Leadership development review (LUS)
There are no requirements for LUS at SDU, but some of the typical themes included in LUS are: follow-up on initiatives from the previous LUS, the manager’s well-being and development, development and well-being of the manager’s unit, terms and conditions, expectations to the unit’s focus and the overall strategy and concrete agreements on future initiatives.
LUS should not be seen as a substitute for ongoing everyday communication, but can be used to have a more in-depth discussion of focus points than there is time for in an ordinary work day.
Before the review
Much of the benefit of LUS comes from thorough preparation and agreement on expectations before the actual review. It may be a good idea to pick out some points for discussion for your LUS. It may seem natural to find a LUS form and start from the top, but if you have set aside 1 hour for the review, you risk not getting to the bottom of what is most important to talk about. Agree with each other on which points are particularly important to explore before you meet. In addition, it may be a good starting point to know what the expectations are for good management at SDU. You can find inspiration in SDU’s management compass.During the review
Set the frame at the beginning of the review: Time, agreed focus points, confidentiality, responsibilities and roles may be nice to have clarified as a start. Then you can follow up on what has happened since the last LUS, before you start with the selected focus points. At the end of the review, it is important that there is clarity about expectations, agreements and follow-up.After the review
It is important that LUS is followed up on an ongoing basis, and that LUS is not considered just a review, but an ongoing process which is thought into an annual wheel with follow-up and mutual obligations between manager and their manager and possibly thought into the entire management group . Below is an example of an annual wheel for LUS.LUS must be linked to the overall strategies of the unit or department. What is important for the group manager and the group to focus on? If LUS is decoupled from the department’s strategies, the conversation becomes irrelevant at best, and at worst it can short-circuit some of the initiatives that are already taking place. The best way to hold LUS is to incorporate it into current strategy work. As a head of department, LUS, with your research group leaders, should give you an indicator for what will be important for your department to work with in the coming year.
Before the actual review, there must be a matching of expectations about the manager and the group’s current situation and their starting point. Is this a well-established group that is already cohesive, or is it a newly established group where there is not yet a well-established collaboration? Is it meaningful to talk about potentials and growth scenarios or is it more relevant to talk about consolidating the group? It is important that the review is based on the manager’s specific situation.
LUS is not a replacement for the daily communication, but it might be a good framework for discussing some of the things that can be difficult to make time for in an ordinary day. According to a survey from Lederweb1 (The Management Hothouse), 83% of the managers who have not been to LUS would like to be invited to one. If you do not already have a well-functioning practice for LUS, then make sure to test it out.
- Lederweb (The Management Hothouse) has several tips and advice on how to get the most out of your LUS.(Only in Danish).
- SDU’s management compass describes what is considered good management at SDU. ( Only in Danish at the moment)