Workshop "Developing your Leadership – Taking the Next Step"
General information
Date & Time: Wed, Sept 2, 2026: Arrival day, no program
Date & Time: Thu, Sept 3, 2026: Workshop 9:00-18:00
Date & Time: Fri, Sept 4, 2026: Workshop 9:00-17:00 and departure
Place: Leonardo Hotel Medical Park, Hannover
Target group: Helmholtz Postdocs
This course is primarily intended for postdoctoral researchers around 3–4 years after completing their PhD, but it is also open to others who would like to explore and further develop their leadership style.
Trainer: Emma Ford and Dr. Steve Hutchinson (C4C)
Language: English
Participants: 24 (5 places for GEOMAR postdocs)
Application below until May 26, 2026
Course content
Leadership is a very well-studied, but still poorly understood phenomenon. As we progress through our careers, we inevitably take on more leadership responsibility; whether that be deciding on the next path to take individually, influencing one other person, or leading a team, group, department, or organisation.
Thankfully, especially for professionals in the earlier stages of a career, leadership influence is something that can be explored and practiced before we reach a position of supervisorial or managerial authority. This focused and interactive event will help to develop your thinking about what leadership is, how you can lead authentically and how to get the best from the people around you.
Pragmatically, we'll consider:
- What it means to be a leader in a professional environment
- The importance of strategic awareness and vision (both contextual and personal)
- Authenticity and leading through values
- Creating appropriate and positive cultures and climates
- Motivating, driving, and supporting high performance teams
- Getting the best out of people through coaching
- Leadership in dispersed / virtual teams
The approach to the event will be interactive, discursive but pragmatic, and above-all supportive so as to help participants develop an authentic and flexible leadership style.
What former participants said about this course:
„The course helped me to understand responsibilities and types of leadership better. Lots of different methods and schemes were discussed that could directly be connected to own experiences. It was very helpful to get an insight into all of that and to practise in groups. I think the course has a large impact on my leadership style.“
„The course addressed many important topics (incl. non-obvious ones) and provide good information on them.“
„The course is really valuable and made me think about my leaders and about the way I would like to lead.“
Networking: This course is organized in cooperation with other Helmholtz Centers. So during the course you will have the opportunity to meet postdocs/peers from different Helmholtz Centers.
Travel: Please arrive at the venue on the evening before the course starts (Wednesday, 02.09.). The course will start on the 3rd of September at 9:00, and end on the 4th of September at 17:00. Departure day is the 4th of September.
Childcare: If you plan to bring a child to the workshop and need any childcare services, please let us know via the HIFIS registration form. Additional accommodation and travel costs for your child need to be paid by you.