As part of a recent development intervention with academic leaders, I was provided with a head of school job description.  The role was described as a “pivotal leadership position”.  An extensive list of bullet points followed which outlined the purpose of the role and the key responsibilities.  It asked, amongst other things, that the head of school “set and deliver the strategic vision for the school aligned with college and… Read more

Over the past few years, I have seen how the financial challenges facing UK universities have impacted the work of their executive teams (Funding model for UK higher education is ‘broken’, say university VCs).   It is clear that the current financial landscape means that embedded assumptions about “how we do things around here” are being challenged. Universities are actively developing new business and operating models with the immediate focus, understandably,… Read more

In two decades of consultancy work, we have worked with a number of highly effective strategic leadership teams. This journey has provided invaluable insights into what propels these teams towards success and what hinders their performance. At their best, these teams play a pivotal role in shaping strategic focus, ensuring successful implementation of strategy, and fostering an organisational culture in which people can truly thrive.  We have observed that the… Read more

For fifteen years I have had the privilege of working with senior leaders in global higher education. Over this time, the operating environment for universities across the world has changed significantly. We have seen the era of abundance for (most) universities come to an end. The public purse has tightened considerably. The sustainability of current funding models for higher education appears close to a tipping point. We have seen a… Read more

Strategic leadership involves horizon scanning to understand the trends and forces that are shaping the external environment, developing a business model that will lead to future success, clarifying and communicating purpose, values, goals and priorities and crucially, coordinating and monitoring effective strategy implementation. While most leaders in universities aspire to lead strategically, our experience of working with universities tell us this does not always happen.  We believe effective strategic leadership… Read more

In a period of significant turbulence and uncertainty it is understandably easy to reach for the ‘magic change bullet’. In the last fifty years or so we have seen the ebb and flow of a variety of ‘change panaceas’ (frequently informed by the principles of ‘Scientific Management’) dressed up as solutions that provide certainty in an uncertain world. That most organisational change initiatives still seem to fall short of expectations… Read more

We are delighted to welcome you to our new website.  We have spent the last few months working hard to develop a new and improved website which reflects our work with universities and our commitment to the future of higher education. Over the coming months this ‘learning’ space on our website will include insights, ideas and fresh thinking focused on leadership and OD in the context of higher education.  We… Read more