Dr. Beronda Montgomery, in “Academic Leadership: Gatekeeping or Groundskeeping?” encourages academic institutions to rethink the kind of leader hired to lead academic units. Rather than fostering gatekeeping, or the mentality that the leader is measuring individual traits and performance to appraise if someone is worthy of advancement or leadership, Montgomery suggests choosing leaders who promote “groundskeeping”. In groundskeeping, leaders focus on systems-engaged framing of the academic landscape that supports the development of individuals towards cooperative goals. Groundskeeping leaders identify and remove barriers to success, including structural inequities, creating a more facilitatory, friendly, and equitable environment. Groundskeeper leaders more effectively enable organizational innovation and change, while gatekeeping leaders tend to protect the organizational status quo.
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