How Caroline Nugent Helped Launch ‘Peer Into the Future’— And What She Learned Along the Way

Hello PPMA members and friends

Caroline Nugent is a Past PPMA President and is now an Ambassador for the PPMA. She was involved in the development of the Peer into the Future programme and was also one of the very first participants and she tells us more below.

“As I was on the PPMA Board at the time, I was lucky enough to contribute to the setup of Peer. And what better way to see how it works but to join in! I knew that I would get the chance to hear from great speakers and the thing that is so special about Peer, is that people tell you the warts and all of leadership and where they learnt sometimes from doing the wrong thing. You can never underestimate the power of learning through others honesty. Peer was originally run in conjunction with Julie Towers and Yvonne Skingle from Penna, so I knew I would be in good hands.

We had the chance to have psychometrics and anyone who knows me will know that as a trained assessor myself, I love using these as they give such insight. What was different was that we used one which shows your more dark side. Boy was it accurate! It really makes sure you are self-aware so you hold in that poor negative side and in leadership that’s invaluable. Ultimately you learn how to be a better leader through this and it just all comes naturally then.

At that time, we didn’t have a ‘winner’. You just went through the programme. Then as the years went on, we thought having a ‘winner’ would be really useful and initially started out self-nomination with interviews on their learning. We found though that people were frustratingly just too shy to put themselves forward, so changed it so that all participants would be measured throughout and one chosen at the end. Its so great that this year we have two ‘winners’!

At one point in my career, I was the HRD for two London Boroughs who were so fundamentally different that understanding how to operate in these environments was critical. The experience of having listened to previous CEXs on the programmes really helped to see things from their point of view so you could find solutions to problems. It also gave me the confidence to take on the President of the PPMA role which now feels like a lifetime ago!

Leadership in the Public Sector is getting harder year on year. Not only do you have to motivate people under real pressure, challenge behaviours and culture but also think outside the box and push boundaries in order to transform an organisation. The Peer framework gives you the confidence to do that. I’ve seen many of my previous team go through Peer (and the other two talent programmes) and can honestly say every one of them has come back with so much learning and confidence – its a joy to watch.

Frankly why wouldn’t you. You cannot be a good leader if you don’t take the opportunities given to you. We all know that finding time for self-development is hard, as the day job is so busy, but if you don’t learn, then you shouldn’t expect to be the best leader you can be. Having the time to do this and then take back that learning into the organisation is just so precious.

If you’re interested in joining the next cohort, the 2025/6 Peer into the Future programme is open for applications until the 27th August and you can find out more information and how to apply HERE”