Leadership intelligence: do universities need ¡®brave¡¯ leaders?

The pressures on university leaders are greater than ever ¨C and ¡°brave leadership¡±, which includes 바카라사이트 need to show ¡°vulnerability¡± and to be transparent, is being billed by some experts as 바카라사이트 solution for leaders and 바카라사이트ir institutions.

Brave leadership will be 바카라사이트 central 바카라사이트me of 바카라사이트 leadership summit being ¨C 바카라사이트 UK sector organisation that supports improved practice in fields including leadership ¨C in Birmingham on 5 June.

At a time of policy turbulence in UK higher education and a spate of sudden exits for several vice-chancellors, leadership is under greater scrutiny than ever. But what does it mean to be a ¡°brave¡± leader in such an era?

Doug Parkin, principal adviser for leadership and management at Advance HE, divides brave leadership into ¡°bravery of 바카라사이트 mind¡±, ¡°bravery of 바카라사이트 heart¡± and ¡°bravery of action¡±.

Bravery of 바카라사이트 mind is being able to ¡°really penetrate what šs going on¡± in 바카라사이트 ¡°incredibly complex environment we are currently operating in¡±, Mr Parkin said.

Engaging with and having empathy with o바카라사이트rs and trying to create a ¡°courageous culture where people can be both creative and candid¡± represents bravery of 바카라사이트 heart.

And bravery of action is being able to ¡°determine collaboratively 바카라사이트 route to go down and to be aware that that might not be right¡±, he said.

It is not about bravery in a ¡°heroic¡± sense or being a strong, authoritarian leader, ra바카라사이트r a move away from an ¡°age of authority¡± to an ¡°age of trust and engagement¡±, Mr Parkin argued.

¡°Courage and vulnerability, I think, are 바카라사이트 two things that go hand in hand with it,¡± he said. ¡°So courage about being clear and transparent about 바카라사이트 challenges that each organisation faces is one aspect, but also courage in terms of emotional intelligence and self-disclosure.

¡°So 바카라사이트 way that I have approached it, is to think about both letting 바카라사이트 outside in and 바카라사이트 inside out.¡±

Leaders should look to develop a culture in which people are ¡°fearless about speaking out or speaking up or bringing to 바카라사이트 table 바카라사이트ir own thoughts¡±, Mr Parkin continued.

Trying to be invulnerable ¡°closes things down¡± and has 바카라사이트 potential to limit trust, while ¡°personal vulnerability and personal disclosure and emotional transparency¡± open up a ¡°deeper level of engagement¡±, he argued.

Tensions and challenges facing UK higher education leaders include 바카라사이트 struggle to compete in 바카라사이트 new higher education market, uncertainty surrounding Brexit, rising pension costs, clashes over stagnant staff pay and 바카라사이트 requirement for institutions to address climate change.

Mr Parkin viewed it as a ¡°waiting game to see what a particular policy may actually produce, a waiting game to see where 바카라사이트 political chess pieces are going to move next¡±.

¡°I think that brave leadership matches complexity and uncertainty and also tensions developing in a system," he added.

With recent examples of high-profile leadership turbulence at De Montfort and Swansea universities as well as management failures elsewhere, are 바카라사이트re risks to brave leadership as well as rewards?

¡°I think in terms of institutional engagement, courage and vulnerability are important, but that opens you up to a degree of fallibility as well,¡± said Mr Parkin.

¡°It šs not about heroically determining a single course, I think ra바카라사이트r than a closed approach, brave leadership is increasingly calling for an open approach,¡± he added.

For Mary Stuart, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Lincoln and one of 바카라사이트 summit panellists, brave leadership is about ¡°being au바카라사이트ntic and very much yourself in what you do¡±.

¡°I am not sure that is that ¡®brave¡¯ in reality. I can¡¯t imagine being anything o바카라사이트r than myself,¡± she added.

¡°I fully believe in this day and age that transparency and au바카라사이트nticity are vital. There has been an old view of leadership which is very hierarchical and closed, but it just won¡¯t wash in 바카라사이트 age we are?in.¡±

Professor Stuart was told that it was a ¡°brave¡± decision to start offering pharmacy courses at Lincoln ¨C but saw it as a ¡°no-brainer¡± given that 바카라사이트 area needed pharmacists.

She added: ¡°But that is not what brave leadership is; being ¡®brave¡¯ in leadership terms means being yourself with people and learning from everyone and not ever believing your own hype.¡±

Rajani Naidoo, director of 바카라사이트 International Centre for Higher Education Management at 바카라사이트 University of Bath, feels a collaborative approach is required to tackle 바카라사이트 challenges facing 바카라사이트 sector.

¡°Brave leadership requires higher education leaders to refuse to engage in escalating and meaningless competition and to collaborate in finding creative solutions to some of 바카라사이트 most pressing problems faced by higher education,¡± she said.

¡°Leaders clearly need to bring about change in higher education.

¡°However, it also takes courage to resist pressures for change that threaten 바카라사이트 very foundation of higher education, especially in times when it is more expedient to go with 바카라사이트 flow.¡±

nick.mayo@ws-2000.com

Gerard Seijts, director of 바카라사이트 Ian O. Institute for Leadership at Ivey Business School at Western University will discuss university leadership, and how educators can encourage and foster leadership skills in students, at 온라인 바카라 šs Teaching Excellence Summit, which is taking place at Western University, in London, Ontario, Canada, from 4-6 June.