Senior leaders and managers take up personal development
04 Feb 2019
How our Inspiring Leaders, Leading at Manchester and Managing at Manchester programmes build on success – Staff Survey 2017 action
The results of the 2017 Staff Survey showed that some aspects of leadership and management had improved at our University, however there was still more work to be done to equip leaders and managers with the right skills and expertise to lead our University through future challenges and opportunities.
One of the key actions arising from your feedback was the investment in developing and delivering three significant learning and development programmes for leaders and managers – the Inspiring Leaders Programme (ILP), Leading at Manchester and Managing at Manchester.
Inspiring Leaders Programme
So far, 260 of our senior academic and Professional Services leaders have taken part in ILP.
The programme provides the opportunity for senior leaders to explore how they can support and inspire staff to achieve their goals; continue to enhance their impact and influence internally and externally; expand professional networks while raising their profile and reputation; and play an active role in shaping the University’s future.
James Baker, Graphene@Manchester Chief Executive Officer, said: “The ILP was a great opportunity to meet and network with new people from across the University, both academic and professional service staff, and this has already led to new activity – for example in a workshop between the graphene and medical teams to explore opportunities for collaboration.
In addition, the discussions and tools from the course have been very valuable as we develop our strategy for Graphene@Manchester and the creation of ‘Graphene-City’ and how this might provide value to both the University and the broader Manchester region.”
Leading at Manchester
Since the its launch, almost 100 leaders are taking part in our Leading at Manchester programme, which gives senior individual contributors and established managers an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and enhance their capability through a blended leadership development programme. Similar to the ILP, with a mix of academic and PS leaders are taking part in this programme. Groups in each cohort are given a project to work on during the programme. The projects are focused on issues of relevance to the University and the HE sector. Project groups are expected to present their findings and recommendations to a panel of senior University leaders.
Managing at Manchester
Over 90 people have taken part in Managing at Manchester, a programme available to both academic and PS colleagues managing others. The programme is appropriate for those who are new to line management, for those established line managers seeking a best practice refresher , and for those line managers who have not previously received any formal development in managing others. Participants develop their people management skills through case studies and simulations in face-to-face workshops, and through blended learning and action learning sets.
The University’s commitment to developing its leaders and managers is demonstrated through these resources, and senior leaders personally contribute to all three programmes, a feature which has been appreciated by those participating.
Managers’ Essentials and Change Management Essentials
In order to help our people managers to foster an outstanding workplace, we have created Managers' Essentials. Here you can find a range of guidance and supporting information to help individuals manage their day-to-day people responsibilities, as well as more resources on developing as a manager.
In November the Change Management Essentials webpage was launched, highlighting the University’s new handbook on change and a wealth of related tools, techniques and models to support successful delivery and understanding of the change process.
Any member of staff can access these websites, along with podcasts, videos and learning materials, which give both practical information and advice for colleagues to put into practice.
Staff Survey 2019
Staff Survey 2019 launches on Monday, 4 March and runs until Monday, 8 April.
You will receive an email or, if you don’t work at a computer, be given the chance to fill in the Staff Survey form. It only takes around 15 minutes to complete, and you can be sure that all the information you supply will be anonymous and treated in strictest confidence. This is because the Staff Survey 2019 is being administered on the University’s behalf by an external company, Capita.
The survey results will be published in June.