Academic leaders’ double bind: challenges from an Indonesian perspective

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanisms that explain the complexities Indonesian higher education (HE) academic leaders (ALs) experience in performing leadership roles. The research addresses the questions: How do Indonesian ALs perceive their roles in HE? What are the challenges facing Indonesian ALs in their roles in the Indonesian HE context? To what extent does gender impact how ALs act and are perceived? Design/methodology/approach In sum, 35 ALs from six Indonesian universities representing top executive positions were interviewed. Data were analysed thematically using a retroductive process followed by a series of on-site member-checking activities to establish credibility and authenticity of the findings. Findings The religious principles of amanah (the “altruistic calling” of their functions needing dedication, commitment, and passion) unique to the Indonesian cultural experience influence ALs views of leadership. ALs face role constraints due to resource limitations, experiencing a double bind, while harmonising differences due to ascribed social status and position. Research limitations/implications Supportive structures effective for academic leadership practice must be created, further studies on male ALs’ roles in promoting the leadership ascent of female ALs and promoting work-life balance will improve ALs’ visibility and salience in steering institutional growth. Originality/value This is the first study to focus a critical lens on the complexities of context-based leadership practice as it is influenced by amanah. Layers of constraints confronting female ALs were documented due to exigencies of gender role expectations and resource limitations, yet they exhibited paternal navigational skills beyond the maternal and pastoral calling of their roles.

‘The Ties That Bind’: Indonesian Female Academic Leaders’ Agency and Constraints in Higher Education

“…Organizational capital provides FALs with the instrumentalities or apparatus that support administrative, institutional, or material elements (Gillies, 2013) that help sustain leadership. In Indonesia, leadership is God-given responsibility or 'amanah'-these behaviours relate to: (a) having a high sense of commitment; (b) dedication to duty; (c) devotion to the job; (d) readiness for service to institution and country (Arquisola et al, 2020) which is deemed a sacred duty to those entrusted to deliver it (Teguh & Zakhiyya, 2020). Therefore, leaders need to implement this responsibility with duty and care, and doing so requires organizational capital and access to resources.…”

“…Women in leadership, in many contexts, face a 'double bind' because of the negative attributions given to female leaders who act and behave like males to rise above the stereotyped role of being the 'weaker gender', and for not possessing the leadership traits of male leaders (Omar & Davidson, 2001;Arquisola et al, 2020). They are normative gender expectations imposed by socio-cultural edicts that compel women to be compliant to stereotypical roles so as to be liked, and yet entail them to be agentic to be regarded as competent, for which they are rebuked.…”

“…The role expectations of this nature are especially difficult for female leaders in complex cultural contexts where social interactions are influenced by socio-cultural values and religious beliefs; if women are given the opportunity to break through the perceived 'glass ceiling' they could gradually erase the stereotypes about female leaders. (Arquisola et al, 2020). In Malaysia, females' participation in economic life is hampered because most jobs are segregated to agriculture and trade; they are believed weaker and need to be protected from a competitive industrial world (Hirschman, 2016), even though Malaysian higher education is seeing a rise in female participation that bodes well for higher labor force participation (Sakariyau & Zakuan, 2017).…”

“…This study reports on the experiences of fourteen (14) female Indonesian higher education academic leaders (FALs) from five state universities and two private universities in Central Java, West Java, and the capital Jakarta, Indonesia. This study is part of bigger study on Indonesian higher academic leaders' roles which involved 35 academic leaders, consisting of 21 males and 14 female (Arquisola et al, 2020). The study addressed the questions 1) what conditions constrain FALs' agency in Indonesia's higher education context; and 2) how do Indonesian FALs navigate through these constraints?…”

Higher education leadership and context: a study of university vice-chancellors and presidents

“…Most empirical studies are conducted at a national or regional level, and therefore impose a version of context on universities (e.g. Arquisola et al , 2019; Bingab et al , 2018). The imposition of a version of context has significant implications for how we understand (and judge) the leadership of universities and the strategic choices that get made.…”