About 12 years ago, I accepted an offer to join the University as an employee. To me, this was an opportunity to contribute to an institution that imparted knowledge to me. However, a close friend of mine told me that though I saw it that way, which was good, she was of the view that it would also serve as a launch pad for greater heights! I took note of her sentiment but only realized that she was right a couple of years later.

Coming back to the University as part of administration was totally different from the experience I had as a student.

I saw a complex Management Structure consisting of administration, academic affairs, student affairs, among others. My duties straddled across all the segments which ultimately reported to the governing body.

Stakeholder identification and engagement were active factors in the life of the University. For example, I realized that the Government was a key stakeholder as the owner and biggest single client of the University in terms of sponsorship of learners, which was the core business of the University. This taught me to appreciate the structures of government and the different considerations that had to be given in arriving at decisions. Further, the University’s employee representative and student bodies were critical stakeholders in that industrial and student harmony had a direct impact on the core business of the University.

I recall that I was a member of the University’s Biomedical Ethics Committee under the School of Medicine in my capacity as a legal professional. This was eye opening for me as I interacted with medical professionals at different levels and was given a unique insight into medical research. I saw the commitment of the profession to the public from a different perspective.

Another highlight of my experience was in business development and investment. At the University, I experienced the birth and implementation of initiatives aimed at sweating assets and increasing the organization’s sources of revenue to complement the core business.

My negotiation skills for out of court settlements was tested in that I was operating in an environment where resources to settle cases were not adequate to satisfy all claims when they fell due. Management had to come up with ways of reducing the cost of litigation that entailed balancing the needs and capacity of the University and the expectations of claimants.

One of my earliest experiences with empathy as an organizational tool for leadership was at the University. We were faced with situations where the rationale for resource allocation required us to interrogate issues beyond what the naked eye could see by placing ourselves in the shoes of others to be able to justify recommended action.

I am now able to flex on my experience at this institution when I need it!

I would like to hear flexes from experiences from colleagues as I close part 1 of 3 of this topic of discussion.