Our first GatenbySanderson drop-in session of the new academic year for academic leaders explored the realities of leading strategy from the “squeezed middle”, the space where heads of department have to navigate the tension between institutional priorities and the strategic needs of their academic disciplines.
We explored key questions that shape strategic leadership in this role:
- What does it mean to lead strategy rather than simply deliver it?
- Where is the space for autonomy and interpretation within institutional frameworks?
- How do you build buy-in across your team when the strategy isn’t entirely your own?
Participants shared the challenges of balancing discipline specific goals with the necessarily one-size-fits-all nature of institutional strategy. The blurred line between strategy and tactics was a recurring theme especially in response to unpredictable external pressures., and distinguishing between mission-critical and “nice to do” activities.
Many academic leaders at school/department levels are rebuilding departmental cultures following restructures, course closures and disciplinary mergers etc. The emotional labour of leadership was palpable surfacing questions around optimism, honesty, and the art of public vs. private leadership. How do we speak truth to power, especially when the strategy isn’t fully ours? How much change is too much?