Leading Across Professional Boundaries 2 #LFHE

On 16th June, I participated in the Leading Across Professional Boundaries 2 - Module 2 which is a Leadership Foundation for Higher Education course. Module 1 was a two day course at the beginning of May and this was the follow up. The course has been very interesting and informative and has given me a lot to think about. I have notes from the first module but have not written them up as a blog post yet (I do intend to) so this is the second module first.  That is no bad thing as I've discovered that it has been useful to have the gap in between just to consciously and subconsciously review what I have learnt and to think about how to take action.
Both modules have been facilitated by Doug Parkin, Programme Director, LFHE and he has been great especially at providing a balance between the theory and practical activities, at being upbeat and enthusiastic and for picking up the vibes and behaviours of the group. The group consisted of 8 people who work in professional services in universities and the majority of whom work in information services areas. On each day there have been two other guest speakers / facilitators all of whom have been interesting and informative.
Today, after the welcome and introductions, we looked at reviewing boundaries and how everyone's ideas have changed in the last few weeks. What things we've started doing and stopped doing, doing differently or thinking of doing. There were quite a few common themes including delegating, letting team members have autonomy, prioritising, networking and using strategies in meetings and interactions. These definitely apply to me and also trying to clarify purpose and position. Need to balance freedom with control, invest in relationships and try to delegate not just allocate.
Then Liz Jolly, Director of Library and Information Services at Teesside University, gave a great presentation about 'Shifting boundaries - internal integration and external collaboration'.  There were a lot of interesting things to consider that Liz talked about especially to do with introducing change and developing staff.
The main points that I noted were:
Align team/dept  with the university
Involve staff as much as possible but if they can't be involved eg staff restructure, then keep informed. Invite staff to be involved.
There are different reactions to change - human reactions
Find allies and the language to do change / developments / projects
Develop your own vision
Frame how you work so that others understand
Empower staff - support the development of others
Myers Briggs - for self and for staff in dept. I'm definitely going to explore more what my Myers Briggs type means and how it affects the way I work. How it makes working with some people easy and others more difficult. Also find out, if possible, what other people are so that I can understand how they like to work. I know that some people are sceptical about Myers Briggs but I think it is useful to look at how to understand each other better in a team and make those difficult situations easier.
After a quick refreshment break we re-formed our action learning groups from the previous module. This time we each had the opportunity to either continue with the issue we had talked about last time or to start a new one. I chose a new one as I think I've made a bit of progress with the other.  Action learning sets are difficult but at the same time fascinating. They are useful -  for me I need to acknowledge that you have to talk it through and then all of a sudden someone will mention something and it makes me look at the issue differently. So approx 90% talking / answering and then 10% insight.   The make up of the group makes a big difference - not necessarily in the effectiveness but in the process.
After lunch, Peter McCaffery, Deputy Vice Chancellor, London Metropolitan University gave a talk and Q&A on 'Leading collaboratively in a climate of change and complexity'. It was a very useful and insightful view of HE and how Universities work within the educational and political landscape. He included information and thoughts about stakeholders, external drivers, the student experience and effective leadership and management.  He also outlined some predictions for the future. There was time to ask questions which was a great opportunity and led to some interesting questions and answers.  I asked about how to achieve a balance between being transparent and open when dealing with people and also being successful in the politics and power interactions in a university.
After this talk we had the plenary and wrap up of the day.  It has been an excellent course and I've enjoyed it and more importantly have been able to learn about how I can develop and improve as a leader.  The people delivering the course have been professional and effective and easy to communicate with. The other participants have been friendly, interesting and good company.