High Performing Manager

The University of Derby prepares managers for challenging times

When the University of Derby needed to update its management development programme, it turned to its dedicated corporate learning team.

The brief

Responding to changes in the higher education landscape – such as the rise in tuition fees and new Government policies, which have brought about a more competitive and open market – the University wanted to update its management development programme. 

The revised programme had to:

• enable operational managers to support their teams to adapt to the changes
• work smarter and more efficiently
• be more creative and innovative.

Our solution

Using the findings from our needs analysis, we designed a new management development programme - University Certificate in Professional Development: High Performing Manager - that was still grounded in the University’s values and behaviours, but that better suited the changed higher education climate.

The programme was adapted in the following ways:

• It became more hands-on, equipping managers with practical skills to help them deal with daily challenges.
• We used more speakers from outside the organisation, to bring fresh ideas and encourage innovation.
• We added a 360-degree assessment, to identify learners’ strengths, weaknesses and developmental needs in the context of the University’s values.
• The new format allowed greater learning from each other.
• We added extra online resources and assessments, to free-up learners’ time.

We devised a blended learning approach, which included:

• Six one-day workshops:
  • Being an Effective Manager
  • Engaging Your Team
  • Enhancing Team Performance
  • Managing Through Change
  • Maximising Stakeholder Satisfaction
  • Managing For Success
• Private study and reflection with the help of an online learning portal
• Groupwork and reflection.

“Everything exceeded my expectations and I discovered a lot about myself. What I particularly liked was that the material was tailored to the group and grounded in our experience – not like a typical training course, where you feel you’re on a ‘conveyor belt’. I’m now a lot more organised and far more effective as a manager.”

Adam Leighton, Senior Technical Advisor, University of Derby

Find out more

See our tailored  programme and accreditation services, or contact us on 0800 678 3311 or businesshub@derby.ac.uk