Shared leadership via a unified teaching platform: Some questions

In South Africa, the Department of Education determines what undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programs higher education institutions should offer. Higher-education nursing schools all enroll postgraduate students, while some enroll both undergraduate students, in large numbers, as well as postgraduate students.

I serve on the School of Nursing faculty at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. In the Western Cape, a regional integrated framework exists among nursing schools for a common shared teaching platform at the undergraduate level. Drawing upon the expertise and facilities of five higher education institutions in the region, the framework’s shared leadership is regarded as distributed leadership. An academic board representing the institutions governs the process and reports, via the Council for Higher Education Committee, to relevant committees at those institutions.

The purpose of shared leadership is to use skills and knowledge to create a common culture of expectations. In the process, no institution should give up its autonomy or power. In this environment, the challenge is to establish productive relationships and to be accountable for contributions made to a collective result.

Some probing is needed, however, to determine if common-platform teaching aligns with the principles of equal distribution (shared) leadership. Here are some principles, together with questions (in italics) that need to be asked:

For this model of leadership to work, there must be equal partners. In the shared-teaching platform, the offering institutions are to follow the enrolling institution’s teaching framework. Which institution—offering or enrolling—should have responsibility for designing the course outline?

Shared leadership is practiced in a supportive work environment, which is dependent on dynamic alignment. Who appoints staff members to teach on a common shared-teaching platform?

Shared leadership works when all participants share responsibility and are accountable for the work of the partnership. What are the responsibilities of the offering and enrolling institutions?

Each person in the group brings with them skills and ideas that are valuable. It is important, therefore, that differences within the group be recognized and embraced. Which theoretical framework or approach should be used in teaching?

Team-building, conflict management and ability to build a new culture are among the necessary skills needed for the success of shared leadership. What happens when students experience problems with a lecturer from a participating institution? What if lecturers are not in agreement on the assessment process? What if there are contradictory policies among institutions with regard to assessment?

Partnering in real-life situations implies collaboratively working smarter, not harder. What happens if the workload is not equally distributed?

Shared leadership focuses on having a shared organisational identity. Do offering institutions submit the list of examiners to the enrolling institution for appointment?

A great deal of individual autonomy is emphasized through the concept of shared leadership. Can offering institutions utilize their own venues for conducting examinations?

An agreed-upon common purpose is extremely vital for the mutually supportive elements of shared leadership. Among educational institutions, what is the main common purpose of a shared teaching platform? Does shared leadership, at the end of the day, enhance quality teaching, promote collaborative research and increase student output?

Through shared leadership, the burden of stress, the complexity of the issues and the urgency for better decisions should be distributed among a team of leaders and institutions. What should be the next step?

Reference:

Jooste, K. (2010). Leadership in healthcare services (2nd ed.) Juta Kenwyn. 

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.