Leadership programme
Cross-Functional Leadership

Understand how interdisciplinary methods can help you tackle complex problems and lead teams with different expertise.

Also available as a 3-day immersive course.  

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Programme highlights

We believe that leadership education is tired and in need of reinvention. Join us to shape the future of leadership education and cultivate an interdisciplinary mindset.

Programme

Leadership

NEXT start date

January 22nd

Duration

3 months

Fees

£2,000

Discount available for self-funders, start ups and non-profits.

Location

Hybrid

Self-paced learning & online workshops.
Two immersive days on campus.

Time

7 sessions

90 min online workshops and group coaching with self-paced prep.

Introduction
Our approach

Complex problems require interdisciplinary solutions. Answers won’t come from one subject or specialism. Learn how to tackle the issues that matter to you.

Why interdisciplinary?

"As a health charity director trying to tackle some big societal problems, I found the course invaluable. It introduced me to a wealth of new thinking and practical approaches that pushed and expanded how I do my work. I highly recommend this course to leaders seeking to make a meaningful difference. It goes beyond what a standard leadership course could do."

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Julie Dodd

Interim Director, Blood Cancer UK

“I use to think I was a 'jack of all trades master of none'. LIS has given me confidence, a vocabulary, and a new source of energy to to promote interdisciplinary thinking and leadership. I found the course illuminating, thought provoking and a catalyst for new ideas. I have a renewed sense of purpose and direction.”

Rebecca Brenman
Rebecca Brennan

COO, Kyan (Technology Agency)

“A perfect balance of academic theory alongside a suite of practical tools that I could take away immediately and use to support my day-to-day role. I  would recommend it to anyone whose role involves transforming services or systems and working across organisations with multiple partners.”

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Chris Taylor

Director of Comms, NHS Health Innovation Network

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alumni

Our community of learners

Our Cross-Functional Leadership course brings together a diverse group of professionals, all united by their interest in finding new and innovative ways to lead their team towards success.

Previous participants have come from leading organisations like Airbnb, Google, Oliver Wyman, the Cabinet Office, and NESTA, representing sectors such as tech, finance, government, arts, and non-profits. With roles ranging from CEOs to Project Leaders and experience spanning 4 to 39 years, they offer a rich blend of expertise and perspectives.

Our alumni have diverse academic backgrounds, including biology, architecture, economics, law, and osteopathy, holding degrees from top institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, Columbia, University of Edinburgh and the University of Amsterdam. No matter your background, our course is designed to equip you with the tools to thrive in a cross-functional environment, leveraging diverse perspectives to solve complex problems.

Whether you’re from the public, private, or non-profit sector — if you’re passionate about interdisciplinary leadership, you’ll find yourself in great company!

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programme overview
Programme overview

Build your intellectual hinterland and grasp the mental models to tackle the huge range of challenges you encounter everyday.

Gain the skills to lead people with different expertise and synthesise their different approaches to create maximum impact.

Your interdisciplinary faculty
Carl Profile photo
Prof Carl Gombrich
'Working with experts'

Professor Carl Gombrich joined LIS from UCL and leads our faculty. Carl is a world expert in Interdisciplinary Education and trains leaders in the public and private sector on the evolving nature of expertise. 

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Dr Mattia Gallotti
'Making collective decisions'

Mattia is a philosopher who lectured on social sciences at LSE prior to joining LIS. He has published on the notion of Collective Intelligence and its applicability to the modern workplace.

Dr Bronwyn Tarr profile photo
dr bonwyn tarr
'The science of Collaborative work'

Bronwyn is a human behavioural scientist interested in the evolution of social behaviours, particularly music and dance. She completed her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford and has continued her research in evolutionary anthropology and psychology there.

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Duncan Austin
Immersive day

With almost 30 years in environmental economics and sustainable finance, Duncan holds an MSc from UCL. He worked at the World Resources Institute and later as an investment partner in London. Now, he focuses on writing and lecturing on sustainability.

Waqās Ahmed
waqās ahmed
'Global Thinking'

Founder of the DaVinci Network, Waqās wrote "The Polymath" (Wiley 2019) and created the Polymath Festival. His research focuses on human diversity and performance. He holds degrees in Economics, International History, and Neuroscience, and has worked in diplomatic journalism and visual art.

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Dr James Carney
'Zooming in & out'

James, a computational linguist, explores the link between cognition and culture using AI. He is especially interested in merging interpretive, computational, and experimental methods. As found of Texture AI, he has had the BBC, the UK Cabinet Office, Google and other leading organisations as clients.

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Dr James Everest
Immersive day

James studied languages at Cambridge, before completing a Masters in English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London, and a PhD in the history of science at UCL. He has taught on the Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences degree programme at the University of Birmingham and the Arts and Sciences programme at UCL.

Leader or future leader working for a complex mission-led organisation
Manages teams with different expertise
Looking to grow your personal network
Open to new perspectives
Looking for intellectual stimulation
Want to help shape the future of leadership education
About you

This course has been designed for leaders, and developing leaders, in complex mission-led organisations.

Early birds get 20% off!
For a limited time only, get 20% our 3-month Cross-Functional Leadership course.