Is academic intellectualism alone enough if the Scottish economy is to prosper?

1.
Is
academic
intellectualism
alone
enough
if
the
Scottish
economy
is
to
prosper?
The
chairman
of
Scottish
Enterprise,
Crawford
Gillies
said
recently:
‘Leadership
is
the
most
critical
factor
for
business
success.
There
is
a
real
opportunity
for
Scottish
businesses
to
boost
their
performance
by
improving
in
leadership
development…. There
are
two
major
challenges,
however.
The
first
is
getting
people
to
engage.
The
next
is
persuading
them
to
take
the
time
to
fully
invest
in
their
development…. Seeking
to
improve
leadership
really
does
make
a
huge
difference.’
Previously he said that:‘
‘The
lack
of
leaders
with
high
aspirations,
able
to
lead
their
organisation
to
reach
their
full
potential,
cuts
across
virtually
all
of
Scotland’s
economic
challenges.
It
inhibits
investment,
innovation
and
enterprise.
It
is
the
thing
holding
back
many
companies
and
our
economy
from
reaching
their
full
potential....
The
challenge
facing
many
of
our
companies
is
what
I
would
describe
as
“satisfactory
underperformance.”’
Building
a
robust
Scottish
economy
requires
that
we
address
urgently
this
leadership
deficit
in
Scottish
business.
However,
this
task
is
not
as
simple
as
perhaps
Scottish
Enterprise
thinks.
Indeed
the
scale
of
the
challenge
is
highlighted
when
one
considers
the
lack
of
any
real
progress
in
implementing
one
of
the
key
policy
recommendations
emerging
from
the
2007
report,
‘Evaluating
Leadership
Development
in
Scotland,
prepared
by
Aberdeen
Business
School:
‘A
key
policy
recommendation
is
that
the
Scottish
Government
should
develop
a
strategy
to
create
indigenous
world-­‐class
leadership
research
and
programme
provision,
attuned
to
producing
the
next
generation
of
leaders
capable
of
underpinning
further
economic
growth.
‘
From
our
perspective,
it
appears
that
Scotland
lags
considerably
far
behind
the
USA,

2. for
example,
in
emphasising
the
importance
of
developing
next
generation
leaders.
Too
little
emphasis
is
placed
on
using
tertiary
education
as
the
foundation
for
building
both
good
students
and
good
leaders.
In
a
recent
article
in
The
Atlantic
magazine,
Tara
Isabella
Burton
said:
‘A
case
can
be
made
that
the
pure-­‐academics
approach
of
many
continental
and
European
universities,
which
encourages
and
rewards
independence,
also
fosters
a
degree
of
isolation.
Students
are
not
encouraged,
at
any
institutional
level
to
collaborate,
to
gain
managerial
skills,
to
learn
to
follow
or
lead.
And
the
valuation
and
fostering
of
leadership
can
be
especially
vital
for
groups
of
people
who
have
not
historically
had
the
opportunity
so
to
do
–
many
women's
colleges,
for
example,
highlight
the
value
of
seeing
women
in
leadership
positions
on
campus.’
A
cursory
review
of
the
admissions
section
of
the
websites
of
some
leading
Scottish
and
US
Universities,
coupled
with
relevant
comments
from
senior
academics,
highlights
the
real
and
fundamental
challenge
we
face
in
developing
enough
leaders
to
secure
our
future,
regardless
of
the
outcome
of
the
forthcoming
Referendum
[emphasis
added].
Most
of
our
applicants
will
be
well
qualified
so
decisions
on
who
will
receive
offers
will
often
be
determined
by
the
quality
of
the
Personal
Statement….
[which]
should
give
the
Admissions
Officer(s)
a
picture
of
someone
who
is
interested
in
the
subject
area
for
which
you
have
applied
and
who
has
the
motivation
and
potential
to
do
well
in
a
university
environment.
University
of
St
Andrews
The
University
has
robust
and
equitable
admissions
procedures,
based
on
all
relevant
academic
and
personal
circumstances…We
carefully
consider
academic
qualifications,
the
personal
statement,
the
reference,
the
results
of
any
additional
tests…and
the
outcome
of
any
interview
as
required.
We
aim
to
ensure
that
potential
and
suitability
for
study
are
thus
identified.
University
of
Glasgow
We
consider
all
information
contained
within
the
UCAS
application
when
making
our
admissions
decision.
This
includes
evidence
in
your
personal
statement
of
commitment,
motivation
and
readiness
for
higher
education,
University
of
Edinburgh
At
Stanford,
we
educate
the
next
generation
of
leaders.
Stanford
University
President,
John
Hennessy
We
look
for
your
preparation
and
potential
to
succeed.
Stanford
University
What
about
your
maturity,
character,
leadership,
self-­‐confidence,
warmth
of
personality,
sense
of
humour,
energy,
concern
for
others,
and
grace
under
pressure?
Harvard
University

3.
We
are
looking
for
students
we
can
help
to
become
the
leaders
of
their
generation
in
whatever
they
wish
to
pursue.
Yale
We
look
for
qualities
that
will
help
[students]
become
leaders
in
their
fields
and
in
their
communities.
Princeton
Taken
together,
the
picture
painted
is
not
an
encouraging
one.
While
many
talk
up
the
game
of
independence,
the
reality
is
that
we
are
nowhere
near
capable
of
producing
enough
world-­‐class
leaders
to
ensure
Scotland
can
become
and
sustain
being
a
credible
independent
economy
within
an
increasingly
challenging
global
economy.
While
visiting
the
Scottish
Enterprise
website
might
be
interesting,
the
challenge
is
surely
much
greater.
Our
level
of
ambition
and
understanding,
regarding
what
it
will
take
to
develop
more
strategic
leaders
in
Scotland
needs
to
be
raised
significantly.
The
prize
is
a
big
one.
As
Deloitte
said
in
a
recent
report:
‘…the
potential
gap
between
the
value
of
a
company
with
good
leadership
and
that
of
a
company
with
weaker
leadership
[is]
an
astonishing
35.5%.’
Scale
this
up
to
a
macro
economic
level
and
it
is
clear
that
Scotland
will
either
thrive
or
decline
depending
on
the
investment
we
make
in
the
near
future
in
raising
the
leadership
bar
at
all
levels,
from
schools
through
to
Universities
and
Colleges
through
to
business
and
professional
institutes.
By:
Graham
Watson
Chief
Executive
Positive
Leadership
Limited
www.positiveleadership.co.uk
26
January
2014