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Steadying the ship
Integrity and gaining trust are key to higher leadership now more than ever .
By Martin Betts
These are the most difficult times to be leading one of our Australian universities . Half of them have VCs who were appointed and commenced during times of turmoil . The other half had existing VCs already steering the ship when the storm broke .
The university communities they lead are likely to be more stressed and cultureshocked than they have ever been .
Good leadership in these circumstances stands out , and sets cultures apart . But the principles of good leadership , and what builds a positive culture , are no different than in normal times . They are just more obvious and pronounced .
New leaders have a quite simple formula to follow . Decide on the purpose you serve , and create the vision for what your university is to become , from what it currently is . Develop a strategy for how the organisation can reach that vision . And communicate all of that clearly , passionately and authentically so that people share the purpose , vision and strategy . The art is to be acutely aware of the political landscape in doing so . Because of course it is not just a formula . It involves people .
Having a vision and developing a strategy requires intellectual capacity , experience , knowledge and skills . They are used to analyse a situation and come up with answers . But if the answers are all yours , and not partly theirs , they won ’ t go anywhere . Gaining buy-in is critical . It is maximised by listening and being seen to listen . It needs to recognise and empathise with the context . This must precede establishing burning platforms . And must be followed by building coalitions that can paint pictures of the future that people feel they want to be a part of .
The story of how Brigid Heywood chose to join UNE , from a bucket list holiday on Easter Island , featured in a recent HEDx podcast episode . How she engaged broad stakeholders to depict how Australia ’ s oldest regional university could become Future Fit was that formula applied to a nuanced setting . It showed leadership that respected and built upon context .
When Helen Bartlett joined HEDx , she reflected on being an outsider appointed to lead Australia ’ s fastest growing university . She came with her own views , but she sought to understand the Sunshine Coast context . In doing so , she was paying respect to the cultural setting . She was helping those already there to paint a picture of a different future they would sign up to .
Communicating a new direction through stories is important to taking people on journeys . Leaders recognise that in all sectors . And if we want people to own them , these are better told as stories about others , than about ourselves . When Pascale Quester joined HEDx , she talked about Swinburne taking a path less travelled . In doing so , she celebrates her university ’ s journey to date by making Horizon 2025 the next chapter in an ongoing story . She does this rather than starting a new book pretending the past never happened .
Ultimately , leadership in universities is significantly about building trust . It is important when times are good , and is vital when times are tough . I recall coming to Queensland and leading a program of faculty change . Arriving full of great ideas , from distant places , and imposing them on a culture that wasn ’ t ready for them was a disaster at the start . I got plenty of feedback from Queenslanders . What I learned , pretty quickly , is that even the most catastrophic of situations can be rescued .
When things go wrong , I learnt it required humility , admitting mistakes , and looking for new ways to engage hearts and minds , to work it out better together . It also meant being open to using help from others that had been there before .
We can all learn how to be better leaders . Maybe we learn most when we respond , when things aren ’ t working out , and the going gets tough .
In my experience , people will forgive almost anything , other than failures of integrity , particularly if we admit we got things wrong soon enough . This means we need to listen to feedback , and be self-aware .
I am sure we need leaders to lead with compassion . And we should show compassion to those leading us in these most difficult of times . They should be supported to hold up their hands and admit mistakes made along the way . We should judge them not on whether they make mistakes . We all do . It is how they listen , learn , and respond that gains long-term trust . That is what good leadership and culture look like in universities . ■
Professor Martin Betts is the founder of HEDx and Emeritus Professor at Griffith University .
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