The transition into a dean’s role is one of the most significant leadership shifts in higher education.

New deans are expected to provide strategic direction, manage complex stakeholder relationships, oversee resources, and respond to external pressures, often within their first months in office. Yet, the role extends well beyond academic leadership.

Deans must balance institutional priorities with the expectations of faculty, students, governing bodies, alumni, and employers. At the same time, they are responsible for maintaining academic quality, ensuring financial sustainability, fostering innovation, and cultivating a strong sense of purpose within their schools.

As they take on these responsibilities, newly appointed deans must shape their own leadership approach. While every institution operates within its own context, many of the challenges faced by newly appointed leaders are remarkably similar.

We spoke to Professor Hannah Holmes, Dean of the Business School and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor within the Faculty of Business and Law at Manchester Metropolitan University, about her advice for new deans.

What were your main challenges when you became dean?

“I was new to the role, leading a large, triple-accredited business school, and the main challenge was moving from operational leadership to genuinely strategic leadership while the day job constantly pulled me back into the detail. I had done some good UK leadership development, but it was all quite domestic in outlook. I wanted to understand how deans in other countries, with different funding models and governance arrangements, were dealing with the same questions, and I wanted to build an international network of peers.”

Why did you consider this workshop relevant when you were newly appointed dean?

“It filled a gap. Nothing else I had come across was both strategically focused and international. I found it on the EFMD website and it was clearly aimed at people in my position: new deans with plenty of management experience who wanted some space to think about the role itself.”

What part of the workshop was most valuable for you?

“The sessions on setting goals for the role were useful, but honestly a lot of the value was in the conversations between the tables. Comparing notes with deans working in completely different settings, I was struck again and again by how the same job is shaped so differently by context. The pressures on a dean in one country are not the pressures on a dean in another, even though the role looks the same on paper. You cannot get that from a domestic programme.”

Was there a specific insight, discussion, or tool that stayed with you?

“The discussion about setting short, medium and long term goals, both professional and personal. It is not a complicated idea, but as a new dean it is very easy to let the urgent take over, and to forget about yourself in the process. I went home and actually tried to apply it, and I still come back to it.”

Did the workshop change the way you see the role of dean? If so, how did it influence your approach?

“It broadened my view of it. Hearing how deans elsewhere work made me see the role less as a fixed job description and more as something you shape around your own institution and context. That gave me more confidence to be deliberate about where I put my energy, and I became clearer about what needed doing now versus what I was building over the longer term.”

Did the workshop help you feel more prepared, supported, or confident? In what way?

“Yes, in all three ways to some degree. I came away with a clearer framework for my own goals, and it helped to see that everyone in the room was wrestling with similar things. The network has also lasted. I am still in touch with several people from my cohort and see others at conferences. In practice I have kept up most with the UK and Ireland deans, probably because we also meet in regional settings, which has given those relationships more chances to develop. I would have liked the same with the European and Canadian deans, and that ongoing peer element is something I have since found through the EFMD Dean’s Circles, which I am doing now and which feels like a natural follow-on from the SLPD.”

How would you describe the workshop to a newly appointed dean who is considering attending?

“I would tell them to do it. It is one of the few chances, early in the role, to step back from the day-to-day and think properly about the deanship itself, with an international group of peers asking the same questions. The content is good, but the conversations are the real value, so invest in the relationships while you are there.”

In one sentence, what was the biggest benefit of the workshop for you?

“It gave me a practical way of framing my goals as a new dean, and an international group of peers who understood the role, both of which I still draw on.”

EFMD Strategic Leadership Programme for Deans (SLPD)

Holmes’ reflections illustrate several challenges that new deans face in their first years in leadership. They also point to a theme that runs through the EFMD Strategic Leadership Programme for Deans (SLPD): the value of stepping back from immediate operational demands to consider the wider responsibilities of leadership and learn from peers facing similar questions.

The next edition of the programme, which will take place in Brussels from 14 to 16 October 2026, is designed to address the practical leadership challenges faced by recently appointed deans and business school directors. Participants will engage with experienced leaders from different countries and institutional contexts, sharing perspectives on the realities of academic leadership.

A central topic is the effective use of resources. Business schools frequently operate within financial, organisational, and human resource constraints, requiring leaders to make careful prioritisation and the ability to make difficult choices about where to invest time, funding, and institutional attention. Discussions during the programme examine how leaders can approach these decisions strategically while maintaining long-term institutional goals.

Innovation is another key consideration. Expectations from students, employers, and society continue to change, requiring schools to review programmes, teaching methods, and organisational structures. Experienced deans will share insights on how schools can encourage innovation while preserving academic quality, institutional identity and organisational stability.

The programme also addresses the external environment in which business schools operate. Social, economic, political, and technological developments increasingly influence institutional strategy. Questions surrounding relevance, purpose, and societal impact have become central to leadership discussions. For deans, understanding these pressures and determining how their institutions should respond has become an important part of the role.

Alongside institutional leadership, the programme addresses the personal transition into the dean role. Moving from academic or administrative positions into a highly visible leadership role requires resilience, self-awareness and confidence in navigating uncertainty. Reflecting on leadership approaches and learning from peers’ experiences can help new deans navigate the demands of the position more effectively.

Holmes’ experience also highlights the importance of peer exchange in leadership development. Unlike many professional development programmes that focus primarily on technical expertise, discussions among deans often centre on practical judgement, leadership challenges, and institutional decision-making. Participants benefit from hearing how colleagues have approached difficult situations, managed competing priorities, and responded to organisational pressures.

Although the context of each business school differs, the responsibilities of leadership share common themes. The ability to think strategically, set priorities, build strong peer networks, and maintain a clear sense of purpose remains central to the role. For newly appointed deans, taking time to reflect on these responsibilities can provide lasting value throughout their leadership journey.

For more information on the EFMD Strategic Leadership Programme for Deans (SLPD), which will take place in Brussels from 14 to 16 October 2026, or to register, please visit our events page.

For additional insights, announcements, and perspectives, visit the conversation on new deans and business school leadership.