dialogue
Joe Haberman
The firm has a global office presence, yet clients are more interested in our specialisation than where we are located. However, we tend to work in major centres. As far as education is concerned, we are in the US, Europe, UK, in particular, in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Singapore, New Zealand and South Africa. These are the places that historically have created most of the major higher-ed centred leadership needs. We also see a lot of need and opportunity developing here in India.
You are just starting to work in India. What drew you here? The capacity for higher education is important for the development of any society and if that capacity is not large or focussed enough then it gets the attention of the government and supporters of education. Our experiences in other markets have shown that as governments translate an economic or societal development vision into action, the need for effective leaders who have expanded capacity in higher education, outstrips the thin supply of that talent. So, when we think about investing by adding resources or focus, we look for those conditions because we know we can make a meaningful contribution to institutions, their boards and the broader societal needs. What are some of the trends in terms of exchange of educational leadership? Do you see a pattern in talent shifting from one part of the world to another? The source countries are, by and large, those where the higher education infrastructure and community development is long standing. It’s mostly the UK, the US and Australia at this point, who are exporters of education leaders with the right experiences. But there are alternatives other than cross-border shifting for clients. An increasing number of leaders with demonstrated success in other sectors are finding attractive opportunities in the education sector.
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EduTech July 2012
What advice would you give to faculty in India looking to shift overseas? I would probably say the same thing to them, as I would to professionals in a variety of places around the world. It is important to be in places that will showcase what you have to offer. And, if the faculty members have something to say, they should find ways of connecting with constituent peers interested in that area. They should seek opportunities to attend international conferences and congresses as networking venues. They should not rely on a firm like ours to reach out to them. Though, we are active in candidate development, firms like ours, still represent a relatively small percentage of the overall opportunities that are out there, and that is even truer for faculty. We, generally speaking, are searching for administrative leadership. Our clients are the universities, and the boards of these institutions, who are engaging us, not individuals. What are the trends that you see in India’s higher education leadership? Running an institution anywhere in the world has to be seen in a context that is more often global. Leaders need to address more diversified challenges than was the case 10 years ago. In the US, the predominant requirement for a university president is fundraising abilities. Yet, the traditional route to the presidency was often through the provost’s office. Research has shown that the provosts are far less interested in making that progression now because of the external fundraising dimension being more paramount than academics. I don’t think it’s the same case here. But I do see that the challenges with regard to building universities are similar. Most of the situations that I am hearing about have less to do with maintaining status quo and more to do with building capacity and quality to meet societal needs. Hence, when we are looking for leaders, we are going to be looking for the experience of growing something relevant. It is just not the same if you are leading a toptier institution which has never faced
challenges of growth. In established institutions, you would only understand how to sort out the problems of plenty and how to use the numerous resources you would be receiving. That is not going to prepare you for a building opportunity where you need to employ different skills. And I see a lot of those kinds of needs coming up. Another thing that we find in India as well as other places around the world concerns the ability to reconcile the academic contribution from your faculty and resources with the enterprise management perspective. How can you run your institution more effectively? Resources are always very low and, in fact, they are getting slimmer. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. So, I think, as we look for future leaders here in India or elsewhere, the best will be those who can reconcile these two areas— somebody who understands good enterprise management. Fundraising—yes, that’s also a part of it. But leadership has to make sure that the organisation is