Title: Sink, swim or float: perceptions of academic administrators on their initial leadership support and exposure

Authors: Zaleha Abdullah; Lokman Mohd Tahir; Mohd Nihra Haruzuan Mohamad Said

Addresses: School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia ' School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia ' School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Abstract: This qualitative study explores the needs of academic administrators in Malaysia within Maslow's hierarchy of needs framework. We engaged 56 participants from a public university, conducting one-on-one interviews and thematic analysis. Our findings highlight shortcomings in addressing cognitive, social belonging and safety needs. Two crucial factors for nurturing academic administrators' leadership emerged: informal learning practices and knowledge networks. We recommend future research on peer-to-peer learning, structured vs. unstructured mentoring and an open-access leadership profiling system. These insights aim to improve leadership development for academic administrators, fostering a dynamic educational landscape.

Keywords: academic administrator; Maslow's hierarchy of needs; leadership development; leadership support; higher education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2024.136925

International Journal of Management in Education, 2024 Vol.18 No.2, pp.128 - 146

Received: 01 Dec 2022
Accepted: 13 Oct 2023
Published online: 29 Feb 2024 *

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