An Integrated Framework for Leadership

Abstract

In the turbulent and volatile operating environment of Australia's higher education sector, leadership is critical in responding to institutional challenges. This chapter presents a dynamic integrated framework for leadership that can support leaders in these institutions and, potentially, other organisations as well. The chapter describes the outcomes of a Delphi study that sought to uncover areas of consensus about leadership, among leaders and academics across the sector. The study revealed 15 distinct elements of leadership, and these were found to fall into three separate but interrelated groups or domains of leadership: behaviours, mindsets, and skills. Together, these domains are claimed to provide an appropriate and practical representation of effective leadership in higher education. The dynamic integration of these domains and elements of leadership into an interrelated tripartite arrangement, a framework for leadership, is argued to represent a new approach to understanding the leadership phenomenon.