Empowering leadership with a digital mindset: reflections from our HE summit

We recently brought together a group of university executive leaders from across the UK for a leadership summit designed specifically for them: digitally empowered executives.

The day included a keynote from acclaimed innovation expert and author of Digital Transformation, Lindsay Herbert, alongside facilitated group discussions and coaching conversations. These all focused on helping leaders reflect on their own digital leadership and what it means for the HE sector in today’s climate.

What stood out most was the honesty in the room. Leaders spoke openly about the realities of leading digital change at the executive level. I came away with three key reflections: it’s a distinct challenge, it’s about people, and it’s a conversation that must continue.

It’s a distinct challenge

A central theme was whether leading digital change is different from leading other types of organisational change. I believe it is, and this might help explain why the HE sector has sometimes struggled to implement the large-scale digital shifts that other industries have already embraced.

Our speaker introduced the 'elephants and bears' metaphor, which sparked lively debate. Elephants represent the obvious issues: big, visible problems that often get talked about but not fully addressed. This can undermine confidence in digital initiatives. Bears, on the other hand are harder to see. They shift, evolve and lurk, posing hidden risks that can threaten the very foundations of an institution if ignored. What was clear is that not everyone agreed on which problems were elephants, and which were bears.

Another image that stuck with me when considering sector challenges was the idea that in a digital world, leaders operate at sea rather than on land. While land offers stable footing, the sea requires constant balancing and adaptation. Leading in this environment calls for new capabilities, and a mindset geared towards agility and resilience.

It’s about people

What struck me most was that we didn’t really talk about technology. We talked about change, and more specifically, how change affects people and culture, especially academic culture.

Digital transformation in HE is not just about systems or tools. It challenges long-held values, practices and even professional identities. Much of the discussion focused on how digital change impacts working lives across the institution. One participant captured it beautifully in a follow-up email:

"Resistance to change may not stem only from concerns about technology or budgets. It may also arise from a lack of clarity, or anxiety, about what it now means to be an academic."

I suspect that rings true for colleagues working in professional services as well who are also navigating significant changes in how they work and where they add value.

It’s a conversation to continue

It was clear from the day’s discussions that this is a conversation worth continuing.

At Jisc, we’ve developed a range of support for those leading digital change through our digital leaders programme, the leading digital change question set in our discovery tool, and a growing collection of digital transformation resources. But until now, we’ve done relatively little at the executive level.

The appetite for that is clearly there. Leaders valued the opportunity to share experiences with peers across different executive roles, to reflect without judgement and to explore ideas in a space where they didn’t need to have all the answers. That kind of space is crucial for meaningful leadership reflection and growth.

We’re actively exploring how we extend that support, creating more opportunities for executive leaders to learn, reflect and shape change in a way that is meaningful and sustainable.

If you’re interested in continuing the conversation, or starting a new one, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with your relationship manager.