Discipline, determination, and daring: university leadership in a changing world

Australian universities are run by some of the most respected leaders in global higher education. They have long shown remarkable strength and resilience – recall the Dawkins Revolution of the late 1980s and early 1990s – turning the sector into one of the world’s highest quality and best performing higher education systems. However, what has led to past success may not result in success in the future.

The long-held assumption that universities are the stewards of knowledge is being challenged. In addition, impending reforms and more immediate constraints have resulted in Australian universities undergoing a generational shift, driven by technology, geopolitics, and rapid social change.

For leaders in any industry, navigating change has always required a willingness to challenge long and tightly held assumptions and values. As Australian universities enter this new managed-market world, a new leadership approach is required. We believe there are three leadership principles that will help higher education leaders succeed: discipline, determination, and daring.

During COVID, many higher education institutions developed an impressive new sense of operational discipline. Whilst not every decision made was the right one, many of these decisions enabled the university to deliver on mission at a speed rarely witnessed. The shift to digital learning is a good example.

It is perhaps unsurprising that many universities have since slipped back into more traditional ways of working. Leaders once again are privileging collegiality and lengthy consultation over effective collaboration. It is not wrong to be collegial and consultative, just as it is not wrong to take pride in the history and traditions of academia. However, these and other closely held aspects of higher education’s self-image may not always be fit for purpose. The pace and scale of change facing the sector will not always afford the luxury of prolonged consultation or the comforts of collegiality. Similarly, today’s diffusion of knowledge creation must be granted a position of equal importance to the ideals and noble goals of academia.

Given the histories of universities, this will require mindset shifts. Regardless of age, many institutions and their communities consider themselves part of a thousand-year tradition. There is much about these traditions to celebrate but universities will not fully realise their mission unless their leaders conscientiously drive change in a disciplined manner and at pace. At times, leaders may have to inform staff of decisions made. Choosing when to consult, engage, or simply inform, will become an important decision in and of itself, as will understanding when, how and at what level to delegate. Decisiveness and innovation may be the currency of today.

Good leaders bring people with them, educating and enabling their people to take an active role in change. In short, they instil a sense of determination in others. The sector’s leaders, going forward, will need to lift the capability and capacity of their people to lead the change that must happen.

When it comes to higher education, we have not always seen the same investment in leadership development (let alone change leadership) as other industries, particularly those going through similar levels of change. At the risk of using the word “change” too much, this, too, needs to change. This will require: forward-thinking executive-level leaders, compelling narratives and clear missions, strategic choices, and academic and administrative staffs who, at best, will be change leaders, or at least, will be willing to come along for the ride. But bringing them along is essential. Enabling their ownership of the change would seem a good start.

It is an unfortunate reality that trust in public institutions, such as universities, has been on the decline in recent times. The need to adapt is paramount, otherwise higher education leaders risk the ire, not just of their students, faculty and administrative staff, but of the community itself. We have seen this happen with the international student debate in Australia. The sense amongst the community and politicians is that universities are not listening to the social discourse around them. The ability to step up and consider new ways of thinking, communicating and operating is needed.

Australian university leaders have shown they can make daring decisions. Many institutions have been proactive: Victoria University with its block teaching model; Curtin with its global campus network; and Deakin's study anywhere, anytime student offer. These are not silver bullet solutions and will not be suitable for every institution, they do represent a bold start. We would argue that the daring must now go further. For example, no Australian university has adopted a co-operative teaching model with industry, and it is difficult to point to a scaled innovation ecosystem with industry as you might see in the United States or United Kingdom. However, we believe the sector’s leaders have other astute and impactful ideas too; ideas that go to the core value of education and research in our society.

The benefits accruing from this kind of leadership extend beyond the realm of individual universities themselves. Higher education has a role to play in helping society engage in more civil, productive discussions, and to make sure that more people are graduated through the system, not only with stellar educations, but with broader perspectives as individuals. Why wouldn’t you dare to change for the better sooner?

Get in touch to discuss how your university can embrace the opportunities inherent in higher education's new reality.

Connect with Zac Ashkanasy or Megan Huisman on LinkedIn.

Prepared with support from Matthew Clayfield.