Leadership

This chapter of the HR Toolkit provides tools to develop your leadership skills in managing a team.

Results from the university-wide staff survey show that employees would benefit from more regular feedback on their professional development from their supervisor. Paying extra attention to this, for example by having continuous conversations, could therefore make a difference for many employees. At the level of units and divisions, there may obviously be other or additional issues.

Good leadership is an interaction between 'Personal leadership' (directing yourself) and 'Leading a team' (directing others). The core values of courage, openness and connection are the common thread in each of these forms of leadership. This chapter only covers interventions to develop 'Leading a team'. Interventions on personal leadership are covered under career development.

The central HR division offers expertise on this topic if required. Bart Mom, policy advisor, is leading the dossier and happy to think along.

Schematische weergave verschil tussen persoonlijk leiderschap en leidinggeven aan een team

Leadership development

Core programmes

There are four generic core programmes for different target groups that (further) equip leaders at different levels. For these programmes, an executive is selected by your faculty board. Within these programmes, Radboud University's leadership vision is central.

a) Core programme Courage, Connection and Openness

  • Goal: lead from leadership vision to role, team, environment.
  • Target audience: professors, directors and heads of departments.
  • More info: click here.

 

b) Core programme Leadership

  • Goal: facilitate further development in the role of team leader or coordinator.
  • Target audience: team leaders and coordinators of Radboud Services and faculty support services.
  • More info: click here.

 

c) Core programme Academic Leadership

  • Aim: to develop leadership skills in the academic context.
  • Target audience: UDs and advanced UHDs with leadership roles.
  • More info: click here.

 

d) Core programme Administrative leadership

  • Goal: Develop administrative leadership to shape the university's mission and strategy.
  • Target audience: university administrators.
  • More info: programme is still under development, e-mail bart.mom [at] ru.nl if you have any questions.

In-depth, specific programmes

After attending a core programme, an in-depth learning activity can be taken by an executive to meet specific development objectives. Most of these activities can be found in gROW-Channel Leadership. Some of the in-depth programmes on offer include:

a) Masterclass Change and Renewal

  • Goal: learn how to get an organisation and teams moving and generate innovativeness.
  • Target audience: all executives.
  • Format: E-learning by Arend Ardon, change management expert.
  • More info: click here.

 

b) Masterclass Tribes of the Future

  • Aim: to gain insights from anthropology regarding sustainable leadership of change in organisations.
  • Target audience: all executives.
  • Format: E-learning by Jitske Kramer, corporate anthropologist.
  • More info: click here.

 

c) Course Supervising PhD students

  • Aim: to learn and improve coaching skills, in order to supervise PhD students more effectively.
  • Target audience: all staff who supervise PhD students.
  • Format: three physical meetings: one full-day and two half-day meetings.
  • More info: click here.

 

d) E-learning Social Safety

  • Goal: raise awareness, gain knowledge about university policies, code of conduct and applying the regulations and procedures.
  • Target audience: all executives.
  • More info: e-mail HR-ontwikkeling [at] ru.nl.

Counselling and self-examination

In addition to following targeted learning activities, there are several ways to provide ongoing support for executive development. Consider the tools below:

a) Intervision

  • Intervision is an experience-based learning method focusing on concrete issues from your own work situation. In a fixed group (4-8 people), you think together about individual issues and bottlenecks from your work situation, using a structured method. The (external) facilitator monitors time, process and progress. After a number of guided sessions, you continue working independently as a group.
  • Target audience: all executives.
  • More info: e-mail HR-ontwikkeling [at] ru.nl.

 

b) Development assessment

  • A development assessment identifies the personal development points and learning needs of supervisors and employees for a particular job. Using various tools, such as questionnaires and assignments, the development assessment provides a picture of a person's capabilities and challenges.
  • Target audience: all executives.
  • More info: see Development assessment (Ontwikkelassessment).

 

c) Environmental feedback

  • You can ask for feedback from your environment from various considerations. For instance, for the development process you are in. Or it serves as input for your annual meeting with your manager. Or you are simply curious how your colleagues and colleagues experience you in your role. You will be given tools to shape this feedback in a good way.
  • Target group: all employees.
  • More info: see Environmental Feedback for Executives (Omgevingsfeedback)

 

d) Individual coaching

  • For individual questions on development, vitality and career, you can contact the advisers/coaches of the SBO (Strategy, Policy and Training) department. They can give you advice that can help you along the way. This could be in the form of simple tips & tricks, but also the offer of a number of coaching sessions, referral to modules on gROW or other advice.
  • Target group: all employees
  • More info: see coaching. E-mail HR-ontwikkeling [at] ru.nl for targeted leadership coaching.

More (practical) info

On RadboudNet you will find a page for supervisors with practical HR information to support you in your personnel tasks, including: vacancies, recruitment and selection, new employees, guidance during illness, holiday and leave rules, regulations on hybrid working, annual appraisal and assessment, professionalization and development.