Geraldine Tuck, ukactive operations director, outlines a brand new partnership that aims to develop true leaders for the fitness sector

How can we ensure we have the best managers to lead the sector forward and inspire millions more to get active? How can we address the issue of the revolving door between gym floor and boardroom, whereby staff all too often progress through their career with little training and development?

In my view, it’s crucial that those who show potential to lead their businesses – and who’ve shown a commitment to this sector from the very beginning – are able to work their way up and are given the expertise to truly make a difference. It’s what makes our sector special and I owe my own longevity in this sector to it.

Back to school
In discussions with our major members, we’ve been struck by the ease with which they identify their highest potential employees. However, until now there has never been a way in which to support these potential high-fliers so they can fulfil their potential. What we’ve been missing is a finishing school – a centre of excellence – that can help the best rise further and faster.

As a result, ukactive will be joining forces with IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, to design a leadership programme aimed at developing Future Leaders. We’re expecting to welcome potential leaders with at least three to five years of management experience.

The programme is unashamedly geared towards those who have immense potential for leadership and who are progressing quickly through their respective organisations – ready to take the next step on their way to leading a team, managing the board or playing a role in guiding our sector to success.

In a nutshell, Future Leaders is a year-long programme of mentoring, coaching and support, with a week-long training and development programme looking in depth at where the is sector today and where it’s going. It will explore how tech is reshaping the health and fitness market, the impact of the main trends on the sector, and how the global economy can influence the physical activity sector.

It’s about recognising what the sector needs to progress and developing the leadership to deliver this.

Fit for purpose
Future Leaders gives us the opportunity to use world-class academic expertise to upskill those who’ve already shown dynamism and enthusiasm for working in our sector. Individuals who graduate from the Future Leaders programme – and the businesses they represent – will benefit from accelerated leadership skills, a deeper command of management, new digital and customer strategies for growth, and exceptional networking opportunities.

This programme is well-timed as we continue to develop the training of fitness professionals, ensuring our workforce is fit for purpose. We hope that, by starting to fill the gaps at the top, we’ll see the sector strengthened through and through.