A professional services route to PFHEA – leading in secret?

I was awarded Principal Fellowship of Advance HE in January 2025, and the most valuable aspect of the process was the opportunity it gave me to think through the evolution of my practice as a third-space professional. In this blog I want to sketch out the model of ‘secret leadership’ that underpins my work.

I have worked in higher education for nearly twenty years, focusing for the past decade on curriculum development at the University of the West of Scotland. There are three structural features of my role that enable me to shape institutional policy and practice – and which may resonate with other third-space professionals.

Three steps to the ideal vantage point

First, my roles have all been positioned very much at the mid-point of the organisational grading structure. My current role is equivalent in seniority to a Teaching Fellow, i.e. not very senior at all. Much of my work has focused on bringing high-level strategic objectives to life through the definition and implementation stages, which requires credibility with both the strategic and operational levels of the organisation. This chimes with the literature on academic middle management (e.g. Kallenberg, 2007), in the sense that one can be too senior or too junior to influence in both directions at once. My own role seems to be in the sweet spot for third-space influence.

Second, all of my roles have been situated within the professional services job family, but alongside my ‘day jobs’ I have always maintained a regular teaching and assessment load in my own discipline of politics. This combination of administration and classroom experience has given me credibility with professional services and academic colleagues alike. I have harnessed this credibility to lead a range of quality enhancement and portfolio transformation projects, which rely on an understanding of policy and process as well as insight into academic practice.

Third, my work has generally been located within academic departments, which has made it possible for me to develop rich relationships of trust with academic colleagues. I have also been fortunate enough to undertake occasional secondments to my University’s central learning and teaching enhancement service, which has strengthened my relationships with those key colleagues too. This combination of being embedded in an academic department while being a ‘satellite’ member of a central team enables me to engage in the sort of boundary-spanning practice that third-space professionals do so well (e.g. Williams, 2012; Guarneros-Meza and Martin, 2016).

Leading in secret

When I reflected on my practice as I developed my Principal Fellowship claim, I realised that the three structural features outlined above enable me to act as an institutional leader – but by leading in secret.

Beginning with (i) my relative lack of seniority, I do not lead through role-authority but rather by virtue of persuading those with role-authority that I am worth listening to. Third-space practitioners may find it especially helpful to work with a senior ‘sponsor’ who can channel your ideas into the strategic forums you are not personally invited into, and I have benefited from this enormously in my own work. My advice is to take seriously what senior colleagues need and want, which may include public recognition for your ideas, and help them get it.

Turning to (ii) my combination of administrative and academic practice, my own professional credibility has been expanded by sharing as far as possible the experiences of academic colleagues. For example, I was able to lead and shape my department’s approach to online teaching at the start of the pandemic because my academic colleagues knew I was also teaching online and therefore grappling with the same challenges they were. My colleagues in central departments struggled initially to generate the same level of authority, as they were seen by academic colleagues as taking a purely theoretical interest in the issues of the day. Sometimes it’s useful to be able to show your medals (or scars) to your academic colleagues.

Moving finally to (iii) my boundary-spanning practice, I have invested in my professional relationships across departments, and prioritised the maintenance of those relationships over short-term organisational rivalries. Third-space practitioners are almost always working collaboratively, so our effectiveness largely rests on the willingness of relevant colleagues to answer our calls and support our ideas. Preserve your relationships at all costs – you’ll need them later.

The value of reflexivity

Putting all of this together, my strategic influence as a third-space professional is based on thought leadership, often channelled through senior sponsors who recognise the value of my ideas, and underpinned by credibility in academic as well as professional domains. I came to a much deeper understanding of my professional strengths through the reflexive process of developing my Principal Fellowship claim, and I encourage other third-space professionals to give themselves the same opportunity. 

References

Guarneros-Meza V., Martin S. (2016). Boundary spanning in local public service partnerships: Coaches, advocates or enforcers? Public Management Review, 18(2), 238–257

Kallenberg, T. (2007). Strategic Innovation in HE: The Roles of Academic Middle Managers. Tertiary Education Management. 13. 19-33

Williams P. (2012). Collaboration in public policy and practice: Perspectives on boundary spanners. Cardiff School of Management, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, United Kingdom: Policy Press.