Page 51 - VC 5 Year Review Report 2022

SECTION E

Leadership Philosophy and

Priority Areas for 2022–2025

Mandela University embraces a leadership philosophy honest and sober reflection, as an individual or team,
that seeks to inculcate an ethos of compassion and on actions, conduct, behaviours, and responses,
service before self. This has stood us in good stead in to enhance leadership skills and capabilities. This
navigating the turbulent and unpredictable context openness, and the concomitant preparedness to
within which Mandela University seeks to deliver on place others, and service, before self-preservation,
its mission and mandate. Several commitments are provides for a far more nuanced approach to leading
indicated to guide the contribution of leaders at all and managing complexity as the University traverses
levels, as envisioned for the next five years in line a new historical moment of transformation.
with Vision 2030.
A reflexive approach to leadership continues to be
1. Leadership and Complexity pursued by the leadership collective of Mandela
University to foster broadly inclusive, open, and free
Transformational and transformative engagement, as well as non-confrontational, careful
leadership consideration of all emerging issues and challenges.
In her inaugural address, the Vice Chancellor’s The volatility and unpredictability of our current times
first point of emphasis centred on the role of have demonstrated that a mechanistic leadership
leadership. This is inextricably linked to the idea response would not produce the required outcomes.
that the role and purpose of the University can Through reflexive leadership, multiple internal and
be informed by the integration of the notions of external stakeholders engage with each other and
transformational and transformative leadership. In the issues at hand in fluid ways that require empathy,
this view, transformational leadership focuses on a willingness to entertain a myriad of differing voices
improving organisational qualities, dimensions, and views, flexibility, and the ability to make changes
and effectiveness, while transformative leadership that will be in the best interests of the University and
begins by challenging inappropriate uses of power, the broader society.
interrogates questions of justice and democracy, and
posits the promise of “a better life lived in common Leadership in the ‘new’ historical moment
with others” (Shields, 2010: 559). This involves A set of interlinked external and internal
intentionally cultivating “…an organisationally reconfigurations are ushering in a sea-change in
efficient university with a social-justice orientation.” the higher education landscape. Geopolitical shifts
(Muthwa, 2018). together with the socio-economic and planetary
challenges which the SDGs seek to address, massive
Reflexive leadership cultural shifts occasioned by digital developments,
Along with transformational and transformative and the emerging dominance of techno-rationality
leadership, a core component for success is ongoing suggests that a “new moment” is at play.

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