Leadership and innovation lessons from professional services firms

This paper compares and contrasts higher education with professional services firms. It considers what (if anything) leaders in higher education may gain from reflecting on how other sectors are evolving and the extent to which lessons can be learned by looking outwards. We structure the paper by outlining the world of PSFs, its many manifestations and some of the current challenges in Section 2. We then move on to compare and interpret one particular leadership framework we developed to understand PSFs, and use this to identify some potential questions for higher education leaders. Finally, we conclude by exploring how, in the light of some of the current drivers of change, our view of the higher education sector may evolve as a new ‘eco-system’ emerges.