Structural reforms, including governance and financial reforms, are not sufficient for higher institutional performance without corresponding leadership development. This study analyzes how faculty members assess an institutional leader’s leadership based on a survey of 2,018 faculty members in the higher education systems of Korea and Taiwan. The findings suggest that effective communication is a crucial factor in leadership competency. The study also investigates three leadership styles: scholarly, managerial, and political. The results indicate that scholarly and managerial leadership styles have a significant influence on leadership competency in Taiwan, whereas scholarly leadership is more important in Korea. Furthermore, leadership competency depends on various contexts, including collegiality culture, governance, and faculty members’ academic identities. This study supports contemporary leadership theories that emphasize the importance of communication, the use of multiple leadership styles, and the close association between leadership and context. Additionally, this study identified subtle differences between the two higher education systems in Korea and Taiwan. This variation in the extent of state involvement may explain the differences between Korea and Taiwan in leadership competency and preferred leadership styles.
Shin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.