Mission, values, and expectations

At the U, our mission is to transform lives through education, research, innovation and service. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where everyone at the University feels valued and has the opportunity to add value.

We intentionally shape our culture by adhering to a set of shared values and behaviors, service standards, and leadership expectations.

Our core values of diversity, integrity, responsibility, excellence, compassion, creativity, and teamwork provide the foundation for all of our behaviors.

Our service standards of safety, caring, responsiveness, and professionalism provide guidelines for how we treat one another and those we serve.

Our leadership expectations to build trust, be visionary, be inspirational, serve others, develop people, be courageous, be decisive and, demonstrate business acumen provide behavioral expectations for those who serve as University leaders

• Diversity

  Valuing and including people from all cultures and backgrounds in the pursuit of our common goals.

  Behaviors
  - I view differences of opinion as essential for growth.
  - I treat everyone with dignity and understanding.
  - I respect all members of the University community.

• Integrity

  Demonstrating honesty and fairness in our words and actions

  Behaviors
  - I uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior.
  - I act with sincerity and truthfulness in all interactions.
  - I model fair treatment and respect for everyone.

• Responsibility

  Exhibiting pride and accountability in the performance of duties and ensuring the long-term success of our University.

  Behaviors
  - I utilize University resources in a responsible manner.
  - I make the goals of the University my priority.
  - I am dependable and trustworthy.

• Excellence

  Striving to accomplish our goals with quality, rigor, passion, and distinction.

  Behaviors
  - I perform each task with the highest level of quality.
  - I exceed the expectations of everyone I serve.
  - I actively seek opportunities to learn, grow, and improve performance.

• Compassion

  Behaving in a caring, humane, and empathic way.

  Behaviors
  - I seek to transform the lives of others for the better.
  - I listen to others with empathy and understanding.
  - I help to resolve and relieve stressful situations.

• Creativity

  Embracing innovation, flexibility, and originality in the pursuit of our vision and mission.

  Behaviors
  - I actively pursue new and better ways for achieving desired results.
  - I recognize and encourage creativity among my colleagues.
  - I see improvement as my responsibility.

• Teamwork

  Engaging and working well together to achieve optimal results.

  Behaviors
  - I always communicate honestly and openly.
  - I treat others as they would like to be treated.
  - I support my colleagues in the pursuit of our common goals.

• Safety

  Providing for the welfare and peace of mind for all.

  Behaviors
  - Know and follow all safety procedures in your area.
  - Identify and help address potential safety hazards.
  - Educate others on safe behaviors.
  - Protect privacy of information.

• Caring

  Treating every person with respect and dignity.

  Behaviors
  - Listen to the needs, wants, and expectations of the people I serve.
  - Know or find answers for the people I serve.
  - Treat everyone with courtesy and respect.

• Responsiveness

  Delivering the highest level of quality service with the optimal use of time and resources.

  Behaviors
  - Offer others help when needed.
  - Address issues that negatively impact service.
  - Reduce waste of time and resources.
  - Look for ways to continuously improve and innovate.

• Professionalism

  Exhibiting quality in our physical environments and personal behaviors.

  Behaviors
  - Maintain an appearance appropriate to my role.
  - Present an orderly and clean work environment.
  - Display a positive, solution-oriented attitude.

Expected leadership behaviors associated with building trust, being a visionary, being inspirational, serving others, developing people, being courageous, being decisive and, demonstrating business acumen are:

• Builds Trust

  Able to be transparent by being authentic, conveying trust, and communicating openly, while involving key stakeholders in decision-making.

  Behaviors
  - Practice humility and openness.
  - Conduct regular 1:1 meetings with individual team members.
  - Share information in a timely and effective manner.
  - Involve my team in making decisions that improve our processes.

• Visionary

  Able to take a long-term perspective, conveying a belief in an outcome, and displaying the confidence to reach goals.

  Behaviors
  - Connect people to the long-term outcomes of their day-to-day tasks.
  - Advise staff and faculty to create goals that move the organization continuously towards excellence.
  - Coach others on generating solutions that help us reach our goals.

• Inspirational

  Able to inspire and motivate others in a positive manner.

  Behaviors
  - Promote a positive and optimistic workforce.
  - Redirect conversations to be positive, reducing/discouraging negativity in the workplace.
  - Regularly use stories about my colleagues to positively illustrate business insights/objectives.

• Serves Others

  Able to remove hassles and roadblocks so that others can accomplish tasks and goals.

  Behaviors
  - Be approachable and accessible.
  - Actively listen to team members and follow-up on their concerns.
  - Ask staff members “How can I help you?” at the end of each status update meeting.
  - Encourage and facilitate collaboration for stakeholders to work together to accomplish tasks and goals.

• People Developer

  Able to provide opportunities for people to be better, know better, and do better.

  Behaviors
  - Encourage and support training and development for staff and faculty.
  - Provide timely and effective feedback.
  - Meet with staff regularly to discuss their professional and personal development opportunities.
  - Continually develop myself as a leader.

• Courageous

  Able to seek out opportunities for continuous improvement, and fearless in intervening in challenging situations.

  Behaviors
  - Recognize opportunities to identify challenges and propose solutions.
  - Seek new ways of doing things to improve processes and solve problems.
  - Do what is “right” rather than what might be “popular.”

• Decisive

  Able to make informed decisions in a timely fashion.

  Behaviors
  - Educate myself before making decisions.
  - Consider how decisions will affect my team and others.
  - Know when to make decisions and when to empower team members to make them.

• Business Acumen

  Able to understand and transact business in a manner that leads to the best outcomes.

  Behaviors
  - Be responsive and professional.
  - Communicate expectations and hold my team accountable for service excellence.
  - Know the business and operation of my unit/department/division to achieve the most positive outcomes.