What are the biggest capability gaps in the higher education sector and why do these gaps exist?

At Strive Higher we recently hosted a roundtable discussion with organisational development specialists working in HE on these questions with a view to generating insights for senior leaders in universities.?

We covered a lot of ground, some of the key themes that struck us in our discussion were:??

• Given the financial headwinds facing universities, commercial acumen and strategic planning capabilities are vital,?
• Leadership skills at the executive level of universities are more critical than ever and we’ve seen first hand examples of universities investing time and resources in strengthening executive leadership and developing the senior academic leaders of the future.??
• Overly complicated processes and ways of working can obstruct or decelerate creativity and innovation at a time when universities need more than ever to be agile, inclusive learning organisations.?

During our conversation, we worked towards providing 3 key recommendations and here is what we agreed on:??

If you are a senior leader in the sector, you might want to consider:??

1. Enhancing skills in strategic and commercial thinking, planning, and execution, particularly workforce planning, to improve alignment and impact.?

As senior leaders how well are you helping your teams understand their role in delivering strategy? How are you developing commercial acumen throughout the institution? How are you building capabilities around scenario planning, long term planning and insight-led decision-making??

2. Developing skills in harnessing institutional culture and leading institutions through change, including cultural change.?

As senior leaders, how much attention is being paid to engaging people in dialogue around cultural change? How are we developing leaders to lead change in universities with an understanding of the cultural dynamics in the sector that should inform our approach? How are, for example, Research and Academic leaders being developed to lead change and bring staff on the journey with them???

3. Building truly inclusive leadership skills across the organisation, to enable the institution to be innovative.??

As senior leaders, how well developed is the workforce’s understanding of inclusive leadership? Where do decisions sit in the institution? As a leader are you harnessing the breadth and diversity of skills and experiences within your teams??

Underpinning this, we agreed, is the need to develop the skills, knowledge, and behaviours to support staff wellbeing and mental health. As is the importance of getting the basics on people management right, such as holding regular one-to-one conversations to build and maintain staff trust, engagement, and wellbeing in these challenging times.?

What do you think are the biggest capability gaps in the higher education sector? Please join the conversation and let us know what you think.

Special thanks to Juliet Lambe, Assoc.CIPD, FLPI, CPC. and our Organisational Development specialist associates Anna Sanders Clare Wakeham Andy Brett Frances Hall and Iveta Simera . Between them they bring deep knowledge of the higher education sector and beyond.?