Case Studies
University College London
University College London – Ranked eighth of the world’s top universities (2023), UCL was founded in 1826 with a progressive mission to expand higher education to those who had been excluded – being the first to admit women on equal terms. It is London’s leading multidisciplinary university with more than 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from over 150 different countries.
Background
We were first approached by Academic Careers Office (ACO) to design the Future Leaders Programme - build leadership competence and capability across School of Life and Medical Sciences and prepare them to take on more senior roles and increase diversity amongst the senior team. ACO provided training, support, and mentorship schemes for clinicians and researchers to cultivate the brightest and best talent. We worked with Prof Geraint Rees and Prof Graham Hart to design a programme which would prepare candidates for internal promotion from a wide range of backgrounds. They had been made aware of the success of the Strategic Leadership Programme we had already successfully run for Professional Services staff at UCL.
Professor Rees (now UCL Vice Provost - Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) reflects:
“There is perhaps a perception among scientists that leaders emerge in some kind of Darwinian struggle. We wanted to encourage staff to believe that leadership can be taught and nurtured in the same way as other important skills like communication.”
The Challenge
The requirement was to develop and deliver a leadership development programme for SLMS academics and research staff who had the potential to take on more senior roles. The programme of 9 one-day modules on a monthly basis covered all aspects of leadership – from personal leadership to leadership of teams to leading change effectively and delivering outcomes.
The design of the programme brought the latest thinking on leadership and combining this with the experiences of the participants, so they were able to build the competence, capability, and capacity to lead effectively. The design included action learning sets to both support individuals to take their thinking forward on key challenges as well as building the necessary muscle of being more ‘coach-like’ and not offering advice and solutions – already well developed with such experts.
As part of the programme participants received three 90-min one-to-one coaching sessions with one of RKB’s experienced coaches. These provided a much-needed confidential space for participants to take their thinking forward on personal, professional and leadership challenges.
To ensure integration and direct application of learning from the Programme and to ‘Raise their Profile and Enhance their Reputation as leaders’ participants undertake a Leadership Task that is above and beyond ‘business as usual’ and aligned to overall UCL Strategy.
Client Feedback
Professor Rees recalls that some participants in the first cohort were initially unconvinced:
“This is traditionally a cost-saving environment, so it is quite unusual to proactively identify people for training opportunities and many had not had management training before. Although some had clearly been waiting for this kind of opportunity, there was also degree of healthy scepticism to overcome.”
Academics are trained to challenge and question and Prof Rees credits RKB’s Rajwant Bains for gaining the respect of the participants at an early stage. “It’s helpful that they had experience of the public sector because that established their credibility with this audience,” he says. “At the same time, their style is great – the delivery is very clear, friendly and encouraging but there is steel behind it. They were good at managing the group dynamics, so the atmosphere was productive, but they were always in control.”
Prof Rees attended the first and final modules and says:
“…the transformation was astonishing. I was struck by how well everyone had bonded and the enthusiasm of participants – there was real joie de vivre in the group and their respect and affection for Rajwant and the team was clear.”
The responses from participants was overwhelmingly positive and:
“…they were interested in the insights into leadership styles and felt they had acquired tools that would help them in their careers. It’s telling that people were eager to continue coaching and have been on the look-out for further opportunities for development, while many still meet others from their cohort to discuss work challenges using the action learning technique. There is sometimes a tendency for people who work in niche areas to think that their work challenges are specific to them and I welcome anything that counteracts that feeling and encourages people to work together.”
The Result/ Impact
Creating an enduring legacy
Since the Future Leaders Programme (now re-branded as University Leaders Programme) began in 2013, it has gone from strength-to-strength. Over 450 participants have completed the Programme - Academic and Professional Services staff from across UCL.
Prof Rees notes:
“We started in one corner of SLMS and broadened the programme as it has proved its worth. We have noticed participants applying for leadership roles and increasing their prominence within the University. The Leadership Tasks have proved to be significant in encouraging people from different faculties and disciplines to co-operate in pursuit of common goals. In addition, it has helped academic staff to appreciate the vital role played by their non-academic colleagues. This cross-fertilisation of ideas supports UCL’s philosophy of collegiality and helps us address the challenges we face in the wider world.”
Prof Rees wrote in July 2022:
“Rajwant and her RKB colleagues have helped transform UCL’s leadership capabilities through delivery of practical, person-centred and pragmatic leadership training. As a senior leader at UCL, I have worked with Rajwant for several years as she designed, delivered and refined our core leadership offering. UCL is a global top ten university with more than 14,000 employees and so growing leadership capacity and capability is central to our effectiveness.
Rajwant has done this in a way that responds to our evolving needs, inspires participants and focuses on the practical aspects of leadership. Our professional services and academic colleagues taking the course routinely provide exceptional feedback on course content and on the professional delivery from RKB. Rajwant’s attentiveness in managing the business relationship and her flexibility in accommodating our evolving needs is particularly appreciated. Thank you for a very successful and productive relationship over many years!”
