| Date | Author |
|---|---|
| 28th January 2019 | Grace Parsons |
SUMS Consulting can help and support staff who have recently joined a university, been promoted internally to a new role, or someone just seeking some reassurance, inspiration or support in meeting the challenges of a senior role in higher education.
“It is often easy to underestimate the perspective that comes from simply stepping back from the day-to-day. Susannah has given me the space, time and insight to do this, and to reflect usefully on goals and long term aims. Our conversations have helped to clarify some key decisions and I wholeheartedly recommend Susannah as an approachable, thoughtful and effective coach.”
– Vice President (Communications and Public Affairs), Imperial College London
“SUMS has been a crucial partner in staff development for the professional staff in the Oxford Humanities Division. Its tailored service has been highly effective in supporting staff to develop their management and leadership skills to enable them to thrive professionally in a highly complex environment.”
– Lynne Hirsch, Divisional Registrar and Head of Administration, Humanities Division, University of Oxford
As universities face the challenges of tightening budgets and meeting the growing expectations of students, they need to equip their staff to lead and deliver change.
Coaching is becoming firmly established as an effective form of development for university staff, with research indicating some impressive outcomes (van Nieuwerburgh, 2012; Marcus, 2013).
Through insightful conversation, coaching can enable your staff to explore their ideas, goals, motivations and challenges, in a confidential and supportive space. Coaching can help your institution to:
- Support the development of individuals and teams to release their hidden potential, continuously improve, and achieve their targets/goals
- Build the self-awareness and personal effectiveness of staff who need to lead and influence people in a culture where organisational change is rarely straightforward
- Provide research staff with the space to reflect on an ever-changing research landscape, and to explore ways to amplify the impact of their research and to anticipate the demands of their external stakeholders, funders and partners.
SUMS members can undertake this service as a SUMS project and use days against their daily allocations. We can also provide SUMS Professional Development Support at an additional cost to members of £3,000 per person.
Contact us at sums@reading.ac.uk for more information.
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