Quality education is a key component of university education. Its realization among many other factors is driven by appropriate leadership styles. Can the same approach to leadership continue during covid 19?
Hi Benson! Good question! From the Brazilian experience, specially through public universities, a good leadership is concerned with the most vulnerable people and work hard to no let anyone behind. At the same time, he/she put the University to help the Community to overcome the pandemic, fostering all the University capabilities to contribute to all the dimensions affected by the pandemic. The good leadership is a solidary one.
First, you must clearly define what you mean by “quality education”.
It would be helpful to specify a vision of “quality education” and KPIs that align with the vision.
The best leadership style(s) to achieve the vision would depend on the KPIs and the context (culture).
Thank you Gilberto and Wisam as well as Maris for the inspiring comments. In the Zambian context and other African countries, quality university education invariably focuses on student admission standards , rigorous examination protocols, course content and availability of laboratory and classroom facilities. All the above are at stake during Covid 19 period, hence the call for appropriate leadership style(s) that will ensure quality education.
In your case, Benson, it seems that you are "building on the past" rather than "breaking with the past". Thus, the focus would seem to be on incremental changes to reinforce and improve rather than radical change to reinvent or transform.
To what extent do stakeholders support the vision of student admission standards, rigorous examination protocols, course content and availability of laboratory and classroom facilities?
If there is strong support, then democratic and participative leadership should guide the actions to achieve the vision.
If there is strong resistance, then a more autocratic and/or charismatic leader may be more successful.
Participative and transformative leadership styles mixed with transactional styles. Participative is getting the feedback from members of the organisation. Transformation is making changesvthat are necessary for example moving from physical to online teaching. Finally, for daily operational matters, transactional leadership is still required, for example hiving rewards to those who perform.
I believe that situational leadership style would help university administrators during covid 19 pandemic in general. Situational leadership is concerned with choosing the right leadership style for the right people, according to Blanchard and Hersey.
Situational leadership refers to when the leader or manager of an organization must adjust her/his style to fit the development level of the followers he is trying to influence.
Thank You for raising the contemporary issue, Dear Benson Simango. The above-mentioned answers have covered some range of the response, though I would also try to add some view in the wake of my country’s experience-
Participative Leadership style may be appropriate as it allows leaders to go with people. Awareness regarding COVID19 is critical and participatory style will aware people of how to tackle COVID19. Taking care and removing fear is an important part of tackling COVID19. Only the participatory style may not be enough, the transformative style will also be needed as it focuses on communication, motivation, goal-setting, and transformation. As many countries' health sectors have been unable to tackle COVID19 and need to reform health governance so the role of transformative leadership is apparent. Similarly, front-line workers like doctors, nurses, police, etc need to be encouraged in engaging COVID’s service. They need rewards for motivation. Therefore, the transaction style may also be appropriate herewith.
The ideal style is rare in practice, not properly presented in textbooks on leadership and should combines several hardly coexisting elements:
1) low uncertainty avoidance (to cope with unprecedented and unpredictable events)
2) high risk aversion (to implement all measures to keep the faculty and the students alive and healthy under deathly threats)
3) high preference for delegation (to promote new ways of teaching and learning by experimenting)
4) a right and flexible combination of inspiration and control techniques, as the degree of inspiration and control should be adapted to particular groups of faculty and students.
Good lack for all of us to work with such leaders!
Benson, this is an important question given the fact that the most commonly known and discussed leadership styles (e.g. transactional, transformational, autocratic, trait, charismatic etc...) were formulated long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the socio-economic, health and other challenges that all organisations in all sectors have been faced with as a result of the pandemic, it would be prudent to suggest that a mix of the afore leadership styles would be needed in order to provide the quality education that Higher Education and other education providers would need especially under lockdown. It is crucial that a more participative, inclusive and shared approach to leadership is developed. Interesting...
We recently did a small bibliometric analysis on Covid-19 and leadership. In this analysis, we also distinguished a major education cluster, where particularly shared and participative leadership were present:
Article New Kids on the Block? A Bibliometric Analysis of Emerging C...
Prof. Benson Simango
Make the right decisions about the transition to eLearning, for example.
Implement statistics and surveys to quickly access the benefits, advantages and disadvantages of such a change.
Trust anybody using online surveys and no just syndicates.
We haven't changed leaders in 11 years at my university, Dear Prof. Vadim S. Gorshkov
guess, why?
Best Regards to all in the Siberian wonderful landscapes.
Prof Sadovnich was rector when I was a student at MSU, Prof. Vadim S. Gorshkov
I remember that there was a change around 1991, I just cannot remember exactly :)).
With respect to us here, the situation deteriorated so much. It is complicated. I just wanna move to a bilingual online school to save from mass starving more time. But you can trust me that our situation is not the USSR one.
Leadership style that brings everybody onboard and listening to everyone's views. This inclusive decision making ensures that everybody feels part of the decision and hence works towards the set goals.
COVID-19 has proven that no quality education without providing the necessary infrastructure needed for online teaching! It is the basic challenge education leaderships face all over the world!