Leadership, good management and cooperation are the cornerstones of our outstanding research and teaching at the University of Tübingen. At the helm of a modern research and higher education institution, we at the President’s Office have set out these guidelines to provide orientation and clarity on what we expect from University members with personnel responsibilities, and from all our employees. In our successful bid for excellence status in 2012, we formulated our goal of a culture of commitment and cooperation between our academic, technical and administrative employees. This common effort is strengthened by good leadership and underpinned by good management practices.
Every person who assumes responsibility for employees assumes both a management and leadership role, whether or not they have direct disciplinary responsibility for their team members. It is in this sense that we refer to anyone with leadership and/or managerial roles in these guidelines as ‘leaders’ as well as ‘managers’. The guidelines apply to both, as well as to all areas of the university, whether academic, technical or administrative, including junior and senior faculty, other teaching staff and academic support staff.
All work at the University of Tübingen takes place in an international and diverse environment. We are committed to equity, equal opportunities, diversity, family-friendliness and participation. These guidelines reflect that commitment. They send the message that leadership and good management are important to us. We value all groups of employees. We expect those in management positions to view leadership as part of their range of tasks and to take the necessary time for it -- we at the President’s Office also expect this of ourselves.
Good management is the basis of leadership and can be learned. We offer our team leaders and managers individual opportunities to learn how to implement these guidelines. We also appreciate their efforts to continuously develop and professionalize their leadership skills and to pass them on to the next generation of responsible leaders. At the President’s Office, in the Dean's Offices and in the central administration, we support the implementation and further development of leadership and good management in our university culture.
These guidelines provide the framework for this continued development. By implementing them as concrete measures, we at the University of Tübingen are pursuing our goal of raising the quality of leadership. These guidelines give all University employees cause for reflection and help promote lifelong learning.