Issue #46: August 2025

Critical Moments, Courageous Moves: Leading and Learning When It Counts

August is a month of contrast. For some, it’s a rare window to reset and recharge before the next academic year. For others, it’s leading into one of the most high-pressure periods on the calendar, when recruitment, enrolment, and reputation all hang in the balance.

This month’s edition of Development Monthly brings that tension to the surface. In Clearing Is Core Business- And It Starts At The Top, Rachel Reeds look at what happens when high-stakes moments test not just your systems, but your strategy, leadership, and institutional culture. When the stakes are this high, collaboration, clarity and calm under pressure matter more than ever.

Leadership doesn’t only happen at the top. That’s why we’re proud to spotlight the real stories of those who’ve invested in their growth through our PgCert in Higher Education Management and Leadership. In My PgCert Journey: Learning to Lead with Confidence, Emma Rower shares how she overcame self-doubt, embraced distance learning, and role-modelled lifelong development for her team and her daughters. In Learning That Lasts: Embedding Reflective Practice in HE Administration, Ben Aitken shows how reflective practice can become a powerful, team-wide tool for growth, turning personal insight into collective improvement.