Higher Education Leadership and ManagementFrom conflict to interdependence through strategic planningJames Taylor and Maria De LourdesDina Naji

Publication TitleTertiary Education and ManagementPublisherKluwer Academic PublishersDate06/2006

Institutional leadership and management are entirely different yet intimately intertwined aspects of the overall effective functioning of a HEI.

Leadership is a process for influencing decisions and guiding people

Management involves the implementation and administration of institutional decisions and policies

It can be argued that leadership and management cannot be addressed as discrete and autonomous entities.

Points:

• Strategic planning is considered to be one of the tools of higher education for several decades.• Historical examination of implementation efforts

reveals more institutional failures than success.• Poor implementation strategies more frequently

the cause of problems • The knowledge and skills of leaders and

managers is far more important to planning success than the particular model chosen by the HEI

Despite the many planning models that emphasize it, transformational, culture-redefining institutional CHANGE is not always what an HEI should pursue.Simplified and flexible planning processes implemented by leaders and managers (with necessary planning expertise) may provide the most productive HE environment for advancement and progress.

Strategic Management

“the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross functional decisions that enable an organization to fulfill its objectives” (David 1996, p. 4)

A holistic process with many components:• Institutional culture• Strategic planning• Leadership• Institutional research• Resource allocation• Financial management• Personnel and human resources management• Research and scholarly activity• Student and campus support services• Academic support services• Internationalization• External relations

Strategic planning is

the interrealtionships and equilibrium between these components so that one reinforces the others RATHER THAN the implementation of major change initiatives.

Culture-altering change is needed only infrequently, and more importantly the need for institutional leaders able to implement it is critical.

Strategic management serves as a mechanism to provide direction to an institution YET at the same time has the potential to propel an HEI on a dangerous course into unknown waters.

SM helps coordinate organizational activities YET if taken to excess can create groupthink* where the choreography is overdone.

From the lexicon of Complex Adaptive Systems theory

• replicating the present status quo will force an institution to fall behind and out of equilibrium with its external environment, while advancing too rapidly will thrust it into chaos. The adaptive institution must live on the edge of chaos (Waldrop, 1993) so that there is a delicate balance between stability and instability that must be orchestrated by strong leadership

Leadership

IntegratorMost effective

Net caster

Focused visionary

Focused performer

Prioritiser Dreamer Implementer MaintainerLeast effective

visionary, strategic, transformational

Lacks the proper focus

Lacks expertise to implement a change agenda

Lacks vision Lacks vision and implementation

An undisciplined vision

Lacks vision and focus

Lacks vision, focus, implementation

An effective leader must possess the ability to view situations from multiple, contradictory perspectives for decision-making and policy development.Albert Rothenburg (Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School) termed Janus Thinking; a component of outstanding creativity based on the Roman God Janus portrayed as having 2 faces looking in different directions at the same time.

Leader≠Manager

• Leadership and management are not the same things. Not every leader manages well and not every manager has leadership capabilities.• “you can be appointed a manager but you are

not a leader until your appointment is ratified in the hearts and minds of those who work for you” (Adair, 1986, p. 123)

7-S organizational framework

Leaders with a multi-framed perspective are more effective

Four perspectives (frames) that can be utilized individually or in combination:

Structural frame

HR frame Symbolic frame

Political frame

focuses actions on reasoned, logical and technically correct approaches

centers on empowerment and utilization of institutional personnel to assist in meeting the administrative agenda

embraces the rituals, traditions, values and legacy of the institution

gains importance when confronting competitiveness, financial resources and rapid change

Strategic management creates consistency in an environment YET strangles creativity, which thrives on inconsistency, but with strategic thinking and effective leadership, negatives can be minimized. Strategic planning Strategic thinking

Pre-identified strategies used to create action plans

Creativity that puts the institution in a broader perspective

Strategic thinking is a necessary part of overall strategic management, and a necessary ability for effective leadership. It is all about:

• integration of assessment• culture and values• priorities• resources• planning• leadership

The authors identify 4 main reasons why planning efforts fail:

• Pressures and incentives to change are weak• Change capacity is inadequate (too many

projects) and capability is weak (insufficient skills)• Cultural resistance is too high• Sponsorship and leadership are wrong

(good ideas put forth by the wrong person)

Strategic Planning Models

A number of strategic planning models considered relevant in todays HE culture, which serve as a foundation that can guide further advancements. The 5 Dominant models are:

Bryson and Alston (1996)8-steps Process

Kaufman and Herman (1991)4-Clusters

Norris and Poulton (1991)5- Steps

Hunt, Oosting, Stevens loudon, and Migliore (1997)

Peterson (1999)

Initiating and agreeing on a planning process

Scoping Plan the planning process

Proposed Model only for HEIs

gave emphasis to the emergence of the post-secondary knowledge industry

Clarifying missions, values, mandates and expectations

Data Collection Creating the mission and assessing stakeholder values

Developing assumptions based on environmental scanning efforts.

macro-level change needs to be anticipated and confronted by HEIs

Assessing the external environment

Planning Implementation

Internal and external environmental assessments

irresolvable issues that will require assumptive action.

suggests strategies for redefining, redesigning, and reforming institutional roles, mission, vision, academic functions and relationships

Assessing the internal environment

Evaluation Creating the institutional vision

do not suggest the process is uniform at all levels.

Identifying the strategic issues

Tactical planning and implementation.

Formulating management strategies

Establishing an institutional vision

Implementing the plan

Bryson and Alston (1996)8-step Process1. Initiating and agreeing on a planning process2. Clarifying missions, values, mandates and expectations3. Assessing the external environment4. Assessing the internal environment5. Identifying the strategic issues6. Formulating management strategies7. Establishing an institutional vision8. Implementing the plan

Kaufman and Herman (1991)4-Clusters

Scoping

Data Collection

Planning Implementation

Evaluation

STRATEGIC PLANNING MODELS

Norris and Poulton (1991)5 steps

1. Plan the planning process

2. Creating the mission and assessing stakeholder values

3. Internal and external environmental assessments

4. Creating the institutional vision5. Tactical planning and implementation.

STRATEGIC PLANNING MODELS

Hunt, Oosting, Stevens loudon, and Migliore (1997

Proposed Model only for HEIs

Developing assumptions based on environmental scanning efforts.

irresolvable issues that will require assumptive action.

do not suggest the process is uniform at all levels.

STRATEGIC PLANNING MODELS

Peterson (1999)

gave emphasis to the emergence of the post-secondary knowledge industry

macro-level change needs to be anticipated and confronted by HEIs

suggests strategies for redefining, redesigning, and reforming institutional roles, mission, vision, academic functions and relationships

STRATEGIC PLANNING MODELS

Key elements for Successful planning

Leadership Vision

Environmental scanning

Communication

ParticipationFlexibility

and simplicity

Roadblocks to planning

• Higher education too often attempts to maintain stable equilibrium and resist necessary change

• The cultural tendency to resist change in spite of continual environmental advancement

• While the environment is in a state of constant change over time, the HEI is often replicating the status quo, thus over time the HEI gets further out of equilibrium, and in time institutional change becomes inevitable and unavoidable.

Examples:

• 1. The rise in alternate providers of higher education (Harvard vs Microsoft). • 2. Higher education is one of the most fertile

markets for investors (Higher education has large size, unhappy customers, minimal technology utilization)

Final thoughts• HEIs are a mainstay in the development and support of

economic, social, cultural development for countries everywhere

• Today they are confronted with most challenging and need radical changes and renewals

• They are the object of great public and private investment and therefore have great expectations thrust upon them

• They need to respond to vital needs of contemporary society and be “innovative”

• Strategic management and strategic planning are important concepts that need to be pursued by HEIs in the future

1. Strategic planning is a waste of time. Assessment and crisis management is all that is needed. Do you agree? Present your argument with 3-5 statements2. Why is Strategic Planning essential nowadays?

Let’s Discuss

THANK YOU