Solutions and Strategies

University Restructures and Unstable Leadership: Supporting Ourselves and Others Through Change

Nancy November from the University of Auckland led this session exploring how we navigate cycles of institutional change, restructure, and leadership flux. Drawing on the SCARF model, mindset shifting, and strategies for managing workplace endings, we’ll consider how to support ourselves and others while freeing up capacity for what’s next.

Communication Strategies

• Use active language: Avoid management passive language that removes human agency from actions.
• Reinsert subjects: Clarify who is taking action rather than using passive voice.
• Use plain verbs: Communicate with simple, direct verbs like decide, meet, explain, and change.
• Name emotions and impacts: Directly address the emotional aspects of change.
• Provide clarity on process and timing: Even when outcomes are uncertain, being clear about when decisions will be made helps reduce anxiety.
• Humanize communication: Present a human face to change rather than bureaucratic processes.

Leadership Frameworks

• SCARF Model: Address Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness in change management.
• Bridges Transitions Model: Recognize the three phases of transition (ending, neutral zone, new beginning) and help people move through them.
• VUCA framework: Acknowledge Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity in the changing environment.

Support Mechanisms

• Self-care practices: Encourage activities like walking, swimming, bushwalking, and creative pursuits to process change.
• Peer support networks: Create spaces for colleagues to share experiences and strategies.
• Advocacy: Speak up about concerns and humanize interactions with decision-makers.
• Support for middle managers: Provide additional resources for those caught between implementing changes and supporting staff.

Strategic Approaches

• Focus on internal improvements: When external factors are uncontrollable, redirect energy to improving internal processes.
• Appreciative inquiry: Identify what works well and build on strengths rather than just addressing problems.
• Transdisciplinary partnerships: Diffuse impacts by working across disciplines and faculties.
• International connections: Develop partnerships with overseas institutions to create new opportunities.
• Demonstrating value: Articulate the distinctive contribution of different disciplines, especially in cross-disciplinary contexts.

Managing the Emotional Impact

• Acknowledge loss: Recognize and validate the sense of loss that accompanies change.
• Orient people with purpose: Help staff connect with the underlying mission despite changes.
• Cycle of positive reframing: Move from acknowledging challenges to identifying opportunities.
• Build trust through transparency: Be honest about what is and isn’t known.
• Center people, not processes: Keep the focus on the human impact rather than bureaucratic procedures.

Nancy is Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Arts & Education at the University of Auckland. She brings a deep interest in enabling flourishing academic cultures, grounded in her interdisciplinary research and leadership experience.