Developing Academic Leadership Capability1

Table of Contents

Introduction

Learning Outcomes

Module Topics

Background factors denoting a need for leadership development at the Course Coordinator level

Perspectives on Academic Leadership and strategies for development

Creating an environment for leadership development in Course Coordinators

Defining Academic Leadership

Leadership models to support the Course Coordinator role

The Integrated Competing Values Framework

Emotionally intelligent leadership and the Six Leadership Styles

Practical Activity

Required Reading

Additional Resources

References

1 Academic Leadership for Course Coordinators Program

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Developing Academic Leadership Capability 1

Carrying on from the introduction to academic leadership in the first module, in this module we provide more detailed information on the theories, history and research on general leadership that informcurrent understandings of academic leadership. In particular, this module will provide you with an understanding of the methodology behind the 360˚ survey tool applied in this Program, and its relevance to youin your capacity as a Course Coordinator.

Please Note:There are a number of weblinks throughout this module which are current at the time of publication, if any are broken or fail to open,please advise your Program Coordinator or post a message to the Academic Leaders’ Café in Blackboard in the forum titled, ‘Help us to help you!’ Thank you.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion participants will:

  • Use the Integrated Competing Values Framework (iCVF)—a leadership measurement tool—to gauge personal leadership capabilities.
  • Understand the importance of 360° appraisal in leadership development (using the iCVF).
  • Explore the value of peer coaching as a leadership development strategy.

Module Topics

This module looks at Academic Capabilityand a framework to assist with the measurement of leadership capabilities.

Thetopicsto be covered are:

  • Background factors denoting a need for leadership development at the Course Coordinator level.
  • Perspectives on Academic Leadership and strategies for development.
  • Creating an environment for leadership development in Course Coordinators.
  • Defining Academic Leadership.
  • Leadership models to support the Course Coordinator role.
  • The Integrated Competing Values Framework.
  • Emotionally intelligent leadership and the Six Leadership Styles.

Background factors denoting a need for leadership development at the Course Coordinator level

The Higher Education reforms that are being implemented in Australia have made quality teaching and learning an institutional priority for universities. Whilst quality is often measured at the unit level by examining student feedback and performance, course level feedback is equally as important. Course Coordinators carry much of the leadership responsibility for ensuring their courses are of high quality and relevant to industry and the community.

In the development of its academic leaders, the Australian higher education system has tended to rely upon the ‘wisdom of experience’ in relation to teaching and learning (Southwell et al. 2005). Course Coordinators (also known as program or degree coordinators, program directors), are one such group of academic leaders who tend to be highly competent and qualified senior academics who, by virtue of their academic accomplishments, advance to the role of managing and leading a university course (Yielder and Codling 2004).

Course Coordinators are also vested with considerable academic, managerial and administrative responsibility for achieving the desired quality and credibility of course teaching and learning outcomes. This responsibility, however, is often accompanied with limited line management or staffing authority which makes implementation of ideas and actions more difficult. The Course Coordinator position is also often viewed as all-consuming and having an adverse impact on personal teaching, research and scholarly activities (Carroll and Wolverton 2004). Whilst support is growing, there is still a paucity of programs within Australian universities to prepare, support and recognise academics in these crucial academic leadership roles, particularly with respect to promotion where research and teaching have a much greater emphasis.

The transition to a course leadership role is also very difficult given the size and complexity of higher education courses, and the teaching and learning environments in which they exist. A diverse set of leadership capabilities is required (for example interpersonal and communication skills; problem-solving; conflict-resolution; cultural management; coaching, and change management skills). An ill-prepared course leader can jeopardise the quality of a course and therefore have a detrimental effect on institutional teaching and learning effectiveness (Wolverton et al. 2005), resulting in lowered university reputation.

Through no fault of their own, Course Coordinators often focus on the managerial or transactional aspects of their role (Antonakis and House 2002), which includes planning and budgeting, organising and staffing, course control and monitoring and solving problems. Unfortunately, the academic leadership or transformational aspect of the role (Antonakis and House 2002) is often subsumed by this managerial role. Ramsden (1998) has noted similar findings in situations where academic leadership is lacking, resulting in an absence or neglect of strategic functions such as setting future directions and aligning people and groups with departmental and organisational goals.

Perspectives on Academic Leadership and strategies for development

The literature suggests that sound academic leadership ultimately improves student learning. Gibbs (2006) found that if department leaders facilitate a good teaching environment, then teachers are more likely to use a student-focused approach to learning, which in turn results in far superior learning outcomes due to a deep approach to learning (Prosser and Trigwell 1997, Martin et al. 2003). This approach was proposed by Ramsden (1998) who indicated that teaching which focuses primarily on student learning, rather than teacher activity, is best supported by academic leaders who provide clear goals and enable people to embrace change.

Martin et al. (2003) also found that teachers are more likely to adopt a student focused approach to teaching when they experience: transformational and transactional leadership; clear goals and contingent rewards; and teacher involvement in decisions about curriculum and collaborative management. The table below gives an overview and definitions of the distinctions between transformational and transactional leadership.

Leadership
Transformational / Transactional
  • Builds on the need for meaning.
/
  • Builds on need to get the job done and make a living.

  • Pre-occupied with purposes, values, morals and ethics.
/
  • Pre-occupied with power and position, politics and perks.

  • Transcends daily affairs.
/
  • Swamped in daily affairs.

  • Oriented towards long-term goals without compromising human values and principles.
/
  • Orientated to short-term goals and hard data.

  • Separates causes and symptoms and work prevention.
/
  • Confuses causes and symptoms and is concerned with treatment.

  • Focuses more on missions and strategies for achieving them.
/
  • Focuses on tactical issues.

  • Makes full use of available resources (human).
/
  • Relies on human relations to oil human interactions.

  • Designs and re-designs jobs to make them meaningful and challenging; realizes human potential.
/
  • Follows and fulfills role of expectations by striving to work effectively within current system.

  • Aligns internal structures and systems to reinforce over-arching values and goals.
/
  • Supports structures and systems that reinforce the bottom line.

More effective student performance is achieved when teachers are encouraged to discuss curriculum and teaching issues, and where management is open and collaborative (Prosser and Trigwell 1997).

When course leaders operate within a transformational and transactional leadership framework, the effect on the course team is to increase the student focus, resulting in improved learning outcomes for students.Course leaders require support and development to incorporate both transformational and transactional leadership capabilities into their personal repertoire, and to develop a contemporary pedagogical framework for improving curriculum design, development, assessment and evaluation. Such support is most effective when leadership development includes opportunities for feedback, discussion and support, enhancing the impact of management and leadership development (Bolden et al. 2006).

Creating an environment for leadership development in Course Coordinators

This section provides some background on the pedagogy behind this Course Coordinators Leadership Program. Baldwin and Ford (1988) note that by shifting away from the traditional didactic approach to training, to one that employs strategic learning drivers it is possible to extend learning into the workplace. The strategic learning drivers in the Academic Leadership for Course Coordinators Program are: group engagement, goal setting, reflective journaling, peer coaching and 360˚review (if elected). Collectively they are embedded into an experiential learning framework. The peer coach supports the learner by encouraging them to self-monitor their performance by maintaining a reflective journal and framing their learning using an experiential learning cycle (Kerka, 1996; Kolb, 1984).

Brown et al. (1989) describe this type of learning, which encompasses both the physical and social contexts, as situated learning. The learner’s experiences in transferring academic content to the course leadership experience are discussed with their peer coach during the reflective stage of the experiential learning cycle. The learning journal is used as the data bank to find information that is facilitating or blocking transfer. Conclusions are then drawn from this reflective stage as part of a collaborative process that involves questioning, active listening and academic debate. Application ensues with Course Coordinators taking their new ideas and insights back to the workplace for further application and grounding. Leonard and Swap (2004) emphasise that guided practice, with reflection and feedback based on assessments by the coach, help to strengthen developing competency. This occurs because the learner engages with their own thinking such that an experience ‘repertoire’ is created which then can be built upon.

Bubna-Litic and Benn (2003) argue that traditional models of education assume rationality and positivism and ignore the need for more reflexive thinking in leadership education. More learner engagement and critical reflection is needed to assist leaders/managers in transferring their learning to their work and practice experiences (Bubna-Litic and Benn 2003). This is certainly in keeping with the views of Leonard and Swap (2004) who emphasise the importance of coaching for transfer of training.They argue that experience is the critical factor for building performance as it provides a context in which to apply the learning. The experience provides a domain for the learner and enables this experience to be built upon as a location in the memory where it contextualises the theory to practice. This provides some explanation for why a lot of training is wasted and never gets transferred to the workplace because domains are not established in the memory system because they are not aligned to work practices in an experiential manner.

Defining Academic Leadership

Academic leadership has been analysed alongside conventional leadership theory to ascertain how leadership manifests within the higher education sector. This overview will examine some thoughts on academic leadership and juxtapose them against broader leadership theories. As Gaither (2004) notes, leadership theories have changed throughout the years, yet, they have remained much the same!

Ramsden (1998) in Learning to Lead in Higher Education summarises many of the leadership issues facing Higher Education. As noted in his work, the sector is facing numerous challenges including swings in student enrolments, greater scrutiny from the community and government with respect to accountability, fiscal challenges, rising consumer demands, advancements in technology and workloads and industrial reform. The need for leadership, as a result, has never been more important. This is asserted by Ramsden (1998:3) who sees the responsibility of an academic leader to 'revitalise and energise their colleagues to meet the challenge of tough times with eagerness and passion.'

Marshall, Adams and Cameron (2000) interviewed senior academics to ascertain conceptions of 'academic leadership.' Interestingly there were different conceptions when leaders in formal positions were asked for their ideas in comparison to those in the 'rank and file.' In their review of the literature, Marshall and colleagues found that academic leadership could be viewed as a collection of tasks or functions which are performed by individuals in formal positions within the university. Alternatively, academic leadership could also be described as qualities or characteristics of individuals. Yet in other literature, academic leadership was seen as vested in the position of the academic because of the leadership role played within that discipline. What Marshall, Adams and Cameron (2000) describe is not unusual when reading the leadership literature. As they note, the concept of 'academic leadership' is elusive.

Much has been written, however, on general leadership. For a useful and quick overview of the key mainstream leadership theories of both past and present, have a look at the ChangingMinds ( website. Click on Leadership, under Disciplines and then select Leadership Theories.

For a more in-depth reading,the following chapter on leadership is useful:Chapter 11 'What is Leadership?'in Robbins, Millett, Waters-Marsh (2004) Organisational Behaviour: Leading and Managing in Australia and New Zealand. This overview chapter discusses in more detail the current thinking on the key mainstream leadership and management theories.

How then does academic leadership flow on from these core leadership theories? By examining the framework of these leadership theories we can see that numerous academic leadership models mirror and complement what is already written in the literature on general leadership.. For example, Marshall, Adams and Cameron (2000) have noted in their review that authors have drawn distinctions between academic leadership and academic management. This distinction parallels perspectives on transformational and transactional leadership. In both frameworks a differentiation between the visionary and inspirational aspects of leadership, as compared to the planning, coordination and control aspects of management,is made. Yet in practice they are inseparable.

In the research described by Marshall, Adams and Cameron (2000), however, specific dimensions of leadership within the academic environment are described. Those which are particularly relevant to Course Coordinators are described below:

  • Research supervision and encouraging others to achieve goals.
  • Introducing students to scholarly work.
  • Coordinating large course units and building community among lecturers, through team building, coaching and mentoring, and involving others in discussions and planning.
  • Mentoring younger members of staff.
  • Leading by example and being effective in one's work, particularly keeping people informed of progress.
  • Being available and being generous with time and expertise and building trust.
  • Being supportive of staff by valuing what they do and seeing differences as positive, and coaching them to work better, but also having the courage to give positive and critical feedback.

Gaither (2004) also summarises some major findings on leadership within the academic context. During times of turmoil and change, leadership is essential to calm staff. Leadership is not connected to title and position, but is invested in behaviour. This is where leadership theory is now focussed–leadership behaviour. Academic leadership is also much more interdependent than individualistic because of the people-centred nature of the organisation. Building and maintaining relationships across the system is critical to leadership success. Gaither also notes that academic leadership is about sharing power and authority which is very much in line with transformational leadership theory. Leadership is also contextual which parallels views of contingency leadership theory. Contingency leadership states that leaders must gauge their actions based on the environmental factors they face. Organisational size and complexity, technological reliance, environmental stability/complexity are all factors, for example, that create contingences the leader must consider. Gaither states that extensive knowledge of the university's environment and system, strategy and culture is essential to leadership.

Taylor (2005:31) also shares her views on academic leadership noting that,... “leadership is not defined as a prescribed set of characteristics. Rather, a synergy among variable characteristics of the person, the academic development role, development strategies, and institutional context determined successful practice and leadership in any given institution.” Taylor examined the leadership experiences of Australian academic developers and found that there were some specific issues related to this leadership role within higher education. These are described below:

  • The importance of practicing in context.
  • The importance of personal qualities such as communication, empathy, listening, negotiation, and interpreting principles and research in context.
  • The importance of personal competencies in teaching, learning and academic culture and the processes of facilitating the development of others coupled with the ability to link theory and practice.

Challenges are also inherent within the academic leadership role, some which are particularly noteworthy for Course Coordinators. Marshall, Adams and Cameron (2000) note several issues that complicate academic leadership. One particular challenge is control over resources and the ability to make decisions. A second challenge is inherent in the blurring of hierarchical relationships, which are usually clear in corporate sectors, but fuzzy in academic settings. Colleagues typically want collaborative working relationships and do not comply readily with being led or supervised. Lastly, Marshall et al. note that expectations can also be unrealistic, particularly when demands for research, scholarship, and teaching are added to leadership and management responsibilities. Similar findings have also emerged in the report written by Geoff Scott, Hamish Coates and Michelle Anderson (2008) entitled “Learning Leaders in times of change” (discussed in detail in the Course Coordinators as Academic Leaders module).

Leadership models to support the Course Coordinator role

The Competing Values Framework