Description
Book SynopsisIt is well known that, in their professional lives, most academics and researchers will - like cats - seek to exercise as much independence as possible and may display resistance to anything resembling authority. Nevertheless, leaders of academic/research institutions must still lead and, by common agreement, need all the help and advice they can get! In the ten years since they wrote their hugely popular first book on the subject, the world has changed almost beyond recognition. Geoff Garrett and Graeme Davies have also accumulated even more experience of leading international academic/research institutions, and have talked to even more colleagues around the world. In Herding Cats Revisited they have extended, rewritten and updated their advice to reflect the technology, equality and financial realities of the 2020s. Once again, the authors address common leadership and management themes, like making tough strategic choices, leading change effectively, crisis management, dealing with bureaucracy, managing social media, allocating resources, managing budgets and ensuring effective implementation. 'Herding Cats Revisited' guides academic/research leaders and aspiring leaders through the process of learning to accept and embrace the qualities of their 'cats' so they can tempt them into successfully achieving exciting and demanding goals with agility.
Table of ContentsA: UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE 1. Aspects of the CULTURE Cats will not be commanded Learning from history Why are we here? The political bias Talking straight Bureaucracy rules, OK? 2. On CONFLICT Funny places Peer pressure Techniques for dealing with opposition & resistance No popularity contest 3. The difficulty of COLLABORATION Holding hands in the traffic Collaboration is not the easy option The System - help or hindrance? Collaboration can create real benefits On commercialisation On negotiation Collabronauts - the 'Cats' of the future? In Conclusion B: GETTING THE JOB DONE 4. Taking CHARGE First impressions count Out and about Reality will be different On managing your time (and your priorities) The work-life balance Stakeholder management People and your time Don't forget your external 'Supporters' Club' Getting delegation right Managing duality Quality decision making Handling failure Goal and role clarity Knowing yourself On leadership 'versus' management The value of networking Building trust On power And a final thought 5. COMPOSURE under pressure / implementation Sticking to the game plan (and staying calm) Plan well Implementation excellence Small steps? Organising arrangements Where the devil resides And what gets measured Following through on performance is critical Have patience: it all takes time 6. COMMITTEES etc. Are committees a necessary evil? Meetings Management 101 Key success factors for review committees Review fatigue Keep the Chair informed On governance and ethics 7. Managing the CASH It's (always) a tough climate Cutting back Your (personal) skill set Getting good help Manna from (commercial) heaven? Making the call The importance of elbow room In Conclusion C: MANAGING THE PEOPLE 8. COLLEAGUES, not subordinates Unleashing potential In pursuit of excellence The secret of success? Moving up Selecting people On stretch Qualification(s) The diversity challenge New brooms versus old brooms? On judgement Building the team Developing the talent Caring for the talent (and everybody else) And that includes non-academic support staff And on the topic of incentives and motivation But about remuneration Managing performance Organising the team Letting them go An intractable challenge Disciplinary action A final reminder (and lest we forget) 9. COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION A daily problem Communication and change Listening skills The personal touch Be creative Actions versus words Summarising 'the story so far' Beware the tyranny of the email There is still a place for the old-fashioned letter Mass messaging Reply to your emails Social media The use of social media needs to be managed Dealing with traditional media The Annual Report Death by PowerPoint? At the end of the day - the leadership imperative 10. Giving CREDIT The personal touch Public recognition Formal acknowledgement and attribution Claiming (all the) credit, and worse In Conclusion D: LEADING STRATEGICALLY 11. Strategy is about CHOICE Focus, focus, focus Rolling back from the future Big goals Planning strategically For the desk of the 'One Minute Vice-Chancellor' Inside help Outside help, and the external perspective Managing risk On leading, and managing, in a crisis The need for cybersecurity is growing 12. Leading and managing CHANGE And change is hard Resistance Listen carefully Think carefully Beware the 'big bang' Anticipation Support for change Communication clarity In summary In Conclusion POSTSCRIPT - A CLOSING THOUGHT INDEX
