University of Warwick to boost leadership with coaching programme

The University of Warwick has partnered with Notion in a five-year deal to deliver its STAR® Manager programme to all 2,500 leaders and managers at the university.

The programme aims to create a coaching culture that boosts staff engagement, productivity and overall management effectiveness.

Notion says its STAR® Manager programme was demonstrated in a government-commissioned study conducted by the London School of Economics, which showed improvements in staff retention, engagement, and productivity across 62 organisations.

Managers trained in the programme spent 70% more time coaching their teams and delivered a measurable return on investment (ROI).

A pilot programme at the University of Warwick involving over 100 managers showed a 113% increase in time spent coaching, a 24% increase in time spent leading, and a 900% ROI.

Anna Chapman, leadership development manager at The University of Warwick, said: “STAR® Manager is allowing us to take a transformational, scalable approach to management development, empowering our leaders to collaborate with their teams. It recognises the power of coaching and will enable us to embed coaching behaviours across managers and leaders at all levels to underpin an Operational Coaching® style of management.

“Following a successful pilot, we’ve seen our managers develop the confidence and ability to encourage performance improvement in their direct reports, provide constructive feedback, hold challenging conversations with positive outcomes, listen effectively and reclaim time to spend on more impactful activities – all by learning to incorporate coaching-related behaviours into their day-to-day management style.

“I’m delighted to introduce Operational Coaching® across the University, working with Notion to certify all 2,500 managers and leaders over the next five years.”

Chris Hunt, executive commercial director at The University of Warwick, said: “In a time when organisations need to retain talent, our investment in management training underscores the value we place on our people.

“Great managers inspire and support their teams, and by developing these skills across our leadership, we’re investing directly in the success of every staff member and, ultimately, in the success of the University itself.”