Executive Action as the Cure: The Essential Role of University Leadership in Mobbing Prevention

Abstract

Academic mobbing is a pervasive issue in higher education, manifesting itself as a sophisticated form of bullying where academics gang up to intimidate, unjustly accuse, humiliate, and harass their targets. One of the central objectives of mobbing is excluding the target from the community. In stark contrast, inclusion fosters a safe, accepting, and respectful environment where individuals feel included and valued. Because inclusion dictates the absence of exclusion, mobbing cannot coexist in an inclusive environment. Data from corporate America demonstrates how inclusion enhances workplace culture, boosts employee morale, increases productivity, and leads to overall success. Indeed's Inclusive Manager Program, for instance, resulted in a 700% return on investment and a 30% increase in team performance. This paper argues that adapting these successful inclusion strategies from the corporate world can immunize universities against academic mobbing and underscores the crucial role of university presidents as catalysts and overlords in initiating, leading, and sustaining an inclusive community, which, by definition, is free from academic mobbing.