Leadership development
Leadership development requires ongoing commitment and investment.
Activities to develop your leadership capability may be:
- formal or informal
- integrated with work or take place outside of your usual activities.
Self-development activities
- Stretch assignments are projects or tasks that can help you to develop a particular skill or capability beyond your current ability.
- Reflective practice involves taking time out to review and reflect on your own behaviour and skill, and looking for ongoing ways to improve. Keeping a journal can be extremely useful for such purposes.
- Professional reading allows you to learn from the latest thinking in the area that you wish to develop.
- Intentional curiosity is as simple as setting out to learn as much as you can from any given situation. Ask questions to learn what others know and offer. Be open to the possibility that the information you discover may help in another area that you did not anticipate.
Professional reading
We’ve selected some readings that offer sound advice and perspective to support you in your ongoing leadership development:
- Authentic leadership: Balancing doing and being, James C Galvin and Peter O'Donnell (2005): explores the importance of internal as well as external factors in leadership.
- The authenticity paradox: Why feeling like a fake can be a sign of growth, Herminia Ibarra (2015): examines common perceptions of 'authenticity' and the importance of being willing to experiment with new behaviours and styles.
- The leadership challenge: how to make extraordinary things happen in organizations, James Kouzes and Barry Posner (2012): explores the ‘5 Leadership Practices’ model of leadership behaviour.
- Leadership in the age of complexity: From hero to host, Deborah Frieze and Margaret Wheatley (2010): explores a model of distributed leadership, in which formal leaders recognise that all problems are best solved by the participation of all members of an organisation.
Engaging with others
Mentoring
There are many different models of mentoring, and mentoring relationships may last for a long time, or be short and specific to a particular situation or challenge.
A mentor is usually someone more professionally advanced, who you can look up to for guidance when exploring professional decisions, such as career direction. You may also find peer mentoring useful, where you work with somebody at a similar career stage but with complementary skills and experience.
Coaching
Coaching tends to be a more formal relationship in which you enlist the assistance of a professional in order to support the achievement of specific personal or professional goals. A coach’s job is to support you in a training or development process in order to find what drives you, where you want to go, and the best way to get there.
If you're interested in working with a coach, contact UQ Leadership to discuss your needs.
Networks and learning circles
Networks and learning circles of like-minded people enable you to engage with and benefit from the experience of others.
Networks can be formal or informal. They may consist of people in similar roles or with similar interests, and may or may not be intentionally focused on development. In any case, you open up valuable learning opportunities by:
- consciously connecting with others
- seeking to understand their experience or area of expertise.
You can join existing leadership networks at UQ, or organise your own.
Learning partners and peer coaches
Learning partners and peer coaches are more informal, and can help you keep yourself accountable for progress towards your learning goals. In both cases, this is a trusted partner who can help you to identify learning strategies and reflect on progress.
Formal development programs
Formal development programs can contribute valuable time out to reflect and gather new perspectives and skills.
We offer leadership development programs tailored to all levels of both academic and professional staff:
- Self-leadership: HEW levels 1 to 4
- Demonstrating Leadership Behaviours: HEW levels 5 to 7
- Mindful Leadership Program: HEW levels 7 and above
- Leading and Managing Self and Others: HEW levels 8 to 9, and academic staff
- Leading UQ: HEW 10 and academic leaders (heads of schools or centres, and equivalent).
Each course involves a series of interactive workshops, plus self-directed activities. You will take an active role in developing yourself by:
- establishing a network with your fellow participants
- sharing the experience you bring to the group, whatever your background
- applying what you learn in your workplace.
You will be supported to build on the strengths you already have and develop new leadership capabilities and behaviours that you can demonstrate at any level.
New to UQ Senior Leaders Program
The New to UQ Senior Leaders Program supports senior leaders to streamline their transition to their new leadership role at UQ, and provides a strong foundation for success.
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