Rising Stars Programme: Developing Future Leaders with Essential Management Skills

Rising Stars Programme...

Why this course?

The Rising Stars Programme is a focused development solution for individuals who have recently stepped into line management or have been managing teams for a while without formal training. These early-stage leaders are often full of potential but may lack the confidence, structure, or tools to manage others effectively.

In many organisations, new managers are promoted based on technical ability or tenure, without adequate preparation for the demands of leadership. They’re expected to navigate performance issues, motivate teams, delegate tasks, and manage upwards—often without a roadmap. This inconsistency can lead to a lack of confidence, uneven team performance, and missed opportunities for commercial growth and employee engagement.

The Rising Stars Programme addresses this gap by providing a clear, structured foundation in people management, commercial thinking, and professional self-awareness. It helps embed consistency, professionalism, and clarity across your management team—supporting new and emerging leaders in developing the skills and behaviours needed to succeed.

Who is the Rising Stars Programme for?

  • Newly promoted managers who need support transitioning into leadership roles
  • Experienced team members who have taken on managerial responsibilities without previous formal management training
  • High-potential individuals with the right mindset and ambition to become future leaders
  • Employees who are proactive about their development and ready to grow their skills, confidence, and impact at work

Whether your rising stars are managing people for the first time or are ready to refine and formalise their approach, this programme empowers them with the tools, insights, and mindset they need to thrive—both now and as their leadership journey evolves.

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What does it cover?

Rising Stars Programme: Essential Management Training for New & Aspiring Leaders

The Rising Stars Programme is a complete, practical development journey designed to equip new and aspiring managers with the essential skills, confidence, and mindset to lead effectively. The programme begins with a live virtual induction session and continues through six structured half-day workshops, before culminating in an Achievement & Next Steps session to support learners’ continued progression.

Throughout the journey, each participant is supported by a dedicated ted Learning programme mentor who provides individual check-ins and guidance—ensuring the learning is applied meaningfully in the workplace. An internal mentor is also assigned to offer additional day-to-day support and encouragement.

This engaging and interactive programme blends experiential learning, practical activities, and our unique drama-based techniques to bring management challenges to life. Each workshop is tailored to your organisation’s specific context, ensuring content is not only relevant but directly applicable to learners’ real-world roles and responsibilities.

The Rising Stars Programme includes:

  • Managing Yourself as a Rising Star – Self-awareness, personal development planning, and building a Career Compass
  • Leadership & Communication Skills – Identifying communication styles, delivering impactful messages, and presenting with confidence
  • Coaching & Feedback Skills – Learning a simple coaching model and using effective communication to support development conversations
  • Managing Performance – Practical strategies to manage performance consistently, including high, low, and everything in between
  • Consciously Inclusive Recruitment – A self-paced digital course to build awareness of inclusive hiring practices and interviewing fairly
  • Finance Fundamentals – Strengthening cost control, budgeting knowledge, and commercial awareness for better business impact

Across all modules, the Rising Stars Programme promotes high engagement and retention through immersive learning, relatable scenarios, and expert facilitation. It ensures your future leaders are equipped not just with theory—but with the tools, behaviours, and confidence to lead with professionalism and purpose.

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I really appreciated the blended mix of learning through a combination of scenes and using real life case studies. We generally tend to resonate a lot with stories, so this was an effective means to retain information.

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COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT Rising Stars Programme

The Rising Stars Programme is designed for individuals at the early stages of their management journey—whether they’ve recently been promoted to a line manager role or have been managing teams for some time without formal leadership training. It’s also ideal for high-potential employees with the aspiration and mindset to step into management roles in the near future.

This programme provides essential commercial and people management skills, helping to build confidence, capability, and consistency across your management team. Whether participants are new to leadership or seeking to formalise their approach, the Rising Stars Programme supports their professional growth, aligns behaviours with organisational values, and helps shape future-ready leaders.

What topics are covered in the Rising Stars Programme?

The Rising Stars Programme consists of six focused, half-day workshops that build core management skills through a mix of interactive learning, drama-based scenarios, and practical application. Each topic is designed to reflect real workplace challenges and help participants develop confidence, clarity, and competence in their leadership roles.

Topics covered in the Rising Stars Programme include:

  • Managing Yourself as a Rising Star – Building self-leadership, personal effectiveness, and creating a Career Compass for long-term development.
  • Leadership & Communication Skills – Understanding communication styles, delivering messages with impact, and presenting with confidence.
  • Coaching & Feedback Skills – Empowering teams through structured coaching conversations and meaningful feedback.
  • Managing Performance – Setting expectations, handling performance challenges, and motivating individuals and teams to succeed.
  • Consciously Inclusive Recruitment – Developing inclusive hiring practices, increasing awareness of bias, and improving interview outcomes.
  • Finance Fundamentals – Strengthening financial acumen with a focus on cost control, budgeting, and commercial thinking.

Each session is hands-on, relevant, and tailored to your organisation’s context—ensuring that learners can immediately apply their knowledge and make an impact from day one.

The Rising Stars Programme is delivered using a blended learning approach that combines live virtual delivery, experiential workshops, and continuous coaching support to maximise impact and engagement.

The delivery format includes:

  • Live Virtual Induction – A high-energy session to introduce key concepts, set expectations, and prepare learners for the journey ahead.
  • Six Focused Workshops – Delivered either in-person or via virtual classroom, each interactive session uses drama-based learning, discussion, and practical activities to build real-world leadership capability.
  • Achievement & Next Steps Session – A reflective closing session to consolidate learning, celebrate progress, and set personal goals for continued development.
  • Ongoing Mentorship – Every learner is supported by a dedicated ted Learning mentor who offers one-to-one check-ins throughout the programme, ensuring learning is applied confidently and effectively in the workplace.

This blended delivery model ensures the Rising Stars Programme is flexible, highly relevant, and deeply personalised—empowering future managers to grow at pace while staying aligned to your organisation’s values and objectives.

The Rising Stars Programme stands out from traditional management training through its use of immersive, drama-based learning—bringing real workplace scenarios to life in a way that’s both engaging and memorable. Unlike standard classroom learning, this experiential approach enables learners to see, feel, and respond to the types of challenges they’ll face as managers.

Each session combines professional theatre techniques, structured discussion, and practical hands-on activities to create a safe environment for reflection, experimentation, and growth. Because the content is tailored to your organisation’s unique context, participants gain insights and tools they can immediately apply in their roles—resulting in stronger performance, greater confidence, and measurable impact on team dynamics and business outcomes.

Backed by one-to-one mentoring support, the Rising Stars Programme doesn’t just teach leadership theory—it transforms the way your future leaders think, communicate, and manage.

No. The Rising Stars Programme is designed to be practical, engaging, and highly relevant to learners’ real-world roles—without the need for formal assessments, essays, or written assignments.

Instead of traditional testing, learners are encouraged to participate actively in discussions, experiential exercises, and drama-based scenarios. Progress is measured through self-reflection, live feedback, and ongoing support from a dedicated ted Learning mentor, ensuring the learning is applied meaningfully and sustainably in the workplace.

This approach keeps the focus on growth, confidence-building, and immediate on-the-job impact—without the pressure of academic assessment.

Yes. The Rising Stars Programme is specifically designed for individuals who are already in a management or supervisory role. To get the most value from the programme, learners should have at least some responsibility for managing people—whether that’s a small team or a wider group.

Because the course focuses on real-world application of management and leadership skills, including managing performance, giving feedback, and coaching others, it’s important that learners are able to practise and apply what they’re learning in a live team setting.

If an individual is not yet in post but is earmarked for a future promotion or supervisory position, our First Steps into Team Leading programme may be a better fit. This offers a strong foundation for those preparing to step into their first leadership role.

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We have been delivering highly impactful drama-based learning for over 13 years.

If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with the learning we provide and the learner feedback reflects this, we will put it right at no additional cost or give you your money back.

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ted Learning Limited is not affiliated with or endorsed by TED Conferences LLC, TED Talks, TEDx, or TED-Ed. Any references to ‘ted’ on this website refer solely to ted Learning Limited, a separate and independent UK-based organisation specialising in drama-based learning & workplace training.

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