Women in Leadership Action Learning Circles

COMING SOON - WE ARE IN THE PILOT PHASE!

A neatly arranged wooden desk with a closed laptop, red notebook with a pen, transparent glass of water, a beige pitcher, a beige vase with dried flowers, and a white circular stand in front of a beige curtain and wall.

 A confidential peer learning space for women working in leadership roles in universities.

Making real Impact on the challenges you face.

Contact Christina if this is for you

Driven by care and built on purpose, Women-Space Action Learning Circles are where bold thinking meets thoughtful execution. Let’s meaningfully solve your challenges together.

Two people sitting at a table working on laptops, with notebooks, pens, and glasses of water in front of them, against a neutral background with wooden paneling and decor including a white vase with calla lilies.

WHO IS THIS PROGRAMME FOR?

This programme is designed for women who are in mid-career leadership roles such as:

  • Assistant Deans / Associate Deans

  • Heads of School / Department / Programme

  • Manager of a Professional Service function

  • Third-Space leader

  • Directors of Research Centres or Institutes

  • Senior academic managers transitioning into larger leadership responsibilities

You may be navigating:

  • Difficult staff performance or conflict

  • Workload and resource pressures

  • Senior leadership expectations and politics

  • Research strategy and REF pressures

  • Imposter feelings or leadership confidence

  • Balancing leadership, research, teaching, and personal life

A wooden table with a closed silver laptop, a gold pen, a notebook, a small glass vase with purple flowers, a white table lamp, and a beige chair.

What Makes This Programme Different?

·      Small, curated peer cohorts

A consistent group to build trust, depth, and psychological safety - no large workshops or generic cohorts.

·      Real problems, real solutions

You bring live challenges. We work as a group on them. This is applied leadership development, not theory.

·      Confidential space

A protected environment to discuss sensitive issues openly and honestly without reputational risk.

·      Expert facilitation

Led by experienced executive coaches who ensure:

·       Psychological safety and confidentiality

·       Structured, productive action learning

·       Balanced participation

·       Gentle challenge and accountability.

Two people working on laptops at a desk, with notebooks, a glass of water, and decorative vases on the table, and a vase with calla lilies in the background.

Programme Structure.

Cohort Size: 6–8 women in cognate leadership positions
Duration: 6 months
Format: Six monthly 2-hour facilitated sessions (online or hybrid)
Approach: Action Learning methodology with coaching facilitation

Structured Space.

A person sitting at a white desk using a laptop. On the desk are a glass of water, a closed beige notebook, a closed book, and a smartphone. In the background, there is a white vase with dried flowers and a wooden cabinet.

Each session provides structured space for participants to:

  • Present real, current leadership challenges

  • Receive peer questioning and insight

  • Reflect deeply and identify practical actions

  • Build accountability and momentum between sessions

A decorative tabletop with a vase containing a single drooping flower, a pair of eyeglasses, a glass of water, a notebook with a pen, and a trio of ceramic vases and a picture frame in the background.

Outcomes You Can Expect

Participants typically leave with:

  • Greater clarity and confidence in complex leadership situations

  • Practical solutions to current people and strategic challenges

  • A trusted network of peer leaders across the institution or sector

  • Stronger leadership presence and decision-making capability

  • Sustainable reflective and problem-solving practices.

Limited Places

Cohorts are intentionally small to maintain depth, trust, and impact.

Spaces are limited to 6-8 participants per cohort.

From Our Clients

The sessions were led with compassion and kindness and this allowed each of us participants a space to feel vulnerable.  For me, it led to my headspace becoming lighter, and during the time between sessions I was able to think with clarity and conviction about my next steps. 

This holistic programme responds to the challenges created by ‘greedy’ institutions with principles of compassion and care.

A woman with glasses and dark hair smiling as she shakes hands with another person during a meeting or interview in an office.

Meet Your Facilitators

A woman with shoulder-length red hair and bangs smiling in a well-lit room.
Portrait of a woman with long, wavy light brown hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile, wearing a patterned top and pearl earrings.
A smiling woman with short, curly white hair outdoors with green foliage in the background.

  • Founder and CEO

    Named as a “Woman of Influence 2023” in Baroness Sandy Verma’s annual list, Christina has executive leadership experience in both research and teaching intensive universities having been Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Warwick, Provost, Sheffield Hallam University and Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kent. She is also an internationally leading feminist educator and researcher with 20 books to her name and with a £1.6m achievement in external research grant capture. 

    Christina established Women-Space Leadership in 2021 with its focus on working for equity in higher education.  Throughout her career Christina has mentored and coached many women, and men, at all levels of university life. She holds ILM Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, is an accredited StrengthsProfile coach and Workplace Mediator.

    Christina is a Visiting Professor at Coventry University and an Honorary Professor at the University of Kent. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy which she established; a lifetime fellow of the Gender and Education Association in recognition of her role as inaugural chair; and external advisor for EDI for the Association of British Chinese Professors. Christina has also been a Governor at Leeds Beckett University; a Trustee for Villiers Park Educational Trust and a Trustee for the Royal Society of the Arts Academies. 

    Christina’s latest publications are:

    ·       (2026). Exited! Terminated from Higher Education, London, Routledge, London, Emerald (with Camille Kandiko-Howson and Malcolm Tight)

    ·       (2024) The Routledge International Handbook of Transdisciplinary Feminist Research and Methodological Praxis, London, Routledge (with Jasmine Ulmer, Michelle Salazar Perez and Carol Taylor)

    ·       (2022) International Perspectives of Leadership in Higher Education, London, Routledge (with Alasdair Blair, Darrell Evans and Malcolm Tight).

  • As the Director of Leadership Innovation at Women-Space, my focus lies in pioneering strategies for empowering experienced and emerging leaders.

    With a strong foundation in framework and programme design, facilitation and evaluation, I have honed a unique blend of skills that enable me to drive values-driven change and foster resilience within the sector. Recent initiatives have centred on promoting gender equity and supporting the professional growth of women in leadership roles.

    My role as Lead Consultant at the Association of Higher Education Professionals complements my directorship, as I contribute to shaping the future of education through targeted leadership development programs.

    My commitment to social justice and sustainability remains at the core of my professional endeavours, guiding my approach to leadership and innovation.

  • Jackie Labbe has more than 30 years' experience in Higher Education. She is an internationally-recognised scholar of late-eighteenth-century British literature. She has also held the roles of Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at both pre-and post-92 universities. In those roles, she has designed and led successful institutional transformation and change projects.  She now works as an HE consultant, focusing on governance, strategic change development and implementation, mentoring, and curricular innovation. She has worked closely with academic and professional services colleagues to support development and leadership capacity and readiness at all levels. She is an advocate for compassionate and community-based interactions, especially in times of stress and challenge.