Academic Leadership Skills

Academic leadership shares many features with any other kind of leadership, but at the same time, it is unique due to the specific features of academia and the way in which the system functions. Academia and the university setting consist of members among whom many have the same academic status and comparable levels of achievement. Although there is universal recognition of the relevance of leadership, not enough attention has been focused on ways in which academic leadership could be enhanced. In particular, the question of how someone's individual style of academic leadership is related to their capability to manage teams and conflicts remains unanswered. This chapter outlines academic leadership skills that have been observed from the perspective of the European academic context and looks at major ways in which teams are managed and conflicts are resolved, particularly in academic settings. Different strategies of conflict management are presented, and rationale for the employment of focused training courses and the sharing of experiences among leaders are provided.