Head of Department letter November 2025.
I have taken part in many interviews during the autumn, and especially when the candidates come from the business world, there are often jokes about how slow the decision-making processes are in the academic world. Even those of us who work at the university can sometimes feel frustrated by the seemingly endless processes. This is often attributed to collegial leadership – where we strive to ensure that everyone has a say and can influence decisions – in contrast to line management, where a manager is expected to make decisions (hopefully after listening to the views of those involved in the operation).
As a head of department, you often find yourself caught between the line organisation and your colleagues. Are important decisions sufficiently well-established? Or, on the contrary, have they been discussed for too long and should have been made long ago?
When something serious happens – such as a personal conflict – the line organisation steps in with its clear division of responsibilities and expectations to help the business get through the crisis. This also applies to other issues, such as tough financial decisions, where there is a great need for clear accountability.
But what about the other issues – those concerning the development and quality of research and education, and the path we want to take going forward? Here, I believe that the collective reflections that arise through collegial influence play a crucial role in improving and driving the organisation forward. It is among colleagues that the greatest expertise exists regarding how research and teaching are actually conducted. Sure, it takes longer than if one or a few people make the decisions – but peer review remains for a reason: it usually leads to better quality.
It is not easy to strike the right balance between line management and collegial governance. Lund University puts it this way: an academic manager must ‘balance freedom and goal-oriented management, allow chaos and create order.’ In other words, the task is largely about understanding, for each issue, where on the scale between collegiality and line management it works best.
Collegial governance is particularly valuable when it comes to managing and developing core activities, where academic freedom prevails. It is less effective in matters that affect many people but where it is difficult to reach consensus. At the same time, collegiality encourages cooperation and trust – because those who make decisions today only do so for a short period of time.
Collegial governance is not perfect, but I believe it has strengths that are worth defending. I would like to encourage you all to continue to be part of the collegial dialogue, to get involved in collegial assignments and to vote in collegial elections. Thank you to all of you who contribute!
Else Lytken
Head of the Department of Physics