Are you searching for inspiration to fuel your own journey in leadership and personal development? Look no further than the latest episode of our podcast, featuring Craig Best in conversation with Dr. Jill Creighton. This thought-provoking discussion is packed with candid stories, honest reflections, and actionable takeaways that you won’t want to miss.

One of the main themes that emerges from this episode is the ongoing process of growth—both personally and professionally. Craig Best is refreshingly open about the importance of learning from failure and embracing vulnerability in the leadership space. Through his anecdotes and experiences, listeners are reminded that the path to success isn’t linear, and that setbacks are not just inevitable, but invaluable. Craig’s perspective encourages us to reframe mistakes as opportunities for learning and self-improvement rather than sources of shame.

Another powerful topic explored during the episode is the significance of authentic relationships. Both Dr. Creighton and Dr. Lewis draw out compelling insights as Craig shares how cultivating trust and genuine connections can create lasting impact. Whether you’re a leader in your organization or working to develop your own network, the episode is packed with practical advice for fostering environments where everyone feels empowered and heard.

The episode also delves into the idea of legacy—how leaders shape their environments today, and how their choices reverberate over time. Craig discusses the mentors who have influenced him, the lessons he hopes to pass on, and the obligation leaders have to support and uplift others. This conversation is an important reminder of the ripple effect our words and actions can have, both now and in the future.

Finally, you’ll be inspired by the emphasis on self-awareness and intentionality as essential leadership tools. The dialogue is filled with strategies for staying grounded, keeping ego in check, and navigating challenges with empathy and grace.

If you’re looking for a compelling listen that blends insight, authenticity, and actionable wisdom, this episode with Craig Best, and Dr. Jill Creighton is one you can’t afford to skip. Tune in now and unlock new perspectives that will help you lead, grow, and connect more effectively—both in your personal life and your professional journey.

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:02 ]:
Welcome to Student Affairs Voices from the Field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts brought to you by naspa. We curate free and accessible professional development for higher ed pros wherever you happen to be. This is season 13 on the value of student affairs. I'm Dr. Jill Creighton. She her hers your Essay Voices from the Field host Today on Essay Voices, we're headed across the pond to meet Craig Best, who's currently the Director of Student and Academic Services at the University of Manchester. Craig is a senior higher education leader and researcher with extensive experience shaping student experience, governance and digital innovation across UK universities. As a Director at the University of Manchester, he oversees a broad portfolio spanning student success, outreach and access, curriculum and quality development, international transnational education and collaborations, interdisciplinary learning, careers and employability, student volunteering and success and administrative services including timetabling, data management, student records, admissions and student finance.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:09 ]:
His leadership is defined by emotional intelligence, participatory decision making and a strategic focus on sustainable institutional impact. Craig's research at the University of Bath explores the intersection of emotional intelligence, systems thinking and higher education governance, with particular attention to digital transformation and policy implementation. A central theme of his work is the role of leadership playing in a volatile and uncertain climate we now find ourselves in. Beyond research, Craig translates theory into practice. He's led transformative initiatives and quality assurance, service delivery and workforce planning, admissions collaborations. Wow, starting that whole paragraph over. Sorry. Beyond research, Craig translates theory into practice.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:48 ]:
He's led transformative initiatives in quality assurance, service delivery and workforce planning, admissions and collaborations. His approach ensures that institutional change aligns with mission and market realities while advancing student outcomes and staff development. Craig also serves on the Academic Registrar Council Executive in the uk, contributing to sector wide leadership and policy discussions as a mentor and advocate for professional growth. He champions leadership grounded in ethical reasoning, critical thinking and systems awareness, bringing comparative international perspectives to inform policy, practice and innovation in UK higher ed. Driven by inclusivity, innovation and service excellence, he Craig combines deep sector knowledge with creative problem solving, positioning institutions to navigate complex challenges while sustaining their core mission and enhancing the student and staff experience. Craig, welcome to SA Voices.

Craig Best [00:02:37 ]:
Hi Jill. It's really nice to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:40 ]:
Lovely to see you again. You first engaged with NASPA at this year's annual conference. Which happened. Where were we?

Craig Best [00:02:48 ]:
New Orleans.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:49 ]:
New Orleans, that's right. I was. I was thinking Seattle, but that was two years ago now. I believe that was your first exposure to naspa, right?

Craig Best [00:02:55 ]:
It was absolutely my first exposure. Exposure and it blew me away. What NASPA does. I've come back singing the praises of NASPA and how the US model the work around student affairs and academic affairs is just absolutely fantastic. Lots of learning happened, lots of thoughts. So yeah, it's really great to be on the podcast to talk a little bit more about the UK and kind of where I've come and where all those kind of directions to travels are.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:03:22 ]:
Well, as far as English speaking countries that are producing a lot of research, the UK is certainly at the top of that list as well, producing a lot of information at the moment. And a lot of change is happening in the British higher education landscape. So I thought we'd use our episode today to help our primarily North American audience learn a little bit more about what student services looks like in the UK and what we call things, because we have a lot of students coming over to study abroad. And in my own experience, I think that there's a lot of assumptions that we understand each other's culture more easily because we speak the same language. But I've also found that's really not true in a lot of cases. And so that assumption can get us into trouble when we think we understand the context and maybe we don't. So I'd love to start with Amashi actually, and if you could tell us a bit about what Amashi is, because for our North American listeners, it's really the analog in the UK to NASPA in a lot of ways, but the purview is a little bit broader because of the way that things are structured. So why don't you tell us about Amashi and what you do there?

Craig Best [00:04:23 ]:
Yeah, no. So there's a number of associations in the UK and the British sector. So the one that probably is a closest aligned to naspa, as you said, Jill, is Omoshi, which is as its full name, which is rarely ever used, is the association of Managers of Student Services and Higher Education. Rolls off the tongue naturally. That's been about for about 20, 25 years and it's focused on what we in the, in particular in the UK refer to as student services. And traditionally that's focused quite a lot on your safeguarding, your mental health, your well being, some of the work around student experience and development, but mainly it focuses on the welfare and wellbeing side of the institution. But it does range into things like equality and diversity. It does deal with complaints and appeals and that process.

Craig Best [00:05:16 ]:
But that group is predominantly your director level. So and I appreciate we've had a chat about this previously, is even our titles are different between the US and the uk. So a director level in the UK is around Europe, probably your Associate VP role within the us. So that traditionally was a smaller. A group of people that would come together, share good practice. And over the last 10 years, with most of our associations, it's broadened out to be an opportunity to bring people in to talk about the key themes and subjects. So sexual violence and harassment, looking at how we support Black heritage students or widening participation Students to succeed has been a big part. And for two years prior to the role I've taken on in another association, I was a member of the Executive for Omoshi, and now I'm an executive member for something we call arc, which is the Academic Registrars Council, which the best way of describing it is lots of the directors of Student Support Services report into the Academic Registrar role or the registrar role within the university.

Craig Best [00:06:26 ]:
So the Vice President of Studen