Academic leadership commences by self-leadership

Varna Free University, Yanko Slavchev 84, Chaika Resort, 9007 Varna, Bulgaria

Abstract

Enhancing leaders and leadership are major elements when pursuing improvement of learning and teaching in the higher education sector. This study was conducted to investigate the self-leadership skills of the academic staff in the Lebanese higher education sector. It is stated that “an effective academic leader must be able to lead oneself effectively before he or she can lead others within and outside the classroom”. Through a survey, academic staff (instructors) were asked to rank selfleadership skills that they believe they possess and apply. This survey also presented questions that allowed the researcher to identify whether academics have a clear comprehension of this concept in Lebanese universities and what prevents them from attaining and applying them. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicated that the skills of self-leadership were not being applied effectively and the concept was not clearly comprehended by the Lebanese higher education institutions. Thus, it is recommended to train the academic staff to improve their knowledge, attitudes and skills regarding the concept of selfleadership and it presented potential strategies that facilitated sharing innovations to effectively apply such leadership and promote the importance of quality teaching experiences.