URLeading FAQs. Why leadership development pilot programs?

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1 The University is implementing two leadership development pilot programs. The first, URLeading 1 is aimed at faculty and staff who have been in leading positions for less than 2 years and/or are aspiring to a leadership position. The second, URLeading 2 is designed to support the development of faculty and staff who have been in their positions for more than 2 years, and encourage their success in roles such as department head, Associate Dean, Director, Program Head, and/or Dean. The University s strategic plan, encourages us to be stronger together, and these comprehensive, interactive pilot programs called URLeading assume that through connection, collaboration and community, faculty and staff can build their capacities for leading the institution. The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) you may have about the pilot programs. If your question is not covered on this list please do not hesitate to contact us at UR.Leading@uregina.ca. Why leadership development pilot programs? The University aims to support the development of aspiring or current leaders with our faculty and staff community. The pilot programs are designed to provide a comprehensive, peer to peer leadership development experience over three semesters where participants have the opportunity to: Develop a self awareness of their individual leadership style Apply this leadership style to building team and community relationships Learn and practice leading strategic change Adapt their leadership style to complex organizational issues Develop a supportive network of colleagues Be coached and mentored throughout the pilot These pilot programs are the result of interviews, focus groups and Advisory Committee consultations, research of best practices for leadership development in post secondary institutions. Who sponsors URLeading? The University Executive Team (UET) has approved the implementation of the leadership development pilot programs and is an active sponsor of the pilot programs. A Leadership Development Advisory Committee has and continues to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of the pilot programs. Members of the committee are: Dr. Thomas Chase, Provost and Vice-President, Academic (Co-Chair) Dave Button, Vice-President, Administration (Co-Chair) Dr. Gina Grandy, Faculty of Business Administration Dr. Harvey King, Executive Director, Centre for Continuing Education Dr. Jennifer Tupper, Dean, Faculty of Education, Dr. David demontigny, Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Dr. Alec Couros, Faculty of Education Teri Phillips, Manager, Centre for Student Accessibility 1

2 What leadership principles support URLeading? Five principles align with the University s values of mutual respect, integrity, honesty, inclusivity, diversity, accountability, wellbeing, community, social responsibility and pursuit of knowledge. The principles support the leadership capacities expected for leading at the University. The principles anchor all aspects of the pilot program design. Ethical and reflexive practices are at the core of leadership at the University of Regina. As such, a commitment to positive relationships built on trust, compassion, integrity, fairness, honesty and reciprocity is an overarching area of emphasis in each of the named principles of leadership. We aspire to a practice of leading aligned to the values of the UofR and that is Relational. Leading is based on a foundation of trust and develops in relations to others so that it is shared, distributed and collaborative. We model honesty, respect, openness, tolerance and humility. Adaptive. Leading involves an ability to seek, anticipate and recognize the opportunities that emerge from trends, a willingness to experiment and courage to inspire change. Strategic. Leading requires an appreciation for complexity that can both foster and bind decision-making. It involves forward thinking while also taking into account present needs, resources, and trends. Inspiring. Leading empowers others and is marked by transparent and clearly communicated intentions. Legacy is built through inclusiveness and development of leadership capacities in all. Responsible. Leading involves an ability to recognize interdependence among our diverse stakeholders and that inclusion fosters better decision making. Accountability, transparency and responsiveness ground this. There are two leadership development pilot programs; who can apply to these programs? 1. URLeading 1 is open to UofR faculty and staff who are currently in a leading position for less than 2 years and/or any University employee who aspires to a leadership position at the University of Regina. 2. URLeading 2 is open to UofR faculty and staff who have more than 2 years experience in a leading role at the University of Regina. Examples of being in leadership positions include Supervisor, Manager, Director, Executive Director, Dean, Associate Dean, Department Head, etc. What do I need to do if I m interested in applying? Follow these 5 easy steps to complete your application form: 2

3 1. Go to the Human Resources website, and you will find the application form under Leadership Development Program. 2. You should ensure that you can make all the dates for your program cohort; these can be checked on the HR Website, Schedule page under Leadership Development Program. 3. Complete the application form; some personal reflection on the aspects of your leadership role that you would like to develop is also helpful. 4. Get your supervisor s approval for your application; discuss the reasons for your interest in the program with your supervisor and explore what they and you personally would like you to get out of the pilot. 5. your completed application to UR.Leading@uregina.ca. **Deadline for all applications is October 30, What does the program cost? All costs for the program are covered by the University of Regina. Participants contribution to the program is their commitment to and participation in the URLeading Program modules. Who selects the program participants? The Leadership Advisory Committee will select the participants for both leadership development pilot programs. When will participants be selected for the pilot programs? Participants for the programs will be selected by the end of November What are the expectations for program participants? The intended outcomes can be divided into three areas (Self, Others and Organization). Through a supportive cohort of peers, the pilot programs are designed to allow you to reflect on your current leading capacities and determine where you can improve; build your narrative for leading and use this narrative to identify how to lead and support others; address complex change from the perspective of your capacities to lead; use the increased awareness of your leadership strengths to solve a current challenge you face or which the University faces. Being involved with a peer cohort and taking time out to intentionally focus on leading in a university environment will result in a deeper, more capable, and more confident pool of employees making contributions to leadership and governance. More specifically, relating to the modules and events, a commitment is sought to full engagement with your cohort, including the work-based elements outside of the modules, and to implement and advocate practical actions that you think could be beneficial in your current and future leadership roles. 3

4 More information for each Program s modules can be found on Schedule page under Leadership Development Program and an outline of events will be circulated in advance of each module. The fundamental components of each module are via inputs and provocations, conversations, facilitated sessions, group dynamics, leadership dilemmas, reflective spaces, and experiential and action-based work. What is the schedule for the program modules? Both programs begin with a 90-minute orientation session. The orientation session is meant to be a welcoming and casual way to introduce participant cohorts to each other; provide an overview of the program by sharing a final schedule of program modules; and provide instruction to complete a 360 degree leadership assessment tool prior to the beginning of the programs. Both leadership development pilot programs begin in mid January The pilot program modules are delivered from January June Each pilot program is comprised of Core and Elective modules. Descriptions for the core modules for each pilot can be found on the HR Website under Leadership Development Program. Because elective modules are responsive to the cohort s learning needs, flexibility has been built in; i.e. once a cohort s common learning needs are identified through the 360 degree leadership assessment, electives will be finalised. Detailed agendas for elective modules will be circulated prior to an event. Each pilot ends with a 2 hour closing event. Additionally, one month following the completion of the pilots, all participants will attend an evaluation session. Will there be pre-work, assessments during the program? Participants may be asked to read a short article, look at a video clip or complete short self assessments/checklists prior to some of the modules to prepare for discussions and activities which will take place in the workshops. These should take no longer than 1 hour. Supplemental online resources will be made available to all participants in the leadership development program pilots. Who will be facilitating the various modules in URLeading? The pilots will benefit from content delivery by both internal and external experts. Throughout the pilots, core and elective content will be supplemented by on-line resources and mentoring/coaching. How is the impact of URLeading measured? As these are pilot programs, evaluation and input from the first cohorts will help to measure the success of the programs. 4

5 Where can I get more information about URLeading? If you have any unanswered questions please send your queries to UR.Leading@uregina.ca or contact Sue Mitten from Human Resources at / Sue.Mitten@uregina.ca. 5