scholarly journals Academic Leadership Development Programs: Conceptual Foundations, Structural and Pedagogical Components, and Operational Considerations

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Ruben ◽  
Richard De Lisi ◽  
Ralph Gigliotti
Author(s):  
Ngoc Bich Khuyen Dinh ◽  
Aysun Caliskan ◽  
Chang Zhu

Universities have been coping with various challenges and pressures over the last decade. Therefore, capacity building for academic leaders is a critical point for universities to survive in this challenging era. Yet, existing studies suffer from several limitations. Among others, they do not consider the examination of academic staff members’ and leaders’ perceptions from diverse contexts, thus capturing insight into current practices. Using a qualitative study, we explored the perceptions of 18 academic staff members and leaders from eight Chinese and European universities, under which the perceived concept, a profile of effective academic leadership, and the motivators to become academic leaders from cross-cultural perspectives were emphasized. The results demonstrated that academic staff and leaders widely perceive the notion of academic leadership in diverse contexts as a complex concept. In addition, the findings provided several insights into understanding the profile of an effective academic leader who possesses a range of capacities and specific leadership styles. Furthermore, significant motivators that stimulate academic staff and leaders to pursue academic leadership positions were also examined and discussed. The results of this study can serve as a stepping stone for designing the framework used in leadership development programs as well as for collaboration in capacity development for university academic leaders.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hamidifar ◽  
Mansoureh Ebrahimi

<p class="apa">This study explores effective academic leadership as well as hindrances within Iran’s private higher educational institutions. The author employed a qualitative approach that utilized purposive sampling to collect and analyze data. Findings were categorized into three classes comprising the (i) setting of direction, (ii) organizational and (iii) staff development at three administrative levels: central office, branch office and faculty personnel. Obstacles confronting effective academic leadership were identified as (i) centralization of power; (ii) bureaucratic hierarchy; (iii) budgetary restraints; (iv) ineffective interaction including ineffectual communications as well as social, political and cultural interventions; and (v) unqualified staffing policies that eschewed meritocracy. This study reveals that the functional purview of an effective academic leader is to drive an institution’s vision forward towards achievement and define its mission and objectives. Moreover, it signifies an indispensable need for academic leadership development programs that incorporate, protect and support scientific management skills based on sound moral values, mutually established trust, collegial respect, and the application of transactional cum transformational governance methods in teaching, learning and research.</p>


Author(s):  
Shilpa Kabra Maheshwari ◽  
Jaya Yadav

Purpose Current volatile environments, business complexity, and leadership gaps are compelling organizations to deploy effective leadership development strategies. Fueled by competitive growth and people challenges, efforts continue to scale up but fail to create the desired leaders. This paper aims to address the missing links and calls for new ways of deploying leadership development strategy. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data on experiential feedback have been collected from participants and stakeholders of leadership development programs in Indian organizations. Findings An integrated six-step approach to leadership development has been proposed for scholars and practitioners. Practical implications From the practitioner’s perspective, this study contributes to the field of leadership development by challenging the relevance of current approaches. It also adds to the scholarly literature on leadership development in the context of the organization and the individual. Originality/value Current studies in the area of leadership development in the Indian context are scarce.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 745-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Cundiff ◽  
Sohee Ryuk ◽  
Katie Cech

One strategy for addressing gender disparities in STEM and leadership focuses on women-targeted diversity initiatives, such as women’s networking groups and women’s leadership development programs. Although well intentioned, targeting diversity initiatives specifically toward women instead of all employees may unwittingly make workplaces appear unwelcoming and biased to prospective employees. To test this notion, undergraduate women and men read a recruitment brochure for a company that framed its diversity initiatives as either targeting women employees or all employees. Both women and men felt less social fit and comfort with the company and were more concerned about being treated negatively and unfairly when diversity initiatives were framed as women-targeted rather than all-inclusive. These results held regardless of whether the company was portrayed as male-dominated or gender equitable (Study 1, N = 117). However, results were somewhat attenuated for women, but not men, when the women-targeted program was portrayed as initiated and led by women employees rather than upper management (Study 2, N = 152). Overall, our results suggest that diversity initiatives may more effectively convey identity safety to both women and men when framed in a way that includes all employees rather than targeting only women.


Author(s):  
Melanie Lee

This chapter is grounded in scholarly sources and personal narrative, and it concludes with recommended best practices about fostering more socially just higher education environments for college students. Specifically, the author focuses on the development of more equitable inclusion of students with disabilities in curricular and co-curricular leadership development programs. This chapter provides a context of major models of disability over time, a chronological scaffold of dominant student leadership models, and recommendations for educators inside and outside of classroom spaces. The intersection of models of disability and leadership models has not been explored. This chapter fills that gap in the literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 637-650
Author(s):  
Laura Paglis Dwyer

Purpose The purpose of this paper, on self-efficacy and leadership, has two objectives. First, it comprehensively reviews approximately 25 years of research on leadership self-efficacy (LSE), beginning with LSE measurement and related criticisms. Findings concerning LSE’s relationships with leader effectiveness criteria, as well as individual and contextual influences on LSE, are presented. Second, it examines the evidence on efficacy enhancement interventions and offers some preliminary recommendations for increasing LSE through leadership development programs. Design/methodology/approach The author conducted a comprehensive literature review of the existing research on LSE, covering the main contributors to this research stream and their findings. Findings The review revealed substantial diversity in LSE construct development and measurement approaches. Regarding LSE and leader effectiveness, many studies reported positive relationships with potential, performance and behavioral ratings of leaders. Collective (team) efficacy has emerged as a significant mediator between LSE and group performance. Influences on LSE include several of the Big Five personality traits, while contextual antecedents are under-researched, and potentially fruitful areas for further study. Executive coaching and mentoring, as well as cognitive modeling techniques and training in constructive thought patterns, received support for enhancing LSE in developing leaders. Originality/value This paper’s review and implications should be of substantial value to current and future LSE researchers, as it summarizes past research, synthesizes the findings to draw out common themes and consistent, corroborated findings, and identifies opportunities for future research. For practitioners, the reviewed research on interventions for increasing LSE through leadership development programs provides practical guidance.


Author(s):  
Catherine Mavriplis ◽  
Elizabeth Croft

Many engineering organizations are realizing the benefits of diversity for innovation in their product development and team dynamics. While women remain a minority in the classroom and the workplace when it comes to engineering, they have registered significant gains. Despite decades of increases in percentages of women at lower levels however, gender diversity at high levels remains woefully low. Without integrating diversity at all levels of an organization, the full benefits of diversity cannot be reached. Furthermore, highly trained and experienced workers become dissatisfied and/or eventually leave if they cannot see a path to career advancement. Leadership development programs for women have recently sprung up in a number of engineering organizations to reap the full benefits of these companies’ investments in a diverse workforce. At Pratt & Whitney Canada, in 2007, a committee was struck to develop a Women’s Leadership Initiative that has been vibrant ever since, registering successes such as promotion of several women to Vice President status. In 2011, the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, BC and Yukon sponsored six introductory Leadership Development workshops developed by the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology hosted at engineering workplaces across British Columbia. The presentation and paper will discuss the need for such programs, their essential ingredients and provide a preliminary assessment of their effectiveness.


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