Faculty of Business and Law
Institute of Directors (IoD) Faculty of Business and Law
Institute of Directors (IoD)

IoD LogoThe IoD and Leeds Business School offer a series of challenging director programmes specifically designed to help you improve your personal and professional effectiveness and thereby promote the continued success of your business.

Made up of short practical courses employing blended learning techniques, the Certificate and Diploma programmes explore many critical issues facing today's senior professionals. The programme also provides directors with the essential foundations to go on to achieve the coveted Chartered Director status.

Our delegates come from companies such as Asda, British Nuclear Fuels plc, British Sugar plc, Yorkshire Electricity, Seabrook Crisps Ltd, Lloyds TSB Insurance, Meadowhall Centre Ltd, and Friends Provident International.

There are three stages to the IoD's development programme:

Stage 1: Certificate in Company Direction

The Certificate level provides you with the knowledge and expertise that are essential to perform effectively as a director. These skills will be delivered in a series of courses covering topics from Strategic Marketing, Leadership and Change and the responsibilities of Directors within the Law. Successful delegates will need to complete all courses at the Certificate level and pass the Certificate examination. Courses at this level can also be taken individually to enhance existing skills or to plug any development needs that exist within your Board.

Stage 2: Diploma in Company Direction

The Diploma provides an opportunity to delve deeper into the role of the director and the board and put into practice the knowledge gained from the Certificate in a realistic leadership environment. The programme entails an intensive three day 'Developing Board Performance' case based learning workshop where you will be challenged to run an organisation and its Board and demonstrate strategic vision to move the business forward. The programme is followed by the Diploma examination.

Stage 3: Chartered Director

Delegates can only move towards gaining their Chartered Director status once the Certificate and Diploma levels of the course have been completed. The coveted Chartered Director status is achieved through an intensive series of assessments of your professional practice and is the definitive qualification for directors today.

Who is the programme designed for?

These executive programmes are designed by directors for directors and focus on the essential skills 'directors' needs to lead, drive and transform their business.  The programmes are ideal for directors, senior executives, entrepreneurs, owner managers and for those who aspire to work at a strategic boardroom level be this in the private, public or not for profit sectors.

This special blend of executive tutors and delegates recruited from a wide range of business backgrounds provides you with a unique opportunity to develop your networks, share ideas and learn from the practical experiences of other like-minded business leaders.

Whether you are a newly appointed director wishing to understand your role and responsibilities on the board or you are an experienced director wanting to bring the latest best practice to your organisation then this is the ideal programme for you.

What are the benefits of the IoD's Executive Suite of Programmes?

The programme will provide you with a robust and up to date set of strategic thinking models, frameworks and tools that you can directly apply to enhance your organisation's performance. We will also help you to develop your own personal roadmap to enable you to drive strategic initiatives and inspire your people to follow.

In short the programme will give you time and space to consider your goals and further develop the ability to lead your business through turbulent times.

What will you gain?

  • A full understanding of your director's legal duties and liabilities and what this means to you and your business.
  • Access to up to date knowledge of boardroom best practice.
  • Discover how to unlock the power of the board and enhance effective decision making.
  • Learn how to clearly navigate through ambiguity, uncertainty, risk and complexity, while evaluating new opportunities and threats. 
  • Increase your personal confidence in your ability to lead people and move them to new levels of capability.
  • Discover how to clearly see the bigger picture and avoid becoming lost in the weeds of myopic day to day management.

How will this programme benefit your business?

We help you to enhance your leadership skills and prepare you to both meet the challenges of today and drive the agenda for tomorrow.  High performing businesses need leaders who are effective thinkers and doer's, people who firstly know what needs to be done and how to do it.

The business will have leaders who have:

  • a greater awareness of the trends and movements in the macro and micro business environment
  • the capability to think at a strategic level and see the big picture so that they can seize the initiative and grasp more business opportunities.
  • the understanding of the practical application boardroom financial tools and measures to strategically enhance business performance
  • a clear and critical awareness of value creation and how it can be used to manage customer relationships.

Corporate Endorsement

The IoD courses offered by Leeds Business School are endorsed by the following companies:

IoD Testimonials

Fay Treloar, Science City York Fay Treloar, Science City York
Since joining Science City York as Head of Operations in 2006, Fay Treloar has been responsible for managing the company's marketing, HR, research and finance functions.

Michael Taylor, Operations Director, Fosters Bakery, Barnsley Michael Taylor, Operations Director, Fosters Bakery, Barnsley
Michael has had a very busy year so far and IoD award was the "icing on the cake".

Gavin Wheeldon, Managing Director, Applied Language Solutions Gavin Wheeldon, Managing Director, Applied Language Solutions
I am a firm believer in the IoD and what they have to offer, I have encouraged my management team to join the IoD Network and in February of this year, three of my management team received their Certificates in Company Direction.