Leading change through an international faculty development programme.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the modification of an American model of academic leadership training for utilization in an African university and to pilot test the efficacy of the resulting model.


BACKGROUND
Traditionally many educators have moved into administrative positions without adequate training. Current world standards require leadership preparation for a wide array of persons. However, this opportunity did not yet exist in the study setting.


METHODS
University leaders from the University of the Western Cape and the University of Missouri collaborated on revising and pilot testing a successful American academic leadership programme for use among African faculty. Cross-cultural adaptations, participant satisfaction and subsequent outcomes were assessed during the 2-year 'train-the-trainer' leadership development programme.


RESULTS
African faculty successfully modified the American training model, participated in training activities, and after 2 years, began to offer the service to other institutions in the region, which has increased the number of nurses in Africa who have had, and who will continue to have, the opportunity to move up the career ladder.


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of the project extended further than originally expected, as the original plan to utilize the training materials at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) for the in-house faculty was expanded to allow UWC to utilize the modified materials to serve leadership development needs of faculty in other African universities.


CONCLUSIONS
Study findings will inform those interested in university policy and procedure on leadership training issues. The successful development of a self-sustaining leadership programme in which values of multiple cultures must be appropriately addressed has a significant impact for nursing administration. With the severe nursing shortage, health care institutions must develop cost effective yet quality development programmes to assure the succession of current staff into leadership positions. We no longer have the luxury of recruiting broadly and we must identify those talented nurses within our own institutions and prepare them for advanced leadership roles. This succession plan is especially important for the next generation of nurse leaders representing minority populations. In particular, nurse managers will find the overview of the literature for middle managers enlightening, and may find links to key resources that could be revised to be more culturally relevant for use in a wide array of settings.
Lacey-Haun
Lora C
LC
University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Nursing, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA.
Whitehead
Tanya D
TD
D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004506:Education, Nursing; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007857:Leadership; D017145:Models, Educational; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013019:South Africa; D013192:Staff Development / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States