So I've been in my Job for 2 months

Two months ago, I began a new job as Associate Dean at a university in the UK. This university is not one that authomatically conjures up dreaming spires or other well worn cliches of higher education. It is a university that has ambition, an international presence and a real purpose in addressing the needs of those that don't normally study further in HE.

A new job brings with it all the usual challenges of starting at a new place. Surprisingly though, some key business processes were well executed. Computers, Payroll, Login Id, furniture and office etc were all sorted before I started. Given my previous experience at a UK HEI that was certainly a good start. Usually HEIs are more interested in the process rather than the product...OK, that may seem a bit mean.

My first move from industry to academia was a real culture shock. I had not realised the extent to which academics don't like being led. Sometimes the reason given is that academics are far too clever to need leading. More often than not it seems that avoidance of being led is way of avoiding work being allocated to them. Does that seem fair? Perhaps not, but workload management must surely be the most blunt instrument, the most pointless and the most transparently unfair tool that management begin to bear on solving how work should be distributed. The recent report from the HE leadership foundation -  http://www.lfhe.ac.uk/research/projects/barrettsalford.html/ went to great lengths to explore how workloads are managed across a range of institutions. Approaches seem to vary from rough and ready models to precise formaluae for calculating tariffs for writing a journal papers with high impact.... Of course the tariffs are for reducing the academic's teaching load.... Surely one of the defining characteristics of a HEI should be teaching and imparting knowledge to students?

At a School executive meeting we were reviewing the workloads of staff in the School - the average of 9-11 hours per week of contact hours at the School was a minor shock. At my previous institution - the norm was closer to 16-19 hours. That was, however, nothing compared to what I heard next. Professors don't have any teaching! Wow, as a professor at my previous institution I was teaching 8 hours!

Sadly, I don't do any teaching now, as Associate Dean, I am in the curious netherland of having approaching zero contact with students. Instead, my time is spent in meetings mostly with similar colleagues across the institution, writing research bids and strategy documents. I'm not sure if any workload models will apply to me? So what about my stress levels? This 2nd tier of middle- management is apparently essential to the successful operation of HEIs -according to the report in the Times Higher - http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=402672 .
It is nice to be wanted!