Gain a CMI Level 7 qualification from the Chartered Management Institute, a globally recognised professional body and Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation.
For leaders who want to create genuinely inclusive workplaces.
A specialist, rigorous leadership programme designed to help leaders move beyond awareness towards strategic, reflective and practical capability to lead meaningful neuro-inclusive change.
Delivered by CESI Learning, a CMI Registered Centre and approved CMI Partner.
This programme brings together Dr Caroline Gorden’s work in criminology, credibility, communication and workplace inclusion, with a focus on how autistic and neurodivergent employees can be excluded, misread, misjudged or unsupported within workplace systems.
You will explore legal duties, organisational culture, policy-friendly practice, performance management, grievance and disciplinary processes, and coaching-informed management practice – all through an autism-informed lens.
The programme is mapped to the requirements of the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice.
Delivered by CESI Learning, a CMI Registered Centre and approved CMI Partner.
This qualification also offers a route to Chartered Manager (CMgr) status, CMI’s highest professional accolade – see Progression Routes below for how the two routes work.
From how we decide who counts as a credible, trustworthy employee, to building genuinely inclusive workplace cultures, explore how judgement, communication and leadership shape inclusion in practice.
This module lays the groundwork for critically examining how autism is constructed through media, stereotype and cultural narrative – and how those constructions quietly shape workplace expectations, credibility judgements and everyday exclusion.
Leaders explore how structural inequality and unconscious bias shape perception and decision-making, using psychological and sociological frameworks to uncover leadership blind spots and the real cost of misreading autistic traits.
A critical look at masking, burnout, and co-occurring mental health impacts – using theories of stigma and self-determination to understand what happens when unmet needs go unaddressed, and what it costs the organisation.
Moving beyond the letter of the Equality Act to meaningful inclusive practice: reasonable adjustments, policy-practice gaps, and the ethical case for going further than compliance.
Examining how autistic expression can be misread as misconduct in grievance and disciplinary processes – and how leaders can interview and investigate with fairness, built on real case law and tribunal learning.
Challenging neurotypical-centred models of performance management, and building a business case for inclusive frameworks that let autistic strengths become a genuine source of advantage.
A deeply reflective module: values, identity, blind spots, and the tools (including the Johari Window and structured feedback models) to build authentic, self-aware, inclusive leadership.
Bringing it all together through coaching-informed leadership – active listening, neuro-affirming conversations, and co-designed development plans that embed inclusion as an ongoing practice, not a one-off intervention.
Includes CMI registration, assessment, and certification – no hidden extras.
Register Your InterestThis programme delivers two full CMI Level 7 units, totalling 17 credits. Because the two units are delivered concurrently rather than in separate blocks, most of the programme’s contact and study time counts toward both units at once – confirmed with CMI as an acceptable basis for demonstrating Total Unit Time (TUT).
Covered across Modules 1–4. Exceeds the CMI minimum of 80 TUT by 44 hours.
Covered across Modules 5–8. Exceeds the CMI minimum of 90 TUT by 34 hours.
This isn’t a self-paced course you complete alone. You’ll move through the programme alongside a cohort, with structured support built in at every stage.
Every learner completes the same CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice. Which route applies depends on your management experience at the point you complete the programme.
Learners complete the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice and are awarded Foundation Chartered status (fCMgr) by default.
Progression to full Chartered Manager (CMgr) status is available via Fast Track after qualifying.
Available to eligible learners with at least three years’ management and leadership experience at middle/operational manager level or above by the time they complete the programme.
On successful completion of the qualification, Chartered Manager (CMgr) status is awarded automatically – no separate Chartered Manager assessment required.
This programme is for leaders who want to think differently, challenge assumptions and create workplaces where autistic and neurodivergent people can thrive.
This programme is ideal for:
Senior managers and leaders
HR and EDI professionals
Workplace inclusion leads
Organisational development professionals
Managers responsible for performance & grievance
Leaders who want more inclusive organisations
Leave your details and we’ll be in touch about February 2027 enrolment.
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If you have any questions, please contact me.