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Jennifer Rowley: Head of the School of Management and Social Sciences, Edge Hill University College, Ormskirk, UK
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The author is grateful to Professor Peter Jones, University of Plymouth, for his comments on an earlier version of this article.
Introduction"
A leader needs a clear and challenging vision, a magic with words, the ability to motivate others, the courage to stay on course and the persistence not to lose hope[1]."
Leadership starts with the creation of a vision for the organization or one of its constituent parts, in such a way that others share and own the vision. Making the vision happen is concerned with allowing, encouraging or facilitating others to achieve an optimum performance, both in relation to their own potential and also in relation to the needs and mission of the organization. Leadership is essential in all organizations, and educational institutions are no exception, but the concept of academic leadership is unique in higher education and, arguably, is concerned with leadership that extends beyond the organization into the wider world that higher education institutions seek to serve. Academic leadership is unquestionably a central component in striving towards academic excellence. Wolf[2] argues that strong, creative and effective leadership is central in attaining academic excellence. Such academic leadership is important in managers at all levels in higher education, and should not be viewed as the sole preserve of senior managers. Indeed, one of the main responsibilities of senior staff should be to cultivate the academic leadership potential of their subordinates. The future of academic institutions depends on the development of effective leadership skills at all levels in the organization[3].
Academic leadership is often central to the criterion for appointment to senior academic management positions, such as those of head of department or dean, or the award of a professorship. But, what is academic leadership? The traditional model of academic leadership is often characterized by personal academic achievement, as exemplified by, for example, publication in refereed journals, the presentation of papers at national and international conferences, authorship of significant scholarly works and, in some sense, responsibility for the academic development of others, such as research student supervision. Is this concept of academic leadership still relevant in universities and colleges operating in the currently ever-tightening resource climate?...