Christian Harrison is a Professor of Leadership and Enterprise at the University of Bolton. Prior to this role, he was a Reader/Associate Professor in Leadership and the Chair of the Staff Forum for Research of the University of the West of Scotland, United Kingdom. A recognised scholar in the field of leadership, he works across the globe on research projects and provides regular expert commentary on Scottish Television News (STV), Scotland Tonight, The Herald, The Conversation and Sunday Post. Harrison, who actively teaches, has produced a range of modules on leadership and authored numerous published research papers on leadership, and also chairs the Leadership and Leadership Development Special Interest Group of the British Academy of Management. In this interview with TOBI AWODIPE, he speaks on how the country would benefit from effective leadership, how our universities can innovate and source funding to offer top-notch training, and how the students’ loan could work, among other issues.

What informed your decision to move from practicing as a pharmacist to active management, and was this an easy decision?
A lot of people tend to ask me this question and I always tease them by saying I was tired of earning more money. It was not an easy decision, but I believed it was the best decision for me at that time. I wanted to change lives and to be the solution to people’s problems, so this drove me to study Pharmacy. However, while practicing as a pharmacist, I felt this void, as I wanted to reach a greater number of people; hence I decided to change my career course.

My journey into the field of management was by serendipity. I had completed my MBA from the University of Aberdeen Business School where I graduated with a distinction and was the valedictorian and the opportunity to undertake a PhD arose in Scotland. I was always one of those students who liked reading and academia was appealing from my early days in the University. Teaching has always been second nature for me. I can remember clearly when my Dean told me that I would get into academia at one point. I refused to take it seriously but after a couple of years as a pharmacist, I found myself back to my first love.
However, a lot of my leadership research is still within the pharmacy sector. For example, I developed the first entrepreneurial leadership skill set framework that can be applied by pharmacists, practitioners and policy makers. This serves as a useful reference for practitioners and policy makers of the skills and other factors required for people to succeed as entrepreneurial leaders.

You are passionate about leadership, having written several books and pieces on it. Would you say that Nigeria could benefit from more effective leadership?
As you rightly said, I have written numerous books and pieces on leadership to date. One thing that I have realised with my years of research and writing is that leadership is required in every sphere of life. I always say that although Heraclitus states that the only constant in life is change, I say that the only constant thing in the world is leadership. Effective leadership is very pertinent and if you look at the present happenings in Nigeria, you would agree.

I am proud to be Nigerian and very passionate about my country of birth. As someone who moved to the UK over a decade ago, I have been able to see and experience a different terrain. Nigeria is the giant of Africa but has failed to reach its potential for a long time. For me, effective leadership has been the core issue. I would like to see our leaders walk the talk and role model the behaviour that followers are proud of.
To demand respect and trust from your followers, it is important to lead by example. Followers learn a lot by looking at their leaders.

Our leaders need to be visionary and create a vivid picture of how Nigeria should look like. It is not just about making promises but there needs to be a concrete plan about how we would get there. I always say that leaders without a strategic plan are just daydreamers. They should be able to draft out plans and anticipate changes. Many leaders didn’t anticipate the current crisis and nations that have dealt with the crisis better are those who had more robust measures in place.

Finally, we need to go beyond the travails of ethnicity and religion. This has been a long-standing divide in Nigeria. For us to succeed as a nation, we need to be united and decisions made by the leaders should be based on merit. I believe that Nigeria will fulfil its potential. We have seen success cases of nations such as Singapore, UAE and so on in the last few years.
As they say, Rome was not built in a day. We all need to contribute our quota and be the change we want. That is why even though I am based in the UK, I am still contributing through my Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and other activities. This is just the starting point, and I am keen on supporting more in any way I can.

As a university professor, what would you say our universities lack the most?
Currently, all universities around the globe are faced with several challenges, especially with the cost-of-living crisis. However, within the context of Nigeria, one of the major problems is inadequate funding and infrastructural facilities. Many universities in Nigeria are not adequately funded, hence don’t have sufficient infrastructure to support student learning.
Those that are adequately funded may also struggle with the high number of students enrolled. We have seen recurrent strike actions in the last few years by university staff asking for a pay rise. This has led to a shortage of academic staff and brain drain, as many have left to other more enterprising professions. Nevertheless, universities remain the hub of knowledge and research and we need to ensure that such challenges are addressed.

In your opinion, what are some ways we can improve innovation, learning and research in our higher institutions?
These institutions play an important role in providing people with skills for innovation and supporting learning and research. To improve innovation, learning and research, we need to be more creative and let go of some of the traditional paradigms that are no longer effective. There should be an adoption of innovative approaches to learning and research to train future generations with skills for innovation. One of such approach is problem-based learning. It involves identifying the problem, exploring pre-existing knowledge and re-evaluating and applying new knowledge to address the problem. Many universities across the globe have started adopting this paradigm due to its efficacy and Nigerian universities should do the same.

In addition, there needs to be more focus on a skills-based approach. Traditionally, universities are programmed to develop just technical expertise. However, this is no longer sufficient for innovation, learning and research. Interpersonal, conceptual and entrepreneurial skills are very important to support innovation, learning and research.

Funding is a major issue our universities struggle with. As someone experienced in securing grants and research funding, how could they tap into this resource successfully?
Yes, I have secured grants and research funding from various bodies and I would say, it is not easy to secure research funding, especially in today’s climate. However, I have learnt over time that the secret of successful grant application involves starting early. You must identify the potential funder early and start preparing far before the deadline. Many unsuccessful grant applications are usually due to limited time dedicated to it and lack of rigorous research of the expectations of the funder. It may be surprising, but many people don’t follow the instructions provided by the funding body.

Furthermore, collaboration is essential in sourcing for funds. As a reviewer for several funding bodies, one of the key criteria I look at is the credibility of the team. It is important that the team is qualified to carry out the research project. Again, every funder is also concerned about the novelty, rigour and the value for money of the project. The application must be very clear on how the proposed project is novel, its methodological rigour and how cost effective it would be. Finally, the implications and impact of the project is very critical; it should be impactful, address real life problems and be valuable beyond academia.

As a mentor to students and professors, do you have plans of partnering with professors here to transfer knowledge, amongst other things?
I strongly believe in giving back and over the years, I have mentored and still mentor others. I have established some strong partnerships in Nigeria over the years and keen on transferring more knowledge in the future. I recently led a project on “Empowering Women in protracted displacement in Nigeria: entrepreneurship, livelihoods and communities of resistance” in Abuja.

Currently, I am also working on an agriculture knowledge transfer partnership with Professors in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. I developed a CPD programme on Leadership and Enterprise Development for the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and I am working with the Nigerian Society of Engineers. I still believe there are more potential partnerships to be developed and I am keen on working with professors and industry partners.

How was your experience like in developing the BAM Education Practice Awards and is this something that you may likely replicate here soon?
I enjoyed the experience and it was very positive. In a move to develop a supportive community and share best practices, my colleague and I, Professor Sarah Hurlow, led the development of the British Academy of Management (BAM) Education Practice Award, which was launched in 2016. The purpose of the award was to recognise individuals or teams that have shown excellence and innovation in teaching as well as making a significant impact on the student learning experience. The selection criteria were in three-fold; the first is excellence in teaching by supporting student learning and future career prospects.

The second is innovative practice in the delivery of learning and teaching, which involves developing effective methods, structure and designs as well as fostering pedagogical innovations. The final criteria is evidence of activities and initiatives, which embed current research in curricula or support the development of research skills as well as building of connections across research and teaching.

It has been valuable in championing educational practice of individuals and sharing that achievement to create a critical mass of inspiring and impactful practice. I intend to replicate this in our universities in the future through my NGO, The Leadership Mould International and the African Academy for African Studies that I chair.

You also founded and chaired the African Studies Track of the British Academy of Management. What does this do?
Founded in 2018, the track’s focus is to foster more dialogue on contemporary African research, which directly impacts BAM members and the well-being of the broader academic research community.

In these days of global uncertainties, much optimism is put in advanced economies, but little thought is given to the contributions of African economies. Yet, the paramount importance of Africa to the global economy cannot be underestimated. We know that Africa has a diverse economy that has been influenced by historical, social and cultural change. As a result, there needs to be more scholarly research on Africa. The track is focused on encouraging knowledge transfer to a burgeoning wider African research community.

Your NGO is focused on supporting students. How are you doing this and how many Nigerian students have you supported so far?
Yes, The Leadership Mould Initiative International supports students and moulds future leaders. This is very close to my heart because I believe that for us to change the world, we need to start with the young ones.
As we all know, children are the leaders of tomorrow, hence it is important that we imbibe the knowledge of leadership very early. We work with secondary schools such as King’s College and over 100 students are enrolled for the club activities. They have bi-weekly meetings where they are taught about leadership and workshops are organised virtually and in person to support them. It has been very successful and I am keen on supporting more students going forward.

What are your long-term goals and vision for our educational system in Nigeria?
I am passionate about the educational system; I desire a resilient system, one that has a sustainable funding model and state-of-the-art infrastructure – an educational system that can boast of the best brains and not deprived of world-leading expertise due to brain drain; an educational system known for world-leading research. This is my vision for higher education in Nigeria.
Working in the UK and having been key in meeting such aspirations within several higher education institutions, I know this is possible. We just need to work together to achieve it and I am keen to contribute in any way I can to support higher education in Nigeria.

With our current economic realities, do you think the recently signed student loan act will help poor students?
Student loans are supposed to support students in accessing funds, hence the idea is laudable. However, it is important that all stakeholders are carried along to achieve its aspirations. In the UK, for instance, students loan have existed for years and there is a threshold available before payment starts. When the student graduates, he or she is expected to earn above £25, 000 before payment commences over an agreed period and it has been successful. I am not saying this exact model must be copied but it has worked well in the UK and with due diligence, transparency and involving all stakeholders, it should work here too.