Stepping Up: Insights Into the Realities of Senior Leadership Roles in UK Higher Education

Fiona Gillison (University of Bath):

• Current role: Deputy Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Previous roles: Head of Department, Ethics Committee Chair, Health Partnerships Lead, Director of Studies

 

Geraint Thomas (University College London):

• Current role: Pro-Vice-Provost largely responsible for Research Talent strategy (overseeing 13,000 researchers)
• Previous roles: Director of Natural Sciences undergraduate program, Doctoral program leadership across London networks

 

Catherine Noakes (University of Leeds):

• Current role: Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (4 months in post)
• Previous roles: Pro Dean (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences), Deputy Director (Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics), School-level research leadership roles, Faculty Athena Swan lead

What the Roles Actually Involve

Research leadership roles (institute/school level) require balancing strategic direction with practical delivery, creating agreement (where it matters) rather than directing, and influencing senior leadership to secure investment. The work includes organising events, peer review processes, research culture and extensive communication to align different agendas.

Head of Department responsibilities include fair resource distribution, representing the department upwards while delivering top-down agendas, significant HR management, identification and operationalisation of strategic goals, and budget oversight. The role involves choosing how to implement policies for the good of the Department, as well as what decisions to make.

Director roles involve more operational delivery and interaction with university systems compared to purely strategic positions. Teaching-focused director roles carry significant financial responsibility as teaching income “sticks to the walls” during difficult times.

Participants asked how these roles evolve over time, particularly in relation to cycles such as REF. Panellists noted that while some roles follow predictable cycles with periods of increased intensity, others operate on longer strategic timelines. Workload and focus can “ramp up and down” depending on institutional priorities, making forward planning important where possible. Seeking advice from those who have previously held the role was highlighted as a practical way to anticipate these shifts and manage competing demands.

 

Myths Debunked

Collegiate vs. competitive culture: Senior leaders are much more collaborative than perceived from below. Deans work together rather than constantly competing for resources, though they advocate for their areas.

Ease of implementation: Things can sometimes be surprisingly easy to implement at senior levels – competent teams may act quickly on suggestions, requiring leaders to apply caution about what they say casually.

Strategy requires special talent: You don’t need to be inherently “strategic” to do strategy. Researchers can apply their analytical powers to strategic challenges. Leadership is more about coordinating expertise and bringing a consensus pathway together than knowing everything yourself.

Loneliness of leadership: Senior roles are less lonely than expected. Professional services colleagues provide crucial expertise, support and balance, but leaders must proactively build these relationships.

Role alignment matters: Research leadership roles (institute director, research dean) allow easier research continuation than management-heavy roles (head of department, pro dean).

Essential People Skills

Listening without intervening: The ability to truly hear what people are communicating about situations, opportunities, or challenges without immediately jumping to solutions.

Diplomacy: Handling situations so that as many people as possible are on board, not just achieving outcomes but doing so in ways that build support.

“Glue work”: Connecting people, ideas, and processes; recognising that universities run on both academic and professional services expertise.

Trust-building: Developing trust through transparent communication (including admitting uncertainty), accountability (standing up and taking criticism rather than blaming others), and genuine listening rather than performative consultation.

 

Strategic and Organisational Capabilities

Processing information: Ability to handle large volumes of information, increasingly supported by AI tools, but requiring human intelligence to apply insights, especially those that affect human beings.

Creating consensus: Everything involves pooling information from multiple stakeholders rather than imposing individual plans. Professional services colleagues are “absolute gold dust” for their knowledge and experience.

Understanding governance: Recognising that universities must report extensively and justify decisions, which shapes what’s possible. Good governance is essential even when it feels constraining.

Delivering others’ agendas: A significant challenge is implementing decisions you didn’t make, requiring negotiation to shape direction while maintaining diplomacy about decisions you must deliver.

Managing Research Alongside Leadership

Active choices required: All three panelists emphasised that research time must be actively protected through deliberate choices, not passive hope. Leaders must accept reduced research capacity in management-heavy roles. Agreeing workload helps, and that may include negotiating a reduction in teaching to partially protect research time.

Focused approach: Success comes from narrowing to one primary research pathway rather than maintaining multiple projects. Quality over quantity becomes essential.

Visible commitment: Maintaining some research is important both personally and for modeling leadership pathways to potential successors. Setting non-negotiable research commitments (like weekly team meetings) prevents complete drift.

Strategic timing: Some leaders adopt a “three years on, three years off” approach – alternating between leadership roles and research-intensive periods with negotiated sabbaticals.

 

Time and Workload

Meetings are the work: At senior levels, meetings constitute the actual work rather than distractions from “real work.” Leaders must reframe their understanding of where value is created.

Diary management: Leaders must surrender control of their calendars. Securing administrative support to organise schedules and gatekeep requests becomes essential.

Work-life balance: The demands can expand infinitely like research. Setting boundaries (not working Sundays, limiting weekend work) and communicating them to line managers is crucial. Building these habits early mitigates later burnout.

Crisis periods: While there are pressure points requiring extra hours, these shouldn’t become the norm. Good communication with line managers and your direct report about realistic objectives and timelines is essential.

 

Power and Influence

Power is constrained: Expecting to have power leads to disappointment – many people and systems ensure you can’t exercise it. The reality is about convening and influencing rather than commanding.

How Your Leadership is Experienced by Others: While much of the discussion focused on how leaders experience these roles, participants also asked how stepping into leadership affects relationships with colleagues. Although this was not explored in depth, the panel’s reflections suggest that leadership is less about a visible shift in authority and more about changes in access, responsibility, and expectations. Influence is often exercised subtly, and maintaining trust and credibility with colleagues remains central.

Access is the power: Leadership provides access to decision-makers and choice over which projects to work on, rather than direct authority.

Delivering impact: Impact comes from choosing limited areas where you can genuinely move the dial, and then using that success as evidence for further advancement.

Three critical questions for leadership: (Fiona’s three questions kept on a post-it on the wall): “Do I know both sides of the story? Is it important? Is it my problem?” These questions save significant time and angst.

 

The Business Reality

Universities are charities with a mission to deliver knowledge and education for public good, but require significant operational machinery to function. No one appears with “large sacks of money” for pure curiosity-driven work – this infrastructure must be sustained.

Taking responsibility: At some point, contributing to the “unglamorous bit” that enables academic freedom becomes an opportunity rather than a burden. This can involve unpalatable choices and selecting between multiple good ideas.

Academic freedom requires infrastructure: The operational and financial work that seems to challenge academic freedom actually underpins it, enabling researchers to have the resources and freedom to pursue their curiosity.

 

Leading in Difficult Times

Financial constraints: Universities face significant financial pressures requiring difficult decisions. Senior leaders often agonise over unpalatable choices that have no good alternatives.

Participants raised concerns about leading in a context of financial constraint, restructuring, and sector uncertainty. The panel emphasised that while these pressures can feel acute, the core leadership approach remains consistent: clear communication, transparency about uncertainty, and avoiding performative consultation. In some cases, periods of crisis can even bring greater clarity of purpose, with shared challenges creating stronger alignment across teams.

Transparency in uncertainty: Communicating uncertainty itself is valuable – admitting you don’t have all answers builds trust and approachability.

Behind-the-scenes influence: Much university influence (including with government) happens behind closed doors rather than through public criticism. Building trust and slowly nudging policy is often more effective than “throwing rocks.”

Crisis clarity: Leading during COVID was in some ways easier because everyone was unified around a clear response, whereas normal times involve navigating multiple competing priorities.

Stepping Into Senior Roles

Internal vs. external appointments: Both are viable. Sometimes Vice-Chancellors have preferences for fresh perspectives. Regardless, candidates should apply – even unsuccessful applications create visibility and can lead to other opportunities or specially created roles.

Succession planning: Before leaving any role, identify potential successors. This enables clean breaks and reduces guilt about moving on, while ensuring continuity.

Stepping outside comfort zones: Taking calculated risks with unfamiliar roles is necessary for growth. Assessing who you’ll work with is crucial – some colleagues are excellent, others more difficult.

Understanding your motivations: Be clear about your real motivations for seeking leadership roles, even if they seem “venal” (like salary). Understanding what drives you decreases disappointment and buyer’s remorse.

 

Essential Practices

Active deprioritisation: Consciously decide what to stop doing and communicate those decisions clearly. This is psychologically freeing and mitigates burnout. Don’t just add responsibilities – actively remove others.

Leadership training and coaching: University leadership programs provide valuable skills but equally important networking with peers across the organisation who advance together. Coaching helps with career crossroads decisions and developing your authentic leadership style.

Building experience systematically: Many successful leaders took “natural next steps,” observing the person ahead of them. Understanding a role usually requires experiencing a full annual cycle to see all the activities that occur.

 

Leading from Below vs. Taking Formal Roles

The panel was direct: leading from below is very difficult in university hierarchies.

Constructive engagement required: You can identify problems and propose to run projects solving them, but implementation and embedding change requires formal authority. Without decision-making power on committees, “there are too many voices.”

Joining the process: Rather than “throwing rocks” from outside, finding positive ways to join committees and decision-making structures is essential for influence.

 

Working Within the System

A key question raised was whether meaningful leadership is possible for those who feel critical of the increasing corporatisation of universities. The panel acknowledged this tension, noting that universities operate within significant external constraints, including funding structures and governance requirements. Leadership in this context often involves working within these boundaries, making difficult or imperfect decisions, and seeking to influence change incrementally rather than radically. For those wishing to shape direction at scale, being part of formal decision-making structures was seen as important.

 

Recruitment Perspectives

Experience matters: FLFs have valuable leadership experience from securing and leading fellowships, managing research groups, and understanding funding – all genuine leadership that translates to senior roles.

Underqualified candidates can surprise: People who appear underqualified on paper can be impressive in interviews. Even unsuccessful applications can lead to other opportunities being created.

Go for it anyway: The consistent advice was to apply for roles even if you feel underqualified. It signals ambition to the institution and creates opportunities.

• Book recommendation: “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy” for understanding what strategy actually is and distinguishing it from operations
• University leadership programs: Valuable for both skills development and networking with peers who advance together
• Professional coaching: Particularly useful for career crossroads decisions and developing authentic leadership approaches

 

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