The Dean's Paradox: Leading a Business School at the Edge of Tradition and Disruption

By Babu George

The title of this book refers to a fundamental truth about the deanship: the role requires the dean to hold contradictory things in tension without collapsing into cynicism or paralysis. The dean must be an academic and an administrator. A guardian of tradition and an agent of change. A servant of the faculty and a representative of the administration. A steward of scholarly values and a generator of revenue. A local leader and a global ambassador. These contradictions cannot be eliminated. They can only be managed with skill, judgment, and a certain tolerance for ambiguity. The best deans I have known share this quality: they are comfortable being uncomfortable. They have learned to act decisively even when the right answer is unclear. They have developed the political skill to build coalitions without sacrificing their integrity. They understand that leadership in the academy is not about commanding but about persuading, not about controlling but about orchestrating. This book is my attempt to capture all these insights in an accessible manner.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GJL558F9
• ISBN13: 9798245302072
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"