Leading in flux: strategic leadership for a changing higher education system

When the Strategic Leadership Programme began, I wasn’t sure I could give it the time or energy it deserved. Like many in the sector, I was navigating urgent pressures and an incredible number of competing demands and challenges. But I chose to commit - and I’m so glad I did. The programme didn’t just fit into the turbulence; it helped me rise above it. 

Because in higher education today, flux isn’t something we weather - it’s what we lead through every day. From shifting regulatory landscapes to structural change, from complex partnership portfolios to evolving expectations of quality, the demands placed on leaders are multiplying. Strategic leadership in this context isn’t about control or certainty. It’s about navigating ambiguity with clarity of purpose and creating the right conditions for our students to thrive. 

Advance HE’s Strategic Leadership Programme (SLP) gave me that space - and the challenge - to think differently about this responsibility. It didn’t promise easy answers. Instead, it offered something far more valuable: a reflective and inclusive environment in which to rehearse leadership, test ideas, challenge assumptions and explore how we might lead not just within the system, but in ways that change it for the better. 

Thinking together in a system under strain 

The most immediate value of the programme was the rare opportunity to have the time to be in genuine conversation with other senior sector leaders - people wrestling with their own institutional and sector-wide challenges, who were generous enough to share openly and critically. What emerged was not a showcase of leadership victories, but a shared inquiry into what leadership demands of us now: humility, adaptability and strategic courage. 

Much of this was made possible by the inclusive and thoughtfully facilitated environment shaped by the programme coordinators, Lisa Sofianos and Professor Karise Hutchinson. Together, they created a space where vulnerability and ambition could co-exist - where questions were welcomed, ideas challenged, and people supported. It felt like a genuine learning community, shaped by trust, curiosity and a shared commitment to doing leadership differently. 

Coaching that cut through the noise 

Of all the programme elements, it was the one-to-one coaching that had the most profound impact for me. These weren’t generic mentoring sessions - they were focused, expert and deeply tailored. My coach helped me hold a mirror up to my leadership practice, explore how I was showing up in high-stakes conversations, and clarify how I wanted to influence the systems around me. 

Alongside this, the action learning sets were equally powerful. The chance to share a real leadership challenge of my own and then step back - listening without the ability to intervene as thoughtful, experienced colleagues unpacked it - was both humbling and hugely insightful. The structured, solution-focused dialogue often surfaced ideas and perspectives I hadn’t considered and offered just enough distance to reflect without defensiveness. 

In a sector where time is perpetually short and the operational noise is loud, that focused space for strategic reflection was game-changing. It gave me permission to pause, re-centre, and think systemically - not just tactically - about how to lead lasting change. For me, this was one of the most valuable aspects of the entire programme, and one I’ll be drawing on long after the modules have ended. 

Rehearsing the hard stuff 

I’ll be honest - my face did things when I saw ‘role play’ on the schedule. None of them subtle. Like many, I’ve sat through my share of cringeworthy scenarios that didn’t quite land. But what we experienced on the SLP was a world apart: thoughtfully structured, professionally facilitated and genuinely useful for practising the kinds of difficult leadership conversations we all face. 

Surprisingly, it was watching others work through high-stakes scenarios that left the biggest impression on me. Seeing colleagues find new, empowering ways to respond - sometimes with hesitation, sometimes with breakthrough - was one of the most memorable and instructive aspects of the entire programme. These exercises weren’t about performance; they were about practice. They gave us the chance to rehearse leadership when the stakes are high, the emotions are real, and the outcomes genuinely matter. 

From programme to practice 

Since completing the programme, I’ve found myself drawing on its learning in unexpected ways - not just in grand strategic moments, but in everyday leadership encounters. I’m more conscious of how systems behave, how power moves and how culture is shaped not just by decisions, but by dialogue. I’ve begun to ask different questions of myself, my teams and my institution. And I’ve found greater clarity in leading through the complex, multi-layered and often messy realities of transformation. 

Final reflection 

The Strategic Leadership Programme didn’t hand me a playbook for leadership - it gave me the space, tools and challenge to start shaping my own. In a sector as fast-moving and uncertain as ours, that kind of capacity-building is invaluable. For many of us - myself very much included - it ultimately comes down to confidence: confidence to pause, to lead without all the answers and to influence systems rather than control them. 

I’m especially grateful to Lisa and Karise for their expert, generous facilitation, to Lucy Duggal for keeping everything running smoothly and to the entire brilliant SLP19 cohort, whose good spirits and good company made even the trickiest discussions energising. Thanks also to Professors Damien Page and Sarah Williams at BNU for supporting my participation. 

If you’re considering the programme, I’d say this: it’s not easy, but it’s exactly what senior leaders need right now. Come ready to reflect, share and stretch - and you’ll leave with renewed confidence and a new way of seeing, thinking and leading.  

It’s the kind of experience that stays with you. 

Dr Christopher D. Lewis is Associate Dean (Education) and Associate Professor (Educational Leadership) at Buckinghamshire New University. He leads strategic education development across the College of Creative Arts, Technology and Engineering and contributes to sector-wide quality and leadership development as a Lead Assessor for the Office for Students.