Leadership in the Tertiary Sector.

Leadership

Around the globe there is considerable evidence to suggest that academic institutions struggle with change and processes for managing change. At  professional meetings, if you ask any group of academics to identify the issues on their radar screen, the typical issues that are raised include: restructuring of their institutions and faculties/departments, responding to financial and/or regulatory constraints, preparing for reviews, lack of staff in key areas, international student issues, staff workloads, and limited access to research funding. Further, there is a perception that “churn” is the norm in academic institutions following every new senior appointment, and serious concerns about the effectiveness of many of the change processes.

But change isn’t always bad. Some external changes are positive creating opportunities for growth; or they may serve as threats with potentially negative impacts on viability and future performance. Chief executives and senior managers in the corporate sector, have strategic frameworks which they use to effectively monitor, evaluate and manage such changes. 

We in our organisation are currently  undergoing radical changes in staffing numbers and resourcing due to the change in the Tertiary Commissions funding criteria. This means losing valuable staff who may be excellent leaders or are likely to be potential leaders. For the sake of a profitable return number crunching seems to be the only weapon left with senior management. What we needed  was strategic reforms in the delivery of the programmes that were sustainable and would attract donor confidence.

I believe that our managers and well as aspiring leaders should have the understanding in strategic leadership.

Here is an extract from the an article on strategic leadership by Carter McNamara MBA, PhD

Strategic leadership enables companies to navigate the stormy waters and achieve their strategic goals.

It seems timely to reflect on the corporate sector experience and strategy theory to see if there are any lessons or principles that can be applied to reduce churn in the tertiary sector.It  acts as a compass to guide decisions, a chart to map progress, and an anchor to keep grounded in times of turbulence.

Strategic leadership in business means having an over-riding vision or mission which provides a clear sense of purpose and direction. Linked to this, a corporate strategy identifies the business scope in terms of specific customer groups and customer needs to be satisfied - currently and in the future. Analysis of your market and competitors provides a picture of the other products/services being offered to these customers. Yet what is also critically important is understanding the sources of competitive advantage, as these provide the company with the basis for superior performance.

Strategic leadership provides clarity of purpose and positioning.

Competitive advantages are found by looking within an organisation, rather than at the nature of the industry. What matters most is the valuable, rare and distinctive resources and capabilities that cannot be easily copied by others . In an academic setting, intellectual expertise is clearly fundamental to the core business activities of teaching and research. How it is packaged into specific courses and programmes provides the basis for differentiation. Aspiring for excellence within specific domains is appropriate and important. Providing incentives, support systems and structures to develop and enhance intellectual expertise needs to be prioritized.

Strategic leadership provides consistency of positioning and improves performance.

Strategic management provides an integrative framework for linking the past, present and future positioning of the organisation. It provides the rationale which connects strategic planning processes to goals and actions. In addition, it ensures that there is a strong alignment and consistency between the organisation’s strategy, its structure, its systems, its staffing, its skills, its leadership style and its shared values or culture. This alignment is especially important for efficiency and effectiveness in a dynamic and complex environment. Assuming intellectual expertise is paramount in the tertiary sector, then the goal is to design a system in which expertise increases and is valued as the critical resource. The culture of a knowledge business values people, recognizing and celebrating their achievements and embedded expertise. Communication processes ensure that staff understand the the over-riding strategy and their vital contribution to the institution’s strategic goals. Daily decision-making at all levels of the institution reflect the strategy and this focus improves effectiveness and overall performance.

Strategic leadership enhances responsiveness, flexibility and foresight.

Strategic analysis includes regularly monitoring trends and changes in the politico-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental context, as well as industry and competitor analysis for their impact on the business. In addition, it is important to understand the changing needs of stakeholders. Staying alert and being aware of external changes enables the company to take advantage of new opportunities and prepare scenarios to evaluate potential risks. In the tertiary sector, this means being alert to changes in funding systems, ministry regulations, global trends and economic changes. Taking a proactive strategic approach means institutions are not just able to make the best of the current system, but they can influence and shape changes to the tertiary system going forward.

Strategic leadership ensures leaders understand strategy processes.

Strategic leadership places responsibility and accountability for performance at the top. There is an expectation that corporate executives will have prior strategic leadership experience and relevant track records for their senior roles. Yet in the academic arena, many senior appointments come with only disciplinary expertise and are therefore reliant on others, such as external advisers  for advice on strategy, management and change processes. To lead strategically, academic leaders need to develop expertise and gain experience in strategic leadership before they are appointed to key roles. There are many excellent strategy programmes offered in New Zealand and around the globe which provide the basic strategy knowledge and skills for future corporate leaders. If we want to reduce churn in the tertiary sector, perhaps they should be compulsory for future academic leaders as well!

For further reading visit :

http://managementhelp.org/strategicplanning