasn’t fully utilising. I had the drive to succeed, but I needed clearer guidance to maximise my impact.”

Team Effectiveness

Coachees were asked out of 10: How effective were you in supporting and getting the best out of your team when you started the coaching?

and

How effective do you now feel in supporting and getting the best out of your team?

Illustrated in Figure 4, on average, scores increased from 5.3 to 8.1, representing a 29% increase

Figure 4: Improvement in Team Effectiveness Scores

“One of the most important lessons I’ve gained is that leadership is not just about expertise; it’s about listening, adapting, and empowering others. Coaching has taught me how to be more self-aware, make better decisions, and support my team effectively while staying confident in my role.”

Recommendations

Coachees were asked out of 10: How likely would you be to recommend coaching to a colleague? 

All responded 10 out of 10.

“The coaching experience has been incredibly valuable, and I would strongly recommend it to any colleague looking to develop their leadership skills. The structured guidance and insights have made a noticeable difference in my professional development.”

Conclusions

The Technical Services Leadership and Management Development Programme at Manchester Metropolitan University powerfully demonstrates how coaching transforms individuals, teams and organisations. Through targeted individual, group, and change management coaching, complemented by tools like personality profiling, the program significantly boosted participant confidence, personal and team effectiveness, leading to impressive promotions and a strong endorsement from those who benefited. This programme underscores that investing in people through effective coaching isn't just beneficial; it's a strategic imperative for fostering continuous growth, psychological safety, and enhanced performance within any organisation striving for excellence and adaptability.  In the current climate of uncertainty and increased change this external support from professionally qualified individuals is more important than ever.

Coaching can be funded using HEaTED credits.  You can meet the Next Steps Consulting Ltd. team at the Institute of Science and Technology Conference 18th September 2025.