Responding to institutional change
This guide is here to support University leaders and managers as you navigate institutional change with your teams. You'll find a variety of practical activities, including workshops, guides, and videos, to help you along the way.
Why we've created these resources
The UK funding model for higher education continues to be very challenging for the sector. As a result, York is responding through changing how we work to lower operational costs and protecting income.
These resources are designed to help you:
- support your team through institutional change that may sit outside of your immediate control
- rebuild after reorganisation or staff loss, eg via Voluntary Severance (VS) and Voluntary Severance with Early Retirement (VSER)
- re-prioritise based on current resources
- deliver the most value aligned to the University Strategy.
How to use the resources
Work through the five steps below to guide your team through change.
- Short on time? For each step, we’ve put one key resource to focus on.
- Looking for more? We've included a range of workshops and further resources for a deeper dive into the subjects.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the resources we'd be happy to help. If your query is about HR processes and policy, please reach out to your HR Advisor.
People and Organisational Development
After changes in staffing, it's important to realign your team’s objectives with the University Strategy:
- How have your priorities changed or shifted?
- How will you manage and prioritise activities?
- How will you re-engage with stakeholders?
- How will you manage resources effectively and realistically?
These resources offer practical steps to rebuild purpose, fostering a sense of community and belonging to help your team succeed.
Short on time:
Building purpose in teams
Help your team reconnect with how their work aligns with the University Strategy or other key strategies. This tool offers a quick starting point for team alignment.
Read the guide: Building purpose in teams
Deeper dive:
Creating a vision
Guide the people you lead towards the same goals. Unite your team around shared goals and aspirations.
Read the guide: Creating a vision
Collaborative leadership programme
A comprehensive programme for middle and senior managers (Grades 7-9), featuring four modules over five full days.
Change can feel unsettling, especially when its impacts are still unfolding. However, it also presents an opportunity to reset your team culture and ways of working together.
Our resources on positive team culture will help you:
- understand the phases of team development
- engage team members in their roles
- build psychological safety within teams
- establish effective communication channels.
Short on time:
Tuckman’s Team Development Stages model
Whether you're leading a new or established team, understanding team dynamics is crucial. Watch this ten-minute video to explore Tuckman’s model and learn how to guide your team through different stages of development.
Deeper dive:
Maintaining a positive team culture in change: The power of psychological safety
This workshop provides an introduction to fostering a positive team culture. It covers how to create an environment where people feel safe to share ideas, admit mistakes, and be honest with their team and senior staff.
Sign up: Maintaining a positive team culture in change
Keen to dive in now? You don't have to wait for the workshop. Check out this handy guide on psychological safety, complete with practical tasks you can work through on your own or with your team.
To support your team effectively during change, it's important to keep your leadership and management skills up-to-date. By prioritising your own development, you'll be better equipped to guide others.
While it can be difficult to make time for personal development, setting aside regular moments to refresh your skills and explore best practices is essential.
These resources cover various leadership styles, how to adapt to different situations, distributed leadership, coaching, facilitation skills, and the Communities without Limits framework.
Short on time:
Daniel Goleman on what it takes to be a great leader
What does it take to be a great leader? This video gives an overview of six leadership styles and when to use them.
Deeper dive:
Line manager's fundamentals
Are you new to line management or looking to refresh your skills? This course will guide you through key aspects of managing a team, from supporting performance and development to fostering wellbeing.
Sign up: Line manager's fundamentals
Enabling through coaching
This workshop explores how to foster ownership and empowerment in your team through coaching.
Sign up: Enabling through coaching
Empowering your team through distributed leadership
This workshop helps you unlock your team's potential by adapting your leadership style to maximise effectiveness.
Sign up: Empowering your team through distributed leadership
See the full range of leadership and management programmes that you can sign up to.
Help your team members meet their potential and develop key skills, knowledge and experience.
These resources will help you in:
- identifying an individual's aspirations
- exploring strengths and areas for development
- supporting career journeys.
Facilitating development and enabling performance (in step 5) are closely linked.
Short on time:
Development plan template
Use this template to structure development conversations. It helps team members set goals, identify opportunities and track progress
Deeper dive:
Development conversations
This eight-minute video offers ten tips for conducting successful development conversations.
Career development
Explore a collection of videos and documents to help individuals navigate their career development by examining values, auditing skills and behaviors, and planning development activities
These resources can be used for self-directed learning or as tools for managers to facilitate career conversations.
Following organisational change, teams need to be supported to succeed in their new roles. Providing clear expectations and setting objectives will help everyone to focus on priorities.
Our resources will help you in:
- conducting performance-related conversations
- setting and monitoring individual and team objectives
- helping team members identify and prioritise new ways of working.
In addition to using these resources, the annual Performance and Development Review (PDR) is an effective way to evaluate performance and plan objectives for the year ahead, taking into account any role or team changes.
Short on time:
Flow mapping
Are you looking for the right balance of challenge for your team, while maintaining motivation and morale on new or ongoing projects? This tool can help you achieve that balance.
Deeper dive:
Candid conversations for line managers
This interactive session boosts your confidence and skills in addressing performance, behavior, and other factors impacting an individual’s work.
Connecting with other leaders
Along with using these resources, it’s important to connect with fellow leaders and managers. Share experiences, exchange expertise, and support each other during this time.
Take advantage of any local networking opportunities. Our University-wide Action Learning Sets provide a great way to meet other leaders, tackle challenges, and find solutions together in a supportive space.
Finally, explore the various leadership and management programmes, resources and opportunities that we offer.
If you'd like to chat about how we can help you and your team, feel free to reach out to the People and Organisational Development team. We’re here to support you.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the resources we'd be happy to help. If your query is about HR processes and policy, please reach out to your HR Advisor.
People and Organisational Development