The Professional Behaviours Framework

it’s role in Leadership

and

our experience at the RVC

Charles Benoit Vial de St Bel

• Graduate of Lyon• Autopsy on Eclipse (coincident –

French Revolution) (1791)• Appointed Principal by Odiham

Agricultural Society• 1792 - Four students, final

examinations in Crown & Anchor Tavern, Strand

Eclipse - 1764 (Eclipse of the Sun) - Sired 334 race winners

- Descendents include: • Copenhagen (Duke of Wellington) • Desert Orchid, Shergar, Sadler’s Wells

Eclipse, St Bel and the RVC

Royal Veterinary College - 2014

Two Campuses Camden Hawkshead (including Boltons Park - 600 acre Farm)

Four Academic Departments Comparative Biological Sciences Pathology & Pathogen Biology Production & Population Health Clinical Science & Services

Hospitals Beaumont Sainsbury Hospital – First opinion small animal Queen Mother Hospital – Second opinion small animal Large Animal Clinical Centre and Sefton Equine Hospital

London Bioscience Innovation Centre

Lifelong Veterinary Education Unit

Our Staff and Students

2000 students:

50% undergraduates studying to be vets

25% undergraduate scientists and nurses

25% postgraduates

800 staff:

100 Academic, 70 Clinical/Academic, 80 Research,

90 Nurses, 60 Manual, 90 Technical,

270 Professional Support and Administrative

Starting to think about things……

In Pairs:

For 2 minutes

Count up how many organisational scandals you can think of since 2008: Banks, MPs expenses……….(very small RVC prize for highest number).

For 10 minutes discuss:

Where are the checks and balances in your University to stop such a thing happening, who are the people; how is it done?

Our Students 1 of 2 Starting Points

Society Within a University

Role models matter to students – that’s us

Hidden curriculum

What goes around comes around

Where Using Behaviours Comes In

So it would be useful in the Society context of University life – staff and students.

Equally critical right now though is the fact that for many people working in HE, this is the most significant period of change they have experienced in the course of their careers.

Some of the risks and threats

Nationally we face:

Market Challenges and the need to secure additional

funding sources = ‘Agility Agenda’

Data as a Driver and its threats (Gibbs 2013)

Procedures lagging behind technology

Pace of IT change (www.raceagainstthemachine.com)

Threats and Tricky Situations

In groups of 4

• Choose a threat or a tricky situation in your organisation or a previous organisation

• How was it handled?• What values were displayed?• Who was involved?

We’re hoping you found it was lots of different people

People are ImportantTowards a ‘Psychological Contract’

The success of any institution depends on the knowledge, skills, and motivation of its people

Knowledge and skills are easy to measure

Motivation is the challenge

A Changing World

In a changing environment the only thing you KNOW is wrong is NOT to change

“The stupidest thing is to keep on doing the same thing, expecting a different result” *

“It’s not the strongest that survive, nor the cleverest. It’s the most flexible” **

The challenge is deciding which changes to make

* Albert Einstein ** Charles Darwin

So…………….

It is how our teams are that matters. We need resilient, creative, thinking teams that deal with a rapidly changing environment

We want students and staff to be part of the same team

ONE Vet College. We have one Charter for both.

We need the AUA PBF - translated into RVC Behaviours!

Behaviours and Values together will help us in this era of conflicting pressures. We still need to find the ‘right thing’ to do. We need to maintain our personal consciousness of both – to be mindful as an organisation and as individuals

We need to encourage the RVC Behaviours in our teams so that we sustain a self critical community that will ensure we keep on doing the ‘right thing’ and encourage leadership and empowerment at ALL levels in the RVC

From Potential to First Steps - Staff Used in appraisal• Pilot in 2012• Planned to implement across the College in 2013

However, now embedded in …………….

Professional Services Probation

Academic Career Progression

and

Potential to be used in managing employee relations

It demands reflection – and that’s hard

Characteristics of Leadership• Proactive vs Reactive• Flexible/Adaptable• Good Communication• Enthusiastic• Open-minded• Resourceful• Open to change• Interested in Feedback• Evaluative – through Reflection?• Organised • Consistent• Uses Initiative• Takes responsibility - ownership of problems • Honest• Inspiring

What is Leadership How can it be defined?

In groups:

• Define/describe the core criteria of leadership

• Is this what you see in your organisation?

• At what point in the hierarchy does leadership ‘kick in’?

• Do people in your Institution merge leadership and management into one?

• How do your leaders enable their staff to protect and promote the University?

• Are they different?

Promoting Reflection: Key to the Future

Skills & knowledge = what

Motivation = how

Key to motivation is reflection

Not just on what you do but where and why you do it

You can reflect on your own performance and hopefully improve it

But you can also reflect on ……….

- the organisation you work for AND

- how it goes about it’s business AND

- what is your contribution and responsibility to the whole

About the Royal Veterinary College

Our Vision

To be the place of recommendation for education, clinical care, expert opinion and employment in veterinary medicine

and science

Our Mission

To provide visionary leadership and excellence in veterinary science through innovative scholarship and pioneering

clinical activity

Your thoughts??????