Call for chapters: higher educational leadership in VUCA contexts

Editors: Rob Elkington, Cecile Gerwel-Proches, Upasana Gitanjali-Singh, Angela James, and Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen

Deadline: 20 May 2024

How to submit

In collaboration with Emerald Publications, the editorial team is pleased to extend this call for abstracts for consideration for a published collection that addresses one of seven issues confronting Higher Education Institutional (HEI) leadership.

This book provides a venue to leverage vision, understanding, clarity, and agility (VUCA prime) to address emerging issues in HEI leadership in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) context. Our research highlights emerging issues such as globalisation, status quo thinking, e-leadership (including artificial intelligence – AI), mentorship, gender equity, racial equity, and funding.

Editorial team

• Rob Elkington (Trent University, Canada, School of Business)
• Cecile Gerwel-Proches (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Graduate School of Business and Leadership)
• Upasana Gitanjali-Singh (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Information Systems and Technology)
• Angela James (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, School of Education)
• Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen (Ontario Tech University, Canada, Faculty of Education)

Abstract length

Please submit an abstract of five hundred (500) words or less for consideration to Rob Elkington at [email protected] by May 20th, 2024.

Chapter length

Successful authors will be notified by June 20th. Per the schedule below, selected authors have until September 30th to develop their final draft of a five-thousand (5000) word chapter, excluding references, discussing the theme of their abstract.

Publication schedule

1. Call issued: April 20th, 2024
2. Call closes: May 20th, 2024
3. Successful authors notified: June 20th, 2024
4. First Author & Editor Meeting: July 2024
5. First draft due: July 30th, 2024
6. Second draft due: August 30th, 2024
7. Final draft due: September 30th, 2024.

The purpose of this book

This book provides a venue for authors to express how they leverage VUCA prime (vision, understanding, clarity, agility)  to address emerging issues in HEI leadership in this VUCA context (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous). These emerging issues (from our research) are globalization, status quo thinking, e-leadership (& AI), mentorship, gender equity, racial equity, and funding.

This book seeks to be academically informed and practitioner-focused because, by design, it incorporates recent research into VUCA and VUCA prime, leadership, HEIs, education, information systems and generative AI. It supplements the research with real-world applications, toolkits, and case studies designed to enhance leadership development and effectiveness.

Leadership is an influence relationship between leaders and followers who intend real changes around their shared purposes (Daft, 2023). However, the global COVID-19 Pandemic was a contextually disruptive, unplanned change that shook academia and plunged HEI's into a VUCA world like never before. The Pandemic highlighted that HEIs are not immune to the forces of terra incognitae (Lagadec, 2009) and vu jádè (Day & Harrison, 2007). Terra incognitae refers to the notion that events can propel us into uncharted territory, a previously unknown world. Another term that helps describe the disorientation of the COVID-19 Pandemic situation for HEI leadership is that of vu jádè (Day & Harrison, 2007). While terra incognitae describes being propelled into a new space, vu jádè refers to the sense of having 'never been here before.' Leaders who experience vu jádè feel like they are traversing new and uncharted territory without a map or guidepost. These volatile, uncertain, and complex environments require different leadership within HEIs. HEIs are complex adaptive systems, living organisms continually adapting and changing based upon external and internal pressures (Blomme, 2012; Chan, 2001; Davis et al., 2015). Leadership that maintains the status quo in these everchanging and adapting environments can devastate HEIs (Dervitsiotis, 2005; English & Ehrich, 2015). However, this type of leadership is often sustained because it serves to entrench power structures that impede the vitality of HEIs (Fallon & Paquette, 2014; Goddard, 2010; Newswander, 2012; Suransky & van der Merwe, 2016).

Interdisciplinarity

The Editors function in three distinct disciplines: Business, Education, and Information Systems. Particular areas of this book appeal to different disciplines such as:

• E-Leadership in VUCA – Business, Information Systems (Generative AI), and Education
• Wise Leadership in VUCA – Business, Philosophy, Education, Political Science
• Equitable and Inclusive Leadership in VUCA – Anthropology, Ecology, Psychology, Economics, Business, Education.

Impact

The editors envision several potential impact outputs such as:

1. Workshops based on the book
2. Online courses based on the book
3. Webinars based on the book
4. Conference presentations based on the book
5. LinkedIn posts from quotes in the book
6. Instagram posts from quotes in the book
7. Audiobooks.

Sustainable Development Goals

We believe this book intersects the following UN SDG’s:

• Fairer society (SDG #5 & #10)
  • Gender Equity and Racial Equity in HEI’s
• Healthier lives (SDG #3)
• Responsible management (SDG #8 & 12)
  • VUCA Prime Leadership in HEI’s to support effective ESG leadership
• Quality education for all (SDG #4)
  • Effective Leadership and e-Leadership of HEIs will provide quality education for all.

 

References:

• Blomme, R. J. (2012). Leadership, complex adaptive systems, and equivocality: The role of managers in emergent change. Organisation Management Journal, 9(1), 4–19.
• Chan, S. (2001). Complex Adaptive Systems. 1–9.
• Daft, R. L. (2023). The Leadership Experience (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Davis, A. P., Dent, E. B., & Wharff, D. M. (2015). A Conceptual Model of Systems Thinking Leadership in Community Colleges. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 28(4), 333–353.
• Day, D. V., & Harrison, M. M. (2007). A multilevel, identity-based approach to leadership development. Human Resource Management Review, 17(4), 360–373.
• Dervitsiotis, K. N. (2005). Creating conditions to nourish sustainable organizational excellence. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 16(8–9), 925–943.
• English, F. W., & Ehrich, L. C. (2015). Innovatus interregnum: waiting for a paradigm shift. International Journal of Educational Management, 29(7), 851–862.
• Fallon, G., & Paquette, J. (2014). Rethinking conceptions of educational leadership within a First Nations setting in Canada. Journal of Educational Administration, 52(2), 193–209.
• Goddard, J. T. (2010). Toward Glocality.pdf. Journal of School Leadership, 20.
• Lagadec, P. (2009). A New Cosmology of Risks and Crises: Time for a Radical Shift in Paradigm and Practice. Review of Policy Research, 26(4), 473–487.
• Newswander, C. B. (2012). Chaos and Reordering. Administrative Theory & Praxis (M.E. Sharpe), 34(4), 557–577.
• Suransky, C., & van der Merwe, J. C. (2016). Transcending apartheid in higher education: transforming an institutional culture. Race Ethnicity and Education, 19(3), 577–597.