Over the past several years, the Organizational Development and Learning team has been working with senior leadership, including a decanal oversight committee, to develop more comprehensive and inclusive programming for managers and leaders at Queen’s. Based on a successful pilot in 2021, and an inaugural Advancing Leadership cohort of more than 30 graduates in 2022, three revised Building Leadership Capacity cohort programs will be offered for 2023-2024.

“The programming is an exciting step towards building our leadership capacity at Queen’s and supporting a whole new cadre of individuals in realizing their leadership potential,” says Principal Patrick Deane. “By nurturing and empowering our people to become better leaders, we create a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration that propels us towards our shared vision of success.”

The programming aims to create more opportunities for Queen’s staff and faculty to build networks across the institution and develop their individual leadership skills. The new cohort programs have been designed to support employees at every stage of their journey and include:

• Exploring Leadership – designed for employees (especially staff, pre-tenured faculty, adjuncts, post-doctoral fellows) who are not in a people-leading role but are keen to understand their leadership potential at Queen’s.
• Emerging Leadership – tailored to provide new managers and people leaders (especially faculty, non-academic managers, team leads, supervisors) with practical tools, support, and resources they need to best perform in their roles.
• Advancing Leadership – created to provide leaders (especially department heads, grad/undergrad coordinators, faculty, managers, directors) with the awareness, capabilities, and confidence to lead teams and projects, at the departmental and institutional level.

Additional opportunities to build and develop management and leadership capacity will be available outside of the cohort programs including themed coffee chats, a coaching certification, and a new management training series. These sessions are available year-round and are open to any level of leader at the university. Program fees have also been significantly reduced to ensure critical learning and development opportunities are accessible during a time of fiscal constraint.

“Leadership is not confined to titles or roles; it is a mindset and a skill set that can be developed and nurtured over time,” says Stephanie Simpson, Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion). “That is why this programming is open to all employees at different career stages and from all corners of the university including staff, faculty, contract, casuals, and postdoctoral fellows.”

Employees are encouraged to explore offerings, schedules, and registration on the HR Intranet and, with the support of their department, consider applying to a leadership program that aligns with their goals and interests. Applications for all three leadership programs are open until Oct. 15, 2023, with programs running from December through June.