Leadering or the Leader of the Rings

Preface

Straightforward guidance is what I missed when I chose to be a leader. There were many mentors, each with their own style. The philosophical suggestion given was, You will learn your way. Was there a Bible for educational leadership? None that I had heard of. Books that claimed that they had pragmatic approaches for educational leadership spoke about leadership in the corporate world or leadership that could evolve with experience and theoretical references. Were there laid-out answers in these books for young leaders who took over as principals, vice principals, deans, directors, CAOs, vice chancellors, and so on? Was there a style of leadership that the few books listed shared? Seldom did one find any great insights, original thinking, examples, or solutions for what a young leader faced in education. With decades of experience, old leaders gave way to newgen leaders. The transfer of legacy in terms of designation was quicker, but the transfer of experience, learning, wisdom, and empathy never got passed on. Critics sat on judgement seats to rate the new leaders, and constant reference to the bygone leadership continues. At this point in life, I thought it ideal to share a few anecdotes, some experiences, solutions, and a candid outlook at what educational leadership meant to me and what I learnt in this journey. Hence a series of writings for those who are passionate about Educational leadership……..

Managing the bottom-skilled team….@ Higher Education Institutions

In seriatim, leadership in higher education was very different from K–12. This is one sector where, even though the Indian parent funds the education of their children up to the postgraduate level and sometimes beyond, the decision on which higher education institution the student would want to be in is the choice of the youngster. Reception spaces thus played a minuscule role in this set-up. While politeness in responses and the ability to connect with each department or school of the HEI were to be micromanaged at times so that calls never went unanswered, the larger challenge was ensuring that the reception desk had its navigator sense in place. Ensuring that the adolescent who walked in with his chaperoning parents was given the right information and the right insight into what college life beyond sheltered school life would be. Where the parent was consistently worried about the monitoring aspect and the focus on academics and placement, the student’s queries were more focused on freedom of expression, choice of subjects, placement, other activities, reputation, and peer popularity. Half of them came in to pick forms only from you only if popular and elitist school girls picked forms there, and an equal number of boys picked forms from you if there were peers attending. So the focus shift in the zone of customer satisfaction moved towards the admissions and marketing offices. While the topmost authority of any HEI is considered to be the academic head alone, one realises very soon that when admissions, marketing, and branding fail to secure the business numbers, the onus shifts straight to the academic head. There was an obvious corollary there: poor admission meant poor academics and poor leadership. Cronyism and favouritism are highest in this department, and it is considered a strategy of the management to ensure that nepotism works well at the entry point to the institution. Hence, reporting this department to the academic head is perfunctory. Head-nodders and buddies of the who’s who of management in this department focus more on political jockeying and manipulation and evolve as heroes for their teams. Warfare with this department is also a dangerous option since it is clear that they enjoy special privileges and protection and are the leaders in institution politics. With a lack of structured leadership, diversity to be dealt with, and a department that is exposed to a variety of people and students walking in, messaging sent from this department to the outside world and discipline in work could either work wonders for the institution in terms of achieving targeted numbers or work otherwise.

My learnings….

The counsellors at the admission office I met during my frequent interactions were unaware of the achievements of the HEI. They were never kept informed about the activities that would lure a new recruit to any of the schools, nor were they clued in on USPs or anything beyond their realm of understanding. Conclusion: There were no intangible things about the achievement of the HEI or any sense of history shared with the student aspirant who walked in, nor was there any rigour in spending more time with the walk-in and enabling him or her to get an overview of the HEI. So a parent either chose to opt for the programme or simply walked out and never turned. Wasteful practices were the focus of counselling, as was the usual information that could be easily accessible from the prospectus or from the internet. Numbers and MIS from admission and finance never matched. Evidently, as underperformers, they were assured of the fact that they would be well protected by a manager and his niceties.

Solutions…..

Important tasks ahead required tackling the manager and winning his confidence. Ensuring that he felt less threatened by the presence of others who were far more qualified than him came second. Priority was also to set up a meeting with him and the management in my presence and clear all resentment. To remain in limbo and then explain oneself during reviews was very humiliating, and hence fighting the good fight was critical. Transparency in conversation and communication can prevent a lot of miscommunication. Getting all the best people in management and leaders of schools and departments to engage in dialogue and getting them all to understand that business goals are crucial for the success of the HEI was important. Strategic meetings between the school heads and the counselling team and ensuring each person had a voice and dignity would get them to work effortlessly. A more inclusive approach towards setting up the Admission and Marketing offices, sharing ideas for branding, spreading the achievements and uniqueness of the HEI to the public in a consistent manner, and creating an environment that was less threatening and more student-friendly would speak volumes for the HEI.

Outcome…

Meetings were patterned, which enabled counsellors to be counselled by the academic heads on various achievements and touch points for the respective school/department. Staff volunteered to support and extend counselling help during admission. The ambience and look of the admission office were invested in. Processes were defined and set using technology for the MIS match between finance and admission. School heads came forward with thoughts on better ways of doing things, and roadblocks were completely eliminated. Review meetings were structured so that the finance, academic, marketing, and admission heads shared their data, eliminating all other bureaucracy. Systematised work culture and forums to ensure voices were heard allowed one voice to be heard by the public at large, and drastic improvements were shown in the targets set. I needed it for the HEI to grow and set protocols; they needed a platform to be heard and to be wanted. …Did this leadership style fit into compassionate leadership: attending, understanding, empathising, and helping?