When the Numbers Speak, Leaders Must Act

When the Numbers Speak, Leaders Must Act

In May 2025, HEPI published its “10 Killer Facts”—a stark bulletin on the health of the UK higher education sector. Among the headlines: 72% of universities could be in deficit by 2025–26. Domestic student demand is stagnating. International enrolments are falling. Tuition fees have lost a third of their real-term value.

These aren’t just institutional challenges. They are leadership challenges—and they demand more than compliance, endurance or tactical fix. They demand that Vice-Chancellors and senior teams reframe what it means to lead through complexity.

Because if ever there were a time to invest in leadership, it is now.

Why Waiting Isn’t a Strategy

There is a temptation in times of pressure to wait: for policymakers to stabilise, for funding to recover, for governing bodies to prescribe the support they believe leadership needs.

But the most impactful leaders today aren’t waiting to be rescued. They’re stepping forward—articulating what sustained, strategic leadership looks like and making the case for the resourcing it requires.

Coaching is not a remedial intervention—it’s a form of professional courage. It says: this role is complex, and I’m choosing to grow through it, not just survive it.

The Coaching Toolkit for Turbulent Times

At Eton Executive Coaching, we partner with leaders to support that growth using a range of trusted, evidence-based models. Each offers a different lens—and together, they form a dynamic, responsive toolkit:

• GROW brings structure to strategy and sharpens forward momentum.

• GLP deepens presence, calm and clarity in the face of pressure.

• CLEAR fosters trust, dialogue and team resilience.

• Co-Active Coaching bridges performance with purpose—helping leaders show up whole, not hollow.

• Systemic Team Coaching elevates collective leadership, aligning teams around shared purpose.

These frameworks aren’t used in isolation; they are integrated to reflect the lived realities of Vice-Chancellors leading in complex, values-driven environments.

Leadership as Meaning-Making

What emerges from HEPI’s data isn’t just fiscal concern. It’s a picture of a sector under cultural and existential strain. In that context, leadership must do more than deliver—it must hold hope, restore meaning, and lead with intentionality.

That is the work coaching enables: making space to think, to align, to act—not from fear, but from depth.

In sectors under stress, leadership development becomes infrastructure. It is the thing that holds everything else together.

A New Norm for Sector Leadership

The HE sector does not need more reaction—it needs more reflection. More kindness. More brave, values-led leaders who are willing to explore their blind spots, clarify their impact, and bring others with them.

The next chapter in higher education will not be written solely through reform papers or funding settlements. It will be shaped by those willing to invest in themselves and their teams—not after the storm passes, but in the very eye of it.

If you’re shaping leadership development in your institution, or rethinking how to build executive capability across your sector, Eton Executive Coaching stands ready to support that journey.

Let’s lead not just through change—but because of it.

If you would like to explore having an Executive Coach, who has over a decade as Vice-Chancellor and CEO, the first step is to book a call to find out more.

Please go to the booking page https://calendly.com/etonexec/30-minutes-initial-call