126higher education industry. For example, decisions should be made for the good of the organizations and its members, and not to help managers save their reputations from damage. As in traditional organizations, when a new leader joins an academic institution, there is often a tendency to implement decisions (e.g., reorganization) to demonstrate ideas rather than because the department will be more efficient or effective after the reorganization. Best practices from decision research frequently indicate that it is best to pass the decision to someone else who may be more appropriate, or even more commonly, to involve others in the decision. Lessons from corporate change management apply: Individuals will spend more time and effort on implementing a strategy that they had a role in creating. Decision-making Reducing Higher Education Bureaucracy and Reclaiming the Entrepreneurial. . .

127through consensus is key when quality is far more important than time spent. Consensus is distinct from consulting others; and when only consulting, an individual should communicate that purpose, such as by saying, “Hi Colleague, I am trying to decide whether to move this administrative task from Office A to Office B. As I make my decision, I’m asking any key players, like you, what the effect might be from your perspective” (Dittmer & McFarland, 2007, p. 28). Another take-away from top-performing organizations is to enable decision-making at the lowest level possible, such that front-line employees can spot problems and opportunities, and work toward solving them. Other critical advice is to avoid wasting time and energy thinking about simple decisions, and especially to limit time spent battling over small decisions in group decision-making. Good decision-makers tend to begin with the end in mind and picture future success.

4.6

Reduce Bureaucracy by Staying Close to Customers

and Pursuing Open Innovation

Some organizations pioneer a number of promising practices that reduce bureaucracies and create higher-performing organizations and employees. Although revolutionary for many universities, many corporate practices spotlighted in Humanocracy (Hamel & Zanini, 2020) may be particularly promising in academic environments. One recommendation is to keep all employees close to customers in some way, as employees who are not close to customers end up insulated from market forces, and often become mediocre, inflexible, and inefficient. Within a university, this principle would require all administrators to have some customer-facing activity. One illustration here is that many college deans and even university presidents still teach a university course, and therefore stay close to their final customers so they are acutely aware of issues at the coal face. Another example is administrators who can mentor students. Other practical solutions identified from high-performing corporations