Academic leadership for postdocs

Doing research and taking up leadership… it is not an obvious combination. This three-day program, led by Wendy Van den Bulck (True Colours), focuses on a number of basic leadership skills.

The first day focuses on your professional identity:

• Making a distinction between who you are as a person and who you are/want to be in your role as a postdoc
• Getting insight in leadership roles
• Establishing a ‘role identity’: who do I want to be in taking up a leadership role?
• Installing a solution focused mindset and conducting solution focused communication
• Influencing based on connection and on awareness of the impact of behaviour on behaviour

The second day is devoted to (mainly one-on-one) interaction:

• Active listening
• Having difficult conversations, from an accurate balance between connection and clarity (feedback conversations, bringing bad news,…)
• Gaining insight into different leadership styles and how to use them accurately to create an efficient balance between leading in a result-oriented and people-oriented way

The third day zooms out to team level:

• The importance of self-motivation and how it can be nurtured
• Recognizing the phases of team development
• Recognizing the Building blocks of effective and constructive cooperation, and making good use of them in the light of your team strategy
• Stakeholder management: how do you get a better view on your stakeholder field and how do you set up a communication plan that helps to also have 'less obvious' conversations with 'more difficult' stakeholders

Learning outcomes

After having attended this workshop, you are able to...

• Day 1:
  • have a clear(er) view on your professional identity
  • look at complex and delicate problems and leadership challenges in a solution focused way
  • be clear about your expectations and needs with respect to others
  • influence people in a constructive way
  • establish open communication & come to clear agreements 
• Day 2:
  • give and receive feedback in a constructive way (balance connection & clarity) to take performance to a higher level
  • gain insight in the qualities and pitfalls of your own personal leadership style
  • continuously check whether the leadership style (still) corrensponds with what is expedient and to adjust the style when needed insight in the qualities and pitfalls of your own personal leadership style
  • coach others and help them to find solutions without taking over
• Day 3:
  • have a clear view on your own motivation in your role as a postdoc
  • inspire and motivate colleagues to contribute to the larger whole
  • recognize team phases
  • be explicit about shared goals and results that you want to achieve and why they are so important
  • explore mutual expectations about tasks, roles, responsibilities in a constructive way and what it takes to commit to each other
  • be clear about working agreements that guide the collaboration, rather than trusting on 'we'll see'
  • determine which topics you should discuss with whom to improve cooperation within the team
  • identify different parties and stakeholders that are important for realizin your goals

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• interpersonal competences:
  • assertiveness
  • leadership
  • (interdisciplinary) collaboration 
  • oral communication
  • stakeholder awareness
• personal effectiveness:
  • flexibility
  • responsibility
  • self-confidence
  • self-development

For whom?

• postdocs
• 12 places available

When and where?

• October 24, November 14 & December 12, 2025 - 09:00-17:00
• Location: Campus Hasselt, Building Old Prison, yellow room (D1.1)

Preparation?

Two weeks before the start of the first training day, participants receive an intake questionnaire to provide insight into their specific learning needs. They are also asked to submit two concrete cases they would like to explore during the program. The intake responses serve as the basis for tailoring the program to the needs of each participant group.

Registration?

• Registration is closed since September 28, 2025.
• Please register only if you can attend all three days.
• As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email after the registration deadline has passed.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).