Tailoring fresh Thinking to Higher Education

We are dedicated to providing positive, people-centred and purpose-led partnership and consultancy support to Higher Education.

Our tools, services, and workshops are meticulously crafted to cater to the unique needs and challenges of the ever-evolving academic landscape, equipping individuals and organisations with the tools to thrive in a dynamic educational environment.

The design and delivery of our work is tailored to meet specific needs and interests of participants.

Our approach often blends face-to-face, virtual and bitesize engagement and e-learning opportunities.

A picture of Charlotte Axon presenting to delegates at the Women in Higher Education Network (WHEN).

“Tailored Thinking helped us to shape, challenge, and harness our collective thinking about how to create and sustain exceptional wellbeing. I would have no hesitation in recommending Tailored Thinking for any organisation looking to develop their thinking and challenge their perspectives in terms of wellbeing and overall organisational performance.”

— Andrew Dodman, former Chief Operating Office at The University of Sheffield and now Chief People Officer of Leeds City Council

Buoyant Mental Health & Wellbeing

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People perform at their best when they are happy, healthy and engaged, when their levels of wellbeing and personal buoyancy are high.

We create a shared language and perspective about what wellbeing means and practical ways to amplify and foster thriving.

Our work includes:

Wellbeing strategy, surveys and diagnostics
Wellbeing workshops for leaders, managers, and individuals
Keynote presentations on building exceptional wellbeing.

Check out our case study from Northumbria University.

Positive Leadership

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Positive leaders create ripples across workplaces, connecting people with purpose and heads with hearts.

We work with leaders to build the mindsets, capabilities and confidence to foster positive performance in themselves and others.

Themes we typically cover include:

Positively deviant leadership skills and behaviours
Change and transformation (the strategy and practice)
Enabling growth and benefit mindsets in leaders and others
Strengths-based leadership and management
Building psychological safety, trust, and confidence in your teams
Creating purpose and vision - an an individual, group, and team level

Check out our case study from Newcastle University.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

The one thing that we all have in common is that we’re all wired differently.

Combined with our unique lived and learned experiences, it’s impossible that we experience the world in the same way.

We work with universities to understand and embrace diversity amongst staff and students and exploring what would make the greatest positive difference when it comes to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Some of the work we do:

Analysis of existing EDI strengths and opportunities for growth (e.g. based on data from surveys, charter mark submissions)
Stakeholder engagement - typically through semi-structured interviews or focus groups
Co-creating strategy and priorities with involvement from key stakeholders (e.g. DEI network groups)

Check out our case study from a Russell Group University.

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Culture, Change, Values & Organisational Design

The world of work never stands still. Change is constant.

We help individuals, teams and universities to navigate change, and new ways of working, by fostering a change mindset and building strong foundations of clear values, competencies, behaviours and purpose.

We offer a range of facilitated and organisational design services including:

Co-creating strategy and priorities with involvement from stakeholders
Creating behavioural frameworks and institutional approaches to living values
Designing positive change and transformation projects

Check out our case study from the University of Wolverhampton.

“Tailored Thinking delivered exactly what we needed. They went the extra mile to gather experiences of our community to make recommendations that were evidence based, realistic, and tailored to our business. These recommendations have led to specific and measured actions that we will work hard to see culture change in the coming years. We enjoyed working with Tailored Thinking and wouldn’t hesitate working with them again in the future.”