Twenty-five faculty members were interviewed to determine how they supervised their Ph.D. students' thesis preparation. A content analysis of the interview data indicated that the majority of them were task-focused. They supported their students intellectually, emotionally, and structurally. Some academics considered their students as colleagues, and a few developed research teams. Watching the students grow and develop and doing research with them as colleagues were the most enjoyable aspects of the supervision process. The integrated competing values framework (ICVF) was used to illustrate how most of the study participants were task-focused and were not able to deliver paradoxical roles; nor were they able to reflect on their supervisory capabilities and learn from those reflections.

PurposeThis study seeks to identify the spatial relationships between the managerial roles within the integrated competing values framework (ICVF). The study also aims to identify the central role the integrator performs with its critical observing and reflective learning function.Design/methodology/approachThe current study investigated the spatial configuration of Quinn's original eight operational roles and Vilkinas and Cartan's ninth role to each other. A total of 100 middle managers participated in a 360° feedback program that sought responses from 928 of their “significant others”. Multiple discriminate scaling (MDS) was used to determine the spatial representation of the ICVF.FindingsThe results of the MDS found that the ICVF was a two‐dimensional, four‐quadrant model. However, one of the dimensions from the CVF, stability‐flexibility, was retitled to reflect more truly the roles that anchored this dimension. It was anchored by people‐task focus. The integrator, as predicted, was found to have a pivotal role for managers. In addition, three of the operational roles – producer, director and coordinator – combined to form a consolidated role called the “deliverer”.Research limitations/implicationsThe model needs to be further researched for gender and cultural differences. In addition, the spatial maps of effective and ineffective managers need to be compared.Practical implicationsThe paper assists managers to gain a clearer understanding of managerial roles, their interrelationships to each other and how to apply them more effectively. The paper would also be of value to those charged with the responsibility for the selection and development of managers.Originality/valueThis paper clarifies the relationship between the paradoxical roles in the ICVF. It also further develops our understanding of the role of the integrator with its critical self‐analysis and reflective learning capability and the central role it plays in the development of effective managers.

This study focused on leadership behaviour and effectiveness of university Academic Program Directors who have responsibility for managing a program or course 1 of study. The leadership capabilities were assessed using the Integrated Competing Values Framework as its theoretical foundation. Data from 90 Academic Program Directors and 710 Significant Others within four Australian Universities were analysed. The results lead to the conclusions that these Academic Program Directors were reasonably effective and had the ability to implement and further develop their leadership capabilities, even though they had no formal authority. In their role, these Directors mainly focused on "getting the job done" and "working with people". At the same time, they placed less emphasis on monitoring their programs, maintaining networks and introducing changes, thereby putting their programs at risk.

Argues that generic research on leadership and management has much to offer those responsible for the academic supervision of research students, particularly PhD students. The analogies between the two “supervisory” roles are clear and the qualities and benefits of good supervisory practice can easily be transferred from corporate to academic arenas. Uses a conceptual framework, the competing values framework modified for academic supervision purposes, to illustrate the capabilities required of the PhD supervisor in the current tertiary environment.

The Competing Values Framework (CVF) has been used in numerous settings to explain the various roles that managers need to display if they are to be effective. However, the original model lacks a role that represents how managers develop and learn by critically observing their current managerial behaviour and by reflecting on their effectiveness with a view to developing into more effective managers. The authors have developed an additional role, the integrator, to explain how managers might enhance their effectiveness in this regard. A total of 100 middle managers participated in a 360˚ feedback program that sought responses from 530 of their significant others. The results indicated that the integrator was a pivotal role for managers. This role was also found to be a strong predictor of effectiveness. The implications for managers are that they need to develop their ability to observe critically their own behaviours and to reflect on their observations in order to develop and improve on their managerial effectiveness