Upcoming bite-size leadership events

All upcoming bite-size leadership events and booking information for University of Edinburgh staff

The spotlight events shine a light on different leadership topics for research, and are based on the UKRI Future Leaders Fellows leadership retreat materials. You can choose to attend all events, for the equivalent of a full research leadership programme, or just those events that are of most interest. 

All events are one-hour long, online, and usually run once a month on a Tuesday. They are open to University of Edinburgh staff only.

TopicDescriptionDate (13:00 to 14:00)Booking link (via P&M)
Spotlight on building self-awareness for leadershipGreat leadership begins with a strong sense of self, a prerequisite for effective and authentic team leadership. Leaders need to understand their own drivers and motivators, and how they might perceive and respond to others. This event aims to provide tools to build self-awareness for enhanced leadership and efficacy in research.  23 September, 2025, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on self-doubt and the inner criticIt is particularly common for research leaders to have a strong inner critic and imposter feelings, which can impede progress. This event aims to equip leaders with a greater understanding of why they might experience self-doubt, and how to reduce or manage their inner critic to enhance performance.21 October, 2025, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on building effective research teams Building and maintaining teams and addressing team dysfunction and conflict are essential aspects of delivering successful research projects. This event aims to provide key ideas and models for building effective teams, building trust, and consider practical things that leaders can do and say to prevent team dysfunction. 25 November, 2025, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on situational leadership and motivating othersGood leadership often entails a degree of agility – the willingness and ability to change approach, based on the ever-emerging picture of what our team is needing, wanting, expecting. Good leaders also need to understand what motivates others to support individuals to deliver on tasks and achieve goals. This event aims to provide two different frameworks which can help with deciding which leadership style to use and when, as well as outline key theories of motivation to support others to act and achieve goals. 27 January, 2026, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on coaching and delegationAs leaders we cannot know everything or have all the answers. Using coaching approaches helps our team to help themselves, enabling them to find answers for themselves. This event aims to introduce active listening, provide frameworks for how you can use coaching approaches in your conversations, and explore a model for developing others for effective delegation of tasks.  24 February, 2026, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on challenging conversations and non-violent communication As research leaders, giving feedback and having important conversations are some of the more important elements of managing others. Having important and respectful conversations requires very careful planning to make them effective. This event aims to provide a useful planning structure for having challenging or important conversations, and outlines an approach to promote honest and respectful dialogue. 24 March, 2026, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on values and vision in researchIt is important for leaders to understand and articulate their values, as this will impact the types of research projects they undertake and the types of cultures they create. Leaders also need to be able to articulate their research vision in a single narrative, which others such as their teams or funders will be able to understand and buy into. This event aims to provide tools for uncovering individual and collective values and looks at ways to effectively define and articulate a research vision, helping leaders to bring others with them toward a common goal. 28 April, 2026, OnlineBook onto event
Spotlight on strategic thinking and planning for research Leadership requires us to know where we are heading, scan the horizon, and plan for the future. It involves planning, prioritising, and adapting your research to achieve specific, well-defined objectives, rather than conducting research in an ad-hoc or reactive manner. This event aims to explore tools and techniques to help researchers define their future goals, prioritise activities, and horizon scan to prepare for the future. 28 May, 2026, OnlineBook onto event

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