How To View Management In Higher Education In A Different Way
Higher education institutions still face danger six years after the financial crash. The Army War College calls the environment VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complicated and ambiguous). Leaders find themselves between a rock of rapid change and a hard place with scarce resources. Cost-cutting, recruitment and retention initiatives, and dashboards have all been successful. Do we need a rethink of our options?
I have come up with the following eight recommendations after working for six years with university and college boards and presidents.
1. Question the Plan
Many plans are based on old assumptions, and they do not take into account the new realities. Those who rely on optimism, such as those who fail to take into account the effect of the declining youth population, particularly among college-ready students, and the increased competition in the pool, rely instead on hope. Some plans are too detailed and have a longer time frame than necessary, given the speed of change and the potential for disruption. Plans are used more for tactical issues than strategic ones, and they have shorter time frames.
2. Share the Vision
Create a vision statement that sets the strategic direction and inspires commitment. It should also drive decisions. Describe where the institution is aiming its efforts. A vision statement can guide the allocation of resources, including time and dollars, to certain possibilities while avoiding others.
3. Mission Impact
It is just as important, if not even more so, what the institution wants to achieve for its clients and for society. Most strategic plans are geared towards the latter. “We will grow enrollment, get money, make staff happier, and become more famous.”
4. Engage, Inform and Rely on Your Community
It is clear that networks have begun to surpass authority both in terms of value and influence. [3] If the people associated with the institution have a shared vision and if communication is good, they will be able to detect changes and have the skills and mindset to react well, as well as the vision to anticipate opportunities.
5. Focus Your Organizational Culture on VUCA
Create a culture of success for your organization in a VUCA-like environment. Replace the confidence in control with confidence in readiness, for example. The military recommends VUCA Prime: vision, understanding and clarity. A company with these characteristics is aware of its direction, pays attention, can see clearly what’s relevant and what’s not, and is able to change quickly. These are cultural characteristics that require a number of priorities, including transparency, leadership, professional development and a system that is highly functional.
6. Keep the Mission in Mind
Don’t let business-driven changes dominate. This will enhance the value proposition of your institution. Faculty leaders with support can create an optimal combination of academic excellence, learning science and student success, and efficiency for both the institution and the learners.
7. Increase Efficiency
Proactive living is about reducing the cost of business while increasing value to constituents. It is necessary to make both incremental, ongoing improvements and major strategic innovations. Face it. Encourage everyone to use their creativity and not be afraid.
8. Find Partners in Unlikely Places
Find a win-win situation with your competitors. [4] [5] When a school’s assets were its programs, geography, and federal/state funding, competitors were those who were pursuing the same areas. These lines are blurring, and the focus has shifted to other factors such as cost, accountability, technology, demography and pedagogy. Former competitors could become new synergistic allies.
Conclusion
Leaders, staff, culture, networks and community can provide the best solutions to each institution by focusing on the impact of mission, strategic thinking, hard-nosed analyses, deepening insight, collaborating, and learning together.
