Assessing the quality of leadership and management
The one section of the institution which wields more power and influence than any other is its management. These are the people whose task it is to lead, to inspire and to manage and in whose hands the strategic direction of the institution largely rests. Leadership operates at various levels throughout the organisation: from the governors, Vice-Chancellor or Principal, through senior and middle management teams to faculty, departmental and team leaders. Each with a key role to play in setting and delivering strategic objectives.
Bearing this in mind it stands to reason that any environmental scanning process aimed at achieving an accurate summary of the current 'health' of the institution should include an assessment of its leadership and management within its remit. Such reflection is likely to already form part of an institution's processes, especially in the FE sector where it forms part of the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework used as the basis for annual self-assessment. Where this is so it may well prove sufficient to meet the requirements laid out in the section, or at least to fulfil a substantial element of it.
C. Leadership and management
C1. How effectively do leaders and managers raise expectations and promote ambition throughout the organisation?
C2. How effectively do governors and supervisory bodies provide leadership, direction and challenge?
C3. How effectively does the provider promote the safeguarding of learners?
C4. How effectively does the provider actively promote equality and diversity, tackle discrimination and narrow the achievement gap?
C5. How effectively does the provider engage with users to support and promote improvement?
C6. How effectively does self-assessment improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for learners?
C7. How efficiently and effectively does the provider use its available resources to secure value for money?Extract from Common inspection framework for further education and skills 2009, Ofsted
In addition to the above, for the purposes of ascertaining whether your leadership and management staff and structures are 'fit for purpose'; such assessment might also usefully include analysis of the decision-making processes currently in place plus of the skills, experience and abilities of members of the various levels of management throughout the institution. Perhaps there is an imbalance within the team, with too many members drawn from similar professional backgrounds, or perhaps the reverse is true with the team lacking contributions from a particular and important professional perspective. Our Project Management infoKit includes guidance on helping to develop teams. The same resource also makes mention of Belbin Team Roles - the ideal mix of roles for a team. Where team members don't conveniently fall into each of the roles, then allocating the roles to individuals can have the same effect and ensure the right composition within them.
It is also important that all members of the management function are encouraged to undertake an honest and constructive assessment of their own skills and performance. As in most branches of both the public and private sectors there is still a tendency to find the most able and talented practitioners within their particular chosen field promoted up out of their specialism and into a management capacity. This is a well established and necessary part of the career progression process within most institutions which often sees the most gifted academics or professionals becoming extremely able leaders and managers. But it should be noted that this is not an automatic transition and such a smooth progression can not just simply be assumed. Agreeing a set of core management competencies, or adopting an existing set such as the National Occupational Standards for Management & Leadership can help in this regard by providing the opportunity for managers at all levels to assess their abilities against these competencies, identifying where gaps or weaknesses in their knowledge and experience exist and giving access to the support required to address them. The Core Management & Leadership Programme established by Oxford Brookes University is an excellent example of just such an approach.
A number of other agencies who deal solely with an executive and senior management audience also offer support in these areas, including:
