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Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report By Alison Laithwaite Development & Training Officer The University for World-Class Professionals
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Page 1: Aspiring Leaders Programme · Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 4 Aspiring leaders programme approach The programme was a blended programme, using a variety of development

Aspiring Leaders ProgrammeEvaluation ReportBy Alison Laithwaite Development & Training Officer

The University forWorld-Class Professionals

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Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 2

Background to the programme

The Head of IT Services asked Organisation

Development and Training (ODT) to design and

develop the Aspiring Leaders Development

Programme in 2013. It followed a 2-year

Leadership and Management Development

Programme, delivered by ODT that had taken

place for all managers across the service. The

Head of IT and the IT services managers had

been working towards significantly changing

the culture of the IT department, using the

Leadership and Management Development

Programme as a tool to do this. This original

programme of sessions was supported by

using the culture web process model, and by

the projects identified from this exercise. The

key aim was to move from a department of

fragmented teams, to a department with a

clear vision and strategy. A department where

individuals were empowered and motivated to

work together to go MAD (make a difference)

for both the students and staff they support.

The Aspiring Leaders Development Programme

now offered the opportunity to go one step

further by bringing together staff from all

levels and parts of the service as a team and

empowering and supporting them to take on

projects that would ultimately make a real

difference to the service delivered to students

and staff.

One cohort has now completed the Aspiring

Leaders Development Programme as a pilot.

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The main objectives of the aspiring leaders programme were to:

Translatesandcommunicatesdirection

Developsselfandothers

Manages others

Fosters teamwork

Champions studentandservicefocus

Achievesresults

Leadership integrity

The Framework

2

MMU Leadership and Management Competency Framework

• Address the staff development priority: developing management and leadership capability

• Provide a focused opportunity for staff to assess themselves against the MMU Leadership and Management Competency Framework, identifying areas for development to succeed as a leader/manager at MMU

• Support successional planning requirements for future leaders and managers within IT services

• Make a real and measurable difference to the student experience by identifying, developing and executing customer service projects

• Develop successful working relationships with managers and staff at all levels of the organisation by working closely together during the sessions

• Support and growing the culture change work already completed

• Provide a route to develop staff at any level of the department who have a desire to make a difference.

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Aspiring leaders programme approach

The programme was a blended programme,

using a variety of development methods. The

aim was to provide the greatest stretch for

those involved within a supportive environment.

The blend included using The Smithfield

Performance 360 diagnostic at the start and

end of the programme. Initially this generated

feedback for candidates from their managers,

colleagues, subordinates and customers on their

current level of performance, against a range

of management and leadership competencies.

This allowed candidates to identify areas to

focus on throughout the programme, as well as

identifying strengths they had that they could

bring to the sessions, and the project work.

The TMSDI team management profile was also

used. This allowed candidates to understand

themselves, each other, and how they needed

to work together as a team. Supporting this

were 11 sessions, each linked to the Leadership

and Management Competency Framework.

Managers from the Exec Team (the senior team)

within IT Services were identified to sponsor

each session. The Exec Team management

sponsor worked with ODT in regards to the

content of the session they were sponsoring

and attended the sessions working alongside

the candidates. This saw the development

of good working relationships and allowed

managers to share first hand management

insight into the areas discussed. This firmly

placed the theories candidates were looking at

into the strategies and direction of IT services.

Candidates completed 11 sessions in total (see

appendix B). Some sessions were full day and

some half-day dependant on the requirements

needed to deliver the content. Alongside the

sessions, the cohort needed to meet to firstly

identify and then build the business case for

the projects they wished to present. They were

left to self-manage this process which meant

them dealing with issues of non-attendance

and managing each other. The programme itself

with the Smithfield Performance 360, individual

tutorials and action planning sessions ran for

approximately 14 months.

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Throughout the programme, the group had to

do a range of presentations to very senior staff

within the organisation. Initially all their ideas

had to be presented to the IT Exec Team where

they were put through a rigorous review and

the group faced challenging questions which

tested both their resolve, and the research

they had done. They then had to take four of

the projects, chosen by the IT Exec, and refine

them with a proposed project brief. The cohort

then presented these four projects to a panel

including the Vice Chancellor, a Dean and a

Head of Services.

Initially, the panel was to identify one project

for this group to take forward. However, the

group found there was a desire for all four

projects to run. Two of the projects were quite

large and involved stakeholders outside of

IT Services, so these were scoped into more

detailed proposals to go to Directorate for senior

management approval and sponsorship. The

other two projects were assigned a project

manager, from within the cohort, and they are

currently working towards delivering these.

The programme concluded with an away day

where the group could put the skills from

the sessions into practice in a completely

different environment solving non-work related

problems. The 360 Smithfield Performance

diagnostic was re-done and feedback from this

plus a review of their progress on the course led

to an individual action planning session based

on “what’s next for you?”

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Aspiring leaders course outline

360 Feedback

psychometric assessments

self development

management training

360 feedback and “what next” action planning

group projects

presentations to senior staff

skillsdevelopment

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Aspiring leaders evaluation

The evaluation process for this pilot course

took place in a number of ways. Initially at the

final session candidates were asked to sum

the whole process up in three words and these

are identified below in the Wordle images, the

larger the word the more often it appeared in

the feedback. This was a process to capture the

initial reactions of candidates and managers

on completion of the programme. Candidates

reflected on and responded to a number of

questions in regards to the programme and

their own development during the process.

Managers were given a set of similar questions

in regards to their views on the programme but

also asked to consider the development they

had seen in the candidates during the process.

All the questions and responses are available in

Appendix A.

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Individual outcomes for candidates & managers

Candidates“The programme has … improve(ed) my leadership skills, and this has helped me to gain my current position”Three members of the cohort have successfully

moved into higher graded posts while on the

programme. One member of the cohort was

promoted into a team management post.

90% of candidates concluded that the

programme had made a difference to them.

This was in terms of their confidence levels,

their motivation or their ability to build and

develop relationships across the service

including managing upwards.

Managers “It’s very satisfying as a senior manager to know you have been part of people’s development”

“Seeing my staff put their new skills into action in front of the VC, then seeing them put it into practice on a daily basis”

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In terms of the key difference the programme

had made to individuals the feedback shows

that 40% of the candidates specifically

identified that their confidence had improved.

“My confidence has grown massively over the last 12 months”

and 40% felt their ability to build relationships

and work with others had improved.

“It has helped me to build contacts and feel more involved in IT services”

This was echoed by the feedback from managers where 40% of the comments were around an improvement in confidence.

“Growth in confidence and heightened awareness of the department and its impact on the organisation”

and 30% were around an improvement in building relationships.

“Better at cross area collaboration- relationships”

Managers also commented on the fact that candidates demonstrated a greater understanding of what leadership and management involved and had

“A more grounded understanding of the challenges managers face”

and as well as

“More focused and realistic approach to tasks”

A real course highlight for all candidates was the opportunity to present to the Vice Chancellor and to other members of the university senior team as well as members of IT Exec. 70% of candidates commented directly on this being a highlight for them.

“Presenting our service improvements ideas to the VC and the exec team because the whole team was taken out of their comfort zone and worked really hard to fine tune the ideas and present them professionally”.

The opportunity to network and work with others across the service was also highlighted by 30% of the candidates in this section of the review. Manager highlights focused mainly on the delivery of new and improved services that the programme had delivered alongside seeing staff develop and show their potential.

“Better team work and improved motivation. Improved service delivery for students by delivering on the project work”

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Service outcomes

John Brooks University Vice Chancellor

“I had the pleasure of listening to thepresentations, along with my other panellists. These projects show a good understanding of University needs, offering real potential for development and transformation.”

Project one - Digital timetable signage

The introduction of live timetabling in reception

areas and cafes. Get rid of the paper timetable

outside of rooms and lecture theatres and turn

class rooms and meeting rooms into energy

efficient, smart and intelligent rooms.

Progress: This project is being developed into a

proposal and taken to the University Executive

and Directorate.

Project two – Unified service management tool

A set of joined up processes and tools that

allow us to collaborate more fluently with other

departments. Streamlining areas where working

practices can be improved and where jobs

cross over between departments. Using one

single recording system would provide a more

integrated approach and a quicker resolution of

student enquiries. It would also allow for better

communication and collaboration between

departments. It would also enhance the quality

of management information, which will overall

provide a better service to students.

Progress: This project is being taken forward

by the group through an initial proposal for

University Executive and Directorate.

Project three – Device Advice

Setting up a device bar and service which

would be an appointment based service to

allow students to come and talk to IT service

staff about how to get the best use of their

device and how best to use it to access our

services whilst studying here.

Progress: This project is currently being

worked on.

Project four - 24/7 laptop loans for students

Using self-service laptop loan lockers where

students can access a fully configured laptop on

a short term basis by using their student card in

the same way as they can access library loans.

Progress: The pilot for this will be available for

students for the start of term September 2014.

As a result of the projects delivered and still

being worked on, the development of the

individuals on the programme and the impact

this is having in all areas of IT services, this

programme will now be an established part of

the development offered to staff in IT. Looking

forward, the Director of Services has also asked

that this programme is delivered across the

whole of services.

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Recommendations for future programmes

Working with the managers

In future, extra care will be taken to ensure

all managers are fully briefed and clearly

understand the time commitments staff

are signing up for. With this initial cohort,

managers were aware of the time required

for sessions but had not considered the time

between sessions when the group needed to

work on projects and presentations. A short

session for managers would help in detailing

their role prior to the course starting as well as

an outline-briefing document for managers for

reference. Managers were briefed prior to the

course in a management meeting, but each had

their own understanding of the commitment,

which was quite different and at times caused

real confusion. Managers need to provide a

consistent message about expectations and

requirements to candidates.

After reviewing the feedback, consider having

managers attend the end part of the sessions

only to provide an overview of the session/

experience, to answer questions and input the

management perspective. There was a clear

benefit to managers being there and working

with the group as it did help build relationships

and strengthen the links between managers

and staff. However, some candidates felt that

this was at times a distraction and not all

candidates were comfortable exploring some

issues with management there.

The course content

To move the sessions around slightly so that

project management and presentation skills are

earlier in the process. Feedback showed that

this would have been beneficial in supporting

the group with some of the earlier presentations

and planning for the customer service project.

If this was earlier in the programme candidates

could also use some of the project ideas to work

on in the sessionS.

As part of the induction day, to introduce a

teambuilding aspect so the group get to know

each other and feel comfortable with each other

earlier in the process. This should help the

group when meeting to decide on the projects

to take forward.

The programme itself

Use this year’s cohort as mentors for future

cohorts using them on induction sessions and

perhaps when advertising the course

Keep to the same format in terms of on average

one session per month. However, as above,

the sessions need to be delivered in a different

order.

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Appendix A Candidate and Managers Feedback 2014QUESTIONS ASKED OF CANDIDATES AND RESPONSE GIVEN

Finish the sentence “the programme has made a difference to me in the following ways…”

“Being able to project manage one of the

projects that have come out of this course.

This will hopefully be really helpful in future

progression”

“Boosted my confidence in meetings and has

helped me to assert my position more”

“ Given me confidence in building relationships

and making presentations”

“Made me frustrated. In a box at MMU that I

cannot get out of”

“I have made better contacts with people using

what I have learned. I have also learnt some

useful techniques for dealing with difficult

situations”

“Building relationships, more conscious in

certain areas i.e. communication and EI. It

has raised my profile within and outside of IT

services. It has also encouraged me to learn

further”

“Improved my leadership skills, and this has

helped me to gain my current position. It has

particularly improved my EI and given me

experience of the recruitment process”

“developed my emotional intelligence, taught

me some new skills, and helped me feel

involved in IT services”

“ I feel more confident about coming out of my

comfort zone and taking on challenges that I

would normally avoid”

“my confidence has grown massively over the

last 12 months, I have built relationships with

other IT managers, and it has given me a great

chance to build relationships with exec”

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Finish the sentence “support from management was …”

“very good”

“patchy support had to be renegotiated at

several points and some managers were more

committed than others”

“such as? They let me do it but I have heard

ropey things along the way. So apart from being

given the time there was no support”

“Inconsistent too many people with different

opinions”

“ Due to a change from Mo wanting one project

to wanting all 4 the 10 members of Aspiring

Leaders are probably the busiest people in the

department”

“ from my line manager fine, from IT

management good but inconsistent”

“ they have all been very supportive in the

sessions and on the project development”

“very good from my perspective. My line

manager allowed me the time I needed and I

didn’t feel the confusion others did”

“inconsistent across the programme”

“confusing”

“challenging as I had a change of manager but

eventually the support was there”

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“ project management”

“ project management it was the wrong

example and limited to MMU PM practice

within IT”

“ I think some people in the group wanted a bit

too much discussion time for themselves”

“ Difference in managers and exec opinions”

“Inconsistent feedback and scope from IT exec”

“ MAD day debacle, demoralising and a waste

of a month”

“some people not as engaged, should have

been tackled and the opportunity given to

someone else”

“ the MAD day, a lot of time was put into

this at the beginning. WE also needed more

sandwiches”

“ not having clarity on the projects until late on.

Changing the project remit frequently. For some

sessions having managers there inhibited us or

disrupted the session”

Finish the sentence “things that didn’t work for me…”

“not getting time early on to do more team

building before we needed to start planning the

MAD day… this made it difficult for people to be

direct and express their opinions”

“ Having exec members attend was good in

that we were able to develop relationships with

them and hear their views but I think it also

inhibited contributions by the group and set

up a dynamic where we weren’t all the same

and where our contributions weren’t weighted

equally. This was a shame because the group

itself were across grade but everyone’s views

and contributions were equally valid”

“ not having the support of my manager so that

they didn’t get involved in what I was doing

and then getting a new manager who didn’t

want me to be out of the office”

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Course highlights were….”

“Working on things outside of my usual scope

of work. Learning more about how relationships

between people work and gaining a new

vocabulary to describe them. Presenting to the

VC and senior staff and the 360 feedback”

“ the opportunity to interact directly and

informally with John Brooks. First hand insight

from him. The practice of presenting to a senior

audience was a great experience”

“Presentation challenges and the feeling on

completion. Meeting people from around IT and

getting to build relationships”

“working with different areas of IT”

“ nothing specific interested in a lot of the

content anyway”

“presenting our service improvement ideas to

the VC and the exec team because the whole

team were taken out of their comfort zone but

worked really hard together to fine tune the

ideas and present them very professionally”

“Loan locker project with Chris and presenting

to VC et al. Train journey to the BETT show.

Presenting to senior staff. The session content,

generally I don’t find courses useful or engaging

but all have these have been both… I’ve

possibly been going on the wrong courses!”

“ presentations to various managers, VC etc.

this was something I have never done before.”

“ presenting to the VC”

“ the opportunity to manage a project”

“ working as a group on the project ideas

and presentations… tons of experience of

group working, working in small groups,

writing project briefs, writing and delivering

presentations, thinking about stakeholders

and what styles I need to use with different

ones. Getting the opportunity to meet people I

would usually not meet .. the VC. Getting the

opportunity to work with others in IT services..

building networks across the department.

Opportunities within projects to talk to people

in other departments and work closely with

them. Got exposure to how the exec team work

together which increased my understanding of

the department. Opportunities to work in other

areas outside of my normal job. This created

opportunities for creativity. Getting to know

the others in the group , becoming a team,

providing support & knowledge. Learning about

managing challenges”

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The session content was…

“excellent”

“engaging and well delivered but left me

wondering/asking many questions about MMU

management”

“informative and mostly relevant to my work”

“ always interesting, useful and delivered in

an engaging way. We could have covered other

areas ie finance and budgets”

“good mixture of theory and exercises, varied

and interesting”

“useful, engaging and has helped me

immensely in gaining the leadership position I

now have”

“in the goals and expectations session I

was surprised how true the results from

the questionnaire fitted my own view. I was

pleasantly surprised that the profile does reflect

my desire to explore but also plan in detail”

“content of each session had been well thought

out and provided the group with lots of

discussion and opportunities to learn and use”

“EI thoroughly enjoyed this session instead of

using this to get the most from others, I now

use it to get the most from myself, my team

and others.”

“full, detailed and well presented”

“ I enjoyed the majority of the course and

especially the activities. Project management

could have been more focused on the methods

of running a project day to day”

Finish the sentence “the structure of the course was…”

“ very good in general, project management

could have been earlier in the course as we

were assigned projects early on”

“good and consistent, it flowed well and

allowed sufficient time for inter session work”

“on the whole set out very well, project

management could possibly have been earlier

in the course, mainly to help with structuring

the project documents”

“project management should have perhaps been

first”

“It worked well but I think we could have

worked even harder ( we needed group

commitment outside of working hours as well,

not sure if we made the best use of our time in-

between sessions)”

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If you had staff members on the aspiring leaders programme please complete the following sentence “the difference I noticed in team members on the programme was…

QUESTIONS ASKED OF MANAGERS AND RESPONSE GIVEN

“ better/ improved”

“communication, project and work management

skills developed”

“better at cross area collaboration

(relationships)”

“ a more grounded understanding and

appreciation for the challenges managers face”

“ more focused and realistic approach to tasks”

“ better links across the department and more

politically astute (but not commercially)”

“ the difference I noticed was minimal but

that is probably quite normal as there are

certain circumstances required in order to see

their ability to utilise the skills taken from the

course”

“ they had more confidence and their

communication skills improved”

“ they seemed more confident in approaching

challenges such as presentations, taking

responsibility for work etc”

“ that they became clued up critics of how

things are managed at a senior level”

“ growth in confidence and heightened

awareness of the department and its impact on

the organisation”

“ having the confidence and drive to complete

tasks by overcoming obstacles as a team. Being

choral both positive and negative on their

experiences and observations”

“A real shift in focus towards professionalism

and a much greater understanding of what

leadership and management is.”

“ a new grasp of formalised paperwork, perhaps

not directly attributed to this programme, but

to put what they’ve learnt here into practice,

requires doing work, which in turn requires

doing this”

“ a marked improvement in presentation ability”

“the much improved motivation and

collaboration skills across the various teams.

People are just getting on with doing stuff that

needs to be done…..And enjoying themselves

at the same time. It’s very satisfying as a senior

manager to know you have been part of peoples

development”

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If you sponsored a unit on the programme and were involved in its delivery please complete the following “being involved in the programme allowed me to….

“ relearn about coaching & mentoring and the

differences”

“ do a stocktake of how the aspiring leaders

were doing on the course”

“contrast the reality – how we operate within

the department, with the ideas set pout in

theory”

“demonstrate an understanding of dealing with

situations to which a management level would

expect from aspiring leaders. I would have liked

to have been more involved”

“ reflect on how I approach the subject and

improve”

“ have some influence on that aspect and bring

my experience to them. They largely didn’t

listen or take my advice though! They should

have used me more than they did”

“ get my point across regarding empowerment

and team work. If you know the answers going

to be Yes.. then don’t waste time by asking the

questions”

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Overall I think the aspiring leaders programme has made a difference in the following ways ...

“ improved leadership skills in this group”

“highlighted management skills across the

whole of IT services ( through discussions)”

“ has introduced the importance of soft skills to

a group of people who may not have seen their

relevance”

“ improved perception of ITS – recognition from

across the university for the initiative”

“ it has given our rising stars: great exposure,

confidence, skills, experience, contacts – to do

better in the department”

“ culturally it is setting a precedence that no

matter what grade there are opportunities

within the department to move forward and

gain valuable development”

“its got technical staff thinking about soft/

non tech skills that they need to develop as

managers”

“ developed confidence in staff to move towards

managerial positions”

“ the attendees are more enthusiastic as

they feel that their contributions can make a

difference.”

“ teamwork – different parts of ITS working

together and therefore enhancing networking

skills and communication”

“ showing cooperation and teamwork extends

possibilities and strengthens their ability to

deliver”

“ most significantly a much better

understanding of what leadership is and the

amount of work involved at a higher level”

“ better team work and improved motivation.

Improved service delivery for students by doing

actual project work”

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The things I don’t think worked about the programme were…

“ the initial set up communication and the

confusion about objectives in the management

team”

“ the clarity and consistence of direction from

the ITS managers – too much variance in

expectations and understanding of the aims of

the initiative”

“ the sheer amount of time needed to dedicate

to the programme had a significant impact on

the capacity of the teams (especially smaller

ones)”

“interaction with managers and gaining

individual support could probably have been

better planned. With focus placed on the

aspiring leader managing this element to

practice some of what they learned”

“ leaving the project day till near the end as

they had to develop project briefs much earlier”

“ it took a lot of delegate time up which had

a knock on effect on the team which was not

realised until the commitment had already been

made”

“ follow up/follow through there is a cadre

of people excited at the prospect of being

orchestrators of change. Now they go back to

their old jobs. Think it would be better for them

to continue to work on special projects”

“ early confusion at the beginning on the role of

the programme and what it meant to different

managers. Some reluctance initially form some

managers to free up time for the delegates”

“ once completed they have returned to their

roles little follow on”

“ clarity between what the programme

was and what was meant to be achieved,

several times the remit was questioned and

clarified/ re-clarified. The real issue here is a

lack of communication between staff on the

programme and their managers who in many

cases seemed unaware of their plans”

“ nothing really I am pretty happy with it”

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The highlights of the programme for an IT services point of view are

“ the projects and the presentations to the VC

and the fact that they have continued to work

to make “something” happen”

“the delivery of new services”

“ more members of staff with the ability to

deliver projects and service improvements to a

high standard”

“allowing those with potential to be shown they

are valuable to the department, it gave them

a platform to represent the department as a

whole. Invaluable experience”

“ the feedback from the participants”

“ seeing staff develop and having the

confidence to deal with challenging situations”

“ the projects that have come from the

programme allow you to see some positive

results, along with staff from different parts of

IT working together”

“ being exposed to high management and the

VC. Visionary of the ITS operational needs by

including diversity from each department”

“seeing my staff put their new skills into action

in front of the VC, then seeing them put it into

practice on a daily basis.”

“ the willingness of those staff to be involved in

projects across the department and really drive

them forward to positive outcomes”

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Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 22

Anything else you would like to say on the programme

“carry on with the good work , happy to be

involved again next time”

Proud of everything the aspiring leaders have

achieved so far and hope we can build on this

momentum and learn from our experience to

improve for future cohorts”

“I’ve only heard positive things about this

programme”

“ could be improved by being clear about the

commitments up front, to be better supported

by management with better clarity on team

projects”

“I’d like to see this continue, but perhaps it

needs to change as not everyone can be a

leader (although obviously leadership skills can

be applied at any level). Would be good to make

the same materials deliverable to more than 10

people, without the added pressure of projects

and the VC attached to it. This was of course

part of the allure, but the training should really

be what this focuses on”

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Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 23

Appendix B Programme outline

Session Management Sponsor

Induction to the programmeMo Din

Head of IT Services

360 degree feedback given to individuals with

line managerall

Emotional IntelligenceDave Hanlon

IT Infrastructure Manager

Setting goals and expectationsJames Woodward

Client Services Manager

Transactional analysis

Communication skills including

communicating with your team

Brendon Kenny

Communications & Marketing Manager

Influencing othersMo Din

Head of IT Services

Presentation skillsJames Woodward

Client Services Manager

Delivering customer excellenceJohn Valentine

Campus Team Manager

Coaching othersTony Neill

Campus Team Manager

Project managementKeith Hilton

ITS Projects and Programmes Manager

Creativity & InnovationMike Preece

IT Solutions Architect

360 feedback all

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This report is available online at: www.mmu.ac.uk/humanresources You can give us feedback on the report by sending an e mail to [email protected]. We welcome and look forward to reading your comments.

Organisation Development & Training This publication is available in alternative formats. Please telephone +44(0)161 247 6430


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