The University for
World-Class Professionals
Aspiring Leaders Programme
Evaluation Report
By Alison Laithwaite Development & Training Officer
Background to the
programme
The Head of IT Services asked Organisation
Development and Training (ODT) to design and
develop the Aspiring Leaders Development
Programme in 2013. It followed a 2-year
Leadership and Management Development
Programme, delivered by ODT that had taken
place for all managers across the service. The
Head of IT and the IT services managers had
been working towards significantly changing
the culture of the IT department, using the
Leadership and Management Development
Programme as a tool to do this. This original
programme of sessions was supported by
using the culture web process model, and by
the projects identified from this exercise. The
key aim was to move from a department of
fragmented teams, to a department with a
clear vision and strategy. A department where
individuals were empowered and motivated to
work together to go MAD (make a difference)
for both the students and staff they support.
The Aspiring Leaders Development Programme
now offered the opportunity to go one step
further by bringing together staff from all
levels and parts of the service as a team and
empowering and supporting them to take on
projects that would ultimately make a real
difference to the service delivered to students
and staff.
One cohort has now completed the Aspiring
Leaders Development Programme as a pilot.
Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 2
The main objectives of the
aspiring leaders programme
were to:
• Address the staff development priority:
developing management and leadership
capability
• Provide a focused opportunity for staff
to assess themselves against the MMU
Leadership and Management Competency
Framework, identifying areas for
development to succeed as a leader/
manager at MMU
• Support successional planning requirements
for future leaders and managers within IT
services
The Framework
Champions
studentand
servicefocus
Develops
selfand
others
• Make a real and measurable difference
to the student experience by identifying,
developing and executing customer service
projects
• Develop successful working relationships
with managers and staff at all levels of the
organisation by working closely together
during the sessions
• Support and growing the culture change
work already completed
• Provide a route to develop staff at any level
of the department who have a desire to
make a difference.
Translatesand
communicates
direction
Leadership
integrity
Fosters
teamwork
Manages
others
Achieves
results
MMU Leadership and Management Competency Framework
2
Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 3
Aspiring leaders
programme approach
The programme was a blended programme,
using a variety of development methods. The
aim was to provide the greatest stretch for
those involved within a supportive environment.
The blend included using The Smithfield
Performance 360 diagnostic at the start and
end of the programme. Initially this generated
feedback for candidates from their managers,
colleagues, subordinates and customers on their
current level of performance, against a range
of management and leadership competencies.
This allowed candidates to identify areas to
focus on throughout the programme, as well as
identifying strengths they had that they could
bring to the sessions, and the project work.
The TMSDI team management profile was also
used. This allowed candidates to understand
themselves, each other, and how they needed
to work together as a team. Supporting this
were 11 sessions, each linked to the Leadership
and Management Competency Framework.
Managers from the Exec Team (the senior team)
within IT Services were identified to sponsor
each session. The Exec Team management
sponsor worked with ODT in regards to the
content of the session they were sponsoring
and attended the sessions working alongside
the candidates. This saw the development
of good working relationships and allowed
managers to share first hand management
insight into the areas discussed. This firmly
placed the theories candidates were looking at
into the strategies and direction of IT services.
Candidates completed 11 sessions in total (see
appendix B). Some sessions were full day and
some half-day dependant on the requirements
needed to deliver the content. Alongside the
sessions, the cohort needed to meet to firstly
identify and then build the business case for
the projects they wished to present. They were
left to self-manage this process which meant
them dealing with issues of non-attendance
and managing each other. The programme itself
with the Smithfield Performance 360, individual
tutorials and action planning sessions ran for
approximately 14 months.
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Throughout the programme, the group had to
do a range of presentations to very senior staff
within the organisation. Initially all their ideas
had to be presented to the IT Exec Team where
they were put through a rigorous review and
the group faced challenging questions which
tested both their resolve, and the research
they had done. They then had to take four of
the projects, chosen by the IT Exec, and refine
them with a proposed project brief. The cohort
then presented these four projects to a panel
including the Vice Chancellor, a Dean and a
Head of Services.
Initially, the panel was to identify one project
for this group to take forward. However, the
group found there was a desire for all four
projects to run. Two of the projects were quite
large and involved stakeholders outside of
IT Services, so these were scoped into more
detailed proposals to go to Directorate for senior
management approval and sponsorship. The
other two projects were assigned a project
manager, from within the cohort, and they are
currently working towards delivering these.
The programme concluded with an away day
where the group could put the skills from
the sessions into practice in a completely
different environment solving non-work related
problems. The 360 Smithfield Performance
diagnostic was re-done and feedback from this
plus a review of their progress on the course led
to an individual action planning session based
on “what’s next for you?”
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Aspiring leaders
course outline
360 Feedback
360 feedback
and “what next”
action planning
psychometric
assessments
group projects
self
development
presentations to
senior staff
management
training
skills
development
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Aspiring leaders
evaluation
The evaluation process for this pilot course
took place in a number of ways. Initially at the
final session candidates were asked to sum
the whole process up in three words and these
are identified below in the Wordle images, the
larger the word the more often it appeared in
the feedback. This was a process to capture the
initial reactions of candidates and managers
on completion of the programme. Candidates
reflected on and responded to a number of
questions in regards to the programme and
their own development during the process.
Managers were given a set of similar questions
in regards to their views on the programme but
also asked to consider the development they
had seen in the candidates during the process.
All the questions and responses are available in
Appendix A.
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Individual outcomes for
candidates & managers
Candidates
“The programme has …
improve(ed) my leadership
skills, and this has helped me
to gain my current position”
Three members of the cohort have successfully
moved into higher graded posts while on the
programme. One member of the cohort was
promoted into a team management post.
90% of candidates concluded that the
programme had made a difference to them.
This was in terms of their confidence levels,
their motivation or their ability to build and
develop relationships across the service
including managing upwards.
Managers
“It’s very satisfying as a
senior manager to know you
have been part of people’s
development”
“Seeing my staff put their new
skills into action in front of the
VC, then seeing them put it
into practice on a daily basis”
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In terms of the key difference the programme
had made to individuals the feedback shows
that 40% of the candidates specifically
identified that their confidence had improved.
“A more grounded understanding of
the challenges managers face”
“My confidence has grown massively
over the last 12 months”
“More focused and realistic approach to
tasks”
and 40% felt their ability to build relationships
and work with others had improved.
A real course highlight for all candidates
was the opportunity to present to the Vice
Chancellor and to other members of the
university senior team as well as members of IT
Exec. 70% of candidates commented directly on
this being a highlight for them.
“It has helped me to build contacts and
feel more involved in IT services”
This was echoed by the feedback from
managers where 40% of the comments were
around an improvement in confidence.
“Growth in confidence and heightened
awareness of the department and its
impact on the organisation”
and 30% were around an improvement in
building relationships.
“Better at cross area collaborationrelationships”
Managers also commented on the fact
that candidates demonstrated a greater
understanding of what leadership and
management involved and had
and as well as
“Presenting our service improvements
ideas to the VC and the exec team
because the whole team was taken out
of their comfort zone and worked really
hard to fine tune the ideas and present
them professionally”.
The opportunity to network and work with
others across the service was also highlighted
by 30% of the candidates in this section of the
review. Manager highlights focused mainly on
the delivery of new and improved services that
the programme had delivered alongside seeing
staff develop and show their potential.
“Better team work and improved
motivation. Improved service delivery
for students by delivering on the project
work”
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Service outcomes
“I had the pleasure of listening
to thepresentations, along
with my other panellists.
These projects show a good
understanding of University
needs, offering real potential
for development and
transformation.”
John Brooks University Vice Chancellor
Project one - Digital timetable signage
The introduction of live timetabling in reception
areas and cafes. Get rid of the paper timetable
outside of rooms and lecture theatres and turn
class rooms and meeting rooms into energy
efficient, smart and intelligent rooms.
Progress: This project is being developed into a
proposal and taken to the University Executive
and Directorate.
Project two – Unified service management
tool
A set of joined up processes and tools that
allow us to collaborate more fluently with other
departments. Streamlining areas where working
practices can be improved and where jobs
cross over between departments. Using one
single recording system would provide a more
integrated approach and a quicker resolution of
student enquiries. It would also allow for better
communication and collaboration between
departments. It would also enhance the quality
of management information, which will overall
provide a better service to students.
Progress: This project is being taken forward
by the group through an initial proposal for
University Executive and Directorate.
Project three – Device Advice
Setting up a device bar and service which
would be an appointment based service to
allow students to come and talk to IT service
staff about how to get the best use of their
device and how best to use it to access our
services whilst studying here.
Progress: This project is currently being
worked on.
Project four - 24/7 laptop loans for
students
Using self-service laptop loan lockers where
students can access a fully configured laptop on
a short term basis by using their student card in
the same way as they can access library loans.
Progress: The pilot for this will be available for
students for the start of term September 2014.
As a result of the projects delivered and still
being worked on, the development of the
individuals on the programme and the impact
this is having in all areas of IT services, this
programme will now be an established part of
the development offered to staff in IT. Looking
forward, the Director of Services has also asked
that this programme is delivered across the
whole of services.
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Recommendations for
future programmes
Working with the managers
The course content
In future, extra care will be taken to ensure
all managers are fully briefed and clearly
understand the time commitments staff
are signing up for. With this initial cohort,
managers were aware of the time required
for sessions but had not considered the time
between sessions when the group needed to
work on projects and presentations. A short
session for managers would help in detailing
their role prior to the course starting as well as
an outline-briefing document for managers for
reference. Managers were briefed prior to the
course in a management meeting, but each had
their own understanding of the commitment,
which was quite different and at times caused
real confusion. Managers need to provide a
consistent message about expectations and
requirements to candidates.
To move the sessions around slightly so that
project management and presentation skills are
earlier in the process. Feedback showed that
this would have been beneficial in supporting
the group with some of the earlier presentations
and planning for the customer service project.
If this was earlier in the programme candidates
could also use some of the project ideas to work
on in the sessionS.
After reviewing the feedback, consider having
managers attend the end part of the sessions
only to provide an overview of the session/
experience, to answer questions and input the
management perspective. There was a clear
benefit to managers being there and working
with the group as it did help build relationships
and strengthen the links between managers
and staff. However, some candidates felt that
this was at times a distraction and not all
candidates were comfortable exploring some
issues with management there.
As part of the induction day, to introduce a
teambuilding aspect so the group get to know
each other and feel comfortable with each other
earlier in the process. This should help the
group when meeting to decide on the projects
to take forward.
The programme itself
Use this year’s cohort as mentors for future
cohorts using them on induction sessions and
perhaps when advertising the course
Keep to the same format in terms of on average
one session per month. However, as above,
the sessions need to be delivered in a different
order.
Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 11
Appendix A
Candidate and Managers Feedback 2014
QUESTIONS ASKED OF CANDIDATES AND RESPONSE GIVEN
Finish the sentence
“the programme has made a difference to me in the following
ways…”
“Being able to project manage one of the
projects that have come out of this course.
This will hopefully be really helpful in future
progression”
“Improved my leadership skills, and this has
helped me to gain my current position. It has
particularly improved my EI and given me
experience of the recruitment process”
“Boosted my confidence in meetings and has
helped me to assert my position more”
“developed my emotional intelligence, taught
me some new skills, and helped me feel
involved in IT services”
“ Given me confidence in building relationships
and making presentations”
“Made me frustrated. In a box at MMU that I
cannot get out of”
“I have made better contacts with people using
what I have learned. I have also learnt some
useful techniques for dealing with difficult
situations”
“ I feel more confident about coming out of my
comfort zone and taking on challenges that I
would normally avoid”
“my confidence has grown massively over the
last 12 months, I have built relationships with
other IT managers, and it has given me a great
chance to build relationships with exec”
“Building relationships, more conscious in
certain areas i.e. communication and EI. It
has raised my profile within and outside of IT
services. It has also encouraged me to learn
further”
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Finish the sentence
“support from management was …”
“very good”
“patchy support had to be renegotiated at
several points and some managers were more
committed than others”
“ from my line manager fine, from IT
management good but inconsistent”
“ they have all been very supportive in the
sessions and on the project development”
“such as? They let me do it but I have heard
ropey things along the way. So apart from being
given the time there was no support”
“very good from my perspective. My line
manager allowed me the time I needed and I
didn’t feel the confusion others did”
“Inconsistent too many people with different
opinions”
“inconsistent across the programme”
“ Due to a change from Mo wanting one project
to wanting all 4 the 10 members of Aspiring
Leaders are probably the busiest people in the
department”
“confusing”
“challenging as I had a change of manager but
eventually the support was there”
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Finish the sentence “things that didn’t work for me…”
“ project management”
“ project management it was the wrong
example and limited to MMU PM practice
within IT”
“ I think some people in the group wanted a bit
too much discussion time for themselves”
“ Difference in managers and exec opinions”
“Inconsistent feedback and scope from IT exec”
“ MAD day debacle, demoralising and a waste
of a month”
“some people not as engaged, should have
been tackled and the opportunity given to
someone else”
“ the MAD day, a lot of time was put into
this at the beginning. WE also needed more
sandwiches”
“not getting time early on to do more team
building before we needed to start planning the
MAD day… this made it difficult for people to be
direct and express their opinions”
“ Having exec members attend was good in
that we were able to develop relationships with
them and hear their views but I think it also
inhibited contributions by the group and set
up a dynamic where we weren’t all the same
and where our contributions weren’t weighted
equally. This was a shame because the group
itself were across grade but everyone’s views
and contributions were equally valid”
“ not having the support of my manager so that
they didn’t get involved in what I was doing
and then getting a new manager who didn’t
want me to be out of the office”
“ not having clarity on the projects until late on.
Changing the project remit frequently. For some
sessions having managers there inhibited us or
disrupted the session”
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Course highlights were….”
“Working on things outside of my usual scope
of work. Learning more about how relationships
between people work and gaining a new
vocabulary to describe them. Presenting to the
VC and senior staff and the 360 feedback”
“ presentations to various managers, VC etc.
this was something I have never done before.”
“ the opportunity to interact directly and
informally with John Brooks. First hand insight
from him. The practice of presenting to a senior
audience was a great experience”
“ working as a group on the project ideas
and presentations… tons of experience of
group working, working in small groups,
writing project briefs, writing and delivering
presentations, thinking about stakeholders
and what styles I need to use with different
ones. Getting the opportunity to meet people I
would usually not meet .. the VC. Getting the
opportunity to work with others in IT services..
building networks across the department.
Opportunities within projects to talk to people
in other departments and work closely with
them. Got exposure to how the exec team work
together which increased my understanding of
the department. Opportunities to work in other
areas outside of my normal job. This created
opportunities for creativity. Getting to know
the others in the group , becoming a team,
providing support & knowledge. Learning about
managing challenges”
“Presentation challenges and the feeling on
completion. Meeting people from around IT and
getting to build relationships”
“working with different areas of IT”
“ nothing specific interested in a lot of the
content anyway”
“presenting our service improvement ideas to
the VC and the exec team because the whole
team were taken out of their comfort zone but
worked really hard together to fine tune the
ideas and present them very professionally”
“Loan locker project with Chris and presenting
to VC et al. Train journey to the BETT show.
Presenting to senior staff. The session content,
generally I don’t find courses useful or engaging
but all have these have been both… I’ve
possibly been going on the wrong courses!”
“ presenting to the VC”
“ the opportunity to manage a project”
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The session content was…
“excellent”
“engaging and well delivered but left me
wondering/asking many questions about MMU
management”
“informative and mostly relevant to my work”
“ always interesting, useful and delivered in
an engaging way. We could have covered other
areas ie finance and budgets”
“good mixture of theory and exercises, varied
and interesting”
“useful, engaging and has helped me
immensely in gaining the leadership position I
now have”
“in the goals and expectations session I
was surprised how true the results from
the questionnaire fitted my own view. I was
pleasantly surprised that the profile does reflect
my desire to explore but also plan in detail”
Finish the sentence “the
structure of the course was…”
“ very good in general, project management
could have been earlier in the course as we
were assigned projects early on”
“good and consistent, it flowed well and
allowed sufficient time for inter session work”
“on the whole set out very well, project
management could possibly have been earlier
in the course, mainly to help with structuring
the project documents”
“project management should have perhaps been
first”
“It worked well but I think we could have
worked even harder ( we needed group
commitment outside of working hours as well,
not sure if we made the best use of our time inbetween sessions)”
“content of each session had been well thought
out and provided the group with lots of
discussion and opportunities to learn and use”
“EI thoroughly enjoyed this session instead of
using this to get the most from others, I now
use it to get the most from myself, my team
and others.”
“full, detailed and well presented”
“ I enjoyed the majority of the course and
especially the activities. Project management
could have been more focused on the methods
of running a project day to day”
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QUESTIONS ASKED OF MANAGERS AND RESPONSE GIVEN
If you had staff members on the aspiring leaders programme
please complete the following sentence “the difference I noticed
in team members on the programme was…
“ better/ improved”
“communication, project and work management
skills developed”
“better at cross area collaboration
(relationships)”
“ a more grounded understanding and
appreciation for the challenges managers face”
“ more focused and realistic approach to tasks”
“ better links across the department and more
politically astute (but not commercially)”
“ the difference I noticed was minimal but
that is probably quite normal as there are
certain circumstances required in order to see
their ability to utilise the skills taken from the
course”
“ they had more confidence and their
communication skills improved”
“ they seemed more confident in approaching
challenges such as presentations, taking
responsibility for work etc”
“ having the confidence and drive to complete
tasks by overcoming obstacles as a team. Being
choral both positive and negative on their
experiences and observations”
“A real shift in focus towards professionalism
and a much greater understanding of what
leadership and management is.”
“ a new grasp of formalised paperwork, perhaps
not directly attributed to this programme, but
to put what they’ve learnt here into practice,
requires doing work, which in turn requires
doing this”
“ a marked improvement in presentation ability”
“the much improved motivation and
collaboration skills across the various teams.
People are just getting on with doing stuff that
needs to be done…..And enjoying themselves
at the same time. It’s very satisfying as a senior
manager to know you have been part of peoples
development”
“ that they became clued up critics of how
things are managed at a senior level”
“ growth in confidence and heightened
awareness of the department and its impact on
the organisation”
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If you sponsored a unit on the programme and were involved
in its delivery please complete the following “being involved
in the programme allowed me to….
“ relearn about coaching & mentoring and the
differences”
“ do a stocktake of how the aspiring leaders
were doing on the course”
“contrast the reality – how we operate within
the department, with the ideas set pout in
theory”
“ have some influence on that aspect and bring
my experience to them. They largely didn’t
listen or take my advice though! They should
have used me more than they did”
“ get my point across regarding empowerment
and team work. If you know the answers going
to be Yes.. then don’t waste time by asking the
questions”
“demonstrate an understanding of dealing with
situations to which a management level would
expect from aspiring leaders. I would have liked
to have been more involved”
“ reflect on how I approach the subject and
improve”
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Overall I think the aspiring leaders programme has made a
difference in the following ways ...
“ improved leadership skills in this group”
“highlighted management skills across the
whole of IT services ( through discussions)”
“ has introduced the importance of soft skills to
a group of people who may not have seen their
relevance”
“ improved perception of ITS – recognition from
across the university for the initiative”
“ it has given our rising stars: great exposure,
confidence, skills, experience, contacts – to do
better in the department”
“ culturally it is setting a precedence that no
matter what grade there are opportunities
within the department to move forward and
gain valuable development”
“its got technical staff thinking about soft/
non tech skills that they need to develop as
managers”
“ developed confidence in staff to move towards
managerial positions”
“ the attendees are more enthusiastic as
they feel that their contributions can make a
difference.”
“ teamwork – different parts of ITS working
together and therefore enhancing networking
skills and communication”
“ showing cooperation and teamwork extends
possibilities and strengthens their ability to
deliver”
“ most significantly a much better
understanding of what leadership is and the
amount of work involved at a higher level”
“ better team work and improved motivation.
Improved service delivery for students by doing
actual project work”
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The things I don’t think worked about the programme were…
“ the initial set up communication and the
confusion about objectives in the management
team”
“ the clarity and consistence of direction from
the ITS managers – too much variance in
expectations and understanding of the aims of
the initiative”
“ the sheer amount of time needed to dedicate
to the programme had a significant impact on
the capacity of the teams (especially smaller
ones)”
“interaction with managers and gaining
individual support could probably have been
better planned. With focus placed on the
aspiring leader managing this element to
practice some of what they learned”
“ leaving the project day till near the end as
they had to develop project briefs much earlier”
“ it took a lot of delegate time up which had
a knock on effect on the team which was not
realised until the commitment had already been
made”
“ follow up/follow through there is a cadre
of people excited at the prospect of being
orchestrators of change. Now they go back to
their old jobs. Think it would be better for them
to continue to work on special projects”
“ early confusion at the beginning on the role of
the programme and what it meant to different
managers. Some reluctance initially form some
managers to free up time for the delegates”
“ once completed they have returned to their
roles little follow on”
“ clarity between what the programme
was and what was meant to be achieved,
several times the remit was questioned and
clarified/ re-clarified. The real issue here is a
lack of communication between staff on the
programme and their managers who in many
cases seemed unaware of their plans”
“ nothing really I am pretty happy with it”
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The highlights of the programme for an IT services point of view are
“ the projects and the presentations to the VC
and the fact that they have continued to work
to make “something” happen”
“ being exposed to high management and the
VC. Visionary of the ITS operational needs by
including diversity from each department”
“the delivery of new services”
“seeing my staff put their new skills into action
in front of the VC, then seeing them put it into
practice on a daily basis.”
“ more members of staff with the ability to
deliver projects and service improvements to a
high standard”
“allowing those with potential to be shown they
are valuable to the department, it gave them
a platform to represent the department as a
whole. Invaluable experience”
“ the willingness of those staff to be involved in
projects across the department and really drive
them forward to positive outcomes”
“ the feedback from the participants”
“ seeing staff develop and having the
confidence to deal with challenging situations”
“ the projects that have come from the
programme allow you to see some positive
results, along with staff from different parts of
IT working together”
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Anything else you would like to say on the programme
“carry on with the good work , happy to be
involved again next time”
Proud of everything the aspiring leaders have
achieved so far and hope we can build on this
momentum and learn from our experience to
improve for future cohorts”
“I’ve only heard positive things about this
programme”
“I’d like to see this continue, but perhaps it
needs to change as not everyone can be a
leader (although obviously leadership skills can
be applied at any level). Would be good to make
the same materials deliverable to more than 10
people, without the added pressure of projects
and the VC attached to it. This was of course
part of the allure, but the training should really
be what this focuses on”
“ could be improved by being clear about the
commitments up front, to be better supported
by management with better clarity on team
projects”
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Appendix B
Programme outline
Session
Management Sponsor
Induction to the programme
Mo Din
Head of IT Services
360 degree feedback given to individuals with
line manager
all
Emotional Intelligence
Dave Hanlon
IT Infrastructure Manager
Setting goals and expectations
James Woodward
Client Services Manager
Transactional analysis
Communication skills including
communicating with your team
Brendon Kenny
Communications & Marketing Manager
Influencing others
Mo Din
Head of IT Services
Presentation skills
James Woodward
Client Services Manager
Delivering customer excellence
John Valentine
Campus Team Manager
Coaching others
Tony Neill
Campus Team Manager
Project management
Keith Hilton
ITS Projects and Programmes Manager
Creativity & Innovation
Mike Preece
IT Solutions Architect
360 feedback
all
Aspiring Leaders Programme Evaluation Report | 23
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