Leadership and psychology - Professor William Lovegrove

William Lovegrove moved from a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Tasmania, to Professor of Psychology at the University of Wollongong, then to Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) at the same university. He spent a number of years as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Griffith University before becoming Vice Chancellor at the University of Southern Queensland. All of these roles required being able to set strategic directions and implement them. What changed over the roles was the scope of the responsibilities. He is now the President of the Nan Tien Institute where his past experience is proving useful.

What is the main characteristic that you believe all leaders should possess and why?

The characteristic most useful in leadership positions is to be able to work with the leadership team to develop an agreed strategic direction. Without the commitment of the other leaders, the best-developed strategic plan is unlikely to be successful. In various positions I learned that I could achieve a certain amount of progress by my own efforts but if I could facilitate the performance of my senior staff, our progress was multiplied many fold.

What other characteristics and attributes make a good leader?

Being able to make decisions under pressure and with incomplete information was always useful. Being trained in research methods assisted in such situations. Throughout all my roles I aimed to treat people with respect and openness. As I look back over the years, I am pleased I did.

What do you see as some of the key decisions and opportunities that have helped you in your leadership roles?

I have always tried to do my current role as well as I could without worrying about the next role. At the same time I found it useful to be open to new opportunities that would provide a new challenge but also allow a reasonable balance in my life.

What are some of the challenges that you have had to overcome in leadership positions?

There have been many interesting challenges. Perhaps the greatest in a general sense is being able to prioritise the challenges, choose the right one at any time, and then ensure that sufficient resources are made available. Perhaps the most difficult challenge involved decisions I thought were necessary to secure the financial future of a university. This led to a significant reduction in the degrees and subjects offered and to some staff redundancies and much angst. Taking a long-term view of what was important for the university, rather than what was comfortable for me, was important in this.

Did your psychology background help you in taking on leadership roles and if yes, how?

I found my education in psychology useful in many ways. These ranged from understanding people and their positions to having a good grasp of research methodologies and statistics. Leadership positions always involve many possible options. My research training was invaluable in evaluating the options so that my decisions were supported by the available evidence. I have always worked in universities so the broad training in a wide range of research approaches equipped me to appreciate research from all areas of the university.

What do you see as the key differences between a good leader and a good manager?

I see leadership as being focused on setting strategic directions correctly and gaining staff commitment to those directions. It is then important to ensure that the necessary resources and staff training are available. This has to be underpinned by a concern for staff welfare and appropriate reward structure for staff achievements. Management is more concerned with doing the job correctly. Good management, however, also requires appreciation that little is achieved without staff commitment.

What advice would you give to psychologists taking on leadership positions?

When I first moved into leadership roles in universities, I thought it was my sole responsibility to provide all the strategic leadership. Over time I realised that my role instead was to do this by capturing the best ideas of all the leadership team (and others) and to mould them into a coherent plan. This not only provided stronger leadership but also resulted in stronger staff commitment. So I would advise people moving into leadership roles to have the confidence to listen to and look for the best ideas from their staff. This includes being open to feedback on your own performance.