Academic Leadership Academy

ULead: The Academy

Program Description

The Academic Leadership Academy program is a seven-module course founded on the principles of effective leadership development (Day, 2000), deliberate practice (Ericsson & Harwell, 2019) and critical reflection (Moon, 2004). Through engaging with course content, colleagues, and experiential learning opportunities (Kolb, 2014), program participants will:

  • Strengthen awareness of their leadership values, identity, and purpose
  • Become familiar with, discuss, and personalize evidence-informed leadership behaviours.
  • Deliberately practice and debrief specific leadership skills in their real-world context.
  • Create leadership learning goals and ways of collecting feedback on their deliberate practice.
  • Support program peers in their leadership development and peer mentoring skills.
  • Positively develop the people they lead and manage.

The Academic Leadership Academy is a leadership development program designed to be a social learning space (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2020), meaning participants learn to improve their leadership practice together as a community of colleagues interested in strengthening their capacity to positively develop the people and performances of those they lead (Barling, 2014).

Program dates and times

Current offering: Winter 2024 (In-person)

Registration deadline: Dec. 11, 2023

Please ensure your availability before registering for this course. 

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To assist you in preparing your registration, please see the below copy of the registration questions. 

ULead the Academy Survey Questions

Program Design

Program participants’ asynchronous learning will involve carefully designed deliberate skill practice and reflection in their real-world leadership context. Details for practice will be shared at each module. Participants will spend time debriefing, discussing, and making sense of their real-world practice.

Each in-person session will include: Small group learning activities, mini-lectures, collegial discussion, plenary debriefs, and time developing plans for leadership skill practice.

Schedule: Module 1 - 4

  • Module 1: Jan 11, 2024 | 9am – 12pm
  • Module 2: Feb 1, 2024 | 9am – 12pm
  • Module 3: Mar 7, 2024 | 9am – 12pm
  • Module 4: Apr 4, 2024 | 9am – 12pm

 

Schedule: Module 5 - 7

  • Module 5: May 2, 2024 | 9am – 12pm
  • Module 6: Jun 6, 2024 | 9am – 12pm
  • Module 7: Jun 27, 2024 | 9am – 12pm

Program Overview

Thursday, January 11, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will get to know a bit about each other and ourselves in relation to the framework which guides the Academic Leadership Academy through reflecting on our values, identity, and purpose as leaders. We will become familiar with the elements of deliberate practice, deep listening, and make plans for our practice IRL!

By the end of this module, Academic Leadership Academy participants will be able to:

  • Begin articulating their leadership values, identity, and purpose
  • Describe and begin personalizing full range and transformational leadership behaviours (Barling, 2014)
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice deep listening
  • Develop plans for critical reflection and feedback on their deliberate skill practice
  • Initiate connections with colleagues in the program

Thursday, February 1, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will debrief your deep listening practice together, reflect on how it went, and establish next best steps. We will spend time comparing real-world leadership experiences with our framework and build our understanding of speaking clearly, for ourselves. We will make plans for real-world practice and support each other in social leadership learning.

By the end of this module, Academic Leadership Academy participants will be able to:

  • Debrief experiences from module one
  • Critically reflect on their deliberate practice and establish a next best step
  • Compare and contrast their real-world experiences with our leadership framework
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice clear communication and speaking for oneself
  • Develop plans for critical reflection and feedback on their deliberate skill practice
  • Make connections and learn with colleagues in the program

Thursday, March 7, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will debrief and reflect on our real-world deliberate practice and contrast our leadership with our guiding leadership framework. We will reflect on and build our working knowledge of developing rapport, defining roles, and relevant recognition at work. We will intentionally plan for this module’s deliberate practice.

  • Critically reflect on their deliberate practice and establish a next best step
  • Compare and contrast their experiences leading with our leadership framework
  • Discuss, reflect on, and establish goals for rapport building
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice clarifying roles and relevant recognition
  • Develop connections and learn with colleagues in the program

Thursday, April 4, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will debrief and explore how things went in our deliberate practice, reflect on conflict and ways we have managed it in the past, and consider our options and choice in conflict. We will consider and plan for initiating a difficult conversation and reflect on our leadership learning progress in the program.

By the end of this module, Academic Leadership Academy participants will be able to:

  • Comprehend and plan to practice our feedback framework
  • Critically reflect on their deliberate practice and establish a next best step
  • Compare and contrast their experiences leading with our leadership framework
  • Discuss, reflect on, and establish goals for managing conflict
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice conflict strategies and how to initiate a difficult conversation
  • Develop connections and learn with colleagues in the program

Thursday, May 2, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will actively explore and practice developmental conversations, debrief how our deliberate practice went, and create best next steps for leadership learning in the coming weeks. Making sense of mentoring and coaching through a leadership lens and coming up with opportunities to deliberately practice at work will happen during this session.

By the end of this module, Academic Leadership Academy participants will be able to:

  • Critically reflect on their deliberate practice and establish a next best step
  • Compare and contrast their experiences leading with our leadership framework
  • Discuss, reflect on, and establish goals for coaching and mentoring strategies
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice a mentoring conversation 
  • Deepen connections and learn with colleagues in the program

Thursday, June 6, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

We will spend time learning about and considering the concept of psychological safety in our social learning space, debrief last month’s deliberate practice, and draft plans for applying two leadership strategies (learned in this session) in our professional contexts.

By the end of this module, Academic Leadership Academy participants will be able to:

  • Critically reflect on their deliberate practice and establish a next best step
  • Compare and contrast their experiences leading with our leadership framework
  • Discuss, reflect on, and establish goals for enabling psychological safety in a group
  • Comprehend and plan to deliberately practice two leadership strategies which enable psychological safety
  • Deepen connections and learn with colleagues in the program

Thursday, June 27, 2024 (9:00am – 12:00pm)

The experiential and social learning we did together in the cohort will be celebrated! We will look back, consolidate, and look forward to next best steps for our collective and individual leadership growth and development. Ways of building upon our leadership learning within and beyond this ALA journey will be explored together.

During this session, ALA leaders will:

  • Celebrate their leadership learning and development in the program
  • Discuss and consolidate supports to their leadership practices
  • Plan for next best steps in leadership learning pathway
  • Provide feedback on the program