Being a head of department is a significant step on the leadership career ladder but it does come with the additional day to day challenges associated with the leadership of front line academic and professional departments.
Leaders of departments in HE institutions are often challenged by the need to achieve action by influencing those in senior positions in their institution. They must find ways to overcome resistance and encourage commitment in a positive way. Leading Departments will engage, support and develop new and experienced heads of department or schools to meet the operational challenges of leading and managing academic or support teams.
Next cohort
Start date: 9 March 2022
End date: 18 May 2022
Delivered: Face to face
Who is Leading Departments for?
This innovative programme is designed for those who may have had previous experience of managing small teams, but are still at an early stage in their role as head of department, service or school.
The programme is designed to be suitable for you whether you have an academic background and are leading a teaching, research or knowledge transfer department or have a professional service background and are leading an administrative or a professional service, for example, student support services, information technology service, marketing, or campus services.
Programme delivery
This innovative programme takes a practical hands-on approach to learning new skills and behaviours necessary for successful department or school leadership. The core feature of the programme is a continuous and progressing simulation, which allows participants to experience the realities of leadership as a head of department or school in a risk-free environment.
The synchronous modules will take place over two full days, with more frequent breaks built in to maximize engagement and will include live facilitated discussions that speak to our new realities and changing circumstances, such as the challenge of engaging in virtual leadership conversations.
Delegates will also benefit from additional pre-module resources in the form of two substantial content driven vodcasts to watch asynchronously as part of their preparation for the module.
Taking place over four months, Leading Departments consists of:
- a two-day module focused on people and power, including addressing challenging issues such as performance, conflict resolution and self-positioning as a leader as well as a colleague
- 360-degree diagnostic to identify personal strengths and development goals
- a two-day module on ‘Managing up’, influencing outside the line management relationship and succession planning
- asynchronous activity in the form of a private programme network group set up to support the sharing of resources.
- two vodcasts, one before each module, to prime and prepare you with key ideas, core leadership and communication models and some reflective questions.
Watch the video
Watch an introduction to the programme's key features with joint Programme Directors Doug Parkin and Paul Hessey
Programme outcomes
Participants benefit from the opportunity to explore the use and balance of intellectual, emotional and political intelligences in facing day-to-day challenges. They also have the chance to identify their own leadership styles and preferences, and consider the implications of these for the leadership of performance. Participants will also benefit from the ability to reflect on their 360-degree feedback and apply the insights gained to focus their own plans for personal development.
The simulated environments approach used on the programme is incredibly powerful and impactful. These environments challenge participants to confront complex, highly interwoven performance management and operational issues and explore motivation as a way of achieving their own and others’ high performance.
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