The pressures of academic life have never been greater. Those outside academia often find it hard to believe just how much the landscape has changed, not just over the past 20 years, but even in the last five.
A colleague recently confided in me about the toll this career takes. She described sleepless nights, constant stress, and an unrelenting workload. She asked me to share her experience not for sympathy, but so that people would understand: academic life is not an ivory tower. Here is a screenshot of her typical week of sleep:
Our “ivory tower” is far too often not a place of quiet reflection and prestige. It's often a life of relentless demands, diminishing resources, and constant compromise.
And if academic life is hard, academic leadership* is even harder.
The Leadership Spectrum: Narcissists versus Echoists
In my experience, academic leaders tend to fall somewhere along a difficult spectrum.
At one end is the narcissist: driven, strategic, sometimes ruthless, who often climbs the ranks with charisma and politics. They can thrive, but often at the cost of empathy, collaboration, and genuine service.
At the other end is the echoist: often burnt-out, emotionally exhausted leader hanging on until retirement. These leaders don’t thrive. They endure.
Then there is everything else in between...
So, what About the Rest of Us?
What about those of us who chose leadership not for power, but out of love, for our discipline, for our students, for the idea that we could help make academia better?
We didn’t take these roles thinking they’d be easy. We stepped up because we wanted to protect something meaningful. But we’re now navigating a system full of long hours, overflowing inboxes, endless meetings, and requests that always seem to go "above and beyond."
We don't do it for prestige. We don’t do it for money (because, let’s be honest, if you calculate the hourly rate we got more as a waiter in our 20s). We do it because we care.
The Gardeners
I call us the gardener leaders (expect a little book in the future).
We want to see others flourish. We want to cultivate healthy teams, support junior colleagues, and create environments where students thrive. Our reward isn’t a title, it’s that one magical moment when a team clicks into place. When a student finally “gets it.” When we see someone we’ve mentored succeed.
Yes, it’s exhausting. Yes, we take the hits. But we also celebrate the wins, no matter how small, and we keep going.
Because deep down, we believe in service. We believe in education. We believe that every single life we touch, be it our academic or industry colleagues or our students, matters. We hope we make a difference.
The Emotional Weight of Decision-Making
Every decision we make has a ripple effect. Reallocating funding, restructuring programs, or making personnel choices aren't just administrative tasks they impact people’s livelihoods, career trajectories, and sense of belonging. The weight of those choices can be immense.
There’s also the constant balancing act of being both a peer and a supervisor, especially for those promoted from within. How do you hold colleagues accountable while maintaining collegiality? How do you enforce policies while nurturing innovation? This dual role can lead to internal conflict and emotional exhaustion.
Burnout Is Real — and Rising
Burnout among academic leaders is real and on the rise. Long hours, high-stakes responsibilities, and the increasing corporatisation of higher education contribute to a sense of isolation. Unlike faculty who may find community in shared research or teaching, leaders often carry confidential burdens alone.
Add to that the reality of dwindling resources, political pressures, and navigating multifaceted challenges in polarised times, and it's clear why many leaders consider stepping down earlier than planned.
Still, Above My Pay Grade?
It’s a phrase used by those who have lost faith: “That’s above my pay grade.”
Perhaps it is true. But many of us do not mutter those words because they do not reach our minds. Most of us are constantly asked to step up, to solve problems, to absorb pressure, often without the authority, support, or resources to match. But do it anyway.
Not because we have to. But because we choose to.
Not for a pay grade. But for a purpose. For a better pay grade, become an investment banker!
Final Thought
Leadership in academia is meaningful and impactful. But let’s not romanticise it. Let’s acknowledge its stress, advocate for its support, and build a healthier culture together. Those who’ve left academic leadership: I understand. To those still in it: I see you. And to those considering it: go in with your eyes wide open, but also with your heart intact. There are people out there who need your leadership, and why should I care, you ask?
Because if we don’t care, who will?
*My definition of Academic leadership: It begins when you support or coordinate others for example, leading a course or research group, with responsibility increasing at higher levels and enters a new dimension when you have formal line management responsibility..
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