Agenda topics are subject to change based on ongoing collaboration between IUI and Academic Impressions. Please revisit this page for updated pre-work and other information in advance of each session. January 31, 2025 (3:30pm-5:00pm ET) | Bringing Intention into Your Career Advancement Many academics approach the midcareer stage without a clear vision of what’s next in their career, and their decision-making about which roles and responsibilities to take on is often more opportunistic than intentional. This often leaves them ill-equipped for the demands of these roles or feeling a misalignment between how they spend their time and their professional aspirations. In this meeting, you will reflect on the roles you currently hold, their alignment with your core values, and the implications for identifying next steps in your career. Recommended Trainings: Now What? Navigating The Mid-Career Journey: This program will help you to design an intentional and strategic pathway through your mid-career by guiding you through reflection activities that help you take stock of where you are now, and where you want to go. Crafting Your Mid-Career and Beyond as Faculty: Learn more about the process of career crafting and the different types of crafting techniques (e.g., task crafting, relational crafting, cognitive […]
In your early career, you may not have a lot of power to enact changes or drive the direction of your projects. However, knowing how to advocate for what you need in your professional life and managing your relationship with your supervisor can help you better achieve your goals. In this session, we’ll walk through how to work with your manager effectively and champion your interests diplomatically.
During your early career, you may feel pressure to make career decisions that don’t align with your personal or professional goals. Being able to set and maintain your boundaries and knowing when to be more flexible with them can help you achieve your ideal career trajectory without sacrificing too much. In this session, we’ll discuss how to set your boundaries based on your personal and professional goals, and how to maintain those boundaries while balancing competing priorities.
Who you are as a person and who you are as a professional can be similar but not exactly the same. As you navigate different organizations, you’ll encounter a wide range of professional norms and standards, and you’ll have to decide how you can fit in with your organizational culture and how you may want to make different choices. In this session, we’ll explore what you want your professional persona to be, and how you can make choices that support developing and maintaining that persona. We recommend coming to this session having taken a personal assessment to better understand your leadership style. One option to take ahead of time is Academic Impressions’ Five Paths to Leadership® self-assessment. You could also attend the debrief session in August or September to deepen your self-awareness. This event is part of Developing Leadership Skills in Your Early Career to help you build leadership skills as an early leader. Learn more about the series, how it works, when the other sessions will occur, and who it was designed for.
Your leadership philosophy encompasses your core values and beliefs that frame how you make decisions. Although you may not see yourself as a leader in your early career, building your leadership philosophy from the start of your professional life can help set you up to make intentional choices about your career trajectory. In this session, you’ll examine your personal leadership style, along with your values and goals, to come up with what you want from your journey as a leader and a professional. We recommend coming to this session having taken a personal assessment to better understand your leadership style. One option to take ahead of time is Academic Impressions’ Five Paths to Leadership® self-assessment. You could also attend an upcoming results debrief session to deepen your self-awareness. This event is part of Developing Leadership Skills in Your Early Career to help you build leadership skills as an early leader. Learn more about the series, how it works, when the other sessions will occur, and who it was designed for.
Young alumni constitute one of your most influential and important alumni groups. If your shop can engage them while they are still students, and further inspire a habit of giving soon after they graduate, the likelihood that they will become committed alumni volunteers and major or lifelong donors increases significantly. As such, it’s crucial to have a robust and meaningful young alumni program, since it can often translate to greater long-term financial health for your institution. Join us online to learn how to intentionally engage young alumni from the time they are students through 10 years post-graduation. This virtual conference is a must if your institution wants to establish strong, lifelong relationships with its newest alumni, in which our expert speakers bring a track record of young alumni engagement and inspiration. Take part in this two-day event to gain useful, practical content that will teach you how to:
Influencing your Provost and other senior leaders is a key function of your role as academic dean. It’s your responsibility to provide input and perspective on decisions that will shape your unit—as well as the entire institution. As leadership transitions become more commonplace in higher education, it becomes more difficult to know how to effectively influence “up.” Not only are you learning how to navigate newfound relationships, you’re also responding to emerging strategic plans and changing unit-level priorities. Some days, it may feel like everything is a moving target. In this environment, where everyone is experiencing a higher level of stress, and where attention is split in so many different directions, it can feel difficult to know how to develop trust and credibility with your senior leaders. Join us online and learn how you can better engage with, support, and influence senior leaders such as your Provost. Using the Five Paths to Leadership® as our framework, you’ll learn how to: This workshop will give you an opportunity to reflect on an existing relationship you have with a senior leader, and we’ll then share tips and strategies you can apply to that relationship to nurture trust. We’ve also designed this training […]
Visionary leadership in higher education is essential for driving innovation, creating inclusive culture, and advancing the institutional mission. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why we often focus on the urgent and immediate rather than the big picture—like entrenched traditions, complex governance structures, budget constraints, short-term pressures, resistance to change, external influences, and the need to balance diverse stakeholder interests. Join us for an interactive discussion with President Shari McMahan of Eastern Washington University to hear how she has developed a visionary approach to leadership along with the lessons she’s learned in the process. This one-hour discussion offers a space to engage in open dialogue, ask questions, and learn from one another in a supportive and inclusive environment. Explore how you can cultivate visionary leadership in higher education, navigate challenges, and leverage your unique strengths to drive positive change and innovation within your institution. President McMahan will share strategies and personal lessons learned for how to: Ultimately, you’ll walk away with a renewed commitment to yourself, your values, and the importance of leading consistently.
Agenda topics are subject to change based on ongoing collaboration between IUI and Academic Impressions. Please revisit this page for updated pre-work and other information in advance of each session. November 1, 2024 (3:30pm – 5:00pm ET) | Five Paths to Leadership℠ December 6, 2024 (3:30pm – 5:00pm ET) | The Balancing Acts of Academic Leadership Leadership requires the constant evaluation of a series of trade-offs. For instance, you may ask yourself questions like, “Do I lead as a faculty member or as a department head?” “Do I focus on the immediate or the long-term?” “Am I a colleague or a supervisor?” This session introduces the “balancing act” or “seesaw” as a framing device that will help you to navigate these inherent trade-offs by orienting your leadership choices and helping you to customize your choices to the situation, opportunity, and problem at hand. Pre-WorkBefore the session: Resources to Bring with You to the Session Make sure you have: After the session: The three Seesaw videos shown during the session can be re-visited as needed in the Table of Contents section above. Recommended Trainings: January 10, 2025 (3:30pm – 5:00pm ET) | Leadership Responsibilities You serve in a critical and visible […]
As a trusted member of your campus community, there may come a time when a student or colleague turns to you, sharing their experience of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking. In those crucial moments, it’s essential to be prepared to respond thoughtfully and sensitively, avoiding any actions or words that might inadvertently cause further harm. This video course is tailored for faculty and staff who do not have a mandatory obligation to report incidents of sexual harassment to their designated Title IX Coordinator but wish to support those who come forward. You will learn at least seven effective conversational strategies that will empower you to engage in informed and empathetic discussions, while also understanding the potential risks of miscommunication. Through real-life scenarios and practical exercises, this course equips you with the skills needed to navigate these sensitive conversations with confidence and compassion, ensuring that you’re ready to provide meaningful support when it matters most.
