Category: Uncategorized

When Delegation Gets Complicated

Tool 5 — When Delegation Gets Complicated Department Chairs · The Power of Delegation Start Here 1 · Why It Matters 2 · Traffic Light Audit 3 · Right Work, Right Person 4 · 10 Steps 5 · When It Gets Complicated Tool 5  |  Just-in-Time Reference When Delegation Gets Complicated Delegation challenges with faculty and staff are among the most complex leadership situations department chairs face. Each scenario requires a thoughtful understanding of the relationship, that trust and rapport have been established, and an intentional approach. Use this guide when things do not go as planned. Start here — which situation are you facing? They are resisting They push back, question the ask, or simply say no. They are overloaded They are willing but genuinely do not have the capacity. They are underperforming There are concerns about their follow-through or quality of work. Download the fillable prep sheet Work through the self-check and draft your opening line in a fillable PDF before the conversation. It carries the full scenario reference with you. Download prep sheet (PDF) Three Common Challenging Scenarios Open the one that matches your situation. Delegating to Resistant Faculty or Staff They push back, question the ask, […]

10 Steps to Delegating Well

Tool 4 — 10 Steps to Delegating Well Department Chairs · The Power of Delegation Start Here 1 · Why It Matters 2 · Traffic Light Audit 3 · Right Work, Right Person 4 · 10 Steps 5 · When It Gets Complicated Tool 4  |  Step-by-Step Reference 10 Steps to Delegating Well Delegation is not dumping. Use these ten steps to hand off work in a way that sets the other person up for success — and creates a genuine growth experience. Download the fillable delegation checklist The PDF version of these ten steps has a checkbox and a “what we agreed” line for each one. Take it into the conversation and fill it in as you go. Download checklist (PDF) The Ten Steps What each one looks like in practice. 0 of 10 covered Clear all Before the conversation Step 1 1 Manage your own expectations Their work may not meet your standards the first time. Building capacity takes time and patience. That is part of the process. Covered In the conversation Steps 2–8 2 Explain the rationale and context Why does this assignment matter? How does it connect to the department’s goals? How does it create visibility […]

Matching the Right Work to the Right Person

Tool 3 — Matching the Right Work to the Right Person Department Chairs · The Power of Delegation Start Here 1 · Why It Matters 2 · Traffic Light Audit 3 · Right Work, Right Person 4 · 10 Steps 5 · When It Gets Complicated Tool 3  |  Delegation Planning Guide Matching the Right Work to the Right Person Delegation is not about clearing your plate. It is about matching meaningful work with the right person at the right time in a way that stretches them without breaking them. Use this guide to plan your next delegation conversation. Download the fillable delegation planner Step 3 is a structured planner you fill in before the conversation — and bring with you to it. Work through Steps 1 and 2 here first. Download planner (PDF) Step 1 The Goldilocks Zone Every delegation should land someone in the stretch zone: challenged enough to grow, supported enough to succeed. Underutilization Too much work, not enough growth. The person feels drained because they are working hard without contributing to anything meaningful. The Stretch Zone Learning, growing, occasionally pushed outside their comfort zone. Engaged and developing. This is where you want them. ▲ Aim here […]

What Should I Delegate? The Traffic Light Audit

Tool 2 — What Should I Delegate? The Traffic Light Audit Department Chairs · The Power of Delegation Start Here 1 · Why It Matters 2 · Traffic Light Audit 3 · Right Work, Right Person 4 · 10 Steps 5 · When It Gets Complicated Tool 2  |  Task Audit Worksheet What Should I Delegate?The Traffic Light Audit Before you delegate, you need to know which tasks to hand off. This audit uses a simple traffic light metaphor to help you sort everything on your plate — and identify your delegation safe zone. Download the fillable task audit The audit grid and reflection questions are in a fillable PDF. Work through this module first, then sort your own tasks in the worksheet. Download worksheet (PDF) The Traffic Light Framework Three categories. The middle one is where delegation actually happens. Green — Keep Doing These are tasks only you can do, or tasks you do significantly better than anyone else. They should stay on your plate. These are your highest-leverage activities as chair. Red — Stop Doing Someone else can do this just as well as you — maybe even better. They are already positioned and trained to handle it. […]

Why Delegation Is a Leadership Imperative

Tool 1 — Why Delegation Is a Leadership Imperative Department Chairs · The Power of Delegation Start Here 1 · Why It Matters 2 · Traffic Light Audit 3 · Right Work, Right Person 4 · 10 Steps 5 · When It Gets Complicated Tool 1  |  Quick Reference Guide Why Delegation Is a Leadership Imperative If you are doing everything yourself, you are not leading — you are just busy. Delegation is not about offloading tasks. It is one of the most powerful leadership moves you have as a department chair. Download the fillable reflection worksheet This module’s prompts are answered in a fillable PDF. Open it in any PDF reader, type your responses, and save your completed copy. Download worksheet (PDF) Start here The hard truth about Dr. Martinez She personally reviewed every syllabus, coordinated every event, and drafted every routine communication. By midyear, nothing moved without her approval. Faculty stopped taking initiative. Staff felt micromanaged. Projects stalled. And she was working late nights and weekends, increasingly reactive and isolated. What started as a desire to be helpful ultimately limited the department’s growth and left everyone — including her — stretched thin and stuck. Five Reasons to Delegate […]

Earning the Right to Push Back

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 […]

Three Self-Defeating Habits of Leaders

by Amit Mrig (opens in new tab)

One of the great gifts of working in higher education is that you get to work with leaders who are mission driven. Almost no leader I work with was motivated by climbing the ladder. They were motivated by their research, by working with students, by contributing to a purpose bigger than themselves. Over time, their desire to contribute and their skill have led them to opportunities to lead at higher levels. And in each of these roles, they bring with them their positive intentions, ready to make a difference.   Unfortunately, positive intent doesn’t by itself equate to positive impact. In fact, there are times when leaders’ best intentions — paradoxically — lead to worse results. How can this be? Very simply their desire to make a positive impact and contribution leads them to spend their time in ways that on the surface make sense, but that in the end actually work against them.   Here are the three most common behaviors I see that start from good intentions, but that end with a negative impact on the leader, their team and the task at hand:    1. Disproportionate Focus on Dissenters  Perhaps the most common pitfall I see is the one […]

Disrupting the Status Quo: 5 Counterintuitive Notions for Inspiring Creativity

by Stephen Whitehead (opens in new tab)

Creativity is an essential aspect of human nature, yet many people struggle to embrace it, either from insecurity or fearing its potential unpredictability. While it is tempting to stick to familiar routines that afford the comfort of not dealing with potential failure or uncertainty, there is no room for personal or organizational growth with this mindset. Today, the need to foster creativity that drives innovation and growth in organizations is a highly regarded requirement for leaders. However, simply telling your team to “think outside the box” isn’t exactly inspiring. To quote Ted Lasso, “Takin’ on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse. If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.” While we all agree that change is scary, what makes creativity so satisfying is the opportunity to see situations from new perspectives. In this article, we will explore five counterintuitive notions that can help to cultivate a creative culture. Embracing creativity is both a challenging and rewarding process. While these examples may appear to be counterintuitive, give them a try and see how they are able to unlock the full potential of your meetings, employees, and organization to help drive innovation. Lean into embracing […]

When Innovation is More Than a Buzz Word

by David Kiel (opens in new tab)

Here’s how department chairs, deans, and unit directors can build and support the innovations that will help their institution thrive in the years to come. On many campuses you will find creative faculty, students, staff, and senior leaders who start programs that grow and eventually become transformative for the institution. These ventures build the school’s reputation, improve services to students and faculty, strengthen the curriculum and co-curriculum, enhance research, and improve community service. Often, they also generate major revenue streams. They make the institution more competitive and attractive in every sense. Yet the internal entrepreneurs (I call them intrapreneurs) who deliver these benefits, lack the support they need to bring their innovative ventures to maturity in a timely way. What would it look like if there were a pipeline of support for such ventures and the intrapreneurs who create and guide them at your institution? What if your college or university leaders had an active process for identifying such promising intrapreneurs, testing their ideas, and helping them with both the skills and resources needed for their ventures to mature? What would it look like if support for such efforts wasn’t haphazard and ad hoc, but structured and planned? To visualize […]

Understanding Those Who Need Us: 4 Types of Students and How to Help Them

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D. (opens in new tab)

As next semester’s registration period ramps up, advisors will see an increase in student traffic, experiencing long days juggling back-to-back appointments, walk-ins, phone calls, and emails. It’s a time of year filled with stress. Students are concerned that they won’t get the classes that they need, worried that they may not pass a prerequisite course, and eager to get some direction from an advisor. Advisors are busy trying to triage the student traffic, struggling to respond to and assist all the students who are seeking their help, and managing a myriad of administrative duties between students. It’s the same thing every semester. Or is it? Does it have to be? These are the thoughts and questions I’ve posed to myself throughout my career in higher education. There must be a better way to avoid the mad rush of registration leading up to the start of the semester. While institutions struggle with managing this workflow throughout the year, I have not found any system that effectively reduces or eliminates the rush. Such is the nature of human beings in need. They seek us out, which is a very good thing. The problem is, there are usually not enough of us to […]

Loading survey...