Stephen Yorkstone
stephen yorkstone

Mr Stephen Yorkstone MA(Hons) FRSA FICiPS MAC SFHEA

   

Biography

Steve enables continuous improvement in Edinburgh Napier University, where he works as an internal consultant. In his role he facilitates and runs interventions, from "process reviews" to more tailored workshops; and delivers support and advice informally and formally in terms of consultancy, coaching and training.

He is recognised as an expert on facilitation and has developed, in partnership with Svein Are Tjeltnes at UiT the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, a model for facilitation and associated training.

In 2016 he authored "Lean Universities" in the Shingo Prize Winning 'Routledge Companion to Lean Management'. He edited the book 'Global Lean for Higher Education: A Themed Anthology of Case Studies, Approaches, and Tools' published 2019.

Externally to the University he chairs Lean HE, the international organisation for continuous improvement in universities (see: www.leanhe.org ) and coaches senior leaders in facilitation and change. He sits as Secretary on the Board of the International Association of Facilitators (see: www.iaf-world.org ).

In previous roles he has worked with a number of Universities, including establishing the 'Lean team' in the University of St Andrews where he co-designed the Lean 'St Andrews Model' and established their internationally successful consultancy service.

Esteem

Conference Organising Activity

  • Organiser: Lean HE Global Festival 2020
  • International Programme Committee: European Lean Educator Conference 2019
  • Team Member: KATACON Europe 2018
  • Programme Committee: European Lean Educator Conference 2018
  • Conference Chair: The LMJ OpEx Conference "Achieving Operational Excellence" 2016
  • Conference Chair: 6th Annual LMJ European Conference, 2015
  • Programme Committee: Second International Conference on Lean Six Sigma in Higher Education 2014
  • Conference Chair: Lean Thinking in Universities 2010

 

Editorial Activity

  • Editorial Board Member: The LMJ - thought leadership for process improvement 2014 - 2018

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Senior Fellow: Higher Education Academy
  • Fellow: The Institute of Continuous Improvement in Public Services
  • Fellow: The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts Manufactures and Commerce

 

Invited Speaker

  • Process PalooozAI 2024: Moderator
  • Lean Global Connection 2023 "The value that Higher Education can provide"
  • Lean Global Connection 2022 "Tackling Academic Overburden with Simple Lean Tools"
  • Lean HE International Conference 2022 Panel Chair "People leading people leading lean in Higher Education"
  • Lean HE Poland Online Conference 2022 "Leading Lean Without a Team"
  • Wessex Higher Education Transformation Palooza - weaving lean, process excellence & sustainability, "Introducing and Embedding Lean in a UK University"
  • European Lean Educator Conference 2021, Panel Chair: "Digital Lean Hotspots in the Educational Ecosystem"
  • British Army LGBT Conference 2021 - Leadership: The power of visibility "Confidence"
  • Finnish Universities Quality Network 2019
  • EUROMA 2017: Parallel Session Chair
  • Committee of University Chairs Autumn Plenary 2016
  • Lean Forum Konferens 2012

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Member: International Association of Facilitators
  • Member: Association for Coaching

 

Non-executive Directorship

  • Secretary: International Association of Facilitators

 

Date


18 results

Navigating The Labyrinth: A best practice guide for facilitating change

Report
Tjeldnes, S. A., & Yorkstone, S. (2018)
Navigating The Labyrinth: A best practice guide for facilitating change. Edinburgh/ Tromsø, Norway: Edinburgh Napier University
Facilitation skills have been identified as key to successful improvement initiatives in Higher Education. Why is this? What makes for good facilitation? Are there models of f...

Lean universities.

Book Chapter
Yorkstone, S. (2016)
Lean universities. In T. Netland, & D. J. Powell (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Lean ManagementTaylor & Francis
This chapter examines lean implementation in higher education (HE) institutions. There is evidence of lean initiatives beginning in HE in the US in the early 2000s; there is a...

Establishing Process Improvement Capability in an HE environment

Report
McAssey, R. & Yorkstone, S. (2016)
Establishing Process Improvement Capability in an HE environment. UCISA: UCISA-PCMG
Process improvement activity is increasing in UK universities, partly in response to calls for increased effectiveness and efficiency but also as a response to today’s rapidly...

Becoming a Lean University: The Case of the University of St Andrews.

Book Chapter
Robinson, M., & Yorkstone, S. (2014)
Becoming a Lean University: The Case of the University of St Andrews. In Leadership and Governance in Higher Education: Handbook for Decision-makers and AdministratorsRaabe Verlag
This article looks at how “lean” can be successfully introduced into a higher education setting by discussing what has become known as ‘The St Andrews Model’. The article demo...

High Tech; Lean Tech.

Journal Article
Yorkstone, S. (2014)
High Tech; Lean Tech. Lean Management Journal,
Stephen Yorkstone compares the duplicitous appeal of technology and how drives towards new software and technologies can limit improvement to how visionary change has been ena...

A lean course in higher education.

Journal Article
Yorkstone, S. (2014)
A lean course in higher education. Lean Management Journal,

Leaning Universities Old and New: A comparative case study on the implementation of Lean Thinking in Universities Ancient and Modern, from the perspective of a practitioner

Presentation / Conference
Yorkstone, S. (2013, June)
Leaning Universities Old and New: A comparative case study on the implementation of Lean Thinking in Universities Ancient and Modern, from the perspective of a practitioner. Paper presented at First international conference on Lean Six Sigma for Higher Education, Glasgow, Scotland
Purpose Scottish Universities have experience applying lean Higher Education, in both Ancient and Modern contexts. This paper aims to capture the experience of a practitioner ...

Lean goes back to school.

Journal Article
Yorkstone, S. (2013)
Lean goes back to school. Lean Management Journal. , 24-27
Stephen Yorkstone...discusses the implementation of lean in universities and how higher education can improve by applying its principles.