Determinants of Administrative Effectiveness: Why Some Academic Leaders Are More Influential and Effective Than Others. Professional File, Fall 1999, Number 19.

This monograph on the issues of leadership, power, and influence summarizes information gleaned from working with and interviewing administrators at Canadian colleges and universities. The study notes, first, that decision-making environments in Canadian postsecondary organizations are multidimensional, characterized by interdependence, diversity, and varying paradigms of authority. A second observation is that effective decision-making in university environments requires an understanding of the limits of decision-making. The main portion of the report focuses on the structural, personal, and situational attributes of effective leadership, including among the structural attributes rank/position, being in the right unit, one's location in a communication network, one's reporting relationship, control over resource allocation, and organizational culture. Personal attributes are defined as including vision, ethos, and integrity; intellectual and socialization skills; one's appearance and social activities; and a willingness to influence. Among situational attributes are the ability to manage external problems; and effectively managing external clients. Finally, the paper discusses how effective administrators enhance their potential for effectiveness, identifying the following behaviors: exercising influence and persuasion in strategic ways; setting priorities, using structured decision-making processes; establishing policy convergences; building a team; and managing conflict. A list of study participants and questions reviewed with administrators is appended. (Contains approximately 100 references.) (CH)