Creating and Fostering a Distinctive Institution

Prof Graham Henderson CBEVice-Chancellor and Chief Executive

13 February 2012

Some (quirky) views I share… indicative of my leadership style

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass …. it’s about learning to dance in the rain”

“Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough but it’s a small price to pay to live the dream”

It starts with your mission“Doing what is says on the tin”

…. evolution of our Mission

“The Opportunity University” (1992)

Providing Opportunities, Pursuing Excellence (2005)

(Providing Opportunities, Promoting Enterprise, Pursuing Excellence ?)

Teesside…. Our Mission (2012)….

Providing Opportunities, Driving Enterprise, Delivering Excellence

Working in partnership to enable individuals & organisations to achieve their potential through high quality

learning, research & knowledge transfer

….. to achieve regional, national & international recognition as the UK’s leading University for working with business…..

Our Strategic Aim

To become a leading business-facing university

... through adoption of a ‘business solutions approach;

… by behaving more like a business

Not just a project… more a way of life!

… and we’ve set out our values and guiding principles too!

Some Exs. of what we’ve achieved• THE Employer Engagement Initiative of year (2009);

• Shortlisted THE Entrepreneurial Uni of the Year (2010)

• Bus. Incubation Champion of Year (2010 )(Incubated 96 Cos. last year; 138 digital Cos. in 3 yrs)

• 2nd most ‘co-funded’ in sector (15% of all UK nos. in 2010)

• 4 of 6 outstanding KTPs in our region in 2011

• ‘Putting the Customer First’ accreditation (for ALL of our Business Engagement activities)

• IIP Gold for whole University (only 2nd in UK)

What did pursuit of our distinctiveness require?

Foregrounding: • Needed to be clear we wanted to do it… nothing’s

compulsory

• Inclusive/consultative but also ‘selling the message’

• Consistent reinforcement in vision, mission, values, etc of the organisation

• Visible Ownership from the top – ‘human’ and caring –‘in touch, involved and interested’ … but not obtrusive

• Communication/Sharing agendas – “if info is power….”

Focussed Strategic Planning

• 3 year: Institutional plan (incl 3 primary Strategies) plus 20+ supporting strategies

• Annual: Review of previous year

• High level vision set by VC

• Extensive & widespread consultation of priorities/issues

• Refinement of vision

• School plans set to deliver vision

• Dept plans set to facilitate school plans

• ‘Star chamber’ discussions…. Resources allocated

Promoting/embedding Ownership• ‘Devolved autonomy’ within a structured framework

• Structures that support, & demonstrate the importance of, the activity:e.g. Strategy, Committee/Management infrastructure, promoted posts, rewards, etc

• Mixture of devolved, central & cross-institutional

• Convince external partners/Change perceptions…. Not a cheap alternative; credible; will deliver.

Communications• Recruitment

– Promotional materials/ adverts; - Interviewing process

• New staff induction

• Involvement in Leadership programme delivery

• Open staff meetings

• Regular staff briefings (cascading)

• Sharing Executive Agendas

• Annual Planning day

Our core philosophy• Putting employers, the regional economy and the

community at the heart of activity through ‘an integrated business approach’ embracing:

– Workforce development

– Knowledge Transfer; and

– Enterprise

… all aligned & delivered as one business service

Connection with our markets• Visibility and Stakeholder Engagement

• Focus on local/regional economic priorities

• Client focussed solutions - Responsive and flexible

• Being clear about ‘the offer’

• Recognising the CPD, consultancy, ‘K’ exchange continuum

• Behaving like a business & demonstrating ‘bottom line’ value

• Long term partnerships (not short term engagements)

• Working through intermediary bodies

Branding

A brand representation to reflect our changing image

Ensuring our ability to deliver effectively• Mgmt & workloading structures that reflect our priorities

• Strong properly resourced staff & leadership development

• Strong central lead with ‘hub and spoke’ model (using a ‘business partnering’ approach)

• Strong business planning for business facing units

• Research structures that support the agenda

• Robust & consistent pricing, costing & rewards structures

• Robust but light touch and responsive QA processes

• Measurable PIs/KPIs

Empathetic Governance - Carrying the Board• Governance that fits your context – Board members that

both empathise with the vision and have skills that fit (rather than sector or geographical spread)

• Openness & honesty in communication - build trust –celebrate success and be honest about failures

• Utilise their skills but reinforce the ‘non-executive’ nature of governance

• Say what you are going to do and deliver against ‘private sector-like’ PIs

Enough for now…..

Hope that was of some interest

We’re on a journey and we’re doing ok … it’s not a panacea, but it works for us

Thanks for listening!