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What are 2 leadership traits that you would like in a leader of an academic institution and why?
Two important leadership traits I would like in a leader of an academic institution are visionary and empathetic. A visionary leader sets a clear and inspiring direction for the institution’s future. S/he possesses a well-defined plan (long-term and short-term) that fosters a sense of purpose and motivation among the academe’s stakeholders including the faculty, staff, and students. With a vision, they are likely to be more adaptable to changes in the educational landscape, facilitating creative, collaborative, effective, and efficient work. Empathy is also a crucial leadership trait as it enables the leader to understand and respond to the needs of their stakeholders. S/he actively listens while showing a genuine concern for stakeholders’ well-being, consequently working to create an inclusive and supportive environment. Empathy enables a leader to develop strategies that are grounded in the realities of the faculty, students, and staff.
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Name one leadership skill that will be beneficial for an academic institution and give a short explanation how and why it will be beneficial.
Effective leadership requires a diverse set of skills to manage the complex and multifaceted educational organization. If I am to choose one leadership skill crucial for our next leader, I would say that it is the skill of being collaborative. I believe that good collaboration between the leader and his/her stakeholders goes beyond working well together. With good collaborative skill, a leader should be able to build cohesive teams among faculty, staff, and even students promoting a positive and inclusive working environment. S/he should be able to bring together individuals with varying backgrounds, skills, and perspectives tapping into a diverse pool of knowledge and experience to generate plans and strategies that uncover opportunities and solutions to problems in the academic community. Being collaborative also improves leaders’ decision-making by allowing him/her to make a collective assessment of information, data, and potential courses of action leading to well-rounded and informed decisions. Bottom line, collaboration is essential for effective leadership because it harnesses the collective strength of a team as much as it fosters creativity, innovation, inclusive decision-making, and a positive culture ultimately leading to better outcomes and success for the organization.
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From the consultation with students, name one key point/idea/strategy that struck you or felt close to you. Give a short explanation how/why this issue or strategy is relevant to you.
Possibly, the complaints of lack of conducive learning environment in the college struck and felt closest to me during the consultation with students. First, it is true that the students are not able to effectively and efficiently utilize the library when we need a study space in the college because it is only open from 8 AM to 5 PM and our classes and clinical duties, especially the lower batches, are at the same time. Consequently, when the classes are over, the library is almost, if not already closed. The college internet for students is also not reliable for learning for two reasons. First, it does not reach the student lounge anymore which unlike the library can be used by the students more due to its more accommodating space and opening hours. Second, it does not meet the demands of the student when many of us are already connected, it either won’t let us connect at all or be too slow to even process a simple search. Lastly, many of us wanted to practice our skills in the laboratory but were not able to do so given either the lack of room and/or lack of a facilitator to oversee us as, and the laboratory equipment (although it is understandable that we can’t use the lab equipment without a lab instructor or facilitator due to valid and various reasons).