highs & lows of leadership skills in universities

Transcription

1 highs & lows of leadership skills in universities Dr Peter Langford m: e: : Join me and Voice Project s discussion group on LinkedIn Page 1

2 agenda 1. Lessons for leadership from Voice Project s engagement surveys 2. Lessons for leadership from our 360 surveys 3. Challenges in improving leadership skills 4. Actions Page 2

3 lessons from our engagement surveys Voice Project has now helped 37 Australian unis and 4 New Zealand unis with their engagement surveys We recently explored the key drivers of engagement, teaching quality and research output using data from 36 Australian & New Zealand universities that have completed engagement surveys with Voice Project since 2010 Performance outcomes: Engagement from employee surveys Teaching from employee survey scores for teaching priority, quality, evaluation and support Research = 2011 research output per FTE employees from DISR Page 3

4 drivers of engagement Senior leaders (and the cultural tone they set in terms of ethics, mission, values and results focus) have a much stronger impact than supervisors on: Positive emotional engagement of staff with your university Discretionary effort and citizenship behaviour Desire to work at your university rather than another Positive industrial relations Effectiveness of university-wide change programs Ethics Mission & Values Processes Results Focus Recruitment & Selection Rewards & Recognition Workload Senior Leadership Wellness Career Opportunities Motivation & Initiative Role Clarity Cross-Unit Cooperation Diversity Resources Talent Performance Appraisal Supervision Flexibility Learning & Development Facilities Safety Organisation Direction Work/Life Balance Technology Involvement Teamwork Page 4

5 drivers of teaching Supervisors (and the workplace practices they put in place) have a much stronger impact than senior leaders on: Teaching quality Day-to-day effectiveness of work units Cohesion, cooperation and conflict within work units Supervision Recruitment & Selection Involvement Wellness Diversity Teamwork Role Clarity Talent Performance Appraisal Work/Life Balance Motivation & Initiative Workload Processes Senior Leadership Ethics Mission & Values Results Focus Cross-Unit Cooperation Career Opportunities Rewards & Recognition Organisation Direction Technology Learning & Development Safety Flexibility Resources Facilities Page 5

6 drivers of research Neither senior leaders nor supervisors have a major direct impact upon research output. To maximise research leaders should: Set up the right incentives and recognition Provide the right resources and support Reduce the barriers such as workload and inefficient processes Get out of the way! Rewards & Recognition Safety Resources Diversity Flexibility Results Focus Technology Workload Learning & Development Processes Recruitment & Selection Supervision Career Opportunities Wellness Ethics Role Clarity Cross-Unit Cooperation Senior Leadership Involvement Facilities Organisation Direction Teamwork Performance Appraisal Motivation & Initiative Talent Mission & Values Work/Life Balance Page 6

7 performance lower higher gap analysis for composite performance maintain promote Teamwork Role Clarity Mission & Values Talent Motivation & Initiative Supervision Saf ety Ethics Work/Lif e Balance Organisation Direction Flexibility Results Focus Diversity Resources Perf ormance Appraisal Facilities Learning & Development Technology Involvement Rewards & Recognition Wellness Recruitment & Selection Leadership Career Opportunities Workload Processes limit lower importance Cross-Unit Cooperation higher prioritise Page 7

8 lessons from our 360 surveys Voice Project now has two 360 surveys used in universities 1. Voice Leadership 360 Developed and delivered by Voice Project since 2007 Benchmarks from over 800 leaders across a wide range of industries 2. Quality Leadership Profile Developed at QUT in 2000 specifically targeting universities and schools Delivered by Voice Project since 2013 Benchmarks from over 1600 university leaders (academics and professionals) For the current presentation we used QLP data from the last 5 years to explore highs, lows and gaps in university leadership skills Page 8

9 QLP categories scored in descending order community outreach 4.0 service focus 3.9 academic leadership 3.9 making decisions 3.8 systems & processes 3.8 change & innovation 3.8 consultative management 3.7 team environment 3.7 staff development 3.6 Page 9

10 category gaps in descending order staff development 3.6 consultative management 3.7 change & innovation 3.8 team environment 3.7 service focus 3.9 systems & processes 3.8 academic leadership 3.9 making decisions 3.8 community outreach 4.0 Page 10

11 top 5 questions service focus Models a high service ethic 4.2 community outreach Represents the organisation effectively to the wider community 4.1 academic leadership Supports and rewards excellence in research 4.1 community outreach Actively promotes the organisation's achievements, activities and interests 3.8 community outreach Promotes the work of the unit in public forums 3.8 Page 11

12 bottom 5 questions team environment Manages conflict within teams successfully 3.4 staff development Provides regular feedback to staff on their performance 3.4 staff development Provides guidance to staff on their career and personal development 3.5 staff development Assists staff to recognise their strengths and weaknesses in a sensitive manner 3.5 consultative management Achieves staff ownership of unit plans 3.6 Page 12

13 top 5 question gaps staff development Provides regular feedback to staff on their performance 3.4 consultative management Enthuses and empowers others to bring ideas to fruition 3.7 consultative management Achieves staff ownership of unit plans 3.6 staff development Assists staff to recognise their strengths and weaknesses in a sensitive manner 3.5 change & innovation Promotes staff involvement in change 3.7 Page 13

14 lessons Senior leadership is the root cause of success or failure in all universities Supervision is the strongest driver for work unit activities requiring a high level of cooperation such as course delivery University leaders typically show solid skills in community outreach and encouraging a strong focus on service, research and teaching There continue to be major gaps in people skills for many leaders, including: Staff development Consulting and involving staff in decisions Helping staff emotionally connect with plans and change programs Page 14

15 challenges People skills are a weak determinant of research output... and research output continues to be a primary selection criterion for university leaders Under-recognition of the cost of poor people skills: 5% engagement = 10% of payroll Turnover costs 150% of salary High cost of stress claims High cost in time and reputation from poor industrial relations Loss of IP Leaders with poor people skills won t value high people skills, so if it doesn t start from the top expect slow progress Page 15

16 actions 1. Assess for people skills when selecting or promoting VCs, executives, academic leaders and professional leaders 2. Include people metrics in your performance appraisal system for leaders 1. Engagement and 360 scores 2. Turnover and absenteeism 3. Stress claims and grievances 3. Set clear high expectations, and have the courage to quickly remove leaders who aren t achieving or clearly improving on both task and people metrics 4. Implement leadership development programs and coaching but only when the above steps have been nailed Page 16