Every institution has them: the administrator who treats power as ornament, the one paralysed by fear and indecision, the political survivor who switches sides with changing equations, the manipulator who sees capable people as threats, the silent worker who never (visibly) desired authority but strengthens the institution when entrusted with it, the accidental administrator who never desired authority but quietly becomes the institution’s strongest pillar when responsibility arrives, and the invisible yet competent leader whom power structures often keep away from decision-making roles. A few reflections on power, insecurity, manipulation, and institutional culture in academia. The Revolving Chair What should be the qualities of a good administrator? This is perhaps one of the most important questions anyone aspiring for power—however small or symbolic—should ask themselves before occupying a chair in any institution. Not because authority is inherently dangerous, but because institut...