Everything you need to know before taking on an academic leadership or service role

Two times seven questions and seven tips to help you decide whether, when, and where to embark on these roles

Anne-Wil Harzing - (updated Fri 31 Oct 2025 11:59)

Anne-Wil Harzing*, Middlesex University, UK; Ciara O'Higgins*, University of Deusto, Spain

*Both authors contributed equally © All rights reserved. First version, 31 October 2025 

Note: This white paper is partly based on collective input from our CYGNA meeting: The many shapes and forms of Service & Leadership. This meeting was organised and hosted by Ciara O'Higgins, who convened a panel of nine brilliant and very engaging CYGNA members: Athina Dilmperi, Maria Elo, Susy Menis, Tina Miedtank, Stefanie Reissner, Olga Ryazanova, Betina Szkudlarek, Tatyana Tsukanova, and Natalie Wilmot.

Table of contents

This is a fairly long white paper. A detailed Table of Contents is below, allowing readers to jump to individual sections. However, for the best effect we suggest you at least scan the other sections.

Introduction

What is that thing called leadership and service?

Choices, choices, choices…...

What’s in it for me: Pain now, gain later?

Why take on a leadership/service role? Seven questions to ask yourself

  1. Does it align with your values?
  2. Does it energise/excite you/make your heart sing?
  3. Does it align with your skillset?
  4. Does it fit your character?
  5. Does it allow you to create synergies with other activities?
  6. Does it allow you to make a difference/open the door for others?
  7. Is now the right time?

Do your homework: Seven questions to ask others to gather the necessary information

  1. Why me? When do you need an answer?
  2. What is the expected time allocation? What else can I drop?
  3. What type of recognition can I expect?
  4. Is this role time bound?
  5. Is there a position description?
  6. Is there dedicated admin support?
  7. Who will I be working with/reporting to?

Getting the role & what to do when you have it: Seven tips

  1. Don’t wait till you feel ready!
  2. Are you the only woman in the room?
  3. You might need to signal you are interested
  4. Start with the basics and grow from there
  5. Grow a thick skin and don’t let others mess you about
  6. Keep track of not only what you have done, but what you have achieved
  7. Plan for your exit

In sum

Introduction 

We often take on leadership and service roles with surprisingly little information. So, before you say yes to a new role, take the time to think and gather all the information you need to take the decision. Make sure you know your own context well, understand the intricacies of your system so you are aware what is expected of you and what you can expect in return (e.g. in terms of recognition). And always remember that no is an option too, see also: When to say no?

This white paper offers a wide range of questions that might help you better prepare for any leadership or service role you take on. We delve into seven general questions to ask yourself before considering any role, discuss seven specific questions to ask others when considering a specific role, and end with seven tips on how to get into leadership and service roles and what to be aware of when you are in them. First though we answer some burning questions: what do we mean by leadership and service, what kind of roles are out there, and what’s in it for me?

What is that thing called leadership and service?

What do we mean by leadership and service exactly? That’s surprisingly hard to say as the interpretation of these terms differs from country to country, from university to university, and even over time. At its most basic level it is any work done in universities that is not 100% research or 100% teaching.

Some use a definition of leadership that is similar to industry, in the sense that it refers to a substantive managerial position in the organisation, where you have the responsibility for a budget, other people, and the achievement of organisational results. This probably means you appear somewhere on the organisational chart and have internal and/or external visibility. Others use the term much more loosely for anyone with responsibility for a specific aspect of organisational functioning. What makes leadership in academia different is that most roles are temporary and when your term is up, you go back to your original position, unless you are offered another leadership role.

Service is even less clearly defined and is an umbrella term for a wide variety of activities that can be ad-hoc, recurring, or a designated role for a specific period. In  terms of time commitment, it can run from a few hours to weeks or even months of work. It can range from being there to answer questions from prospective students at Open Day to chairing a task-force to change assessment guidelines, from organising the Christmas party to being part of promotion or recruitment panels, from sitting on one of a zillion committees at the departmental, school, faculty, or university level to being an Open Science advocate. It can even include mentoring and tutoring. Many of these roles are also labelled organisational citizenship or collegiality. But confusingly, some leadership roles can also be seen as citizenship, as many academics see them as “having to take their turn”, especially for roles such as Head of Department.

So maybe going back to “anything that’s not 100% research or teaching” might not be a bad definition :-)

Choices, choices, choices…

There is a wide variety of specific leadership and service roles and these roles can be fulfilled inside or outside your institution, and inside or outside academia.

Inside your institution

Most academics focus on leadership roles within their own institutions, often at departmental, School or Faculty level. There is a panoply of choices. Collectively, the panellists in our CYGNA meeting had fulfilled the following roles: Senior Tutor, Programme Director, Chair of the Board of Examiners, Chair of the Board of Studies, Head of Department, Departmental Research or Teaching Lead, PhD director, Associate / Deputy Dean for Research / External Engagement / Teaching & Learning, and Dean. Increasingly, additional roles are defined in universities in areas with an element of compliance, such as research ethics, sustainability, and EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion).

University-level leadership roles are not as numerous and fewer academics aspire to these levels (or are qualified for them), but there are many service-oriented roles at this level, often taking the shape of committees. In some cases, university-wide initiatives or committees can feel a bit bureaucratic and/or boring and thus less enticing. But remember that in most universities, promotion to Associate and Full Professor is decided in university panels where most of the panellists don’t know you. So, they would need to recognise your departmental / School / Faculty service as valuable. Ironically, participating in a few university-level committees (where all you need to do is attend monthly or 6-weekly meetings) might be perceived more positively than a much more time-consuming departmental role.

In other cases, these service roles can help you get out of your bubble and meet great colleagues from other parts of the University. Activities on the university level have allowed Ciara to meet wonderful colleagues from whom she has learnt a great deal about student tutoring. Moreover, it also allowed her to identify cross-disciplinary teaching and research opportunities. In addition, as Maria Elo aptly commented, engaging in service roles may diminish "your liabilities of foreignness" as a non-local scholar and embed you better in your own working environment as "one of us". 

In academia, but outside your institution

There are also many options outside your own university but still related to academia. First, and although more and more controversial, the publishing system is based on the service contributions of academics. Roles include reviewing, (associate) editorships, editorial board memberships, editing special issues or books, etc. For more on this, see the blogpost for the CYGNA 2024/2025 online event: The good, the bad and the ugly of editorial and reviewing responsibilities.

You could also volunteer for one of the many roles in professional associations in your field, organising conferences or workshops, contributing to identity-based organisations such as the CYGNA women in academia network as an organising team member or a CYG facilitator, or even supporting academics world-wide through provision of resources as Anne-Wil has done (see: When and why did you create your website?).

Outside academia

Volunteering outside academia can be great too, e.g. using your research to support NGOs as a consultant, being on advisory boards. As Betina Szkudlarek mentioned it can be a great way to achieve alignment between your academic self and your passions outside academia. Rather than thinking about how her research could impact society, Betina started by making a difference to society, which in turn inspired her great research ideas. (See also: Nancy Adler: Daring to Care)

Similarly, Maria Elo talked about working for purpose, not a career. If we see our work as a means of accelerating change, we need to build bridges between academia and other social actors. So service in the broader community can be a great way of creating allyship. She also commented that service can be an excellent channel to disseminate academic knowledge and results to a broader audience. 

What’s in it for me: Pain now, gain later?

Although many of us really enjoy leadership and service roles, they are not without their drawbacks. Much of the “pain” in these roles comes when you are in the role, especially when they are roles within your own institution. You often need to sacrifice time that you could have spent on your own research. You may need to deal with difficult people on a regular basis. You are likely to be faced with daily email avalanches. Every day may be filled with fire-fighting, and change might be hard won. Hence, moments of satisfaction may be rare and fleeting.

A volunteering role outside your institution may provide you with more enjoyment and a bit more freedom to craft your own role. There are typically fewer set procedures and – as everyone knows you are volunteering – there may be more gratitude and respect whilst you are in the role. This is by no means guaranteed though, and most academic volunteers have times where they wonder: “why on earth do I spend all this time helping others”, they don’t seem to appreciate it/me (see also: On kindness and gratitude in academia). So, for all of us: if someone in a leadership or service role – whether inside or outside your institution – is doing a good job: tell them! It can be as simple as thanking people for the work they do!

Much of the “gain” from leadership and service roles comes after you have concluded. Not only will the role allow you to develop your skill-set; it also builds up connections and skills that will help you later in your career. Anne-Wil spend thousands of hours providing free resources to other academics, but as a result she built up a “brand name” that makes it easier for her to request support from others (see also: How to build your research leadership "brand"?).

If you have invested time in supporting (PhD) students or more junior colleagues, their development usually takes a while to materialise. However, the satisfaction of seeing your mentees reach their own career goals is immense and will sustain you in the later – often more cynical – years of your academic career. Ciara keeps a special folder for thank you emails she has received, which provides solace and motivation for those difficult, frustrating times when it seems nothing will ever change.

And yes… there is an elephant in the room too. Most institutions require a certain amount of leadership, service or citizenship as part of the tenure and promotion process, which means you cannot get away from doing something even if this is not a priority area for you. So indeed, one of the “gains” can simply be tenure or promotion. However, don’t assume that taking on leadership roles is the only or even a guaranteed route to progression or promotion. Good citizenship is important, but this is not only demonstrated with a leadership role.

Why take on a leadership/service role? Seven questions to ask yourself

There are a lot of questions that you can ask yourself to help you decide whether or not to take on a leadership or service role in the first place. Our panellists suggested some and we have added others. If it is hard for you to answer these questions in the affirmative, turn them around and ask yourself "what do I definitely NOT want". And remember, it may take time to figure out what you really want (see also: Rethinking what it means to want in academia).

1.       Does it align with your values?

What is important to you in your academic career and life? Will a leadership role add to this or will it distract from it. As one of the panellists said: “Don’t lead to climb a ladder, lead to create fairer systems. Say no when the role reinforces toxic cultures or when you are being asked to carry invisible labour without real power. Ask yourself: will this role allow me to shape change?”

As someone who started her academic career young and who is doer rather than a reflector, Anne-Wil never thought much about this, though she realised in retrospect that inclusion and proactiveness are her core values and that they had found expression in her leadership roles. Ciara, on the other hand, entered academia later in life, needing to understand the academic context and found support, encouragement and wisdom in CYGNA; so, when the time came to give back, she knew CYGNA was the place to do that.

2.       Does it energise/excite you/make your heart sing?

Thinking about taking on a leadership role, are you looking forward to embarking on it or does the thought fill you with dread? As Athina Dilmperi mentioned, for most of us what will energise us is impact, not power. It is likely you will feel most in flow when mentoring others, driving programme innovation, or leading authentic conversations, not when sitting on yet another committee. Ask yourself: “Where lies my passion, when am I thriving”.

If it is your first leadership role, you may not know that you can enjoy it. Indeed, Stefanie Reissner mentioned being a reluctant leader initially, but started to enjoy the roles over time, a development that resonated with many of us. However, leadership can take up a lot of your time so don’t take on a role unless you are passionate about it. And remember that some roles carry a heavy emotional load which can be exhausting even if they don’t take up a lot of time.

3.       Does it align with your skillset?

There is a massive difference in the skills required for the different leadership and service roles. Of course, we can – and should – expand our skillset. But there are only so many hours in the day; it is easier to leverage your strengths than to focus on addressing your weaknesses (see also: Sustaining motivation in change processes: Reframe your mindsets & actions)

It takes far less energy to move from first-rate performance to excellence than it does to move from incompetence to mediocrity. Peter Drucker

Leadership roles differ considerably in their relative emphasis on analytical, research-oriented or report-writing tasks versus tasks related to interaction, communication, and people management. Reflect carefully on where your strengths lie. Don’t take roles that require e.g. advanced spreadsheet / quant skills if this is something you dread, or very significant people-management skills if that’s not your forte.

Many of our panellists have had non-traditional career paths, for example entering academia after a career in industry. Tatyana Tsukanova had particularly interesting insights on how her experience allowed her to see leadership through a different lens, namely as system that needs to be built to allow others to collaborate and thrive.

Ciara, too, has leveraged her industry experience in creating, managing and nurturing international networks in her service activities, for example by focussing on member engagement and network development in CYGNA.

4.       Does it fit your character?

Think that leadership only for extroverts? Think again! Yes, people management might be easier for extroverts, who draw their energy from interacting with others. But introverts are great listeners and observers so they often see things extroverts don’t. They are also often very good at the more analytical and strategic elements of leadership roles. Moreover, having a role to play and a position to draw on makes it a lot easier for introverts – especially shy introverts – to interact with others. People come to you, and even if they don’t, your role gives you some authority to ask for their attention, as Olga Ryazanova pointed out.

Anne-Wil’s first experience with this came when asked to set up a membership involvement committee for the Academy of Management in 2001. As an introverted and painfully shy individual, she had found her early AoM meetings very daunting, but having a designated role made it much easier. And when the committee designed a button with the text “Membership Involvement Committee: How can I help you?” it became even easier as people came to her at receptions rather than Anne-Wil having to pluck up the courage to talk to them.

5.       Does it allow you to create synergies with other activities?

Again, there are only so many hours in the day. So, taking on leadership and service roles that create synergies with other activities might help you manage your workload better. Taking on a teaching-oriented leadership role might make you a better teacher as you start to better understand what happens beyond the immediate classroom context. If you came to academia after a career in industry, taking on a role in external engagement might allow you to draw on or even continue to engage with parts of your pre-academic life or connections.

Synergy can also be achieved between leadership and research. Anne-Wil created a role as coordinator for international students when international student support was in its infancy. This meant she could combine her research in cross-cultural management with practical sessions on cross-cultural communication skills, and advocacy for international students.

As Olga Ryazanova suggested - based on her research on academic careers - your career should be coherent, so ask yourself how this role fits into the overall narrative of your academic career and identity. The service roles themselves should also have internal coherence, allowing you to build experience and reputation as an expert in a particular area (for example, research leadership or internationalisation).

6.       Does it allow you to make a difference/open the door for others?

Many of us came to academia with a passion to make a difference. We can do this in many ways, through our teaching, through our research, but also through leadership and service roles. Roles differ in the extent to which they allow you to make a lasting difference for others.

The role of PhD director for instance provides considerable scope for this as it allows you to guide and support the next generation of academics. But equally, a teaching-oriented leadership role might allow you to change systems for the better for future generations of students. Even a role as Research Dean can allow you to leave a legacy for the many ECRs you support with your systems and policies.

Many of our panellists shared how satisfying it can be to have a service or leadership role that includes mentoring others. For example, Tatyana Tsukanova shared her experience mentoring early career researchers in her own and other institutions.

7.       Is now the right time?

It is common to feel like positions to be filled are a “now or never” opportunity, or that “if I don’t accept this now I won’t get asked again”. But in fact, universities tend to have a much greater need for service and leadership work than the team can cover: there are always improvements to be made, new projects and initiatives to launch, committees to fill etc.  And if you are reliable and fulfil your commitments, it’s likely that you will often be on the list of candidates to take on service roles.

So without these pressures of FOMO, take some time to think about how this fits into your professional and personal life as it stands and as you would like it to be in the near future. Is it the right time for you now? How many additional challenges can you take on? Would it require giving up something else and how would you feel about this? Tina Miedtank related how fulfilling an important service role when caring for a 1-year old child required careful time management, something that many CYGNA members could relate to.

Also, make sure you don’t fall prey to flattery! We all like to hear how good we are at something and that’s why they thought of us for the role. But flattery is not a good reason to take on a leadership role, so don’t get caught in the trap!

Do your homework: Seven questions to ask others to gather the necessary information

We may think there is little information to go on to make our decision, but in fact there are many ways to find out what you need to know to make an informed decision. Here is a list of questions you can ask to gather more information. Our panellists suggested some and we have added others. These questions can apply when you are approached for a role through a “tap on the shoulder”, but most of them are also useful to gather more tacit knowledge about formally advertised roles.

Who should you ask? You can of course ask the person who is offering the role. But wherever possible, try to speak to the current role holder. However, do realise that this colleague might want to step down and therefore encourage you to step in. So also approach previous role holders who might give a less loaded perspective. If this isn’t feasible in your institution, feel free to send an email to the CYGNA mailing list to see if there is someone who has held a similar role before and is willing to have a quick chat.

1.       Why me? When do you need an answer?

Don’t assume that the person who asks you to take on a particular role has thought about the fit or feasibility of it. They might be a considerate and diligent leader and have considered it carefully. But most of the time, they are just solving their own pressing problem, i.e. they need someone in the role. And remember, there is a gendered element here, women are often asked because they are less likely to say no (and do a good job when they say yes). Anne-Wil’s LinkedIn post on this was one of her most viewed posts in 2024. It was based on this excellent article.

Anne-Wil ended up being Research Dean largely because she happened to be in the Dean’s office for an unrelated meeting. This was shortly after the incumbent had walked out of the job after just over a year. She was too baffled to ask questions and left the office with a senior leadership role. Now this happened to be a role that really suited her, but you might not be so lucky. So, “why me” really is the first question to ask. And unless you are 1000% sure you really want the role ask for time to think about it.

Also, don’t assume those in leadership positions know your skill-set and experience well. Busy managers may have picked up on one specific aspect of your profile that isn’t your core competence or interest. For example, having worked in a research, development and innovation (R&D&I) organisation, Ciara is sometimes offered opportunities relating to innovation. But that’s just the context in which she developed international networks, and she certainly wouldn’t be a good fit for roles seeking experts in tech and innovation.

2.       What is the expected time allocation? What else can I drop?

Even if a service/leadership role appears to be small, every additional responsibility adds up. So do ask if the role is given hours in a workload programme if your university operates one. If the role remits changes (usually through addition rather than removal of tasks), make sure that the workload is adjusted accordingly.

If there is no workload allowance or your university doesn’t operate with workload programmes, steel yourself and ask your line manager: what else can I drop? This may be much harder for external leadership roles, so ensure that these are roles that either energise you or create synergies with other roles that are recognised by your university.

3.       What type of recognition can I expect?

Remember that each academic context is different. So, you should ensure that you are familiar with the expectations in your system. It’s important to be aware that some of these expectations are explicitly discussed and others are less obvious; so make sure you talk to colleagues – including senior academics that sit on promotion boards – to understand the explicit and implicit expectations of you at your institution.

Once you know what is expected of you, consider what type of recognition the new role would give you. Chasing “brownie points” without considering our seven questions in the first section is unlikely to leave you fulfilled, but collecting service roles that do not count at all in your system will also lead to great frustration.

It can be tricky to get this one right, because some roles may be officially recognised with few hours or points (literal or figurative) but they are aligned with the core values of your institution. Others can require a substantial workload and entail a generous time allocation, but are considered routine rite of passage and therefore give little to no recognition.

It becomes even more complicated with service roles outside your institution: how much internal recognition will you get for editing positions in journals or for volunteering in academic associations or networks (like CYGNA). Ciara was delighted to learn that her contributions to CYGNA are seen as supporting her institution’s participation in international networks.

4.       Is this role time bound?

Is the role for a specified time, typically 1-3 years, with renewal based on mutual agreement? Or are you stuck with this role until they can find someone else to take over, even if it turns out you hate it? Don’t say yes before you have found out. In some cases, the role is only for 6-12 months as you are deputising for someone else. This may mean jumping into the fire, but it may also allow you to get a taster of what leadership is like before committing to a more permanent role.

5.       Is there a position description?

Most leadership roles have a position description that details the tasks and responsibilities, reporting structures and workload. Don’t expect it to be complete or up to date, though. Much of what you will do will not be on paper. If there is no position description, you can suggest that you will write it yourself. It can be very liberating to write the role description and negotiate the workload. It means you can redefine the role.

As CYGNA has evolved over the years, the roles required have too. We have asked team members to think about what it is they would like to do. Sometimes we provided a list of roles and activities that we thought were needed, sometimes we left it fully open. This is often the case in academic associations too: activities constantly evolve (especially in recent years) and associations are having to rethink their goals and activities. So there are actually many more opportunities to write your own position description than you might think initially.

6.       Is there dedicated admin support?

For senior leadership roles, having admin staff at the faculty level or professionals in other parts of the university to support you / collaborate with you in your role can be essential. In some leadership roles, there is a lot of repetitive work involved that may not fill your heart with joy. And even if there is admin support, do they have the right skillset, or will you end up spending more time instructing them than doing it yourself?

When Anne-Wil was Associate Dean Research, she was given the choice between getting a PA for 10 hours a week or getting a salary loading instead. As she is a terrible nit-picker and a strong perfectionist, she felt she would end up (re)doing most of the work anyway. So, she chose to take the money and spend it on her research.

7.       Who will I be working with/reporting to?

In addition to admin support, consider who will be part of your team. Are they colleagues you would like to see more of? Our academic lives are challenging and demanding enough as it is, so why not make them a little easier by working with people you really enjoy interacting with? They might be colleagues you can learn from, colleagues that have similar work ethics or methods, colleagues you know you can rely on, or simply colleagues that cheer you up the moment you see them.

Perhaps also think about the collective your service is at aimed: do you prefer tutoring undergrads, mentoring PhDs and early career researchers, or supporting new colleagues as they settle into your institution? Maybe you enjoy working with international students and/or colleagues facilitating intercultural exchange and understanding of your local context.

Possibly even more importantly: will you enjoy learning from and working with the person you report to? A bad line manager can make even the most energising and enjoyable leadership or service role a nightmare. Get informal soundings about the people involved if you don’t know. Having to work with someone who you are uncomfortable with might be a reason to say no to a role. And vice-versa, working with someone you admire and would learn from can be energising and motivating.

Service roles in the broader academic community (e.g. volunteering to help organise or chair a session, workshop or webinar, or taking a position in a professional association) can offer PhDs or ECRs an opportunity to work with senior academics they admire and want to work with, an opportunity that they might otherwise get. Likewise, such roles are a great to meet and work with like-minded peers (like in CYGNA!). Susy Menis provided other CYGNA members with the opportunity to gain experience when organising a workshop as a new PhD director (see: Get Ready, Set, Go: The Doctoral Research Journey and Top Tips Workshop).

Getting the role & what to do when you have it: Seven tips

Some of you might be really interested in leadership and service roles, but might be wondering whether you are really “cut out for it”, or for some reason never manage to get into one. Here are tips that might help you.

1.       Don’t wait till you feel ready!

Women are often told to “wait until they’re ready” but institutions are rarely “ready” for women leaders. Sometimes we need to say yes before we feel 100% prepared, especially when the alternative is watching others make the same mistakes over and over again. Athina Dilmperi’s post: Leading as a Woman: Owning Our Successes in a World That Overlooks Them provides you with a great perspective on this.

Some universities have extensive leadership development courses that might be helpful to build your confidence. They often involve shadowing someone in a leadership role. Anne-Wil participated in a yearlong “Headstart” programme that not only gave her good insight into what leadership roles involved, but also – as participants came from all over the university – a ready-made network across the university.

2.       Are you the only woman in the room?

In many contexts, you may find yourself to be the only woman in the room. This can mean you are overlooked and that suggestions you make are only recognised when repeated by others afterwards. There are a number of resources to help you navigate this, if you find yourself in this type of atmosphere. The HBR Women at Work podcast, which has recently finished, covered many of them in their seven years on the air.

Similarly, our panellists and Senior CYG members have reported having mixed feelings about the responsibility they feel “for all women”. If you feel like your successes and mistakes reflect on all women in leadership positions today and in the future, it’s a heavy weight to bear. If you feel your tenure in the role must change the system for everyone, you will undoubtedly feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.

The best thing you can do (for yourself and for others) is to tailor the role to your goals and leadership style: What type of leader do you want to be? What core values are at the centre of your leadership style? What biases would you like to avoid reproducing? You may also want to consider if your mandate will be that of continuity or of change. In the latter case, you might want to talk to like-minded leaders (perhaps other CYGNA members) to ensure your expectations are realistic.

3.       You might need to signal you are interested

If your university/professional association/journal operates a “tap on the shoulder” or “incumbent seeks successor” system, you might risk being overlooked for certain roles if you are not visible to decision-makers. And given it is likely you will be expected to take on service and leadership roles at your institution it’s a good idea to anticipate thinking about our questions and being proactive about signalling your interest for one role or another. Better to volunteer for something you could enjoy (and make an impact) than have to say yes (or no) to an offer you don’t want!

This means making key decision-makers/the incumbent know that you would be interested in taking that role and what you could bring. Signalling inclusion is a two-way process we can all actively promote. As Mario Elo commented, this is particularly relevant for non-local academics, who might need to make it clear that they are engaged and interested and should not be automatically excluded as "foreigners". There is a glass-ceiling and a language barrier for many foreign scholars and this may impact how they are perceived for service and leadership roles.

This is especially true in non-Anglophone environments, where even though English is generally accepted as a research and teaching language, the local language is still preferred for service and leadership roles. Many (and perhaps a majority of) CYGNA members carry out service and leadership in their non-native language and context, so reach out to other members if you seek ideas and guidance. 

A yearly performance appraisal might be a good time to make your interest known for university roles. For external roles building social capital with the decision-makers / incumbents at conferences or through social media might be required (see also: What is that conference networking thing all about?).

4.       Start with the basics and grow from there

Once you are in the role, start small and grow from there. This very important point was brought up by Tina Miedtank, and we couldn’t agree more. When you take over a leadership or service role, don’t feel you have to be functioning 100% from day 1. Don’t pressure yourself to take on everything at once; progress naturally as you build experience. Don’t start pushing against resistance initially, it might take you a while to understand the underlying rationales of the job. At the same time, colleagues need to get used to a new job-holder, so they need time too.

It’s generally good advice to do a lot of listening during the first weeks in your role. Others have been in that role before you and will have done some things well and others not so well. Listen to those around you before you start making changes – that gives everyone some time to adjust. People may expect you to make decisions from the get go, but take some time to analyse the big ones so you get them as right as possible.  

And even when you grow into the role, remember that perfect is the enemy of good! As academics we often – implicitly – apply “research standards” to teaching and service. In order to get published, our research needs to be novel, sound, significant, and rigorous. Our publications are immortalised in print, so you only have one chance to dazzle! But perfection simply isn’t expected in teaching or service & leadership. Although equally crucial to academic life, these activities are more ephemeral; every day you just try again to do a good or a better job.

In fact, as suggested in the panels for the CYGNA meeting, “all that some service and leadership roles require is that you read your emails and turn up to meetings”. Surely, all of us can meet this standard? Well actually – as you will have noticed – many academics don’t, so you are already a cut above the rest if you do! So, take it slowly. Also remember that if you want to do some senior roles really well, it might take you to an unsustainable 60-80 hour working week. So be strategic where you put your efforts and time and decide which elements of the role are crucial and which just deserve a “good enough”.

5.       Grow a thick skin and don’t let others mess you about

Expect that some colleagues will test the boundaries of how far they can push you. Make these boundaries clear in a professional manner and don’t take any nonsense. A line management role means that you can’t make everyone happy, so some people won’t like you. Anything going wrong is your fault, anything going right is the individual’s achievement :-).

Regardless of what you do, remember that dynamics with your colleagues change when you take on a senior leadership role. You stop being just a colleague and become “one of them”, part of “management”. You have moved to the ”dark side”. This can be difficult to manage emotionally; this is one of the reasons we have started a CYG Senior, where those with senior management duties can learn from each other.

6.       Keep track of not only what you have done, but what you have achieved

It is easier to document activities and achievements when you are actually in the role. Reconstructing this from memory is much more difficult. So, before you immerse yourself in the role take some time to reflect on how you will know that you have done a good job. Also, set up a system to keep track of what you are doing and what you have achieved.

If career progression is an important reason for taking on a role, remember that promotion panels are looking for “evidence” of impact, not just a list of activities. You will find plenty of suggestions of how to frame this here: Academic promotion tips (5) - Evidence your impact in Leadership & Service and here: Writing promotion applications (3): Focus on the why & how, not the what.

7.       Plan for your exit

All things come to an end, but the end will be easier if you have planned for it. Your exit might be literal. For instance, if you don’t want to be in a particular role forever, you may need to be proactive to avoid this, especially if you are doing a good job. Or maybe one taste of leadership was sufficient and made you realise that your heart really lies with teaching or research, and you simply want to get out. This is why getting an answer to the “is this time-bound” question above is essential. If not, you will need to secure your own exit.

As Stefanie Reissner reminded us, your exit could be linked to another entry. For some of us our first proper university leadership role is the start to a series of higher-level leadership roles, moving from departmental, School, and Faculty positions to University-level positions with the same focus. In that case, make sure that the area you are growing in is the area where your passion lies. There is nothing worse than discovering that you have successfully climbed the wrong ladder.

Your exit could also be linked to someone else’s entry into this role. Think of who might be a good replacement for you, put their name forward, mentor them towards this role. Be someone who opens the door for those who come after!

And finally, remember to be kind to yourself when transitioning out of a leadership role. Leadership roles require you to be decisive, resolve problems, and fill in the gaps that are left in the realm of our responsibilities. Natalie Wilmot made us mindful of the fact that when you leave those roles you need to adjust and resist the temptation to continue fixing everything. Indeed, transitioning out of leadership roles requires a cognitive and emotional adjustment, and you might need time to adjust!

In sum

Leadership or service positions are about finding a balance between your values / skills / preferences / personality, and institutional demands and priorities. Sometimes you may be lucky, and these elements overlap. If so, go for the role definitely! But even if you are eyeing up a role that is not appreciated in your own institutional context, it may still “sustain” you as an individual giving you energy for other roles.

Be careful about accepting roles purely to climb the career ladder or to keep your job. It may leave you feeling empty inside and lead to burn out. And you might well find it doesn’t even help you to achieve your career goals. Some panellists and participants in our CYGNA meeting mentioned that they took on service roles to justify their academic presence, especially when in precarious jobs, or to tackle their imposter syndrome “In the beginning I said yes to everything, I felt I needed, useful and visible”. But as Susy Menis cautioned, this can leave you empty “a body without a spirit”.

So do consider getting involved in leadership and service roles, they can be both intrinsically and extrinsically rewarding. But at the same time, make sure you are strategic! So don’t say yes without seriously considering our triple seven!

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Copyright © 2025 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Fri 31 Oct 2025 11:59

Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.

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