Agile Leadership for Public Sector Senior Leaders
For your team
We run it on a date we agree with you. £6,500+VAT for up to 8 people.
For:
Senior civil servants (SCS 1 to 3), G6 leaders and Deputy Directors
For senior responsible owners
Training and coaching for senior responsible owners of digital and agile programmes
Public Sector Agile offers two one-day programmes and two kinds of coaching to anyone who is the senior responsible owner (SRO) of a digital or agile programme in UK government. A place costs £995+VAT on Agile Leadership and £895+VAT on Digital Government. We run either for one leadership team for £6,500+VAT, and coaching starts at £350+VAT a session. Your department can buy through RM6219 or with a purchase order, and you can start with a free 30 minute call.
What changes for a senior responsible owner when the team works in an agile way
In our guide to the senior responsible owner's role in agile delivery we go through what the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) ask of you. Here are four of the changes in brief, with what we offer for each.
- You take the decisions the team cannot
GDS wants the team and the service owner, who is accountable for the service, to decide for themselves and to come to you only when they have to. Tell them in writing where their authority stops, and take the decisions that do reach you within days. GDS sets this out in its governance principles for agile service delivery.
On our one-day Agile Leadership for Public Sector Senior Leaders programme you work out how to make boards, assurance and spending approvals work with agile delivery.
- You go and see the work
GDS says senior responsible owners should visit the team regularly and take part in their sprint reviews or show and tells, so that they are fully informed and can decide quickly.
Take our ten questions to ask your agile delivery team with you. You can ask them without any technical background. If you came to the role from outside the digital profession, Working in a Digital Government as a Non-Digital Leader is a one-day programme where you learn to follow what your agile teams are doing and what to ask them.
- You read one page and a forecast with odds
Ask the team for one page: what they are working on now, what comes next and what they intend to do later, with a forecast that carries odds for the next milestone and a list of what they are not doing. We advise against red, amber and green ratings and percent-complete figures, because both are somebody's judgement.
We show you how to read the odds in how to read a delivery forecast. If the date goes into a business case, we explain how to give it in our guide to agile business cases and spending approvals.
- Assurance reviewers check what you do
NISTA reviews major programmes however they are delivered. In its guide to assuring agile delivery, updated in August 2026, NISTA suggests reviewers check whether the senior responsible owner keeps up with progress by attending the team's meetings.
You can use coaching to work on one problem, such as a NISTA review. Executive coaching costs £350+VAT a session and Senior Leader Coaching costs £1,500+VAT a day.
What stays the same
You remain the senior responsible owner. Government Project Delivery sets out what the role involves, how senior responsible owners are appointed and the extra requirements for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in its guidance on the role of the senior responsible owner. Working in an agile way changes how you find out what is happening, and you still answer for the result.
The two programmes
Chris Preece designs and teaches both, live on Microsoft Teams with Mural. He works in a central government department today and has trained and coached more than 100 senior civil servants. For one leadership team, Agile Leadership costs £6,500+VAT for up to 8 people and Digital Government costs £6,500+VAT for up to 10.
Working in a Digital Government as a Non-Digital Leader
For your team
We run it on a date we agree with you. £6,500+VAT for up to 10 people.
For:
Non-digital SCS, G6 and Deputy Directors, Policy professionals who work alongside digital teams
The two kinds of coaching
Chris does the coaching. He coaches leaders up to Director General level and has not held that post himself. What you say in either kind of coaching stays confidential.
- Executive coaching, £350+VAT a session
It is one to one and online, at times that suit you, and open to any SCS or Grade 6 leader. You can use it for one problem, such as a NISTA review or a new programme, or for ongoing support. We describe it on our services page.
- Senior Leader Coaching, £1,500+VAT a day
It is for Directors, Directors General and SROs. You meet Chris for half-day sessions, usually monthly or quarterly, one to one or in a group of two or three leaders, online or face to face. We take on those clients from our workshops or by referral, so if you have not been to a workshop, say who referred you when you book a call. Read more about Senior Leader Coaching.
Guides for senior responsible owners
- The SRO's role in agile delivery and governance
What GDS and NISTA ask of you, and how your board and your reporting change.
- Ten questions to ask your agile delivery team
Ten questions you can ask at a show and tell, with what a good answer sounds like and what should worry you.
- How to read a delivery forecast: a guide for leaders
How to read a forecast such as an 85% chance by 6th October, and why to distrust a single date.
- Agile business cases and digital spend controls in 2026
What replaced the digital and technology spend controls on 1st April 2026, and when you still need HM Treasury.
Questions people ask
Is there agile training for a senior responsible owner?
Yes. Public Sector Agile teaches Agile Leadership, a one-day programme for senior civil servants who are accountable for delivery and are not agile practitioners. A place costs £995+VAT, or we run it for one leadership team of up to 8 for £6,500+VAT.
What does a senior responsible owner do in an agile programme?
You agree the outcome, tell the team what they can decide alone and take the decisions that fall outside that. GDS also asks senior responsible owners to visit the team regularly and take part in show and tells, so that they can decide quickly.
Which programme suits a senior responsible owner with no digital background?
Working in a Digital Government as a Non-Digital Leader. It is a one-day programme for senior leaders outside the digital profession who are accountable for services with a large digital part, and you need no technical background. A place costs £895+VAT, or we run it for one leadership team of up to 10 for £6,500+VAT.
What should a senior responsible owner ask for in place of a status report?
Ask for one page: what the team is doing now, what comes next and what comes later, with a forecast that carries odds and a list of what the team is not doing. We advise against red, amber and green ratings and percent-complete figures, because both are somebody’s judgement.
Can a senior responsible owner get coaching before an assurance review?
Yes. Executive coaching is one to one and online, costs £350+VAT a session and is open to any SCS or Grade 6 leader, and you can use it for one problem such as a NISTA review. Senior Leader Coaching is for Directors, Directors General and senior responsible owners at £1,500+VAT a day, and we take on those clients from our workshops or by referral.
How does a department pay for a senior responsible owner's training or coaching?
Omnicomplexity Ltd, which trades as Public Sector Agile, is an approved supplier on RM6219, the Learning and Training Services DPS that Government Commercial Agency runs. We accept purchase orders. When we run a programme for your team, public sector clients pay no deposit: we invoice after the programme against your purchase order, payable within 30 days.
Start with a free 30 minute call
You describe your programme, in confidence, and Chris tells you whether we can help. If you would sooner write, tell us which programme you want, how many people and roughly when. We reply with dates and a price, and we aim to reply within one working day.