horizonleaders programme a briefing for line managers

HorizonLeadersProgramme

A briefing for line managers

Imperial College – Horizon Leaders Programme 2

The Horizon Leaders Programme: processBriefing

Briefing of process for staff at Professional Services Level 4 and their line managers

Briefing

Briefing of process for staff at Professional Services Level 4 and their line managers

Nominations

Line managers review likely nominations and check with those staff before putting forward a nomination

Line managers talk to other staff who may want to be nominated, explaining their decision, exploring development options and encouraging self-nomination if appropriate

Nominations

Line managers review likely nominations and check with those staff before putting forward a nomination

Line managers talk to other staff who may want to be nominated, explaining their decision, exploring development options and encouraging self-nomination if appropriate

Development Panel review

Manager nominations and any self-nominations collated by departmental coordinator

Panel review of nominations to agree which staff to recommend for the Programme

Development Panel review

Manager nominations and any self-nominations collated by departmental coordinator

Panel review of nominations to agree which staff to recommend for the Programme

Debrief

Notification of Development Panel outcomes by departmental coordinator

Line management debriefs with staff – both manager- nominated and self-nominated

Debrief

Notification of Development Panel outcomes by departmental coordinator

Line management debriefs with staff – both manager- nominated and self-nominated

Programme

A combination of shared learning events and individually tailored options:

Programme

A combination of shared learning events and individually tailored options:

Tracking and evaluation

Evaluation of the impact of the programme

Tracking progress through:

Tracking and evaluation

Evaluation of the impact of the programme

Tracking progress through:

development centres

leadership workshops

master classes

coaching support

electives (project work, visits, shadowing)

Line management reviews

360 feedback

Participant and stakeholder perceptions


Who will benefit The Horizon Leaders Programme is aimed at staff who have the ability and potential to benefit from a focused programme that will both develop their leadership capability and their networks, as well as being part of a professional management group that is recognised by senior managers within the College.

It is open to staff who have worked at this grade for six months or more.

Horizon Leaders Programme might be appropriate for staff such as the following:

- a departmental administrator in one of the Faculties, who may manage one or more staff and has the ability and potential to work at the grade above their current grade. They may like the idea of working at a more senior level in a different faculty, or a central division.

- a member of a specialist team within a Faculty department or division, or within HR, Libraries, Estates, ICT or Finance, who would welcome the opportunity to take stock of their career options and has the potential to transfer some of their skills and experience to other areas of work. They might see this Programme as a step on a journey to a different role within the College.

If you are a technical specialist and are committed to a career within your specialism, rather than a broader leadership role within the College, Horizon is not likely to be of interest.


Current Performance

Leadership Capability Aspiration High Potentials

a track record with significant achievements

advanced levels of technical/professional expertise in relevant field

exceeding expectations at current level

credibility and positive reputation within peer group

profile with a breadth of capability and outstanding strengths in specific areas

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

Collaboration, Influence & Teamworking

Managing others, Delegating & Developing staff

Management of Change, innovation & Leadership

Planning & Personal Organisation

Engagement

clear personal values and business integrity

track record of previous personal and professional development

taking responsibility for own career development based on clear aims

insight into organisational realities and the tactics to build influence

+ + = Our next generation

of leaders will comprise a diverse mix of professional backgrounds and expertise, but will be consistent in displaying:

high levels of current performance

emerging strengths in leadership capability

values and aspirations consistent with the scope and aspirations of Imperial College

Consistent track record of achievement and exceeding current objectives

Skills that indicate readiness to take on bigger leadership challenges

The personal values, work ethic, career aspirations, and self management skills that looks to take on greater responsibility

Talent Review: our model of potential


Talent Review: guidelines for the nomination processSet your sights highAs a world class institution, we should be looking for outstanding skills and talents from our current and next generation of leaders, if we are to sustain our success for the long run. Don’t “make up the numbers” in your nominations this time around, if you feel that few in your team currently meet the criteria.

Evaluate against “work in progress” rather than “final product”Look for those individuals who, with additional College backing, can become great leaders. You may have a number of highly effective managers, but think their future growth and development may be limited. The emphasis on this nomination process is finding those individuals with the talents to take on greater leadership responsibility in future. Look for those individuals who seem to have the “space and time” to do more than simply meet their current objectives. But don’t be unrealistic in expectations to assess against the “finished product”.

Put your personal feelings to one sideBefore evaluating any individual, ask yourself: “do I like this person?” We tend to like those who are like us. Whatever your own personal feelings - positive or negative - be objective in the nomination process. And once you’ve generated the listing of names, check that you have included some individuals whose approach may be different to your own.

Do remember that this Programme is an integral part of the College’s commitment to Equality and Diversity, and therefore you must be mindful of these issues when considering who to nominate.

Be imaginative in looking for unexpected talentThere will be some individuals whose accomplishments and talents are readily apparent and visible. You may also have some team members whose potential is less obvious. Don’t simply ‘round up the “usual suspects”’. Look for individuals who may have been neglected or where their talents have been overlooked.


Talent Review: guidelines continuedGet feedback from othersIt may be useful to look at the individual from the perspective of others, their peers, team members and others they work with on a regular basis. How might they evaluate this person? What strengths would they highlight? What shortcomings might they mention? And if you don’t know, it might be useful to ask them for some feedback.

It’s better to spot individuals with exceptional skills in some areas rather than look for “across the board” competencyIt is likely that few individuals, at this stage in their career, will possess exceptional talents across all the areas you will be reviewing. When you come to decide who to nominate, look for individuals with outstanding strengths in specific areas. Be alert to the individual with the “fatal flaw”, that factor that represents a major risk to their future leadership contribution and impact. But accept some individuals, depending on their past experience and current role, will have “gaps” in their capability. The Horizon Leadership Programme will provide the experience to build personal capability in any under-developed areas.


Nomination Process: individual and line management review

Use the Horizon Leaders Programme guidelines to help you identify which member/s of your staff to recommend for the Programme.


Review your nominationsWhen you have worked through the check-list for your staff, review the full set of your evaluations:

How imaginative have you been?Are there any surprises, i.e. individuals who have emerged from the process “better” or “worse” than you may have initially anticipated? If not, why not? Are you relying on fixed ideas on who does and doesn’t represent a future leader?

How aspirational have you been?How “high is the bar” you have raised in your assessments? Too low, and everyone is seen as a future leader? Have you been too generous in your evaluations? Too high; are you looking for the “finished product” rather than “work in progress”?

How consistent have you been?Look across the different evaluations you have made. Have you been objective in identifying the strengths of each of your team members?


The Horizon Leaders Programme

The Horizon Leaders Programme will provide participants with an exciting opportunity for valuable shared learning and individually tailored development options. The likely time commitment will be around one day a month.

The Programme will include:

-An initial diagnostic Development Centre

-Future Leader Development Modules and Masterclasses

-One-to-one support from a Coach

-Peer group action-learning

An elective - which might be project work or shadowing a member of senior staff.

It is currently envisaged that once on the Programme, staff are on a development journey for one year.

After this point, ‘alumni’ events are planned that will bring participants together


Development Panels

AGENDA

Openings scope and purpose of the Development Panel format and ground rules

Overall nominations overview of nominations returns views: quantity and quality and implications recommendations

Individual reviews “obvious” recommendations to prioritise recommendations requiring debate unsuccessful recommendations

Next Steps process for debrief role of the Development Panels in future: benefits

and concerns

GROUND RULES don’t waste others’ time through poor preparation;

organise the relevant material and keep to the agenda

no protection of “favoured friends”; discuss individuals objectively and work for “win – wins”

Be mindful of equality considerations when reviewing the nominations

no mixed messages; express consistent views – inside and outside the forum

A panel made up of 3 or 4 senior members of the Division or Department, to finalise nominations for the Horizon Leaders Programme.

horizonleaders programme a briefing for line managers

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