Leading for disruptivechange in higher

education: stayingsmall, smart, agile

and furry

Jonathan PowlesPVC Academic Innovation

Alicia Zikan, Portfolio Manager,Strategy and Performance

University of New England

EY: The University of the Future (2018)

KPMG: Reimagining Tertiary education (2018)

Key recommendations:

• Unified tertiary system with nodistinction between university andTAFE, and abolition of providercategories

• Unified funding and student loansmodel with independent pricingauthority

• Funding for research and teachingshould be disaggregated – i.e. studentfees should not support research

• System for evaluating and recognisingteaching excellence, not just research,across the unified sector

Deloitte: Higher Education for a Changing World (2018)

Future of work is hereUNE’s Future ofWork event inSeptember 2018in Tamworth, withGoogleEducationEvangelist JamieCassup, drew1900participants,most of whomarecontemplatinguniversity study.

UNE at a glance: the mythof the level playing field

Metropolitanstudents

UNE students

External/online 16.8% 79.0%Part-time 33.0% 61.7%Female 56.7% 66.0%Over 25 37.33% 74.6%School leavers c.58% c.13%Bachelorcompletion insix years

c. 69% c.48%

2016 data

The challenge for UNE

Choluteca Bridge

Academic transformation: aadaptive leadership challenge

“Companies today face … adaptive challenges. Changes in societies,markets, customers, competition, and technology around the globe areforcing organisations to clarify their values, develop new strategies, andlearn new ways of operating. […]

Adaptive work is required when our deeply held beliefs are challenged,when the values that made us successful become less relevant, and whenlegitimate yet competing perspectives emerge. […]

Mobilizing an organisation to adapt its behaviours in order to thrive in newbusiness environments is critical. … Indeed, getting people to do adaptivework is the mark of leadership in a competitive world. Yet for mot seniorexecutives, providing leadership not just authoritative expertise isextremely difficult.”

- Heifetz and Laurie, (1997) “The work of leadership”, HBR

EY: The University of the Future (2018)

EY: The University of the Future (2018)

CurriculumIncubator

AcademicConcierge

BespokedegreesLearning

EnvironmentsRenewal

Analytics-driven

studentexperience

Double loop transformationVC

PVCAI

Learning andTeaching

Transformation

CurriculumIncubator

Bespoke degreesand Academic

Concierge

LearningEnvironments

Renewal

AcademicTransformation

ProgramManagement

Student Success

Analytic-drivenretention strategy

Library

Provost

Medicine and Health

Science, Agriculture,Business, Law

Humanities, Arts,Social Sciences,

Education

In the UNE BusinessPlan 2019-2021,Faculties drive BAUrenewal of coursesand units forimmediate efficiency in2020, while PCVAIportfolio developsradically new modelsaimed at 2025.

Adaptive vs Transactionalleadership

Transactional leadership Adaptive leadershipBased on rewards contingent onindividual performance

Based on rewards contingent onwhole-institution transformation

Performance measured against knownand agreed criteria

Criteria for performance are volatile,uncertain, complex and ambiguous

Compliance-driven Aspiration-drivenHierarchical, with a focus on leader-follower interaction

Leadership is a practice, not a position

Leadership role based on expertise –leaders provide answers

Leadership role based on hypothesisand empowerment (Auftragstaktic)

Seeks to minimise conflict Seeks to leverage conflict

After Kahn, N (2017) “Adaptive or Transactional Leadership in Current Higher Education: A BriefComparison”, IRRDL 18/3, and Bass, B. M. & Bass, R., (2008). The Bass Handbook ofLeadership; Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications. New York: Free Press.

Transactional roles in traditional HEleadership roles: the view from UNE

Transactionalleadership

Expertise-basedroles (e.g. Head ofDiscipline)

Governance Roles(e.g. AcademicBoard)

Resource managers(e.g. Deans)

• Based on rewardscontingent onindividualperformance

• Performancemeasured againstknown and agreedcriteria

• Compliance-driven• Hierarchical, with a

focus on leader-follower interaction

• Leadership role basedon expertise – leadersprovide answers

• Seeks to minimiseconflict

• Appointment onthe basis ofsubject-matterexpertise.

• Privilegesindividualresearchperformance

• Privileges aperspective oncurricula focusedon individualsubject expertise(enshrined in “theunit”) not theholistic studentexperience.

• Courses subject tobinary gate(approved/notapproved) ratherthan strategic riskassessment

• Representation byconstituency ordiscipline ratherthan capability

• Reluctance to lookoutwards orforwards; thequality yardsticksare often internaland transactional

• Excellence rewardedby “teaching relief”

• Workload driven byEFTSL not effort orinnovation

• Inadequateresourcing ofcontinualimprovement, letalone strategicchange

• Strong link betweenEFTSL <-> FTE.Little capacity forstrategic investmentor workforce change.

Why do we have thisproblem?

Transformational learning“understands the limits of personalideologies and authority and realisesthat contradiction, opposites andmultiple systems are needed forwholeness. … [The adaptive mindset]coheres through its ability not toconfuse internal consistency withwholeness or completeness.”

Yukuwa, J (2015) “Preparing forcomplexity and wicked problems throughtransformational learning approaches”,JELIS, 56/2

Adaptive roles at UNEDirector. Learning

and TeachingTransformation

Program Director,AcademicInnovation

CurriculumIncubator

Strategic LearningInnovation team

(learningdesigners)

Learning media

Projectmanagement office

Program Director,Learning

EnvironmentsRenewal

Learningenvironments

Examinations andtimetable

Onlineexaminations

Program Director,Academic Success

Bespoke degreesAcademicconcierge

Careers

Language andDigital Literacies

Acad

emic

Dev

elop

men

t

Leadership roles (magenta)are:• Third space, outside EA• Defined by

transformational goals notfunctions or services

• About capabilitydevelopment, to support amatrix structure of semi-autonomous projects

• Not managing a singlechange, but setting up theorganisation for perpetualadaptation

Curriculum projectleadership configurations

Learningdesigner

SMEProjectmanager

SME

LearningDesigner

Projectmanager

SME

ProjectManager

LearningDesignerDesign-led

Partnership

Subject-led

JP1

Slide 17

JP1 Jonathan Powles, 6/2/2019

Failure to adapt

Randall & Coakley (2007)“Applying adaptive leadership tosuccessful change initiatives inacademia” Leadership andOrganisational DevelopmentJournal 28/4

Kahn, N (2017) “Adaptive orTransactional Leadership inCurrent Higher Education: A BriefComparison”, IRRDL 18/3

Bass, B. M. & Bass, R., (2008).The Bass Handbook ofLeadership; Theory, Research,and Managerial Applications. NewYork: Free Press.

Yukuwa, J (2015) “Preparing forcomplexity and wicked problemsthrough transformational learningapproaches”, JELIS, 56/2.