Thought of the fortnight: ‘What qualities do you look for in people that work for you?’

The latest in a series of blogs composed from a range of members' experiences, ideas and opinions ‘crowd-sourced’ on specific fortnightly topics.

Posted by AHUA Office on 27th November, 2024

With AHUA members often overseeing very large, complex portfolios and dependent on a range of specialist roles reporting to them they need to make sure they get the right people. We were interested, not in the specialisms that our members are managing, but in the qualities and characteristics that they look for when recruiting and which they cultivate within their teams.

One respondent summed up why qualities are so important when they said ‘If the qualities are right, the specific skills can be learned.’. Here are some of the other contributions:

– Hard-working
– Creative and problem-solving
– Ambitious for their institution
– Collaborative and entrepreneurial
– Open to new ideas and ready to learn
– Consistent, and with integrity
– Genuinely understand and want to practice servant leadership

‘To answer the question I look for high performance and high trust but medium performance but high trust may suffice. This is based on Simon Sinek’s Trust vs Performance which is thought-provoking’

Adaptability: Ability to adapt to the rapidly evolving higher education landscape, including digital transformation and regulatory changes.

Resilience: Maintains focus and motivation during periods of uncertainty or high pressure.

Data literate: Skilled in using data for decision-making, problem-solving, and improving processes.

Collaborative: Works effectively across departments and disciplines, fostering a culture of inclusivity and mutual support. Builds positive relationships with academic staff, students, and external partners to align services with institutional goals.

Innovative: Seeks and implements new ideas to enhance efficiency, student experience, or institutional outcomes.

Customer-first: Demonstrating empathy and understanding the diverse needs and challenges of their customers, ensuring services are equitable and supportive. Strives to deliver high-quality, responsive, and accessible services and deliver operational excellence.

Forward-thinking and strategic: Anticipates challenges and develops proactive, sustainable solutions. Understands importance and acts in ways that reflect the university’s mission.

Proactive

People-focussed – committed to developing staff to achieve their full potential; not micro-managing

Take responsibility/ownership; be accountable

Manage upwards effectively – I always describe it as I don’t want any surprises (don’t want a no.10 bus coming round the corner and knocking me over – I want to know it’s coming)

Mistakes are fine – just highlight them and try not to make the same mistakes

‘I can’t achieve anything much without others, so the efforts of members of my team – and I mean that in the widest sense – are critical. Qualities I really admire and seek out are curiosity, imagination and positive energy. Skills can be developed, but those qualities can make such a difference to the contribution of a team.’

Finally, one member talked about how the current context is slightly changing the essential qualities they look for.

‘Right now, perhaps more than ever, I am looking for people who are brave, who can constructively ask questions that challenge their own and others’ thinking. People who can manage change effectively. The current challenges mean that the responsibility for identifying the right initiatives and carrying out transformational change in the right way needs to be shared more widely’.