Being a consistently good and effective leader is not easy. In recent months, there has been much media focus and debate about what makes a successful leader and, conversely, why leaders falter and become less effective in their roles. Whether you are a president, prime minister, national sports team coach or a vice chancellor, dean or director, there are always challenges to be faced. The ability to lead organisations and teams to success in times of adversity differentiates the best leaders from the rest.
Change in higher education is rapid and omnipresent and whilst many core leadership skills remain constant, the range of skills required by senior higher education leaders today is wider than those required a decade ago. Stephanie Marshall, in her edited volume, Strategic Leadership of Change in Higher Education (2019), comments on the rapidly changing external environment and the need for university leaders to regularly reappraise how they lead.
