April 22, 2007

The New Meaning of Leadership in Autonomous Universities

...Thus, leadership becomes an essential quality for an institution to allow it to develop a completely new self-understanding, to be strongly present in the outside world, capable of defending its own interests as well as being reactive to inside demands and needs. It becomes a major factor that will determine universities’ capacity for change in the context of external demands and expectations while at the same time developing an independent profile...

Thus three types of leadership seem to be essential in order to ensure that the change to autonomy for universities is a winning one also for those within the institution:


Visionary leadership
means the capacity to look at the existing myths on which many universities are based and consider their validity today. This would bring about a new self-understanding compatible with the needs of academics and the demands of society. This is essential, since poor career structures and mechanistic assessment procedures can threaten the process of identity building.

Thus, to be visionary means to be capable of not simply buying into the Zeitgeist but reinforcing the university’s capacity to think ahead. Informed leadership addresses the issue of reconciling strong leadership with broad consultation structures. While collegial decision-making bodies might have led to lengthy decision-making routines

without clear responsibility structures, at the same time they were inclusive.

Informed leadership
addresses the issue of reconciling strong leadership with broad consultation structures. While collegial decision-making bodies might have led to lengthy decision-making routines without clear responsibility structures, at the same time they were inclusive. Informed leadership would have to recreate this idea of inclusion in new ways.

Finally,
creative leadership needs to interact with elements/structures in their environment in order to shape and control the universities’ relations of dependencies. While strategic choices have to be made within the limits imposed by the universities’ environment, the potential radius of action can be widened when creative and flexible internal institutional environments are provided. Creative leadership thus means rebuilding niches within the institution which do not necessarily follow criteria imposed from the outside...

By: Ulrike Felt, Professor of Social Studies of Science, Department of Social Studies of Science, University of Vienna, Austria (2003)

From: Managing the university community good practice, EUA CASE STUDIES 2007

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Informed, visionary leadership and creativity? You couldn't make it up...

Dublin Business School and Lidl supermarket to offer Batchelor in Arts degree in Retail Management

DBS, in conjunction with German supermarket chain Lidl, is pleased to announce the launch of the BA in Retail Management. The programme will commence in September 2007 and includes an apprenticeship in retail management, culminating in an internationally recognised degree. Lidl will employ the participants of the programme as Apprentice Deputy Store Managers and programme graduate will automatically qualify for a Deputy Store Manager position. Some may even progress immediately to running their own store.

http://www.dbs.edu/about/webpage_content.asp?WebPageContent_id=648#lidl

Anonymous said...

What about

crap leadership

ineffective leadership

looking after no. one leadership

showing off leadership

getting other people to do the dirty work leadership

being a serial bully leadership because I'll be supported by all the other bully leaders...

...and we can have such a giggle about those we target...

and

BULLY

and BULLY

and BULLY

... until they plead for mercy...

...and we'll say... we're the leaders

WE DON"T BULLY

Aphra Behn