The study aimed to understand the role of agile leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation and its impact on improving performance and increasing efficiency in higher education institutions in Palestine. This was achieved by presenting theoretical frameworks for the role of agile leadership in digital transformation at universities. This was achieved by developing Palestinian universities to keep pace with digital transformation by applying the dimensions of agile leadership. This was achieved by providing a digital information network that supports digital transformation and is connected to global networks. This network provides university employees with the mechanisms and culture of e-management, as well as psychological, behavioral, technical, and material readiness, among other requirements for adapting to e-management. The study hypotheses included the existence of a relationship between agile leadership management and improving performance and increasing the effectiveness of digital transformation at universities. It also emphasized the existence of specific agile leadership methods that lead to improved both job performance and development effectiveness. The study used a descriptive and analytical approach to develop and monitor theoretical frameworks based on previous scientific studies and a scientific approach to analyze the research problem. The study concluded that agile leadership at universities focuses on preparing human resources to implement digital transformation, providing qualified personnel capable of using and analyzing data to make effective decisions, and being able to select human competencies and scientific expertise. It bears the burdens and efforts of data management and monitoring, as well as providing appropriate tools for statistical analysis and future forecasting, and reconciling internal resistance from employees and conflicting opinions. Flexibility and calm agile leadership helps establish an effective framework that ensures optimal implementation of digital transformation. This includes internal and external alignment in operational processes, and improves and develops the professional performance of faculty members through the provision of information. The use of self-critical thinking skills in analyzing problems and issues has a positive impact on improving performance. The study recommended the need to save time and accelerate the learning process to reduce the burden on faculty in traditional education for exams, marking, and results so that they are completed electronically. The quality of education should be improved by enhancing the quality of curricula and educational programs, and equal educational opportunities for all students to participate in the learning process, discuss, dialogue, and freely express their opinions on educational topics, as well as bridging the digital gap between urban and rural cultures among staff, and providing adequate professional training on the use of digital education tools and artificial intelligence in Palestinian universities.
Change has become a constant in our contemporary world, which is characterized by continuous evolution and transformation. Institutions across all sectors face numerous and diverse challenges, both in nature and scale, due to the rapidly changing environment. Whether institutions are prepared for these changes or not, transformation and change remain an inevitable reality affecting everyone. The form and patterns of management, business, and industries have changed from former times across all educational and service activities. This has forced institutions to face the choice of either adapting to this reality, embracing it, and leveraging it to their advantage, or resisting change.
The transformation in educational methods and approaches is a shift that places the onus on institutional leadership to activate and keep pace with its developments to avoid falling behind in the technological transformation. Agile leadership has demonstrated its capability to address these challenges and work towards their implementation through its core dimensions: patience, composure, wisdom, objectivity, and humility. Agile leadership is considered a contemporary concept, highlighted by numerous intellectual studies emphasizing its importance and the prominence it has recently gained (Hussein & Al-Zubaidi, 2021).
For institutional cultures to change and for the digital transformation journey to succeed, institutional leaders must not view technology merely as a support tool, but rather as a strategic capability that enables the organization to adapt and possess a competitive advantage that distinguishes it from others (Rogers, 2016). The importance of agile leadership in universities is further amplified by the characteristics and nature of our current era, marked by rapid change and alteration in all aspects of life. In addition to this is the increase in the size and scope of institutions, which necessitates the presence of effective administrative leadership capable of managing these institutions to achieve their goals and steer them towards development and progress (Hawwad & Salhi, 2016).
Given that higher education institutions are in a state of evident evolution and transformation across all administrative, scientific, and technical fields—foremost among them being information and communication technologies, which represent one of the most significant modern challenges facing university education—it has become imperative for universities to shift towards digital teaching and learning. This has become an imperative necessitated by rapid changes, the massive digital technological revolution, and the knowledge flow. Since educational institutions, particularly higher education, both influence and are influenced by their surrounding environment, digital transformation was bound to impact them. Consequently, they must adapt, like other institutions, to this variable and leverage it to their advantage, owing to the advantages it offers in enhancing overall performance levels.
Therefore, university leaders cannot overlook it, as higher education institutions are moving towards digitizing most of their operations to keep up with the latest developments in their environment. Agile leadership must take this into account by developing a well-considered strategy and plans for its proper implementation. Digital transformation for business organizations in the current age is an imperative necessity. For this reason, institutions in both the public and private sectors seek to adopt digital transformation as a strategy, given its ability to contribute to solving human problems on one hand, and activating and enhancing sustainable development on the other. This positions technology as a facilitating and stimulating factor in all these aspects, encompassing numerous dimensions including economic, environmental, social, and cultural (Al-Mutrif, 2020).
This study seeks to examine the impact of agile leadership with its dimensions—patience, wisdom, objectivity, composure, and humility—which aim to improve performance and increase responsiveness by enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation among leaders, staff, and administrators in higher education institutions in Palestinian society. The study is applied to a selected university as a model, aiming to reach findings and recommendations that could contribute to increasing the effectiveness and promotion of digital transformation in universities through agile leadership.
The study seeks to understand the concept of agile leadership as an independent variable, including its dimensions—patience, humility, wisdom, composure, and objectivity—which aim to achieve performance improvement and enhanced responsiveness in universities amidst digital transformation. Agile leadership is considered one of the most important modern styles, defined by an administrative organization’s ability to perform rapidly in its routine administrative work methods, striving for better performance and continuous improvement of the administrative process within an agile framework and nimble performance based on work teams and administrative groups. This aims to achieve swift response to and overcoming of challenges, striving for outputs characterized by high performance, quality, and excellence (Adhm, 2020). From agile management emerged both agile leadership and organizational agility; the current study addresses agile leadership through its role in improving, developing, and enhancing the professional performance effectiveness of employees.
Agile leadership is an administrative style and a main approach for the development and sustainability of any institution. It focuses on the positive behavior of the leader, thereby influencing the behavior of employees and guiding them to commit to achieving the institution’s goals. It involves inspiring employees to offer their best. Consequently, agile leadership encompasses a set of human, ethical, and motivational aspects in dealing with subordinates. The leader plays a significant role in promoting a spirit of cooperation and the ability to persuade others of the necessity to accomplish tasks effectively in a suitable environment (Hajira, 2019).
Agile leadership relies on three pillars through which institutions can be managed (Abu Hammad, 2019): (1) the ability to understand and perceive future trends, changes, and possibilities; (2) building effective dynamic capabilities; and (3) promoting an agile culture by eliminating bureaucracy and any work or practice that leads to rigidity and weakness. When optimal coordination and integration among these three pillars is achieved, organizations can maintain their position, seize more opportunities, and achieve leadership and pioneering status.
The concept of agile management is one of the best methods for achieving quality in uniquely delivering services by combining the teachings and regulations of the place with the development of flexible work, and then by adopting standard work criteria known for rigidity and inflexibility, alongside employee flexibility in handling or acquiring skills for more than one task simultaneously. It also involves venturing into sectors previously considered red lines in terms of commercial competition concepts, namely education, with its multiple elements and studied determinants (Rakkaj et al., 2017).
Because the leadership style adopted within universities, whether administrative or academic, effectively influences the behavior and performance of employees—helping to motivate staff, increase their effectiveness, achieve a high level of productivity, and raise the level of functional performance—it indicates that shifting towards using the principles of agile leadership within universities will have a significant impact on raising and improving the functional performance level of university staff (Al-Indunisi, 2019).
In light of the foregoing, the researcher defines agile leadership as that administrative style through which the leader can adapt the institution or university to new developments in methods, approaches, and technological programs. This is achieved by using the dimensions of patience, wisdom, humility, objectivity, and composure in dealing with university staff, which helps improve performance and increase its quality through flexible interactions, stimulates employee loyalty to their work, and fosters a sense of responsibility for achieving the institution’s goals and keeping pace with new developments via modern technological devices and means. This is alongside preparing employees to adapt through guidance, patience, and training courses to achieve development, advancement, and elevate the university to a better level in educational methods that ensure the efficiency and success of the educational process.
Leadership wisdom refers to the agile leader’s use of rationality in dealing with employees and in their approach to solving complex administrative issues they seek to control (Al-Saedi, 2017). An agile leader can achieve a balance between the available human, material, and moral resources and the requirements of the work (Al-Fetlawi, 2017). Wisdom represents an advanced stage for the agile leader, characterized by thinking based on logical and objective reasoning regarding the nature of their decisions, relying on their practical experience. This aims to reach a standard of wisdom in dealing with the various administrative issues they face (Govindji, 2015).
Humility is a quality that distinguishes the agile leader. It is a moral trait and virtue indicating how to think about and handle problems in the workplace, aligning with the personal characteristics of the agile leader that are accepted by employees, and which foster the integration of individuals into their surrounding community (Al-Fetlawi, 2017). The humility of an agile leader means flexibility, simplicity, and gentleness in dealing with the institution’s employees, prioritizing their needs, and having a constant desire to achieve the best (Kazem, 2020).
Patience entails the leader embodying Islamic behaviors through patience in enduring the behaviors of other employees. The agile leader accepts some delay in fulfilling needs or achieving certain goals, justifying this delay due to circumstances or the targeted goals of the organization that are planned for fulfillment (Kupfer, 2007). This trait also means the agile leader’s ability to exercise self-control, enabling them to persist in work, exert maximum effort, persevere, and stay informed to achieve the required goals, and to face challenges at work without despair or complaint under working conditions (Kazem, 2020).
Objectivity involves the agile leader being characterized by rationality in their interactions and consistently regulating their administrative behavior in situations they encounter within the organization (Abdel Rahman & Al-Imam, 2009). Objectivity relates to the rationality in the leader’s ability to influence the minds of employees and steer their behaviors towards improvement (Al-Fetlawi, 2017). It also encompasses the leader’s ability to maintain a realistic perspective and keep personal bias to an absolute minimum (Kazem, 2020).
Composure refers to practicing gentle and calm leadership (Kinsey, 2010), which can be achieved by using thinking skills for self-criticism in analyzing problems and issues, and dealing with them simultaneously. The trait of composure is a rare quality in human life due to life’s diversity, the abundance of work, and the problems facing administrative organizations. Hence arises the importance of having the trait of composure in agile leadership within the institution, especially when making important decisions. Composure enables the leader to think deeply and more effectively to make correct decisions in solving problems (Al-Fetlawi, 2017).
Numerous tools can be employed by agile leadership to achieve its goals and ensure the success of its administrative processes. These tools are based on the leader’s management philosophy, which aims to solve various work problems, including wasted effort and time. The most prominent of these tools are:
The review of previous studies reveals several points of agreement and difference with the current research. The current study agrees with Benavides et al. (2020) in terms of identifying challenges facing higher education institutions, and with other studies on the importance of applying agile leadership in public and private platforms. Most previous studies used the descriptive-analytical approach, which is adopted in this study as well.
The study differs from prior work, including Al-Khatib (2021), in its application context, given the scarcity of studies conducted in the Palestinian context. It also differs in directly combining the two study variables—agile leadership and digital transformation—into a single study, and in its population, as it focuses on Palestinian higher education. Thus, it fills a clear gap in the existing literature regarding combining agile leadership and digital transformation within Palestinian higher education.
Given the significant role of agile leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation, which has become an imperative in Palestinian universities due to the numerous advantages it provides for raising and improving performance levels across all aspects, it is essential to focus on the role of agile leadership as an effective method for transformation and change. Leaders, by virtue of their positions and responsibilities in managing universities, must adapt to new technologies and modern methods that require the digitization of transactions within the educational process. This is crucial for enhancing student achievement, realizing better performance, and improving the quality of education, facilitated through leadership dimensions such as motivation, intelligence, and creativity.
To achieve the study’s objective, the research problem has been formulated in a main question:
From this main question, the following sub-questions emerge:
What is the nature and what are the dimensions of agile leadership in Palestinian universities?
What are the methods of agile leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation in universities?
What are the challenges facing agile leadership in implementing digital transformation in universities?
What is the impact of agile leadership on promoting and activating digital transformation in universities?
The study aims to investigate the role of agile leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation in universities—a tangible reality that must be adapted to—and to attempt to keep pace with the new global changes and transformations characteristic of our era, which is undergoing noticeable daily modernization. This has become a necessity for leadership, heads of departments and administrations, faculty members, and university staff alike. The specific objectives are:
To identify the nature and dimensions of agile leadership in universities.
To recognize the methods of agile leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation in universities.
To clarify the challenges facing agile leadership in implementing digital transformation in universities.
To identify statistical differences among the study sample regarding the reality of improving the performance level of agile leadership and the variable of digital transformation.
To identify statistical differences among the study sample regarding the effectiveness level of agile leadership performance attributed to the digital transformation variable.
The study derives its importance from the significance of agile leadership in managing higher education institutions in Palestine, due to its influential role on society. These institutions prepare generations capable of keeping pace with contemporary developments to contribute to achieving development and progress in line with technological transformation, especially digital transformation in educational administrations. Therefore, the topic concerning the impact of agile leadership on enhancing the effectiveness of digital transformation is of significant importance for higher education institutions.
The study is based on the main hypothesis that the independent variable—agile leadership—influences the dependent variable—digital transformation in higher education. Specifically, it investigates how the role of agile leadership enhances the effectiveness of digital transformation. From this main hypothesis, several sub-hypotheses are derived. The study expects:
A positive relationship between the application of agile leadership management and improvements in both institutional performance and the effectiveness of digital transformation initiatives within universities.
The existence of specific methods of agile leadership that lead to improvement in both job performance and the effectiveness of development within universities.
The identification of a set of specific challenges (such as cultural resistance, budgetary constraints, or legacy systems) that pose significant obstacles for leadership in successfully achieving the digital transformation of universities.
That various dimensions of agile leadership (e.g., adaptability, visionary guidance, and employee empowerment) will have a significant and positive impact on promoting and activating digital transformation within the specific context of Palestinian universities.
To achieve the study’s objectives, the researcher adopts an analytical descriptive approach. This methodology combines the precise description and analysis of phenomena with the examination of relationships and interactions between the study variables. It aims to identify the features, characteristics, and dimensions of the research problem, deduce causes and results, and develop solutions based on data and analysis.
This is accomplished by gathering a substantial amount of information and theoretical methodologies related to digital transformation in universities internationally, through studies and research conducted on agile leadership in universities. The goal is to synthesize the findings of this research and access information and data from the theoretical literature relevant to the study topic, including results from previous studies. The approach integrates elements of descriptive and analytical methods to meticulously examine phenomena, in addition to analyzing relationships and interactions, in an effort to understand the influence and role of agile leadership in promoting and activating digital transformation in universities.
Digital transformation is defined as a strategic and deliberate method of reorganizing an organization’s operations—for example, business models, organizational structure, and human resources—and leveraging data, applications, and digital capabilities to facilitate the experience of beneficiaries and consequently achieve greater benefit and return. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2019) views digital transformation as a process involving numerous digital technologies, such as fifth-generation (5G) technology, artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain technology, which form a system that gives rise to future economic and social changes.
In education, digital transformation has been defined as the process that relies on the widespread use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the educational environment, impacting all components of the educational organization. This includes new roles for educators, teaching and learning strategies, methods of presenting educational content to learners, and their assessment methods (Mahmoud, 2018).
Sebaaly (2018) defines digital transformation in universities as the use of new technological developments—such as cloud computing applications, social media via mobile devices, virtual reality, and multimedia for teaching and learning processes, as well as for research and development—to excel in service delivery and enhance the university’s competitive advantage. The concept of digitization involves a technical and cultural shift that impacts all areas of the university’s work and promotes new methods, approaches, and opportunities that shape universities. Limani (2019) emphasizes that digital transformation means the use of new educational technology by faculty members to implement radical changes in the university educational process through platforms that enhance effective communication, student activities, preparation of study materials, assessment tests, and the physical configuration of classrooms.
Brooks and McCormack (2020) argue that digital transformation in universities is more than merely transferring paper records to a computer and adopting technologies to perform operations faster and more efficiently. It is a series of deep, coordinated cultural, workforce, and technological shifts that enable new educational and operational models and transform the institution’s business model and strategic directions for delivering value across the entire institution. This requires innovative leadership at all levels, as well as coordination between units, flexibility, and agility that will expand the patterns of higher education. Miller (2019) notes that digital transformation in higher education involves a strategic effort at all university levels, encompassing the planning, implementation, and adoption of an integrated technological system supported by data analysis to improve student educational continuity and graduation rates. It is not a single initiative or project; it must be continuously and selectively iterated to become the digital culture and approach that the university can use to achieve many of its strategic goals.
The core of digital transformation in universities lies in fundamentally changing the mode, pattern, and nature of interaction and engagement among faculty, staff, students, and beneficiaries. It additionally necessitates the organization and restructuring of various services and transactions electronically, to eliminate bureaucracy in performing tasks and public duties and to link them to the needs of beneficiaries and various community institutions through ICT networks, which provide the infrastructure for achieving quality (Amin, 2018).
From the preceding definitions, it is clear that digital transformation in universities is a global trend for transforming all universities into digital universities that rely on technology in performing their tasks, functions, and various activities, thereby achieving progress and a competitive advantage among universities.
The advantages of digital transformation for universities include (Ali, 2013):
Possessing the elements of uniqueness necessary for competitive advantage that make them distinctive.
Owning high-level information technology that is globally classified.
Being borderless in delivering services in an integrated manner, allowing everyone in universities and individuals worldwide to benefit from them.
Granting universities the ability to adapt to the fast-changing and diverse business environment.
Having a networked organization of work nature and connection to numerous individuals inside and outside the university, both locally and globally.
Being characterized by transparency and integrity due to clear roles, responsibilities, and daily decision-making within universities without relying on the traditional hierarchy.
Rendering university services in an integrated form that can be utilized by all universities and individuals.
The importance of digital transformation for universities lies in its ability to harness the potential of technology capable of instigating change in the entire university education system—its means, patterns, resources, philosophy, policies, roles, and curricula—to the extent that enclosed lecture halls and libraries based solely on physical books are diminishing. This leads to the emergence of universities without walls, digital libraries, and other concepts born from information and communication technology. Digital transformation is a bridge towards new knowledge, enriching the educational process, and renewing educational systems (Zaher, 2007).
Digital transformation has necessitated that institutions leverage modern technology to become more flexible in their operations and more capable of innovation and renewal. With these characteristics, they can keep pace with contemporary changes and harmonize with evolving needs to successfully achieve the desired outcomes of their work (Sha’lan, 2016). Digital transformation has become a hallmark of university life, enabling universities to contribute to solving the cost crises they face and work on increasing participation and cooperation among students, thereby fostering creativity (John, 2013).
Furthermore, digital transformation helps improve the university’s competitive advantage internationally, enhances the student experience and their performance, centers learning around the student, reduces dropout rates, improves the quality of teaching and scientific research, and increases innovation through classrooms. It also enables more efficient student employment and retention, improves registration and enrollment processes, and enhances administrative and educational operations while reducing costs. This is linked to improving the institution’s reputation, optimizing resources, and competing with leading peers (Sebaaly, 2019).
University agile leadership faces numerous difficulties in attempting to adapt the university to digital transformation. Consequently, the agile leadership style must rely on the core elements of digital transformation in universities. The digital transformation of the university education system is not solely about technology; it also necessitates a change in institutional culture and the employment of appropriate technology to develop organizational elements in a coordinated manner, within a framework for the digital transformation of the following elements (Daniel et al., 2018):
These elements are essential necessities that interact with each other to support the transformation of universities from traditional structures to digital structures reliant on information and communication technology.
Ebert and Duarte (2018) confirm the existence of a set of main objectives for digital transformation on both economic and social levels, which can be summarized as: developing and enhancing innovative and collaborative cultures; transforming education systems to provide new skills; establishing and maintaining digital connectivity infrastructure; ensuring affordability, service quality, and availability; protecting and enhancing digital data and transparency; facilitating access to digital services; creating innovative business models; and increasing productivity and added value in the economy (Shehata, 2020).
Before agile leadership can enhance the effectiveness of universities in implementing a successful digital transformation strategy, it needs tangible objectives to work towards (Amin, 2018), including:
Enhancing student experience by improving indicators such as graduation and course success rates.
Improving competitiveness by distinguishing the university through digital methods.
Creating a culture of data-driven decision-making by adopting a digital mindset across all university departments and activities.
Optimizing resources, from improving communication between officials to reducing costs such as electricity usage.
Developing the professional performance of faculty by equipping them with modern skills and attitudes through diverse sources of information.
Saving time and speeding up the educational process by enabling the electronic completion of courses, exams, grading, and results.
Improving education quality by enhancing the quality of courses and programs and redesigning them according to global standards.
Ensuring equality and equity in educational opportunities by allowing all students to participate in learning, dialogue, and expression.
Disseminating quality education by accommodating more learners without restrictions of time and place (Spear, 2020).
Digital transformation is considered a means to improve university efficiency and quality of performance, as it leads to the development of the university and all its programs and services. Advantages include:
Providing decision-making requirements more efficiently and effectively to achieve integration between the university’s core functions.
Developing opportunities to invest the university’s human and material potential, contributing to system development and global competitiveness.
Developing leadership performance through information management that enables empowerment, accountability, integrity, and transparency.
Providing new activities and services that add value and generate revenue.
Achieving administrative and economic efficiency through integration of processes and optimal use of resources.
Managing time effectively by saving effort in obtaining information.
Opening new fields and specializations not available in traditional education.
Improving education quality by leveraging modern technologies and ICT.
Providing accessible education at lower cost while considering individual differences.
Reducing pressure on traditional universities with limited space.
Facilitating student announcements via the internet, test correction, and sending results (David & Kim, 2018).
Digital transformation changes life and work through robotics, automation, and technological learning tools. Educational institutions face the challenge of maintaining a learning system that implements continuous learning driven by emerging technologies, leading practical and creative education, and incorporating new educational models. It also enhances creativity and entrepreneurship and offers opportunities to increase educational coverage and institutional productivity.
Digital transformation of universities requires administrative, organizational, and technical requirements, in addition to qualified human resources, support from top leadership, and many others. Ali (2013), Al-Dahhan (2013), and Al-Sayed (2020) indicate requirements such as: defining a clear vision for the university’s future; developing methodological transformation plans; leadership and administrative support with sufficient resources and legislation; developing organizational structures away from complex hierarchies and towards flexible teamwork; building a digital transformation strategy based on needs and environmental analysis; renewing core IT infrastructure; and developing human resources through training and self-development.
The study identifies numerous challenges facing agile leadership when applying digital transformation within universities, aimed at improving performance and increasing employee effectiveness. These include:
Weak digital infrastructure (poor internet networks, lack of devices).
Lack of strategic objectives and planning for digital transformation and failure to set measurable standards.
Digital divide between urban and rural areas and among staff, limiting access to digital platforms.
Insufficient professional training in digital tools and artificial intelligence.
Lack of Arabic digital content and awareness regarding integrating AI into curricula.
Poor change management planning, limited follow-up and updating, and reliance on technology provision without strategic vision.
Internal resistance and conflicting opinions, misalignment of goals between management and staff.
Rushed implementation without sufficient information and unrealistic expectations for quick results.
Lack of expertise and trained workforce in modern technologies.
Cultural resistance to new technologies and changes in established processes.
Skills gaps and workforce readiness issues, requiring upskilling and reskilling.
Legacy systems and integration challenges with new digital technologies.
Cybersecurity and data breach concerns due to insufficient protection mechanisms.
The researcher concludes that digital transformation is the responsibility of agile leadership, which must integrate digital technology into all aspects, requiring changes in technological, cultural, and operational fields related to the educational process. Universities must reinvent themselves and prioritize digital innovation strategies and cultural change, encompassing new learning spaces, big data, and AI as educational resources.
University leadership—including deans, department heads, and administrative directors—can leverage the dimensions of agile leadership (wisdom, patience, humility, composure, and objectivity). These traits, beneficial and influential in interactions with staff, aid in implementing digital transformation, enhancing staff capabilities, and fostering greater engagement with university development initiatives.
The use of wisdom in leadership for sound planning enables performance improvement, the development of human resources, and the provision of qualified staff and faculty. This creates a workforce capable of using and analyzing data to make effective decisions for implementing digital transformation.
The patience exhibited by agile leadership in universities helps in bearing the burdens and efforts of managing technological data, monitoring it regularly and effectively. This ensures reliable and complete data is available, along with suitable tools for statistical analysis, data mining, and forecasting, aligning with the university’s goals.
Leadership objectivity helps in reconciling internal resistance from long-serving employees attached to traditional methods with the inputs of new technology and conflicting opinions arising from staff’s lack of awareness about the benefits of change. Its role is clear in resolving differing viewpoints.
The patience and wisdom of agile leadership in dealing with staff interactions concerning new inputs address feelings of frustration and misalignment between staff goals and university objectives. This enables the implementation of the digital transformation strategy and prevents clashes between senior management and staff teams within the university.
The flexibility and composure of agile leadership help establish an effective technological infrastructure. This allows for the development of both internal and external operations, ensures optimal application of digital transformation, achieves internal and external alignment, and maintains oversight over process completion. This, in turn, improves and develops the professional performance of university faculty by providing diverse information and resources.
The humility of leaders in considering staff ideas when analyzing problems and issues positively impacts increasing effectiveness, improving performance, and enhancing fruitful cooperation between staff and leadership. This fosters consensus on shared university goals and facilitates crucial decision-making.
The necessity of fostering relationships and interactions between leadership and university staff, removing barriers between department heads, faculty, and other employees, and resolving any issues related to staff effectiveness in conjunction with university development.
The necessity of holding regular meetings or workshops involving all staff, providing a platform for expressing opinions, exchanging views, and sharing suggestions among all stakeholders—the dean, faculty, department heads, and staff—functioning as an integrated team.
Provision of necessary technologies by agile leadership to activate digital transformation. This involves using a robust system of hardware, required data, software, storage, and technological information centers that allow the efficient utilization of all existing assets with new operational efficiency to ensure a good and suitable service level for university affiliates.
Saving time and accelerating the learning process to alleviate the burden and hardship on faculty members and their assistants associated with traditional teaching methods. This involves transitioning tasks like course management, exams, grading, and results to electronic platforms.
Utilizing objectivity to improve education quality by enhancing the quality of courses and educational programs, ensuring their design is based on international foundations and standards to apply the principles of active learning quality.
Ensuring leadership objectivity in achieving equality and equal educational opportunities for all students to participate in the learning process, discussion, dialogue, and freely expressing opinions on educational topics. Emphasis should be placed on providing adequate professional training on using digital education tools and artificial intelligence within the university.
Demonstrating humility in understanding and addressing student needs to prevent deficiencies in digital content, which affects awareness of how to integrate artificial intelligence into curricula.
Careful planning by agile leadership for the changeover period, following up on developments, working to update systems, and not merely limiting efforts to providing modern technologies. Leaders must anticipate challenges the institution might face during the digital transformation process.
Applying wisdom in bridging skill gaps and preparing the workforce for the requirements of digital transformation. This involves providing new skills and competencies within the workforce, upskilling employees, or retraining them to ensure they possess the necessary digital literacy, data analytics skills, and technical expertise to support transformation initiatives.
Using the wisdom of agile leadership to raise cultural awareness and overcome adherence to legacy systems not designed for the digital age. Integrating new digital technologies with existing systems is crucial to prevent compatibility issues with old systems that hinder data sharing and collaboration, thus obstructing the progress of digital transformation efforts.