Exploring a Hybrid Leadership Model in Higher Education Institutions in Times of Crisis: The Case of Mid-Level Executives

Introduction

Globally, higher education institutions have always experienced varying degrees of disruptions and crises. Many have survived catastrophes such as world wars, economic depressions and recessions, mass shootings, austerity measures and most recently the CoVid-19 pandemic. In fact, this recent crisis according to the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] (2021) has resulted in the “education disruption of more than 220 million tertiary-level students” (para. 1) worldwide. As HEIs’ leadership grapples with finding suitable solutions to ensure students continue their education, they are being further challenged to respond in ways that support their sustainability post-pandemic. Weber and Duderstadt (2004) agreed that “there is no lack of evidence that universities are capable of adaptation in the face of emerging national needs and are [generally] responsive” (p. 12). However, such agility and responsiveness require leadership practices that are adaptive, collaborative and transformative.

Undoubtedly, the challenges faced by universities as a direct result of global crises may be considered complex adaptive problems which “require innovation and learning among the interested parties and even when a solution is discovered, no single entity has the authority to impose it on the others” (Heifetz et al., 2004, p. 25). The evolving and unpredictable nature of crises such as the CoVid-19 pandemic brings challenges that have no clear-cut answers. Such issues require mid-level executive academic leaders to utilize leadership strategies, which would enable them to be flexible and demonstrate the ability to pivot amidst constantly changing conditions and competing demands from multiple stakeholders.

Additionally, in crisis situations, an approach to leadership that supports the notion that everyone has the ability to lead and facilitates the co-creation of meanings and understandings of social environments is important. This leadership approach is considered transformative and is crucial to leading in times of crisis as it promotes collaborative engagement. For transformative leadership (TL) to be successful, it is imperative that leaders engage in collaborative leadership practices. The need for collaborative leadership practices is especially critical given the turbulent and uncertain environments in which these institutions operate. The uncertainties in these environments create adaptive complex challenges with no clear-cut solutions. Adaptive challenges require a mindset change for problems to be addressed. These challenges also require changes across the institutions with the solutions usually needing the input of cross-functional teams as well as new ways of doing things.

This chapter will focus on mid-level executive academic leaders (deans and department chairs) who are central to strategic decision-making in higher education institutions. In particular, academic deans and department chairs (sometimes referred to as mid-level executives or middle managers) increasingly confront situations requiring them to make difficult decisions that sometimes influence institutional paradigm shifts or changes at the college and faculty level, and more so in times of crises.

Leadership in times of crisis demands that middle managers exhibit specific competencies and qualities to be effective. Some of these competencies include adaptive, resilient, reflective, flexible and agile behavioural skills. For this reason, this chapter proposes a framework, which incorporates principles of adaptive, collaborative, and transformative (ACT) leadership as a suitable framework to augment middle executives’ agency to respond to and maximize “the achievement of institutional goals and reduce pressure” when leading in times of uncertainty (Wilmot & Thompson, 2021, para. 4). This framework known as ACT provides a practical approach for managing crises and is applicable to mid-level executives and other stakeholders who lead. The ACT model represents tenets of adaptive-collaborative-transformative leadership approaches. To illustrate the merits and potential of the ACT model, we analyzed two cases to highlight the benefits of applying this model in responding to crises in HEIs. The two cases were selected based on the following criteria:

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  Post-secondary mid-level executives faced with crises in their institutions

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  HEIs requiring adaptive-collaborative-transformative crisis interventions

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  Universities across multiple jurisdictions (the United States & the United Kingdom)