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We are navigating through unprecedented times characterised by uncertainty and restlessness within the UK higher education (HE) environment. Over the past year, numerous institutions have faced substantial setbacks and continue to grapple with formidable challenges that seem to emerge in relentless succession. This blog post explores authentic leadership for unprecedented times in HE.

Challenges faced

These challenges range from inflationary pressures, tuition fee stagnation and declining international enrolments following recent immigration restrictions, particularly within England. This has resulted in thousands of staff redundancies, with more than 3,000 announced in April 2025 across UK HE institutions (Times Higher Education, 2025). These adversities have eroded institutional trust, governance and integrity, and elicit mounting employee discontent (Ruppel et al., 2022). HE leaders are at a critical ethical juncture concerning continued losses in revenue and profits and their implications for the workforce. The decisions made in this context are poised to leave a lasting impact on their employees, potentially eroding the quality of the leader–member relationship at different levels, which as a result has an influence on current and future organisational success. For instance, allegations that Edinburgh University’s management fabricated a financial crisis to justify staff cuts have intensified concerns over transparency and fairness (Rowsell, 2025).

Importance of leader–member relationships

‘Authentic leadership in higher education suggests ethical and genuine leadership, where leaders practice emotional intelligence and manage relationships.’

Strong leader–member relationships are vital for organisational success, particularly during periods of uncertainty. For example, Sheffield University College Union’s industrial action in April 2025 highlights tensions arising from leadership’s failure to commit to avoiding redundancies (Griffiths, 2025). The Leader–Member Exchange theory stresses the mutual nature of the leader–member relationship, resulting from interactions between the leader and members over time (Choi et al., 2021). These interactions either result in a high-quality exchange or a low-quality exchange between the leader and members. As staff across many UK HE institutions experience significant anxiety and the future appears uncertain due to the myriad challenges they face, more is demanded from leaders to maintain high-quality relationships with staff. This begins with transparent and authentic leadership. Transparency and authenticity encourage employee trust in leadership and strengthen the quality of the leader–member exchange. However, the absence of these attributes influences employees’ willingness to trust the vision and direction of the leadership. Authentic leadership in HE suggests ethical and genuine leadership, where leaders practice emotional intelligence and manage relationships (Gardner, 2011).

Benefits of trusted leadership

In these turbulent times, trusted leadership is crucial and reaps significant benefits, including heightened employee commitment to organisational goals, improved communication across all levels of the organisation, and increased creativity and productivity among staff. Employees will be more adaptable and willing to embrace the new normal if they have confidence in their leaders. Therefore, leaders must evaluate their practices and take steps to earn the trust of those they guide. UK HE leaders must reaffirm the core principles that shaped their institutions, such as inclusivity, integrity, connectedness and valuing staff as their greatest asset. These principles have consistently provided stability to organisations and fostered a sense of hope and trust among employees over the years. As the UK HE sector traverses these challenging times, the foundational principles within institutions must be tightly guarded, to ensure employees remain committed and adaptable.

Conclusion

Transparent and authentic leadership play a critical role in navigating the current challenges in UK HE. By maintaining high-quality leader–member relationships and revisiting foundational people-centred principles, leaders ensure organisational stability, fostering a resilient and committed educational environment. This in turn reinforces institutional integrity and empowers staff to navigate uncertainty with confidence, collaboration and purpose.

References

Choi, W. S., Kang, S. W., & Choi, S. B. (2021). Innovative behaviour in the workplace: An empirical study of moderated mediation model of self-efficacy, perceived organizational support, and leader–member exchange. Behavioural Sciences, 11(12), 182.

Gardner, W. L., Cogliser, C. C., Davis, K. M., & Dickens, M. P. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1120–1145.

Griffiths, E. (2025, April 28). University of Sheffield strikes due to begin amid £23m cuts to staff costs. Sheffield Wire.

Rowsell, J. (2025, March 3). University of Edinburgh staff fear ‘manufactured crisis’ in £140m cuts. Times Higher Education.

Ruppel, C., Stranzl, J., & Einwiller, S. (2022). Employee-centric perspective on organizational crisis: How organizational transparency and support help to mitigate employees’ uncertainty, negative emotions and job disengagement. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(5), 1–22.

Times Higher Education. (2025). UK university redundancies: Latest news and analysis.