Management Forum: leading the way into the future

Have you ever asked yourself:  how can I make a difference as a manager at McGill?  Well, the answer is Management Forum. ‘MForum’ is designed to encourage the exchange of ideas among the 1600 plus managers at McGill. By providing an informal channel of communication between managers and senior administration, it aims to promote the University’s values, objectives and priorities. It also serves to enhance managers’ effectiveness through organizational development. This is what MForum has been doing in the last few years.

MForum was established in the mid-1970s by former Vice-Principal (Finance) Prof. Leo Yaffe as a networking and discussion group for senior McGill executives and managers with a classification of M3 and above. In the late 1980s then Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) John Armour opened the Management Forum membership to include all M classifications of managers and administrators in order to encourage more managers to become involved in discussing the issues facing the University.

MForum has grown from meeting once a year at the annual conference to several social activities throughout the year to what it is today, with four plenary sessions, an annual conference, a mid-winter comedy fest to relieve the blues and an annual wine and cheese/social gathering for colleagues to network and meet new executives.  A ten-person steering committee coordinates these activities. Each committee member is elected by their peers for a two-year term and the chair is elected for a one-year term by the steering committee members. The committee has evolved over time and has redefined its members’ roles to more effectively fulfill its mandate.

Members of the steering committee include Chairperson Antonia Di Paola, Vice‐Chairperson Fran Ezzy-Jorgensen, Secretary Lauren Penney, Treasurer Joel Natanblut, Web Manager Nellie Boyadjieva, Communications Manager David Syncox, Eyal Baruch, Lori Nordland, Patricia Posius, Helen Van Eyk, honorary Macdonald campus member Joanne Ten Eyck, and Immediate Past Chairperson Rosemary Cooke.

In these times of change and challenges at McGill, the steering committee is mindful of where our strengths are and how we can improve our position as a means to reach out to managers. A recent Forum article cites Prof. Henry Mintzberg as identifying the importance for managers to be in touch with employees, emphasizing the important role middle managers play. “Large organizations need middle managers who have the ability to create bridges between senior management and employees … The unifying characteristic of middle management could be the key to avoiding gaps between concrete actions in the field and conceptual issues at higher levels, a problem that often occurs in organizations.”

MForum is working hard to create bridges and has fulfilled its existing mission, encouraging the exchange of ideas among all managers at McGill while providing an informal channel of communication between them and senior administration. Recent events include Managers Matter with Provost Anthony C. Masi presenting the new Academic Strategic Plan (2011 Achieving Strategic Academic Priorities) and Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) Rosie Goldstein presenting the new Strategic Research Plan. In December, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum engaged managers in an open forum to address concerns and hear suggestions on a number of issues. Earlier this year, a session featuring an update on the University’s strategic reframing initiatives (SRIs) was led by Michael Di Grappa, VP (Administration and Finance).  Over 80 managers attended the session in-person while over 100 managers watched the session video-streamed live. This participation is no surprise as mangers have consistently demonstrated their interest and engagement in the past three years.  Here is a summary:

(Approximations-based on head count)

It is obvious McGill managers are an engaged group. They respond enthusiastically to community gatherings by attending MForum events, organizational development sessions, Campus Community activities, and by participating in numerous working groups.

As we look to the future, we can expect more challenges and gains. The status quo won’t suffice to solve the budgetary issues we face so we need to think outside the box to get more input, to develop other forms of feedback. We need to assess the current communication tools and channels used as a community. We also need to adopt video and social networking tools to maximize our outreach capacity, to connect our community university-wide and to lead with excellence in mind.

If you want to be part of an engaged management team, MForum is where it happens. Check our Events calendar for upcoming activities.