ABSTRACT
Alan Wilson traces his learning as a provice-chancellor (PVC) and vice-chancellor (VC) leading a large urban university through significant changes over four years. He provides insight into the external forces that compelled many traditional universities to rethink their operations and purposes. Insight into his distinctive ‘from the top’ style and approach is strengthened by the way he tells his story, year by year. We become party to the processes of reflection and analysis that underpin his management and leadership approach. For example, strategic planning keeps determination, design and analysis closely linked to processes of implementation, monitoring and the refocusing of effort. He thus demonstrates the developmental potential of strategic planning when it is seen as an iterative top down and bottom up process framed, but not overly constrained, by collaboratively shaped protocols and principles. Every opportunity is maximized for linking day-to-day decision making and department-driven activity to corporate objectives and values. In this way, institutional capacity for fulfilling its strategic intent can be continuously developed.
