Hello....Lewis Haigh

At Lancaster University Management School we offer flexible work-based online learning that enables you to develop your career, whilst working. Our Career Focus series speaks to Lewis Haigh, Inspector at Lancashire Constabulary about what he gained from studying a MSc in Leadership Practice.

1. Introduce yourself and briefly outline your career history.

Hi, my name is Lewis Haigh, I am 34 and for the last 15 years I have worked for Lancashire Constabulary. I left sixth form at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School in 2007 and didn’t think University was right for me at that time. I had always wanted to become a police officer but at the time there was limited recruitment. I decided to combine work with a passion, becoming a brewer at BareArts Brewery for a while before a short administration role in mortgages. The subprime market collapse forced me to refocus on what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be.

I joined Lancashire Constabulary in 2009 as a Police Community Support Officer and then successfully passed recruitment for Lancashire Constabulary's first Police Constable cohort for 4 years, in 2012. Since then, I have worked across Lancashire in a range of uniform and detective roles, successfully being promoted to Detective Sergeant in 2019, and to Detective Inspector in 2024.

2. What is your current role? What are the highs and lows and what are the leadership and management challenges?

My current role is Operational Change Inspector for Lancashire Constabulary. I lead force-wide change programmes which involves reviewing and optimising a range of business functions including investigative teams, contact methods, systems and processes. I love that this role allows me to combine my knowledge of practical policing with data and people-based research to truly understand not just how we work, but how that impacts on our victims and communities. I am most proud of the improvements myself and my department have identified within contact and investigative teams, both in terms of structure and process which, when combined with the incredible hard work of our colleagues both uniform and detective, are really benefiting victims across Lancashire.

That being said, it is not easy to identify change or to review my peers objectively. All people naturally resist change, cops included, and all have emotional responses. Tough decisions and recommendations must be made and people who work hard have to be told their working practices, not efforts, need to change. In that respect, this role really accentuates the loneliness of leadership, sometimes delivering change causes everyone else to step back, and you must step forward. Remaining objective and balancing what policing needs, and what we have the capacity to change is not easy, but I grow and learn every day in this role.

As a leader I think my greatest challenge has been maintaining my peer relationships and managing up within a hierarchical organisation when presenting challenging or innovative ideas. This has been eased somewhat by fantastic support across my senior management team and a very proactive and positive Chief Officer Team. There are also numerous peers who, by checking in behind the scenes, offering words or encouragement or reassurance, enable me to work towards doing the right thing and not the easy thing. It's a behaviour I appreciate and emulate in my own interactions.

3. Why did you decide to study a work-based leadership and management programme at Lancaster University?

Whilst working as a Detective Sergeant in Child Protection managing serious and complex abuse of children, I would find myself tormented daily by processes and systems which I thought could be improved. A good friend of mine who worked within the department suggested I speak to a colleague called Andy Doran, who was also passionate about change, utilised systems thinking and ultimately wanted policing to be more and do more. Having met Andy, he mentioned the opportunity to study at Lancaster University Management School and how a role within Corporate Development could provide opportunities to bring real organisational change, I was sold.

4. What do you feel that you have learnt from your studies?

I began studying whilst still working with Child Protection and quickly recognised links between theory and practice, including how teams work and function and what motivates people. It was when I moved to a role in Corporate Development however my level of analysis and understanding was elevated to a strategic level.

I appreciate how my knowledge of policing as one whole system has fundamentally changed because of my studies. What I once saw seemed simple is now like looking at the movement of a clock. I have no doubt other students found themselves analysing the constant interaction of the countless systems in their own organisations as well. For me, the realisation that the front line holds strong only because of the countless, selfless individuals across a range of other, unseen functions, was something I'd previously overlooked or under-appreciated. So, whilst I could list the subjects like team working, motivation, finance, procurement or the countless research methods I studied, the overarching result of all of this learning has been a greater appreciation of my peers, and the complexity of delivering a great service to our communities.

5. How have your studies impacted you as a leader and manager and as a human being?

I was profoundly humbled by my experience and learning within my study period. Having never studied in a higher education environment before I was apprehensive and didn't want my peers or those on my teams to think less of me if it was difficult. That quickly subsided as the real purpose of academic development became clear, a desire to learn, to challenge and understand were impressed upon me quickly and this is something I take forward into my teams.

I now appreciate how cognitive diversity can make even wicked problems simple. I feel free from any of the ego of youth. Previously, challenge or disagreement from others may have caused me to feel threatened but this now excites me to understand how others think and feel about issues which expands my own understanding and perspectives.

6. Where do you think your career may go next?

I am very fortunate to have passed my MSc with a distinction and to have been awarded the Chancellor's Medal for outstanding merit in my field. I was successful in promotion in February 2024 having been temporarily promoted in March 2023 and will hopefully move on to new roles and challenges allowing others to take the opportunity to drive and influence change.

There is, however, a part of me that looks outside of policing into business with wonder. I love the idea of learning new systems and new processes and finding ways to improve those so that, whatever people are doing, it is more efficient and effective. I have also been asked several times about further study and a PhD. Whilst I wouldn't say never, I have witnessed first-hand the efforts it takes to reach the pinnacle of academia and I feel I would like more time to develop and master my craft before I think of a way to generate new knowledge into the field.

My studies also gave me the confidence to volunteer at Diabetes UK as part of their patient advisory panel. Diabetes UK is a fantastic charity who I have no doubt will cure diabetes one day. Part of my role with them is to give patient perspectives on funding applications for diabetes related research, and last year they invested over ￡20 million into ground breaking diabetes research. Within this role I combine not just my own experiences but use the reflective skills I developed within my studies to recognise, gather, and articulate the views and experiences of the wider diabetes communities.

7. What would you advise anybody thinking of undertaking work-based study? I would encourage anyone thinking of undertaking work-based study to do so in the knowledge that it is not easy. For every single credit, you will read countless articles and books, you will lose sleep, miss events, the gym and even miss meals (if you really get lost in a deadline). You will need to prioritise your own learning needs and be selfish with your time and identify areas you need to focus on to support your study. I practiced referencing outside of the actual studying to ensure that small things wouldn't detract from my overall work.

However, what you will learn will change the way you perceive yourself and others, their behaviour and the systems within which we all exist, work and live. If you take the step and really apply yourself, you'll go from thinking "there must be another way" to identifying "the other way" and leading others towards positive change. Don't go into it thinking everything will be ok, it won't. Go into knowing there will be challenges, knowing you want to learn, to challenge and be challenged and you will thrive.

As a 34-year-old man, I nervously stepped onto a stage in front of hundreds of my peers, in the company of good friends (old and new) and graduated with my family and the academic team who had guided me, watching. The pride of achieving, was worth every single bit of hard work.