Talent+ - Leading Through Change: The Skills Future Workplaces Need
Future Humber launched the Humber Leaders Programme, the first programme to be delivered through Future Humber’s Talent+, as part of Humber Business Week 2026.
Held at the C4DI Media Suite, Leading Through Change: The Skills The Future Workplaces Need brought together professionals from across the region to explore what leadership looked like in a changing world.
The event focused on the skills, behaviours and mindsets future workplaces needed most, recognising that change was no longer something on the horizon. It was already shaping the way people worked, led, communicated and built teams.
Through storytelling, audience participation and honest conversation, attendees explored what it meant to lead with confidence, adaptability and self-awareness in environments that were constantly evolving.
One of the most powerful parts of the session came through six simple statements designed to spark debate. Some attendees agreed, some disagreed, and others challenged the thinking entirely, creating exactly the kind of open conversation the event was designed to encourage.
The discussion highlighted that leadership was not about having all the answers, but about being willing to question, adapt, learn and bring others with you.
The event also marked the official launch of Cohort One of the Humber Leaders Programme, a new Future Humber Talent+ initiative designed to support ambitious professionals from Future Humber Bondholder organisations who were in the early stages of their leadership journey.
Following the launch, 15 professionals from across the Humber were set to be selected to take part in the first cohort. Delivered across four interactive sessions, the programme was designed to help participants build confidence, influence and leadership capability, while creating stronger connections across sectors and industries.
Facilitated by Felicity King of Courage People and John Harrison of Synergy Consultancy, the programme focused on one core theme: leading people through change. Sessions were designed to explore self-awareness, psychological safety, team culture, accountability, influence and leadership in practice.
The Humber Leaders Programme was developed in response to the real challenges facing workplaces, forming part of Talent+, Future Humber’s commitment to supporting the people who will shape the region’s future.
A huge thank you went to John Harrison and Felicity King for helping bring the programme to life, and to everyone who joined the launch event and contributed so openly to the conversation.
What started as an idea around how to better support people stepping into leadership roles became a reality, and the launch marked an exciting first step for Talent+ and the future of leadership development in the Humber.