Aspiring Heads of Departments and Associate Deans can access a range of leadership and management development opportunities that will support you in gaining the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours required in the role. The linked guide can support you in deciding which development options are most relevant according to your current role and you can also contact Organisational Development for advice or queries.
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Harnessing talent for Lancaster’s future success.
This flagship Leadership Programme has been updated to reflect the current changing environment. It provides a development route for those aspiring to become Lancaster’s leaders of the future.
Audience
This programme is designed for aspiring and ambitious academic and professional service staff, typically in roles graded 8 or above who already have some management and leadership responsibilities (e.g. Principal Investigators, Professional Service Heads) and ideally at least 2 years’ experience of working at Lancaster.
The aims of the programme are to enable participants to:
- Critically appraise approaches to leadership in complex, changing working environments;
- Gain practical leadership and self-development skills, including leading through change, understanding risk and financial implications;
- Reflect on the new strategy and values and how these will impact on their own working practices and those of their teams;
- Analyse strategies for personal learning in relation to own leadership practice;
- Show insight into effective leadership behaviours and demonstrate understanding of how they influence other;
- Develop a clear perspective on how to make a leadership contribution beyond their present role and underpin their own career progression;
- Develop a supportive network of peers.
Is this programme for me?
Participation in the programme will be by application, with full support of your line manager and your Dean or Director. Agreement may be needed from a Faculty committee. A talent criteria matrix has been devised and is available to potential applicants and their managers to enable them to make decisions about the appropriateness of this programme. These criteria will support the decisions around whether the applicant:
- has the necessary leadership potential;
- can be supported with the time taken by the programme;
- can be provided with the opportunities to implement their knowledge and skills during and after the programme.
The applicant should have the ambition to occupy a more senior role and/or take on additional leadership responsibilities in the short-medium term; should have given thought to the benefits they would derive from the programme and be willing to commit to the requirements of it. With the backing of their manager, they should also be in a position to select a suitably stretching strategic rather than operational objective (linked to but not necessarily directly derived from their PDR) that will be enhanced through participation in this programme (thereby testing out and demonstrating the learning gained from this leadership development opportunity and its impact on the institution).
Programme structure:
The programme runs for approx. twelve months starting with a 360 style appraisal. It includes guest speakers and subject specialists from Lancaster and other academic environments and industries. There are a range of workshops, covering current key leadership themes and a group leadership project. You will be encouraged to take up a mentor to work with on your leadership development journey. There will be an opportunity for one to one and group coaching.
Application
For programme dates please see the OD Website.
To express your interest in this programme contact OD.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available in the Management Resources - self-directed study section.
Lancaster has fully embraced a coaching and mentoring culture with a variety of options and opportunities to include coaching and mentoring into all aspects of University life. Most OD development programmes have a coaching element embedded and there are many skills workshops and a certificate in coaching to support these initiatives at all levels.
Interested in training to become a Coach? A Coaching Apprenticeship may be for you. Click on the link for further information.
Programme Aims
The Leader@Lancaster programme recognises that leaders are found across the University in different roles and at different levels.
The LEADER@Lancaster programme aims to develop leaders to:
- understand the complex issues and opportunities of the Higher Education Environment
- develop the underpinning behaviours and skills to lead change initiatives that will enable Lancaster to achieve its strategic ambitions.
- develop the self-awareness required to become a reflective practitioner
Who is it for?
Do you lead a defined area of work, activity or project that requires you to delegate to others who are not necessarily in your team? Does your role require you to influence others across your department, faculty or the institution? If you answer yes to these questions, the Leader@Lancaster programme is likely to be appropriate.
The programme is typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards leaders in grades 6 and 8.
If you are looking to develop your management skills then you may like to consider the Manager@Lancaster programme designed for managers with operational line management responsibilities for staff, typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards managers in grades 6 - 7/8 and is appropriate for both Professional and Academic staff.
What's Involved
The programme consists of the following elements:
- A one-and-a-half-hour introductory workshop
- The completion of a 360 degree appraisal and personal feedback of the results
- Four half day workshops
- Three one-hour small group discussion forums between the workshops to reflect on the learning from each workshop. These groups will be facilitated by the course tutor and will enable more detailed discussion of the topics that have been covered.
Programme Dates and How to Apply
For programme dates please see the OD Website.
To register your interest in this programme please email OD.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available in the Management Resources - self-directed study section.
Manager@Lancaster is a development programme with a difference. Tailored to the needs of Lancaster University managers the programme supports and challenges managers to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and develop high performing teams.
The programme incorporates a range of activities that are practical and highly relevant to the managers role. The programme has been running for several years and has consistently received excellent reviews and has supported managers in enhancing their practice and finding solutions to common management challenges.
Programme Aims
- Enable participants to identify their individual management strengths and areas for development
- Clarify the role and expectations of University managers
- Develop key management skills and behaviours
- Support a unique networking opportunity with a group of managers in similar roles facing similar challenges, who can work together and support each other
Who is it for?
Manager@Lancaster is designed for staff with operational line management responsibilities, typically (but not exclusively) aimed towards managers in grades 5 - 7/8. and is appropriate for both professional services and academic staff.
Your responsibilities should include formal line management of staff that typically includes the recruitment and induction of staff and conducting PDRs.
For team supervisors and those aspiring to be a line manager in the future there is a Stepping into Management workshop.
What’s involved
- Programme induction
- Interactive and engaging online workshops
- Group Project work
- 1:1 coaching
- Management exchange
- Networking
Please ensure that you have the full support from your line manager before applying for this programme. There is a significant time and effort commitment, to attend workshops and to complete the variety of activities associated with the programme. However, the payback is equally as great, as the phrase goes… ‘you get out what you put in’.
Programme Dates and How to Apply
For programme dates please see the OD Website.
To register your interest in this programme please email OD.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available in the Management Resources - self-directed study section.
These resources are bite-sized and are made up of the following activities:
- Reading - short guides and articles
- Listening and Watching - videos, webinars and podcasts
- Practical activities and tools to work through
They are designed to be worked through in sequential order and are supported by a reflective workbook that you can download and complete as a means of capturing your own learning, reflections and actions. Alternatively, you can complete individual activities that are most relevant to your development needs.
A Professional Development Review (PDR) enables you to have a quality conversation with your line manager about your contribution, your priorities and your career goal.
For further information please visit the PDR website.
A new series of reflective and interactive events to inspire and motivate those who lead research at Lancaster. They look at leadership at different levels and complement existing programmes.
Designed as a pathway with options for those with a variety of experiences, the series starts with a reflective workshop aimed at those just moving into research leadership, and those aspiring to leadership roles, helping them to explore their personal ambitions and create a development plan. There are two ‘stories’ sessions with input from a range of research leaders and a bespoke session for Lancaster’s Professoriate.
These sessions are aimed at different audiences, if you are in doubt as to which might be most appropriate for you, please contact OD for further information.
Share experiences
Intro to Research Leadership ‘Lead to succeed’ - theory and reflection
Who for? All those aspiring to move into leadership in a research environment and those who have already started their journey.
Providing researchers with the space to reflect on, consider and develop their personal research leadership development plan. Drawing on a range of experiential and interactive activities, the workshop adopts a values- and strengths-based approach to help researchers identify how developing effective research leadership can benefit them within their personal research environment.
When
For dates please see the OD academic and researcher webpage.
The Professoriate – Vision – Themed sharing practice events on current institutional priorities
Who for? All Professors
Lead by the Senior Leadership Team including Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors and other guests.
Come together with other senior members of the institution and share thoughts on the key strategic priorities. Each session will be hosted by a member of the senior leadership team, giving them a chance to share with you the latest priorities for their areas. With time for discussion and idea sharing this is an opportunity for you to explore how you might increase your influence and impact.
Sessions
- Session with Simon Guy
- Session with Session with Andy Schofield and Sarah Kemp
- Session with Malcolm Joyce
- Session with Wendy Robinson
For dates please see the OD academic and researcher webpage.
Time management for Academics
The workshop will provide attendees with a space to reflect on, consider and develop time management strategies for themselves. Drawing on a range of experiential and interactive activities, the workshop adopts a values- and strengths-based approach to help attendees identify how developing effective time management can benefit them within their personal research environment.
While the exact content of the workshop will partly depend on the needs of attendees on the day, we aim to ensure that after attending the workshop, attendees will:
- Understand they are not alone among academics with their concerns and challenges that they face in managing their time.
- Understand the three different components of time management and strategies for each (i.e., prioritisation, execution, procrastination).
- Identify and begin to develop key time management skills (e.g., the link between goal setting and scheduling, tracking and reviewing, prioritisation, pacing, overcoming procrastination, being assertive)
- Develop confidence and self-efficacy in themselves through improved time management.
- Collaboratively network with peers to facilitate their time management and productivity.
For dates please see the OD academic and researcher webpage.
Building on the success of the Gaining Academic Promotions programme held last year, we are delighted to announce the programme will run again this year, under the new name Preparing for Promotion - Academic, Research and Teaching Staff. This programme is aimed at giving academic, research and teaching staff the best chance of achieving academic promotion.
This programme covers all stages of academic career progression. With strong input from the Athena Swan, Race Equality Charter and EDI teams, and the Faculty Offices, this programme has been designed to ensure academic promotion is available to all staff, and to encourage staff that have been underrepresented in the past to put forward academic promotion cases.
The programme will consist of a welcome by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve Bradley, an Institutional update by Phill Dixon, Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness, presentations on the promotions criteria, case studies and faculty input.
Please visit the Preparing for Promotion webpage to view the full programme.
Please contact OD if you have any queries.
The Staff Development Portal acts as a hub for wider, institutional development.
