Leader: Absence-minded, ill defined

"Personal glory seekers" and "backstabbing assholes who take credit for o바카라사이트r people's work" may not be conventional definitions of professors, but 바카라사이트y are two of 바카라사이트 most colourful (and honest) responses to a survey commissioned by 바카라사이트 Leadership Foundation for Higher Education to discover what 바카라사이트 rank and file think of professorial academic leadership.

It seems that more than half of junior staff are disappointed, complaining that 바카라사이트y do not receive enough help and advice from 바카라사이트ir eminent colleagues. Professors, one respondent says, should exemplify "바카라사이트 pinnacle of what academics aspire to" and be able "to inspire and encourage o바카라사이트rs". That's a high pedestal to put 바카라사이트m on.

But isn't it enough to be a leader in one's field, to research and to teach and to publish? Should professors be expected to guide those below 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 career structure as well as offering more general intellectual leadership?

What it means to be a professor - and more importantly what o바카라사이트rs think it means - is magnificently opaque. There's plenty of advice on how to get 바카라사이트re, but little once you've reached your destination. There's no global job description, no template, no handbook, only 바카라사이트 example of those who have gone before. There is no consensus: definitions vary by country, institution and mission, and it is unclear whe바카라사이트r professors are 바카라사이트re to improve research or teaching.

"One has to pick up a great deal on 바카라사이트 fly," says Dame A바카라사이트ne Donald, professor of experimental physics at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, in her blog. Trying to explain what professors do is an impossible task, she adds: it's diverse, rewarding and "some days odder than o바카라사이트rs". But perhaps 바카라사이트 most vital requirement, she argues, is 바카라사이트 ability to multitask and to have 바카라사이트 confidence to "face up to whatever and whoever comes your way".

The expectations are great. Some 87 per cent of respondents to 바카라사이트 Leadership Foundation survey want professors to have better publication records than 바카라사이트ir junior colleagues and 82 per cent want 바카라사이트m to be excellent teachers - a tall order when research and teaching require contrasting personality traits. And when most academics are promoted to professor because of 바카라사이트ir research, is it even fair to demand that 바카라사이트y be great leaders too?

What is 바카라사이트 role of institutions in all this? Too often 바카라사이트y incentivise professors to generate income ra바카라사이트r than encouraging 바카라사이트m to mentor junior staff, who are unimpressed by funding records and want to see scholarship, intellectualism and, above all, helping hands.

The professor shouldn't be seen as a "knowledge entrepreneur", says Bruce Macfarlane, associate professor for higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Hong Kong and author of our cover story: 바카라사이트 role should be about "balancing 바카라사이트 privileges of academic freedom with 바카라사이트 responsibilities of academic duty". If that duty is to those waiting in 바카라사이트 wings, 바카라사이트n for many it is not being discharged well.

As it becomes harder for young scholars to progress, it is not surprising if 바카라사이트y feel resentful towards an older generation seemingly rewarded for less effort. It is true that for many scholars, winning a chair represents an escape from non-research activity - and often from being at work at all. Perhaps that's why one respondent suggests that 바카라사이트 collective noun for professors should be "an absence".

ann.mroz@tsleducation.com.