Universitätsmanagement

The terms ‘leadership’ and ‘management’ are sometimes used interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing, and sometimes as completely distinct concepts, practised by separate groups of people – ‘leaders’ and ‘managers’. Some authors (Bennis 1989) go further still by implying that philosophical differences underpin fundamental distinctions in values and behaviours in that ‘the manager does things right’ while ‘the leader does the right thing.’ In universities, leadership and management are seen and practised both as interconnected and as separate concepts as a consequence of historic structures and ongoing changes in the internal and external operating environments of these institutions. This paper examines these concepts and their interrelationship in the context of changing universities and changing higher education environments. It argues for greater clarity, conceptually and practically, between these concepts and a better balance between management and leadership in universities.