Imperial is committed to improving our working culture and helping build a positive and enabling environment for all.

In support of this initiative, our Provost has sponsored the development of a suite of core College Values and Behaviours that will guide our behaviour as a community.

By defining these Values and Behaviours and embedding them in our daily working lives, we can better understand what is expected of us, recognise and reward positive behaviour, and actively address poor conduct. 

Behaviours for everyone

Respect

Ambition

We treat each other fairly, with kindness and respectvaluing each person’s individual experience, perspectives and contribution  

Key words

  • Diversity 
  • Empathy 
  • Understanding  
  • Balance

Positive Behaviours

  • I treat every colleague and student with respect and dignity
  • I take responsibility for my behaviour and my impact on others
  • I am curious and seek to understand different perspectives 
  • I make sure my words and actions are kind and considerate 
  • I consider and respond to the needs of others

Negative Behaviours

  • I am disrespectful and talk behind people’s backs
  • I use “them vs us” as a way of dividing 
  • I show different levels of respect to different colleagues

Collaboration

Ambition

We work together, cultivating an inclusive and impactful College community

Key words

  • Communication 
  • Teamwork 
  • Community  
  • Supportive 
  • Inclusive

Positive Behaviours

  • I seek out, listen to, and learn from different perspectives 
  • I openly share information, plans and progress  
  • I invest time and effort into building effective relationships  
  • I show interest and care for my colleague’s work   
  • I provide feedback on ideas and behaviours, listen and act on feedback

Negative Behaviours

  • I keep my knowledge, expertise and ideas to myself 
  • I do not offer to help  
  • I take credit for the work of others

Excellence

Ambition

We strive for quality in everything we do, taking pride in our work, delivering impact through our commitment 

Key words

  • Impact  
  • Accountability 
  • Effectiveness 
  • Dedication

Positive Behaviours

  • I take ownership of my objectives and ensure they are in service of the College mission 
  • I take personal responsibility for the quality of my work and I make the best use of my time by planning and prioritising tasks  
  • I consider how I respond to what is needed and where it is appropriate, I dedicate time to thinking as well as doing, taking a longer-term view  
  • I challenge myself and my colleagues to make a positive difference through the work that we do 
  • I seek out opportunities to develop my knowledge and skills 

Negative Behaviours

  • I fail to learn from my mistakes 
  • I do not take pride in my work 
  • I think I have nothing to learn   
  • I shirk my responsibilities and say “that’s not my job” 

Integrity

Ambition

We act in a  principled way, being honest and open, checking, challenging and changing our practices and behaviours when necessary.

Key words

  • Transparency
  • Ethics 
  • Trust  
  • Authenticity

Positive Behaviours

  • I listen carefully and respond honestly    
  • I ask for guidance to help me make the right decisions  
  • I speak up when I observe that something isn’t right  
  • I admit my mistakes and take action to resolve them 

Negative Behaviours

  • I blame others  
  • I fail to highlight issues  
  • I am not prepared to change  
  • I cover things up, do not answer questions honestly or completely

Innovation

Ambition

We become inspired by possibilities, venturing into the unknown with open minds and having the courage to embrace change 

Key words

  • Creativity  
  • Visionary  
  • Courage 
  • Discovery

Positive Behaviours

  • I approach my work with a positive and optimistic mindset  
  • I challenge the status quo and seek better ways of getting work done/having an impact  
  • I actively search for new and different options and opportunities    
  • I look beyond my world, seeking inspiration from diverse sources  
  • I seek to understand the need for change and find opportunities to create solutions 

Negative Behaviours

  • I am rigid in my thinking and ways of working 
  • I adopt a negative or pessimistic mindset 
  • I think I have all the answers 

Behaviours for leaders

Respect

Ambition

We treat each other fairly, with kindness and respectvaluing each person’s individual experience, perspectives and contribution  

Key words

  • Diversity 
  • Empathy 
  • Understanding  
  • Balance

Positive Behaviours

  • I get to know and am able to draw on my team’s strengths, experience and perspectives  
  • I continually build my own and my team’s awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) 
  • I have open and courageous conversations about  bullying and discrimination, listening and learning from the lived experiences of others  
  • I take action to eliminate bullying and discrimination from processes, policies and services  
  • I ensure my service enables participation for all staff and customers 

Negative Behaviours

  • I allow discrimination or dis-respect to go unchallenged  
  • I have favourites and treat people unfairly  
  • I do not display empathy  

Collaboration

Ambition

We work together, cultivating an inclusive and impactful College community

Key words

  • Communication 
  • Teamwork 
  • Community  
  • Supportive 
  • Inclusive

Positive Behaviours

  • I create an inclusive environment where it is safe for everyone to speak up, share their perspective, and ask for help 
  • I encourage and seek feedback from multiple stakeholders 
  • I build positive working relationships, drawing on diverse strengths and expertise  
  • I proactively seek opportunities for myself and my team to work with others, internally and externally 
  • I establish and communicate clear lines of responsibility, holding people accountable

Negative Behaviours

  • I fail to tackle bullying and exclusionary behaviours  
  • I allow my team to work in a silo 
  • I don’t involve my team 
  • I only actively connect with a limited network of people who think like me 

Excellence

Ambition

We strive for quality in everything we do, taking pride in our work, delivering impact through our commitment 

Key words

  • Impact  
  • Accountability 
  • Effectiveness 
  • Dedication

Positive Behaviours

  •  I recognise outstanding performance and tackle bullying or disrespectful behaviours and underachievement  
  • I ensure the quest for excellence is balanced with realistic expectations and care for my team’s wellbeing   
  • I ensure there is time to plan, review and learn  
  • I create and share connections between my team’s work and the College’s mission and strategic objectives  
  • I delegate work appropriately, taking skills, strengths, and time into consideration

Negative Behaviours

  • I accept poor performance  
  • I drive excellence at the cost of the other values  
  • I create unrealistic objectives, plans or deadlines

Integrity

Ambition

We act in a  principled way, being honest and open, checking, challenging and changing our practices and behaviours when necessary.

Key words

  • Transparency
  • Ethics 
  • Trust  
  • Authenticity

Positive Behaviours

  • I trust and enable my team to make good decisions, guiding them in the right direction  
  • I am always honest, even if the message is tough or unpopular  
  • I provide clarity and the reasoning behind my decisions  
  • I proactively ensure issues are discussed, managed and effectively resolved  
  • I respectfully challenge my team, my peers and my leaders when things are not right 

Negative Behaviours

  • I allow small issues to fester and grow into larger problems  
  • I fail to back people up   
  • I do not respect confidentiality or share inappropriately

Innovation

Ambition

We become inspired by possibilities, venturing into the unknown with open minds and having the courage to embrace change 

Key words

  • Creativity  
  • Visionary  
  • Courage 
  • Discovery

Positive Behaviours

  • I draw appropriate insights from analytics, understanding current context and future potential to set direction but also their limitations  
  • I champion and create space for the exploration of diverse ideas  
  • I make decisions about what to stop, start or change, carefully balancing risk and reward  
  • I allow my team to experiment and fail safely in the pursuit of progress  
  • I share my passion, belief and enthusiasm for my subject and the core work of the College 

Negative Behaviours

  • I spend my time firefighting short-term issues  
  • I am defensive to feedback  
  • I do not listen or respond to ideas

See how the Values link to Imperial Expectations