Personal Development as Research Managers general description

Background:

To become successful as ICT-professionals ESRs need profound knowledge and skills in their field and have to develop personal skills that allow them to manage scientific programs, research or working teams and themselves. The RAINBOW program gives the frame for both: profound development of knowledge and skills in the scientific field and personality development. For the later a specific training program for personal development as future leaders in the field of biomechanics simulation for personalized clinical design is offered.

Goals of the Personality Development Program:

The overall goal of the program is to develop individuals able to lead and manage

highly efficiently and effectively themselves and others.

  • Build the basis of self-reflection and leadership competences necessary for effective leadership in a scientific environment.
  • Develop team leading competencies to construct a participatory teamleading approach without losing focus and clear targets.
  • Develop communication skills to manage and lead teams and staff.
  • Develop diplomatic, constructive and respectful negotiation skills to conduct negotiations efficiently and to be able to manage conflicts within and between teams.

Organisation of the program:

The following aspects describe the type and organisation of the program:

  • Each participant develops his own personal development project.
  • Combination of modular group sessions of 2 days each year with experience time in between the sessions and individual coaching sessions for each participant.
  • Each group includes about between eight to twelve participants of different nationalities and institutions with different backgrounds. The participants follow the modules as a group.
  • The sessions are organized in combination with other meetings/sessions in the frame of the RAINBOW program in spring each year.
  • Methodology of the sessions: theoretical input, concrete experiences and reflection.

Content of the program:

Module 1: Kick-off and Personality, 2 days – 21/22 May 2019 - see description of module 1

  • Getting to know the other members of the group and their backgrounds
  • Building trust in the group
  • Clarify personal goals and start developing individual projects
  • Get an overview of the role of a leader (what does leadership mean?)
  • First self-assessment of leadership competencies
  • Introduction of human personality models as instrument to gain insight into own personality and the personality of others (i.g. key4you, LUXXProfile)
  • Discover challenges of different personalities in leading themselves and others
  • Fixing individual dates for the coaching sessions 1

Individual Coaching session 1 via Skype (1,5 hours per participant):

  •  Possibility of self-assessment with at least one of the introduced models 
  • Individual feed-back coaching session to the self-assessment

Module 2: Team development – 2 days, 12/13 May 2020 - see description of module 2

  • Personalities in teams
  • Team roles in performing teams
  • Phases of team development
  • Tasks of leader in team development phases
  • Fixing dates for the individual coaching sessions 2
  •  

Individual Coaching session 2 via Skype (1,5 hours per participant):

  •  Depending on individual project and upraising questions

Module 3: Basics of conflict management, polarity management – 2 days, 3/4 December 2020 - see description of module 3

  • Criteria of collaboration
  • Conflict levels
  • Conflict diagnosis
  • Train multiple perspectives approach
  • Develop awareness of polarity
  • Reflect on possibilities to manage polarities
  • Pull together the experiences
  • Develop eventual next steps
  • Evaluate the experience
  • Fixing dates for the individual coaching sessions 3

Individual Coaching session 3 via Skype (1,5 hours per participant):

  • Depending on individual project and upraising questions

Module 4: Communication - basics and for staff talks, closure – 15/16 March 2021 - see description of module 4

  • Verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Levels of communication
  • Questions as leading tool
  • Define goals of staff talks
  • Train preparation and execution of staff talks
  • Distinguish role of moderator from discussion leader