School of Biological and Marine Sciences: Women into Leadership Programme 2023/24

The Women into Leadership programme is designed to engage authentic self-leadership, build potential, strengthen networks and drive desired change

As a School we recognised that there are very few women in senior leadership roles and therefore we have a responsibility to create better opportunities for our female staff. When women become leaders, they provide a different set of skills and perspectives, and approach their work with a heightened capacity for empathy, connection-building, and inclusiveness.

Led by Executive Coach, Emma Brown, the Women into Leadership programme is designed to engage authentic self-leadership, build potential, strengthen networks and drive desired change. 11 staff (including different levels and role types across SoBMS) took part in the Women into Leadership pilot programme which included three group coaching sessions and three individual coaching sessions. The coaching focused on areas such as confidence, managing conflict, self-promotion, goal setting and addressing power imbalances.

Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive and the School will be running another programme in 2024/25.

In universities, our leadership roles are often temporary positions and new staff step into these roles on a regular basis. It helps us all if we ensure that most of us have good leadership training, as most of us will take on some level of leadership during our careers. University leadership roles are often filled by men, a situation that fails to incorporate the skills and perspectives of women in our decision making and direction setting. As an institution, we need to ensure that women feel welcome in leadership roles, but it is also essential that we support women who wish to move into leadership roles.

Professor Richard Preziosi
Head of School

Impact

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“Transformational. The best and most important thing I have done at the University.”
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“This course has significantly impacted me both professionally and personally.”

Empowerment and self-esteem

I address my imposter syndrome head-on and have made excellent progress towards not letting that rule my life and colour my outlook and ability to lead.
My confidence has grown; I speak up more in meetings and recently delivered a presentation in a staff workshop.
I am more equipped to take on challenges, reach my goals and step out of my comfort zone with confidence.
I am more confident now in myself as a leader.
I have improved my confidence to trust myself.
It was a completely empowering experience.
I have the confidence and skills to better support those around me, from students, postgraduates, lectures and other staff.
I am more confident in my general image.

Allyship and networking

Allyship and hearing other people’s stories gave me confidence to bring work related issues to the surface (e.g. bullying and harassment) and bringing this to the attention of appropriate people.
There was a sense of solidarity and mutual support.
There was a sense of community with other female members of staff.
The opportunity to connect with other professional women, sharing experiences, giving and receiving advice and seeing the impact this has on others and myself.
Helped me recognise my supporters, see my strengths and realise my goals and achievements.

Action-focused

My job description is now being reviewed which is something that needed to be done for a long time, but I didn't have the confidence to raise.
I am better at setting boundaries and managing the expectations of others.
I have the tools to organise my time, set boundaries, and improve communication with my colleagues.
I manage and take charge of my own leadership journey.
Learned practical tips that will help me overcome anxiety when leading such as anchoring, breathwork and visualisation.
I take on new challenges, advocate for my ideas, and step into leadership roles with assurance.
I ensure the efficient use of everyone's time and higher quality project outputs.
I have increased my team members' performance and productivity.
Given me space to think through what I need to do to achieve my goals.

Managing conflict and difficult conversations

I have learned how to deal with and resolve conflict more efficiently.
Given advice on how to navigate difficult conversations and dealing with difficult people.
Better understanding of how I interact with people and how I react to circumstances.
Learned how to tackle unhelpful behaviour from those around us.
Learned how to manage work, my team members, but also my manager more efficiently.
I am able to have a more controlled, less emotional conversations with staff members at higher levels.

Reflection

Gave the space to reflect on current role and ambitions.
Space to reflect on management style.
I've reframed the way I receive feedback (reframe negative as constructive).
Provided time and space to evaluate where I am in my career, where I would like to be, and what the barriers to achieving this are.
I learned a lot about myself through this programme and I have reframed a lot of negative/unhelpful beliefs I had about myself and my ability.
Rich source of self-reflection and finding allies within the school.
I reduced my own work-related stress levels.
Recognise the importance of prioritising personal needs as well as professional.

Next steps

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“Through this course, I have become widely aware that many women share the view that much of our own professional development is impacted by the environment.”
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“Regular follow-ups would help reinforce the skills and knowledge gained during the course and provide continued support as we apply what we have learned to our roles.”

One-to-one coaching catch up session with Emma after a few months.
Continue the support network and to meet as a cohort.
Link with the University Women’s Network.
Wider university support through Staff Development.
Explore follow up training sessions:
- time management
- conflict resolution
- ability to have difficult conversations
- how to determine your effectiveness as a leader.
Mentorship programme for future cohorts and training for mentors.
Explore a parallel programme that helps senior leaders learn how to empower, support and mentor women, given the limited number of senior female role models.
‘Action Learning Sets’ initial training then to be self-regulated.
Ensuring there is time allocation and support from senior leaders for these activities to happen.
Deliver another Women into Leadership programme in 2024/25.