A good researcher does not make a good manager at the university

A good researcher does not make a good manager. It sounds obvious, but if you look at how a university is organized, you will see that this is not always the case. “The quality of leadership is not really a selection criterion,” says Naomi Ellemers, who this summer wrote an advisory report for the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences on social security in universities.

The issue in Leiden, where a professor was suspended for bullying colleagues, is part of a long-standing discussion at universities under the heading “recognize and value”. In short: for too long, we have considered only the qualities of research and not the other achievements that make scientists valuable. Like supervising doctoral students. It went very wrong in this case. Among others loyaltycolumnist and historian of science Hieke Huistra talked about it.

Science must catch up

Social security at the university is more than a matter of labor relations, Ellemers points out. It’s a central condition for science, she says, that goes hand in hand with generally accepted values ​​such as scientific integrity. “Science is about sharing knowledge, learning from each other, being curious and having the freedom to have a crazy idea. Guaranteeing these things is not something you do when you have free time. This is the heart of the matter. »

Science – like many other creative professions, Ellemers points out – needs to catch up in this respect. On paper, he is in full swing, but he often lacks the decisiveness that goes with it. “You have a candidate for a leadership position, good at research, good at fundraising. Then you quickly overlook leadership weaknesses. In the end, there is only one criterion and that is research. It really should be different. You will then have to learn this leadership, otherwise the consequence is that this position is not for you.

Maastricht really wants to do things differently

The champion of this different approach is Rianne Letschert, Chair of the Board of Maastricht University. The academic profiles have already been adjusted there. Scientists there now sit on faculty councils that are not professors, a break with tradition. “It was pretty exciting,” she says. “But these people are doing very well.”

The approach in Maastricht focuses on three points: smoothing out the strong hierarchical structure, more contractual security for young scientists and a broader career perspective than always focusing on research. But such a revolution takes time, Letschert points out. “You can’t achieve that with a vision document. Moreover, some departments are more traditional than others. But she is convinced that it is the key to social security. “If we don’t fix this, you will continue to have situations like this.”

An independent ear is still necessary for notifications

Letschert has no illusions that what happened in Leiden could no longer happen in Maastricht. And that could undoubtedly happen at any university. The universities have therefore also agreed in the collective labor agreement that they all have a mediator who works outside the existing hierarchy and who can sound the alarm.

Many of these staff ombudsmen are new; the agreement that every university should have one has only been in effect for a year. Lies Poesiat at the Free University already has a lot of experience; she has been a mediator there since 2007 and has also written a book about it. She finds great reluctance among people who report Social Security, for fear of the consequences. However, she notes the value of the ombudsman’s work. “If I see reason to do so, I sometimes go to the Board myself, in consultation with journalists, without it being traceable to those journalists.” This way of working also ensures that, despite the fear, signals of social insecurity always reach the council.

Poesiat agrees with the point that something has to change in the way universities are organized. “You want to move towards a culture where people can hold each other accountable for their behavior. The concentration of power does not contribute to this.

An obvious abuse of this power remains the exception, but at the same time, social security is something much broader than the simple prevention of abuse. Weak leadership leads to dangerous situations, even when the intentions are the best, says Poesiat. “The love of leadership is not always there. People go into science to do research. And then you become head of department, while management is really a job.

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