Leading a business school

This book provides a valuable analysis and a commentary on the roles and experiences of Business School leaders. It presents a collection of personal reflections based on numerous interviews and issues a clarion call for a particular style of leadership that the authors see as appropriate for a contemporary world that is characterised by international ‘permacrisis’ (an extended period of instability and insecurity). The authors are committed to collaborative, agile, affordable, accessible, and responsible management education. To achieve this, they suggest that leadership of Business Schools (‘the deans’) must be proactive in recognising socio-technical challenges and providing solutions. Davies, Thomas, Cornuel, and Cremer propose that inadequate strategic leadership, short tenures, and huge workloads have produced conservatism. Many deans concentrate on improving the status quo. Incrementalism is a natural response, with a focus on financial metrics. But, in the opinion of the authors, deans should address three ‘blind spots’: impact, inertia, and the integration of transformational models (27). There are many anecdotes here about the failings of deans, including references to episodes of fraud (such as the distortion of data to achieve or maintain accreditation) and corruption. Even when institutions behave legally, there can be powerful temptations to take enormous donations that prompt negative comment (as the naming of business schools at University of Oxford and Imperial College illustrate). Only a few deans emerge from the pages of this book as heroic figures, ‘great leaders who leave behind lasting legacies’ (30). Such individuals are distinguished both by intellectual strength and personal characteristics (for example: courage, determination, resilience, and humility). ‘Emotional intelligence, social relationships and [concern for] well-being really matter’ (63). It is now difficult to imagine a comprehensive university without a Business School. Martin Parker writes in Shut Down the Business School (2018), a polemical study that merits attention: