To help make the strategy a reality, the Provost's Board wanted to develop a set of Values and Behaviours. The Provost's Board tasked the Organisational Development and Inclusion (ODI) team to develop a set of Values using these principles:

  • Co-created with the College community
  • Provost's Board active involvement
  • A culture where 'how things are done' is as important as a result achieved
  • The process as important as the outcome
  • Set the tone for change
  • Deal with inconsistent behaviours
  • Explore what connects us - shared beliefs/assumptions
  • Faculty-led

Focus Groups

A team of facilitators designed 90-minute focus groups to draw out and listen to views directly from College staff. The focus groups started with a definition of what values are before diving into the big questions:

  • What makes / would make Imperial a great place to work?
  • What behaviours do you value from colleagues at Imperial? (and would they be different for leaders?)
  • What are the values that you think are important for Imperial?

The focus group attendees then voted on the top five values, which enabled the ODI team to gather perspectives from staff across the College.

Summary

Overall, we listened to the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of over 400 members of staff. They submitted a list of 360 values – 86 of which were unique. The top 12 most-suggested values were developed into five themes.

The findings

List of unique values

List of unique values
     
Academic Freedom Comradery Ethical Kindness Solution-Focused
Accountability Consistency Excellence Knowledge-Dissemination Strategic
Agility Continuous Improvement Fairness Leadership Strong Leadership
Altruistic Contribution to Society Financial Strength Open-Minded Supportive
Appreciation Courage Friendly Openness Sustainability
Authenticity Creative Giving Outward-Looking Teamwork
Awareness Dedication Global Passion Transparency
Balance Democracy Growth Mindset People Focused Trust
Benefit Society Development Honesty Pride Understanding
Bold Discipline Impact Professionalism Valuing all People
Bravery/Courage Discovery Inclusivity Progressive Visionary
Caring Diversity Independence Quality Work-Life Balance
Civic Minded Effective Innovation Recognition Workload Management
Collaboration Efficiency Inspirational Reflective World-Leading
Collegiality Empathy Integrity Respect  
Commitment Empowerment International Responsibility  
Communication Engagement Internationally Competitive Pay Scholarly  
Community Equality Investment in People Social Responsibility  
Values and Behaviours 2022
86 Unique values

Top 12 most suggested values

  1. Respect
  2. Excellence
  3. Collaboration
  4. Integrity
  5. Supportive
  6. Transparency
  7. Inclusivity
  8. Diversity
  9. Equality
  10. Fairness
  11. Innovation
  12. Openness

Five themes

  • Respect
  • Collaboration
  • Excellence
  • Integrity
  • Innovation