Thoughts on university leadership
Many organizations want to be better workplaces for women and to have more women at all levels. But implementation proves to be difficult and slow.
Four factors distinguish companies that succeed in making a breakthrough. Click here to find out what they are…
Over 20% of researchers have been pressured by journal editors to modify their articles in ways that manipulate the reputation of the journal. Journals are ranked by the citation rates of the articles they publish. Editors can manipulate their journal’s ranking by asking authors to include more citations of other articles in that very journal…. Read More…
Young women scientists leave academia in far greater numbers than men for three reasons. Sacrifice, little appeal and disproportionate impediments are conclusions made by PhD candidates, thus steering them away. What can we do about it? Read more to find out…
The Mayo Clinic has six strategies they consider essential for their continued success — six strategies which constitute the spirit of the Clinic. As you read them, ask what they could mean for your organization.
Universities can improve with these strategies; it wouldn’t be difficult and it wouldn’t cost money. For example, much of what we do can be enhanced through a deeper engagement with the concept of service. Learn how in this post.
What are the best conditions for doing research? What can university leadership do to create those circumstances?
One of the most fundamental challenges for university presidents, deans, department chairs, and research group leaders is to make the best environment for research. Everything else a university does builds on success in doing science. Read more on why talking makes research better…
The brightly colored Google logo, re-formed as a halo over the head of CEO Larry Page, caught my eye in an airport recently. Under Page’s picture, the cover of Fortune magazine promised a list of the 100 best workplaces, with Google at the head of the pack.
Is there any chance, any hope, any dream, that somewhere on that list, I might find a university?
To my disappointment, the promise on the cover of the 100 best “workplaces” was modified to “companies” on the inside of the magazine, and universities therefore weren’t even considered.
But what if they were? What would it take to get there? Is there anything we can learn from Google? Find out by reading more…
Organizations that successfully navigate crises have leaders who provide direction and inspire action. Those that survive and flourish after a crisis have leaders who also create an environment for innovation.
An organization’s capacity to lead through and beyond a crisis can be nurtured and enhanced. Increasing gender diversity in the organizations’ leadership team can help. Diversity gives a greater variety of leadership styles. And that variety, especially in a crisis, will contribute to survival.
When members of underrepresented groups start their careers, they see themselves as outsiders and therefore need role models who still look like outsiders. Early career women do need female role models, but it’s more nuanced than that. They need female role models they can identify with.
What can you do to provide your young colleagues with mentors who look like them?
In Norway, at least 40% of the Board of Directors of any publicly traded company must be women. At least 40% must also be men. However, a new Norwegian study finds only 8% are in central decision making positions.
This is not just a social justice problem, it’s a social economics problem. How should we start addressing it? Read more to find out.
Successful leaders are like successful researchers. They are creative, they build and use teams, they make contacts across traditional barriers, they motivate others to develop their vision further, and they easily assimilate critique of their ideas and actions. Researchers who make the jump to leadership positions should, in light of these parallels, be particularly adept… Read More…
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