MyFuturePlan

MyFuturePlan (MFP) was originally designed for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to help them consider their career path and has evolved into an approach for early career professionals helping them to accelerate their career. The approach forms the basis of the Resilience Centre of Excellence Leadership Accelerator.

For most early-career bioscientists, I recommend starting in a carefully selected group of up to five people focused on building self-awareness around your preferred way of working.

Working alongside other bioscientists provides something individual coaching cannot: different perspectives, shared experience, peer learning and potentially valuable new professional connections.

This approach puts participants in a stronger position to navigate their careers, make the most of current roles and be an effective team member.

A comprehensive analysis of the sector suggests that the below behavioural traits predominate in the sector and inform the content in both MFP 1 & 2.

What does this programme entail?

  • Participants complete an online psychometric assessment which generates a report about their behavioural preferences

  • A 90 minute group online session which explores what that can mean in terms of their attention to detail, focus, communication and leadership style

  • The outcome is that all participants get a picture of their unique attributes and how they can apply them in a collaborative and innovative team

  • This session sets the participants up for a half-day session (MFP 2) building more depth into their learning needs and how to perform effectively in a team

Funding

  • Self-funded: £200 + VAT

  • Academic or not-for-profit funded: £250 + VAT

  • Commercially funded: £350 + VAT

The rate depends on who is funding the development, not where you happen to work.

Someone working in industry but paying personally qualifies for the self-funded rate.

MFP 1: Initial Career Transition Programme

This session introduces personality profiling to build self awareness, and combine this with their technical skills and experience to develop a unique approach that makes the most of their opportunities from career choices and their current role.

We practice in a carefully selected group of up to five people, in order to create a more personalised and deliberate approach.

MFP 2: Deeper Development Group

This session helps define a personal approach to building collaborative skills and accelerating their leadership potential.

Following MFP 1, participants who want to continue can join a further small-group programme focused on how you can use your natural ability to be more effective in teams and as a leader.

This provides approximately three hours of Zoom development (2 x 1.5 hours on the same or subsequent day) and explores areas such as confidence, communication, resilience, adaptability, emotional regulation, managing pressure and navigating difficult situations and conflict.

The focus of the workshop is on:

  • Holding effective meetings

  • Responding rather than reacting

  • Prioritising and addressing concerns

  • Your communication and leadership style

  • Building Trust

  • Performing at your best

  • Giving and receiving feedback

Funding

  • Self-funded: £200 + VAT

  • Academic or not-for-profit funded: £250 + VAT

  • Commercially funded: £350 + VAT

Some delegates will want have a 1:1 session to ask very specific questions or build more depth in emotional intelligence and personal resilience - they will be offered this after session two and it is usually scheduled within 2-4 weeks. You can learn more at MFP Individual.

Often a cohort is funded by the student or PDRs host institution or employer. Clients have included:

  • Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA)

  • University of Oxford

  • Resilience Centre of Excellence and previously the ATSTN network

  • BEST - formerly the BioProNET STARS programme

 Testimonials

“Thanks very much for taking the time to go over our profiles in more detail today. It was really helpful for me to be in a smaller group so we could dive in deeper to the results. Learned a lot and looking forward to sharing this with the rest of my team!”

“I thought the career coaching was an interesting course and I liked the links to our personalities. I felt that it has helped me realise that some of the things I do (or not do, e.g. speaking out a lot in meetings) at work are strongly related to my personality and I started noticing some of the traits we discussed about in the others around me. It also increased my awareness on what I should look for in a new job/career and helped me realise that I am actually quite happy with my chosen career path. Thank you for organising it!”

“I hope you are well. I really appreciated the two sessions with you about profiling and career planning for the SULSA Forging Futures programme. It has given me a lot of food for thought”

“Just wanted to say thank you so much for these sessions, they have been so valuable and have got me thinking so much even from the last session to this one. I think it was a welcome change after feeling like the odd one out in my work environment for a while”

“Thank you so much for your presentation and discussions at the BEST meeting. As always, the feedback shows that it has made the participants really think about where they are going and how to plan their route”