Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/54913
issues, attracting top scholars, find- ing adequate compensation schemes, and facilitating research agendas. In this context, deans have little power to drive changes or to intro- duce bold strategic initiatives that may challenge their schools' status quo. In fact, as several interviewees pointed out during this research study, the role of the dean usually involves reconciling the needs of groups that are often in conflict: faculty and school boards, academ- ics and business leaders, professors with their individual goals, and universities with their institutional goals. At the same time, deans must determine the best way to apportion resources to achieve long-term teaching and research excellence as well as short-term financial stability. It's crucial for deans dealing with these dichotomies to hone all the skills associated with listening, integrating, communicating, and building consensus. These capa- bilities all hinge on personal cred- ibility, which, in turn, is built on consistent behavior and the ability to deliver results. For example, George Bain came to London in 1989 with a reputa- tion for strength in both academic and administrative matters. He used this reputational advantage and quickly presented an agenda that set clear goals for change. The faculty welcomed this document with a sense of relief as it halted a period of strategic drift at LBS. As another LBS former dean, Laura Tyson, puts it, "The main thing I think a dean is trying to do is to represent the institution to the different groups that don't quite see the institution in the same way." A dean stands for "the col- 58 May/June 2011 BizEd lective interests and the future of the institution," she says. Deans must listen and respond to both faculty and board members, she notes, building bridges and sharing governance. She adds, "I actually think this is not a bad model for a business school." ful track record as chairman of Warwick Business School. Even so, his task was not easy. Although the faculty accepted his change agenda—a bias toward strategy— he knew he could not implement the agenda on his own. Therefore, like a CEO organizing a group of senior staffers, he created a man- agement committee of four to five key players to achieve change and build consensus. Similarly, other deans have The Dean as CEO In their roles as top executives, deans set the strategic directions of their schools and help overcome the shared power structure that can lead to evolutionary paralysis. Bain believes that faculty at LBS were happier when he guided the school with a strong hand, even if they didn't agree with the directions he wanted to take the school. "If they didn't like it, they could argue, but at least they knew where they were going," he says. Bain's particular challenge was to lead LBS when the school had determined it needed to focus on the international market. As mentioned earlier, he devoted six months to uncovering the concerns of all school constituencies; he also brought with him a success- needed to act as CEOs to shepherd through essential transformations. For instance, INSEAD's Borges drew on executive leadership skills when he promoted the initiative to open a second campus in Asia. Like a business CEO, he also iden- tified the leading competitors by saying that INSEAD needed to "be as good as the Americans." Borges introduced the idea of a Singapore campus at a faculty meeting. After leading a discus- sion that allowed him to hear the different views of the faculty mem- bers, he decided to go ahead with the project without taking a vote. Borges knew he had the full sup- port of Claude Janssen, INSEAD's board chairman; even so, such an action is more reminiscent of a CEO than a dean. Another top academic who has needed to draw on executive skills to forge organizational transfor- mation is Peter Lorange, former president of IMD. Lorange believes that deans not only should deter- mine a school's strategic focus, but should also decide which pathways are most effective in pursuing that goal. Therefore, he shaped IMD's strategy with four elements: "Real life, real learning," "The global meeting place," "All learning is