Acting VC tasks Deans on 21st century developmental skills

Dr Oluremi Olaleye, Acting Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu, has urged leaders in the institution to equip themselves with 21st century developmental skills.

This, he said, is to enable them to thrive in the new normal, especially at this critical period of university transmutation.

Olaleye spoke at the management competency workshop for Deans and Directors of LASUSTECH, on Wednesday, in Lagos.

The workshop, with the theme, "Enhancing Quality Service Delivery Through Leadership", was organised by the Human Capacity Development Centre (HCDC) of the institution.

He said that all leaders in the institution should equip themselves with certain soft skills so as to raise the bar for those behind them.

"The soft skills such as personal effectiveness, social influence, creativity, effective communication, negotiation and problem solving skills are germane for all leaders in the university system.

"As leaders,we must first believe in the vision of the institution and the vision of this administration to change the narratives.

"Our strategies must be the ones that can be leveraged on by those coming behind us," Olaleye said.

He also emphasised on reproducing quality leaders because the job of leadership was never complete until better leaders were reproduced to take their jobs.

"We must strive to inculcate values, encourage hard work and creativity, while laziness and misconduct are penalised.

"There is no gainsaying the fact that the quality and success of any organisation depends on the quality and attitude of its workforce.

"One of the nine-point agenda of our administration is staff development and welfare, we are so interested in the continuous capacity building of its manpower," Olaleye said.

Dr Abdulazeez Lawal, former Rector, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu (2011-2015), said that the role of managers in the university was to manage any conflict in their various departments.

Lawal said that they could solve existing conflicts by changing the existing structures, adoption of qualitative mechanisms and application of neutrality.

"In any university, we should know that we can only manage conflict, but it can not be eliminated totally," he said.

Also speaking, Mr Olawumi Gasper, former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu (1999-2007), emphasised on improvement of effective strategic management in the university system.

Gasper noted the six guiding principles to successful strategy management for LASUSTECH to adopt.

He listed them as: focus on the most important, leverage strengths, communicate, raise the energy level, remain flexible and invest in outside.

"I will advise all leaders in management and academics of this institution to ensure regular quality academic calendar as a university now," he said.