Event Details

The aim of this workshop is to help new or aspiring senior research managers to develop their strategic planning and thinking skills in relation to the leadership of research management and administration, positioning research management and administration at their organisation within the broader local, national and international contexts.
The workshop will be led by an experienced management development consultant with an extensive background of working with colleagues involved in HE research. He takes an experiential approach to learning and the workshop will include a mixture of formal presentations, discussions and group activities. Participants will be encouraged to share their challenges and experiences within structured activities and discussion and will learn as much from each other as they do from the workshop leader.

Some of the topics to be covered during the two days include:

• Personal leadership style
• Values and vision
• Strategic insight
• Task focus
• Politicking and influence
• Leading proactively
• Change management

By the end of the workshop participants will have:

• Begun to understand the context in which senior research managers operate
• Examined their role as an operational/strategic manager
• Identified their key stakeholders, partners and supporters
• Developed skills relevant to the senior manager role
• Increased their professional network
• Eligibility

This workshop is for senior research managers within universities or funding organisations who have recently taken on new leadership responsibilities, or are aspiring to take on new responsibilities at a leadership level in the near future.

As the workshop depends on the experience of, and interaction between participants, ARMA reserves the right to liaise with booked participants to discuss attendance if their experience appears to be very different from that of other booked participants.

Programme Overview

Day One

• Action-focussed Coaching– a chance to develop your networks and help you to focus your actions and learning over the programme.
• Strategic Insight– How well do you understand the context of HE Research over the (un)foreseeable future?
• Values and Authenticity– What sort of leader do you want to be?
• Superior Performance– How do effective leaders actually do what they do?
• Leadership Lessons– Using the resources that you have available…
• Situational and Personal Style– How can we deal appropriately with the formal and informal teams that we lead?
• Politicking and Influence– How to deal with the political side of the role.

Day Two

• Recaps and Re-welcome– a chance to refine your objectives.
• Culture and Climate– setting the right sort of environment.
• Proactive Leadership– a toolkit for getting stuff done.
• Handling change– revisiting the strategic insights from the previous day, how might we facilitate and react to change more effectively?
• Performance Management– Getting the best from your teams
• Collaborative Futures– building on the networks you’re developing.
• Closing Remarks