Abstract:

Performance management (PM) is an instrument introduced in higher education institutions (HEIs) to manage academic staff performance in line with institutional vision and strategic goals. Congruent with a managerialist approach, higher education leaders are mandated to function with limited financial resources and to implement PM to control outputs. Academic heads of departments (HoDs) are in a pivotal position as they cascade the PM process to their departments. Their leadership is at the heart of the PM process. However, research has shown that since the implementation of PM in HEIs, it has not fully achieved its intended purpose; in fact, it has resulted in discontent. It appears that HODs have implemented PM as an institutional process without interrogating its possible limitations on academic autonomy and their own leadership. We argue that in so doing they are facilitating the oppressive hegemonic power of new managerialism, with negative consequences for staff motivation and performance. Therefore, critical analysis of HODs’ leadership is imperative to expose the power relations and their impact inherent in PM and to explore the potentialities of their leadership within the evolving PM context.

Keywords:

Performance management, managerialism, heads of department, critical leadership, academic autonomy.