The Need for Sustainable Leadership in Academia – a German Case Study

Academic leaders are selected based on their publication record, citation index and acquisition of third party funding. However, heading a successful research team, also requires leadership skills. Despite the clear need, leadership development has been systematically neglected in the present academic system. At the same time, growing evidence suggests that leadership styles of academic supervisors can dramatically affect the mental health of academic employees as well as drive highly skilled researchers out of academia. Here, we assessed the current state of academic leadership in the German academic system by surveying 368 participants currently employed in academia in Germany. We report that 64% of current academic leaders did not feel prepared for their current position while 86% of participants expressed their interest in leadership development programs offered by their research institutions. Our results highlight the demand for leadership development programs in German academic institutions to ensure a more efficient academic system.


Introduction 31
Success in science is measured through a combination of scientific output in the form 32 of publications in scientific journals and the acquisition of funding in order to enable 33 further research (1, 2). As young researchers advance in their careers, they become 34 highly trained in skills such as scientific writing so as to master publication or grant 35 writing. The mediation of leadership skills, however, is often neglected as currently 36 these do not contribute to the evaluation of scientific success or the appointment to 37 faculty positions (1). Therefore, an early career researcher (ECR) may become leader 38 of a research group based on publication record and solicitation of third party funding, 39 but without having received sufficient training of team leadership or team development 40 (3). A recent study focusing on leadership in academia, identified the neglect of 41 systematic leader selection and development as one of the most pressing challenges 42 in academic leadership, besides managing autonomy, constant change and 43 uncertainty (4). According to the authors, academic leaders are not prepared for their 44 demanding roles (4). Moreover, a survey including 233 professors from universities in 45 the United Kingdom revealed that 60% indicated their research output and 46 scholarships as the sole basis for their appointment (5). 47 4 students but do not yet have a university degree were excluded from further analysis. 83 Further, participants currently working in academia in Germany with at least one 84 academic degree (585), were currently not all employed in academia, in fact 37% (217) 85 of participants were currently working outside of academia, while 63% (368) of 86 participants worked in academic institutions. In order to depict the current status of 87 leadership in the German academic system, the analysis was therefore further focused 88 on all participants currently working in the German academic system (368). All the 89 descriptive statistics reported in this article are for these 368 respondents. 90 91

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We surveyed 585 international academics currently working in Germany on their 93 experience in leadership culture in academia, their needs for supporting leadership 94 skill development as well as their openness towards novel leadership concepts in 95 academia (see Methods for information on how the survey was disseminated). 96 Out of the surveyed German academic participants, 63% (368) are currently employed 97 in academia, 34% (197) indicated to work outside of academia or research while 3% 98 (20) indicated employment as scientists outside of academia. The latter two groups 99 show experience in academia, but are currently employed in a variety of professions 100 outside of academia; in order to reflect the current situation in academia the analysis 101 was therefore focused on the 368 academics that are currently employed in academia. 102 60% (221) of participants were women, 38% (139) were men with an average age of 103 31 years ranging from 21 to 82 years. 104 The majority of participants held a PhD/MD (41%) indicating substantial experience in 105 academic culture, followed by 38% holding a Master's degree, while a minor part of 106 participants held a Bachelor's degree (21%) ( Figure 1A). When asked about their 107 current position in academia, 16% specified as Group Leaders or Professors, 19% as Postdoctoral Researchers (Post Docs), 31% as PhD Students, 14% as Research 109 Assistants (defined as a graduate who is employed on a temporary or part-time basis 110 to assist the university or research institution with academic research) and 20% as 111 students ( Figure 1B). 112 Surveyed participants currently working in academia were further asked about their 113 plans regarding academia. 46% indicated to plan to stay in academia ("Yes"; 55% 114 women, 38% men), 26% ("No"; 57% women, 42% men) are planning to leave 115 academia and 23% ("Maybe"; 72% women, 27% men) are currently undecided 116 regarding their professional future in academia ( Figure 1C). While the gender ratio was 117 similar for staying or leaving academia ("Yes" or "No"), noticeably more women than 118 men indicated indecisiveness ("Maybe") regarding their future in academia. Moreover, 119 many participants stating that they were undecided expressed their desire to stay in 120 academia but expressed their doubts on combining a career in science with family 121 planning, due to long working hours and short-term contracts. 122

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When the 37% of surveyed participants that already left academia were asked about 124 their motivation to leave, reasons were manifold; the majority, however, stated that 125 they were concerned about poor career prospects and a lack of job security, 126 underscoring widespread concerns of participants working in academia.

Academics feel unprepared for leadership in academia 141
We further assessed whether participants working in academia feel prepared for 142 leadership in academic environments. Out of the surveyed academic participants, 59% 143 indicated to be currently in a leading position (53% women, 45% men) while 41% 144 stated to be currently not in a leading position (70% women, 27% men) (Figure 2A). 145 When asked about their plans regarding leadership, out of the 41% that are currently 146 not in a leading position, 78% indicated to be pursuing a leading position (58% women; 147 38% men) while only 15% stated not to aim for a leading position (74% women; 26% 148 men) ( Figure 2B). 149

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Despite the majority of participants aiming for a leading position in academia, 77% of 151 all academic participants stated that they were not well prepared for a leading position 152 during their academic career ( Figure 2C). When focusing on the current leaders in 153 academia, 73% also stated that they did not feel well prepared for the leading position 154 they currently hold (54% women, 44% men; Figure 2D).

Discussion 218
We here report a great need for leadership training programs in academia, based on 219 data from our survey on the current state of leadership in academia in Germany. 64% 220 of current academic leaders stated that they did not feel well prepared for the position 221 between countries and our data are therefore not suitable for a general statement on 240 the current state of leadership in academia. Thus, more international studies will be 241 required to confirm our data as well as to paint a more complete picture of the current 242 state on academic leadership.
It is beyond debate that leadership in academia is of high complexity. Academic 244 leaders are required to meet the interests of a spectrum of different stakeholders (12), 245 while being held to the highest standards regarding their excellence in research and 246 teaching (13). At the same time, academic leadership ranges across multiple levels, 247 from an individual level, to the level of a research group to the organization (4, 14). 248

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To date, only a few studies on the actual state of leadership in academia exist. One 250 study that surveyed academic leaders from Chinese and European universities, 251 reports a lack of comprehensive conceptualization of academic leadership, providing 252 a new definition of academic leadership based from an international academic context: 253 "an influence of one or more people with an academic profile on academic behavior, 254 attitudes or intellectual capacity of others based on commitment and power in order to 255 achieve managerial, structural, and institutional vision values" (15). Another study 256 highlights the fact that many current academic leaders are actually not aware of their 257 role in improving teaching quality at universities or learning success of their students 258 (16). On these lines, a recent study underscores the importance of sustainable 259 leadership practices in universities to ensure quality learning and teaching (17). an Australian university as well as its immediate impact on research productivity on the 304 individual as well as organizational level (27). 305 306

Conclusion 307
We found that most academics aspire to leading positions but did not feel prepared 308 and bemoaned a lack of leadership skills in the scientific world. There might be a need 309 to transform the science work culture from a "stick and carrot" environment where 310 scientists work solely towards their next publication into a science enthusiasm and 311 innovation-driven culture. 312 With a need for excellence in times of increasingly complex problems, leadership skills 313 beyond mere management of teams are needed to tackle scientific questions in global 314 collaborations. They are also needed provide role models for young researchers and 315 provide them with future perspectives in the field of academia and a unique framework 316 to enhance their knowledge and research skills. One answer to this question could be 317 adopting work and leadership concepts that worked in highly innovative fields of 318 industry such as agility to the scientific environment.