LEC aids Huddersfield Town with management development programme

Libra Europe Consulting has recently become a club partner of Championship football club Huddersfield Town.

Founded in 2000, London-based implementation consultancy specialises in transforming operational and supply chain functions, with a focus on clients in the manufacturing, logistics and retail sectors.

On the pitch, this has seen Libra Europe Consulting (LEC) take on a guest spot as the Terriers’ shirt sponsor during a number of key football matches. These included Huddersfield’s league clash with Stoke City, and an FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle. However, the ties between the club and the consultancy run much deeper than that. Since late 2020, LEC has been working with 15 managers within Huddersfield during a Leadership & Management project in collaboration with the club’s inclusivity project Terriers Together.

Michael Carson, Group Commercial Director at LEC, commented, “Terriers Together really underpins the relationship we have with the Club. Not only are the values of Terriers Together fundamental to the Leadership & Management programme we are delivering at the Club, but they are core values that run through the whole team at Libra Europe Consulting too. We are proud that our partnership is built on and shares such fundamental and important values and fully advocate everything that Terriers Together and Huddersfield community stands for.”

The role sees LEC provide management training that focuses on delivering behavioural change at an organisational level – something which not only applies at a football level, but across all industries. At present, LEC is four months in to a 15-month programme with the first Leadership & Management cohort at Huddersfield, and according to Carson, “everyone involved is really keen to share their experience and moreover we would love to support other Huddersfield businesses in a similar way.”

Rob Cunningham, Managing Director at Libra Change Partners, agreed, “The apprentices could see what they’re learning, and the skills and the development programme that they’re going through, they start to think of applying it with colleagues in other departments in the club. You can see it applying across any business, any field really.”

Through an LEC Leadership & Management programme, the firm helps clients balance strategy, delivery and relationships – helping leaders understand the connections and consequences of organisational change. Building on the Apprenticeship Levy of other companies, LEC offers this to other clients, aiming to build a bespoke course that suits a company’s needs based around either developing Team Leaders – or Operations or Department Managers.

Speaking on the programme at the Yorkshire football club, Huddersfield Town HR Manager Zoe Shackleton stated, “The programme is progressing well, and I know our team are really enjoying and benefiting from it. The pandemic has presented challenges including alternating between in-person and remote learning, but this has been effectively managed. This investment in leadership capacity is so important to us in terms of shaping our organisational culture and developing both current and future leaders. It has been so successful that we’re already planning for a second cohort to enrol on the programme.”