WELCOME TO STAR® COACH

STAR® Coach - Driving Success at University of Exeter!

We believe that developing coaching across the University will play an important role in developing people and supporting our employees to be their best.

We have partnered with Notion to deliver the STAR® Coach programme and are delighted to be able to offer funded places to employees across faculties and professional services who are interested in utilising coaching in their workplace as part of their personal and professional development.

The Programme

Our next programme will run for 3-6 months from November 2024. Learners on the Notion STAR® Coach Programme will be given access to online content to work through the programme from anywhere, at a time that suits them. This programme encourages the use of coaching skills and style to support employees and students. In addition to Notion, the People Development team will support you where needed and should you wish put you in touch with other staff on the programme at the institution. You will then be able to share your experience and support each other to stay on track.

STAR® Coach consists of 10 online modules, with “missions” to carry out in the workplace to practice your skills. 

Learners have access to the online content and resources for the full 3-6 months and can repeat modules as many times as they like.  They are encouraged to attend “Live Learning Stations” throughout the programme to consolidate their learning and give the programme a human element.

The People Development team will support you through online regular cohort meetings, where you’ll be able to share your experience and support each other to stay on track.

As a result of completing the programme, learners will be able to assist employees to develop better interpersonal skills, support an individual’s potential and provide career support, handle conflict situations and resolve them effectively, and deal with the impact of change on an individual’s role through coaching.

Who should apply?

We are inviting applications from colleagues at all levels, this programme is ideally suited to those with some management responsibility or who delegate and/or support others as part of their role.

Applicants must be able to schedule time in their diaries each week (at least one hour) to complete the programme on time.  There may be times where if this isn’t possible in working hours, we would still encourage you to engage with the online content at a time convenient to you to ensure successful completion of the programme.

How do I apply?!

Please apply using the MS form linked here by Monday 18/11 at midday and those successful will hear back within a few days after this.  https://forms.office.com/e/dxpf0snWMf

Those successful in gaining a funded place will need to be ready to start the programme via an online ‘Lift Off’ call with Notion on either 27/11 (9:30am) or 3/12  (4pm) as an introduction to the programme.

Please ensure you are able to allow yourself time to complete some of the early modules before the Christmas break to ensure the best start possible.Any questions/issues regarding the application please contact peopledevelopment@exeter.ac.uk

Progression…

There may be some opportunities to progress (after completion of STAR® Coach Practitioner) on to Notion’s STAR® Manager Practitioner and then the Certified Master Coach (CMC) programme. This is subject to university funding as we move into 2025.

What is STAR® Coach?

Your programme is made up of 10 interactive learning modules. You’ll also be invited to join your Tutors on Live Learning Stations which they run every fortnight to answer any questions you have. You can join as many of these as you’d like to and each one lasts an hour.

How does the programme work?

The STAR® Coach programme is made up of a series of workplace missions each set up by a short module of online learning and then followed by a guided reflection exercise to tease out new insights and embed the learning.

Prepare – Do – Review! – these 3 simple steps are all that’s needed to keep your learning journey on track and help you complete each module of your programme.

Prepare – at the beginning of each module we’ll introduce you to the core concepts you’ll need to understand to carry out your Mission

Do – in each module you are given a workplace Mission, to be completed as part of your normal working day, to put into practice concepts that will transform your interactions with others

Review – at the end of each Mission you’ll be asked to reflect upon its success, identify the benefits it brought you and how taking this approach can help you again in the future You will need to block out time in your diary each week for these 3 steps! Committing to a couple of half-hour slots a week will see you power through the programme! Act now, get out your diary and set aside the time required to achieve success!

Plan to succeed!

Learners progress through their programme best when they set aside blocks of time in their diaries to help keep them on track.

You need to be prepared to commit to a couple of 30 minute blocks a week to complete the programme across a 12 week period.

Get off to a great start:

You can manage the programme around your other commitments. If you have a busy week – you won’t miss anything, you can simply pick up from where you left off by adding a little bit of extra time into the next few weeks to stay on track.

What support will I get? Live Learning Stations!

Once you access your notion.global account you will be able to book directly onto these sessions via your journey map. We will send you further information nearer the time, so keep an eye out for this in your emails. These Live Learning Stations will be recorded and available to all learners. 

If you ever get stuck on a particular subject or need an answer to a burning question, then you can join the fortnightly Live Learning Stations with a Notion Tutor. Here you’ll get the opportunity to have your questions answered, as well as hearing and discussing questions from your fellow learners.

Our dedicated Mission Control Team are standing by ready to assist you with any queries and to support you throughout your journey. You can contact them on +44 (0)1926 298 585, Monday-Friday between 08:30 – 17:30 (UK time) or email them on success@notion.global at any time.

"Our mission is your success!"

How about a sneak peek?!

STAR® in The Words of Other Learners at University of Exeter

“The effectiveness of working with [international] colleagues led to an additional contract to provide academic advice for their research into education for the next two years. Two year extension contract – £30,000 per year”
“Greater research team collaboration = more successful fellowships – Each fellowship is worth £300,000”
“I find 1-to-1s much more useful and look forward to them now – it used to be the worst part of my job.”
“Running through my first full STAR® model coaching conversation was a huge success for me and has shown me how far I have come from the start of the programme.”
“This course has changed the way I listen to colleagues by making me stop and really pay attention rather than trying to solve the problem before they have finished speaking.r”
“I am using a totally different approach to supporting my direct reports – asking coaching questions regularly to empower them to identify ways of solving problems and challenges.”
“This programme is transformational. I admit I didn’t understand how it could make such a difference at the beginning of the process, but I have seen changes in myself as a researcher and in my ability to manage others. I actually enjoy work a lot more, because I feel like I have the power and the confidence to take responsibility for what I’m doing. I look forward to sharing that feeling with others”
“Having adopted more of a coaching style to managing the team, I now spend less time directing them in their individual tasks and continually answering questions and problem solving by encouraging them to take ownership of their work and think through their solutions. This allows me more time to spend on things that specifically require my attention, including the development of new projects and collaborations and developing future direction and strategy”
“A students limiting belief about not being good at methods was challenged. We agreed to try an animation software that was free of charge to come up with a game that can be used as a task for the study. Student did an excellent job that saved us money to buy expensive test software – £800,000”
“I feel my meetings are becoming more focused and outcome driven. I’m trying to encourage others to problem solve through a coaching style, rather than me coming up with the solutions. I’m learning to pause and check myself more and think of the outcomes of how I approach interactions before I commence. I’ve had some positive feedback from staff about being understanding in situations.”