Author: Meghan Paladino

Leading Through Conflict: A Department Chair’s Guide Resource 4  ·  Self-Audit 20–25 min How you show up in a conflict is as important as anything you say or decide. Resources 1 through 3 focused outward — on the conditions that create conflict, the types of conflict you encounter, and the framework for understanding what drives them. This resource turns the lens inward. Before you walk into a difficult conversation, there are four areas worth examining: your self-awareness, the state of your trust with the people involved, your communication style, and your tendencies around collaboration. This is not a one-time exercise. Think of it as a pre-conversation checklist you return to whenever a difficult situation is developing. The chairs who handle conflict most effectively are not necessarily the most skilled at confrontation — they are the most honest with themselves about what they bring into the room. How to use this resource Work through each of the four areas with a current or upcoming conflict in mind. Read the overview, then sit with the reflection questions before moving to the next area. Use the companion worksheet to capture your thinking — it is designed to be returned to across multiple situations, […]

Step 1 of 4 Personal Mastery · Module 1.3 When a change feels misaligned with your preferences, most leaders default to one of two places: going along with it fully, or quietly resisting it. Neither serves the change well. A clear values anchor gives you a third option. 1 Why an anchor matters Without something you are actively leading from, the two defaults take over on their own. The two defaults Compliance means going through the motions without any real conviction behind it, which your team can feel even when you never say a word. Resistance means slow-walking or quietly undermining a change you were asked to lead, whether or not you intend to. An anchor value is not about pretending to agree with something you do not. It is about finding something true to you that you can genuinely lead from, even inside a change you would not have chosen. 2 Browse the full set Scan through these slowly. Do not overthink it, just click on the ones that pull at you when you think about the specific change you are currently leading. Aim for around five to start. AuthenticityAchievementAdventureAuthorityAutonomyBalanceBeautyBoldnessCompassionChallengeCitizenshipCommunityCompetencyCourageCreativityCuriosityDeterminationFairnessFaithFameFriendshipFunGrowthHappinessHarmonyHonestyHumourInfluenceIntegrityJusticeKindnessKnowledgeLeadershipLearningLoveLoyaltyMeaningful WorkOpennessOptimismPeacePleasurePopularityRecognitionReputationRespectResponsibilitySecurityServiceStabilitySuccessStatusTrustWealthWisdom Values list adapted from Values Cards by Ben […]

Step 1 of 4 Personal Mastery · Module 1.4 Disagreement is legitimate. Whether it lands depends on when and how you raise it, not on how right you are. 1 Same disagreement, different reception Picture a dean who disagrees with a new initiative to evaluate every program, prompted by enrollment declines. He thinks the criteria being used are flawed. Two ways this can go If he raises his concern in the first meeting after the initiative is announced, before doing anything to implement it, the provost hears an obstacle. If he spends the next several weeks assembling committees, gathering data, and inviting external reviewers, and only then brings forward a request to revisit the criteria, the provost is far more likely to see a partner. Same disagreement. Entirely different reception. The difference is not the concern itself, it is the sequence in which it showed up. 2 Stand up for your leader, so you can stand up to them A track record of visibly moving the work forward is what earns you the standing to disagree later. Without it, your leader has no way to tell the difference between a legitimate concern and simple resistance. What happens without it If […]

Step 1 of 5 Personal Mastery · Module 1.2 You can lead a change you have real reservations about, without those reservations leaking into how you lead. That takes knowing the difference between two selves you are holding at once. 1 Know the difference The difference this module is about is the one between you as a person, who has a real reaction to a change, and you in your role, who has obligations that do not disappear just because of that reaction. Most leaders run these two together without noticing, and that is where the trouble starts. Alex Johnson is a Dean. The provost’s office has decided this year’s budget cuts will come from Alex’s college, and specifically from one program within it, a program Alex had no say in choosing. Alex disagrees, both with which college was picked and which program inside it, but has been asked to implement the cut starting this semester. Alex the person has a real reaction to this. It feels unfair, and it does not sit right. That reaction is legitimate. Pretending it is not there tends to produce the exact signaling behaviors that undermine a change from the inside. Alex the Dean […]

Step 1 of 5 Personal Mastery · Module 1.1 The version of you that shows up in a stressful team meeting may not be the version you intend to be. This module starts with your Five Paths profile and applies it to one specific moment: leading a change you did not choose. 1 Start with your profile This module assumes you have already taken Five Paths. If you have not, take it first, the reflection below will mean a lot more once you have your own profile in front of you. Take Five Paths A quick refresher on the four paths, and the fifth that is not a style at all: Critical Thinker Analytical, systematic, data-driven. Relator Relationship-focused, empathetic, collaborative. Visionary Big-picture, innovative, future-oriented. Warrior Decisive, action-oriented, results-driven. The Sage is not scored. It is the ongoing awareness of your own tendencies that lets you lead with intention instead of by default. It is a practice, not a style, built through habits like daily reflection and seeking feedback. This module focuses on one piece of that practice, catching your shift under stress. 2 Find your shift Your results show two profiles: how you lead under normal conditions, and how that […]