Translucent Academic Leadership in 3 Steps
At a college meeting I once attended, one of the department chairs accused the dean of not being transparent enough in the way she made decisions. The dean answered that it wasn’t that simple. Confidential matters were sometimes involved. She couldn’t violate the trust of people who had shared certain...
Lessons from an Interim K–12 Principal
The superintendent of schools called me at 9:00 p.m. on August 13. “Can you come and be an interim principal? My principal left on short notice, and I need an experienced K–12 principal starting in September.” “Are you crazy?” I said. “The fall semester starts August 24th!” As we talked...
How an Academic Leader Changes a Lightbulb
The very first house I bought was a condominium, and the purchase price included 10 hours of service by an electrician. The idea was that each owner would want to customize the unit with special lighting fixtures and built-in appliances, and covering the cost of the electrician was intended to...
How to Build Emotional Intelligence in Emerging Leaders
Part of the responsibility of managers in the enrollment field is to prepare developing professionals for the future. While there are certainly opportunities for formal professional development through national and regional conferences, these opportunities are not sufficient for forming well-rounded leaders. Although budget constraints often limit our ability to send...
4 Principles to Manage a Variety of Administrative Issues
In his role as vice president of learning and student success at John Tyler Community College, Bill Fiege faces a wide variety of issues—dealing with student concerns, allocating resources, and managing change. All issues have the potential for more significant conflict, and one of his goals is to address issues...
Preparing Future Academic Leaders in Graduate School
Doctoral students typically do not receive preparation for future academic leadership roles, a shortcoming of graduate education that Rutgers University’s PreDoctoral Leadership Development Institute (PLDI) is seeking to fix. In an interview with Academic Leader, Brent Ruben, PLDI director and executive director of the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership,...
Best Practices in Preparing Academic Leaders
It's increasingly common for colleges and universities to offer programs designed to help chairs, deans, and other academic leaders become more effective. Sometimes falling under a center for teaching and learning, at other times existing as an independent office for leadership and professional development, these programs reflect the recognition that...
Three Things You Need as a New Dean
Set yourself on the path to academic leadership success with three things you need to equip yourself with in your first days as the new dean.
Take a Vacation – Please! Maintaining Work-Life Balance
Although workshops on academic leadership frequently devote sessions to the topic of “work-life balance,” that phrase is really misleading. It seems to imply that we’re either working or living but never doing both at the same time.
Proven Tools for Academic Leaders to Successfully Lead Change
Department chairs and deans find that campuswide and unit strategic plans expect them to be change leaders. Add on the complexity of engaging in processes that involve politics, negotiation, persuasion, and inspiration, and change leadership can seem overwhelming.
