Abstract
Orientation: Higher education institutions are under pressure to address the challenge of the leadership pipeline. Therefore, the need exists to explore the potential of current leaders and their views of leadership in higher education.Research purpose: The study aimed to explore the views of how academic and professional support leaders have shifted their thinking of and approach to leadership following their participation in a leadership development programme.Motivation for the study: Understanding the views of potential leaders about leadership and how leadership development programmes can influence their thinking is essential.Research approach/design and method: Qualitative data was gathered by means of a document analysis using reflections submitted by 19 participants of a leadership development programme.Main Findings: The results showed that the programme had an impact on how participants started reflecting on leadership styles beyond the usual description of leadership styles. Additionally, participants used the opportunity for introspection of their own role as a leader and how they need to adapt.Practical/managerial implications: Higher education institutions are encouraged to implement leadership development programmes that will encourage stakeholders to engage in introspective activities that could influence behavioural change.Contribution/value-add: It is evident from the results that the information is useful in indicating how participants had made personal adjustments in the way they viewed leadership with a greater sense of ownership and understanding of distributed leadership through the participation in a leadership development programme.
Highlights
OrientationUniversities in South Africa are in a period of change
The purpose of this article is to explore the views of how academic and professional support leaders have shifted their thinking of and approach to leadership following their participation in a leadership development programme
As we look at the need to understand our leadership style and how we impact others through our style and the competencies we should have, there is a need for leadership development programmes that assist potential academic leaders in understanding their leadership styles and the significant impact it may have on others
Summary
There is increasing evidence that South Africa is facing significant higher education leadership succession challenges (Seale, 2015). One of the succession challenges in South African universities is the trend of appointing academic staff in leadership positions who have limited or no formal leadership training (Parrish, 2015). More than a decade ago, Kulati (2001) highlighted that studies on leadership in South African higher education institutions (HEI) were not receiving enough attention. It is important to explore the current potential of leaders as well as their view of leadership in higher education to address the challenge of the leadership pipeline. The purpose of this article is to explore the views of how academic and professional support leaders have shifted their thinking of and approach to leadership following their participation in a leadership development programme.
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