ABSTRACT
As societies worldwide continue to navigate and recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is at a unique crossroads. How can leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) prioritize holistic human needs and maximize interpersonal and collegial human connection, while continuing to guide and grow successful learning communities both inperson and virtually? With potential costs and benefits in mind, pertinent literature is reviewed, and the limitations and silver linings presented by the ongoing pandemic are explored. Different forms of grief and loss experienced by faculty and students as well as the effects of technostress amid this time of change are also recognized. Concepts and practices introduced by prominent humanistic thought-leaders are discussed as a way to navigate the educational impacts created by the pandemic. A key finding presented is that leaders and HEIs that prioritize human connections and relationships, in concert with adopting technological advancements, are better equipped to maintain personal well-being while enhancing academic success in the long term. By fostering learning environments based on psychological safety, compassion, autonomy, and adaptability, humanistic leaders contribute to the betterment of HEIs as a whole. To this end, the enduring legacy of humanistic leadership is pivotal in this new era of global and individual humanistic transformation amid change. © 2023 by Angela Lehr and Susie Vaughan.
ABSTRACT
Over the past two years, ripple effects from the Covid-19 pandemic have amplified disconnection and loss while also fueling greater human creativity and connection through technological mediums. How can leaders continue maximizing technology and collaboration to best support and foster interpersonal connection and innovation while also navigating the human conditions and emotions present during times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA)? The unpredictable nature of these times requires leaders and change agents to continue learning and refining ways to help their teams, organizations, and communities to flourish. Within the current context of Covid-19 rebuilding and repair, this paper explores how participation in digital or virtual communities of practice (VCoP) and leadership centered on psychological safety and humanistic principles have been experienced by leaders and coaches. An informal discussion was facilitated, and a qualitative survey was conducted to begin exploring questions pertinent to VCoP and humanistic leadership (HL). Practitioner testimonials and key insights are shared. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that the main benefits of VCoP have been leader exposure to diverse industry practices and the bridging of physical and professional disconnection caused by Covid-19 social distancing and remote working requirements. Findings related to HL indicate that the leaders surveyed believe HL is essential in the work they do and that HL and fostering resilience entail both practicing and promoting holistic self-care and relational connection. Meaningful participation in VCoP and HL practices are framed as vital tools for leading and evolving in a post-Covid-19 world. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Public sector audit is a vital activity within democratic states, which underpins the relationship between the government and the governed, the executive and the legislature, and different parts of the government. While there has been a lot of exceptional work in recent years on public sector audit, the sector faces new challenges. These challenges include regulatory space considerations, digitalization, the impact of service delivery design change, how audit and accountability arrangements address crises such as austerity, Brexit, black lives matter, climate change, disease in the form of COVID-19 and war, and increased skepticism about the role of audit in society more generally. In this special issue, a group of scholars came together to describe this crisis in public audit, how the current literature addresses different facets of it and show how future research can contribute to analyzing it. This introductory article provides a brief summary of the current context of the "what, why, when, how, where and who" of public audit, before considering the contribution of each individual paper in this special issue to assisting in understanding the crisis of public audit, and finally setting out a conclusion and future directions.
ABSTRACT
As people worldwide experience the impacts of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we find ourselves physically disconnected from each other when we are most in need of human connection and organizational innovation. We are also simultaneously overstimulated by increased screen time and digital work mediums. How can leaders shape human–machine interactions to maximize human–human relationships while navigating the stressors and competency gaps associated with connecting virtually? With potential costs and benefits in mind, this paper answers the question posed above by reviewing pertinent literature and integrating concepts and practices introduced by prominent humanistic thought-leaders. We explore the losses and silver linings presented by the current pandemic, discuss the importance of recognizing different forms of grief and loss, and consider the effects of technostress amid this time of change. We also examine how humanistic leadership principles and incorporating elements of humanocracy enable leaders to break down bureaucratic barriers. Humanistic leadership practices are framed as most appropriate and impactful for creating systems and virtual spaces that empower employees and promote renewal, resilience, innovation, and transformative growth. In this vein, recommendations are made for further exploring and operationalizing humanistic leadership in the wake of rebuilding from the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.