This semester I came back from a refreshing and highly productive six month sabbatical to a maelstrom of teaching activity and my first proper management role within my department. As is often the case within academia, the role was new and ill-defined. It involves enhancing teaching quality (whatever that means) across 40 undergraduate and postgraduate units delivered by 18 academics . Three months in, I wanted to share some reflections on how I am adapting to my new management responsibilities.
In my view, management responsibilities in academia are akin to a medieval game of football. There are few rules, many hundreds of players, several often conflicting objectives, and pretty ineffective levers of control. So, here are some strategies for playing the game…..
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