Leadership Foundation

Building Strategic Capability

In the current fast-paced and evolving climate of higher education it is important for institutions to build strategic capability with a different, innovative mind set to identify specific weaknesses and ask 'How do our current arrangements need to change?'

For institutions to be successful in the future it is vitally important for them to look at the driving influences which form their strategy including funding, student expectations, governance, regulation, emerging markets, internationalisation and other stakeholder expectations.

Building Strategic Capability focuses partly on the interaction between the most senior team, and then on the wider leadership management group reporting to them. It is the second in a new series of two-day programmes, with Essentials of Leading Change, that have been designed specifically for delivery in-house to groups of leaders from the same institution. Building Strategic Capability provides a very cost effective way of developing strategic awareness and capability of a leadership group for up to 15 leaders within your institution.

• Potential Participants and Applications
• Focus and Benefits
• Programme Objectives
• Programme Cost and Structure
• Programme Outline
• Contact Us

Want to know more? Download the brochure. Building Strategic Capability

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Potential Participants and Applications

There are many possible applications of this Building Strategic Capability, including:

• Working with a Top Team, whether at an institution, faculty or directorate level, either in workshop or team coaching format, to reflect on existing strategy, develop new strategic directions or work through scenarios
• Coaching and supporting key strategic partners on strategy implementation and culture change, for example, the vice-chancellor/principal, key members of the top team and/or chairs of key council committees
• A two stage approach with Day One being for the Top Team and Day Two involving a wider group from the senior/middle leadership community in order to begin the process of strategic engagement and reflection

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Focus and Benefits

Building Strategic Capability will focus on a number of key issues:

• Achieving a shared understanding of the context and drivers influencing strategy
• Thinking the unthinkable - future scoping and scenario planning
• Balancing traditional predictive, target-driven, models of strategy with development of more adaptive systems, values-based approaches
• Do we understand where we are today? Addressing strategic capacity and capability through use of SWOT
  processes and stakeholder analysis
• Development of a strategic narrative. Expressing vision, mission, objectives, targets and outcomes in a compelling and engaging new language
• Bringing strategic intentions to life. What are the skills, processes, and behaviours we need to build to deliver the new strategy. How are we going to change behaviours in the external environment to give ourselves strategic advantage?

Some of the main benefits of Building Strategic Capability are that it:

• Builds a shared understanding of the sector and institutional drivers and context for strategy
• Offers the use of techniques of scenario planning. SWOT analysis, Peter Senge’s change model and the McKinsey 7 Ss
• Fosters a shared understanding of the institution’s strategic capacity and capability, and analysing the gaps
• Creates a fresh narrative for the organisation that moves on from tired and well-worn vision and mission statements to more engaging guiding processes

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Programme Objectives

Building Strategic Capability is for leadership and management teams, and aims to:

• Offer a contemporary and institution-specific appreciation of, and reflection on, sector drivers andinfluences on strategy
• Support leaders to rethink their approach to strategy development, planning and implementation to reflect this changing context
• Create a framework for assessing the strategic capacity and agility against the background of current pressures and agendas

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Programme Cost and Structure

Designed specifically for delivery in-house to groups of leaders from the same institution, this programme provides a very cost effective way of developing the change management skills of a group of your leaders.

The core cost of this 2-day programme, taking place in the UK, for up to 15 people is £4,500 (plus expenses) providing exceptional good value for money. Our strategy consultant will come to your institution or a venue of your choice to deliver the programme on two consecutive days, having made initial contact about 6 weeks before hand to refine the needs and approach. If you would like to tailor the standard programme to your more specific requirements we are happy to do this for a negotiated extra cost.

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Programme Outline

Below is a typical outline. We will of course work with you to develop a version that best suits your HEI, your colleagues and your teams.

Day One

Session 1: Contemporary context of HE

Session 2: Implications of future - Scenario dvelopment

Session 3: Addressing our own capacity to respond to future needs, opportunities and threats

Day Two

Session 1: Your emerging strategic narrative (or reassessing your current strategy)

Session 2: Bring your strategic intentions to life - engaging staff more widely

Session 3: Fostering principled agility. Cultivating the necessary culture and skills. Building resilient partnerships

Session 4: Continuing session 3, and planning your strategic future

Final review, consolidation and next steps.

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Contact Us

For UK In-House Programmes
Sweta Purohit, Consultancy Business Manager
T: 020 3468 4823

For International In-House Programmes
Hannah Phung, International Manager
T: +44 (0) 20 3468 4828

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