Learning to address conflict and manage difficult personalities as a leader or manager can be a stressful process. Once a situation has reached the point of conflict, it is often hard to manage it without emotion and move forward in a productive way. However, supervisors who work intentionally to create a growth-minded environment can engender a space where addressing conflict or confronting different opinions comes naturally to everyone involved. As such, you create a space where unhealthy conflict cannot grow and provides opportunities for those who have a habit of dissention to compromise or find a position better suited to their needs. Join us for a virtual training to learn how to manage performance and feedback in order to create a healthy working environment that fosters debate and encourages empathy and positive intentional communication. Our expert facilitator Dr. Cié Gee will walk you through how to address conflict or difficult behavior with clear and regular feedback early on in the process. You will learn how implementing regular feedback and honest conversations will lead to a more productive, psychologically safe environment. You will also take a look inward to learn how your leadership practices could be unconsciously nurturing an environment in […]
At this time of continued transition in higher education, institutions are regularly welcoming new leaders at all levels. Many institutions do not have well-developed, intentional practices for fully onboarding new leaders in ways that will help them understand the culture, complexity, and wide range of responsibilities and expectations of their position. Additionally, many leaders are relatively isolated in their roles from a wide-ranging support network across their campus community. Developing a program that will impart new leaders with a clear sense of how to be successful in their role and at the institution, share resources that will support their transition, and provide intentional opportunities to build relationships can supplement what any one specific department or area is able to provide to ensure success for the new leaders on campus. Join us to learn how creating extended orientation and development programs can shorten transition periods and set a strong foundation for success. Using the Virginia Tech Academic Leaders Program and New Senior Leader Cohort as models, we will explore essential programmatic elements, learn how to make the case for such a program, and hear about pitfalls to avoid. In this training, we will cover:
The donor’s legacy and philanthropic goals need to be carried on through their gift to your institution. Before a formal proposal is presented, or prior to a meeting that focuses on outlining the gift agreement, you need to connect the donor family’s values to your institutional goals. This process begins by aligning family engagement strategies into your institutional fundraising goals. Join us in this third installment of our Family Giving Series to potentially unlock millions of dollars in giving by building upon your approach to cultivation and stewardship with your most loyal and engaged families. By drilling into the core value of what a family holds dear, you will be able to continue deep philanthropic partnerships with donor families for generations to come.
Identifying and cultivating a major donor whose personal beliefs and philanthropic vision align with institutional purpose is no small task, and securing a transformational gift from such a donor is a significant accomplishment for an institution. Not only can such a gift transform the lives of current and future students, but it should also shift the ways in which the advancement shop engages with campus partners, the donor themselves, and alumni and other potential donors. Using her experience with Western Michigan University’s Empowering Futures Gift, Kristen DeVries, Vice President and Executive Director of WMU Foundation, will share how a transformational gift can motivate additional alumni and donor engagement. In this two-hour training, you will consider how to establish clear internal processes and communication methods that will allow you to use momentum from a transformational gift to inspire others to contribute to historic institutional change.
The exercise of facilitating philanthropic conversations around values with the families you engage with is essential for the long-term philanthropic viability of your institution. However, gift officers are often not trained for this unique approach to fundraising that focuses on the family. Instead, they may often feel a natural hesitation to insert themselves into these intimate conversations—especially when there are unknowns involved, so as a result they end up forgoing relationship-building among multiple generations of the same family. Equipping a gift officer with the knowledge of why this approach is important—and not extraneous work—can lead to more creative and meaningful gifts, trusted relationships, and a wider variety of natural opportunities for follow-up. Join us in this second training within a three-part Family Giving Series to learn how to navigate the different perspectives and unique goals among a multi-generational family by helping them align their values to benefit your institution and increase philanthropic engagement.
Institutions currently face a changing student demographic, increased student disengagement, and the Great Resignation, and their old methods of operating may no longer allow them to be successful in a changing higher education landscape. As institutions look to boost or maintain student enrollment and retention, as well as to retain their faculty and staff, breaking free of habitual practices and acting decisively are more important than ever. However, enacting transformative change at your institution requires your team to be creative and to make bold decisions. How do you create an environment where your team feels empowered to think innovatively and act quickly? Join us for a virtual training to learn how to create an environment that allows for transformation. Our expert speaker Glenn Davis will walk you through building a transformative mindset on your team and creating leaders who are empowered to act decisively. You will also see how the unintended consequences of letting those act who often know students best can lead to more innovative solutions.
Campaigns are long-term, effort-intensive fundraising cycles that require hard work and commitment from Advancement staff, university and volunteer leaders, and donors. When a campaign comes to a close, the institution must balance the celebration of its accomplishments and gratitude for donors with the ongoing need for philanthropic support, all in the setting of inevitable potential for staff and donor fatigue. The best practice is to couple campaign-close communications with a focused effort that capitalizes on the momentum garnered during the campaign to transition into an evergreen philanthropic marketing and communications effort. This underutilized practice showcases high potential investment opportunities – thus, keeping philanthropy alive well beyond a campaign. Creating giving opportunities beyond the close of a successful campaign does not happen by chance. It requires a coordinated effort with your marketing and communications team to ensure that they are prepared to best position your institutional needs while also celebrating the impact of the campaign and honoring the donors who helped to make it a success. Join us to learn the steps UC San Diego took in their transition to create a post-campaign evergreen giving opportunity—and how you might adapt their approach to your own unique institutional context.
Pause. Reflect. Look Ahead. Use this time to set more meaningful goals and prepare for the year ahead. As the year ends, we’ve observed that many of you are working so hard and moving so quickly that the time and energy to pause and reflect has been limited. The habit of reflection can build self-awareness and resilience. This is the ideal time to look back to look forward. We encourage you to make space to reflect on more meaningful goals and prepare for the year ahead. This can help ensure you’re making progress on your own leadership development. Would you mind sharing how your investment towards your professional development has helped you grow in 2022, and what your professional aspirations for 2023 are in this short questionnaire? Some Goals from Your Peers in 2022 “I want to learn how to be more agile and to embrace change and apply it to the higher education environment. Further, I want to learn time management by prioritizing what needs to be done in the higher education environment, and to communicate succinctly and concisely.” “I would like to mentor my female staff members to grow and be empowered in the workplace (pay it forward). […]
What do you want to accomplish in 2022? Submit your answer to be entered into a drawing for a free book of your choice. All of us at Academic Impressions are interested in hearing from you! We want to better understand what you are looking to accomplish in 2022. We’d love to incorporate your answers into our 2022 programming plans. No matter how big or how small your goals are, we encourage you to share your intentions. Afterall, many researchers say that you are more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Here’s what some of your colleagues around higher ed have shared already: I want to learn more about my white privilege I want to better (and equitably) support my department chairs I would like to get promoted to a Director-level position this year. I want to learn how to be more inclusive in my fundraising communications. I want to feel more comfortable around managing change – because it’s still happening! Tell Us Your Goals Personal contact information is collected for the purposes of the raffle to win a free book of your choice. All answers will only be used in aggregate form. Notice: JavaScript […]
Leadership volunteers can help to advance your institutional goals not only through their major gifts, but through their ambassadorship as advocates of the mission you convey, and by opening access to opportunities as well as leveraging expertise and input that only they can provide. However, if you don’t have a defined objective on what these volunteers can help you to accomplish as part of your fundraising strategy, you won’t have the momentum required to achieve the fundraising outcomes your organization desires. Layering a leadership volunteer’s time and effort into a capital campaign or major initiative is accomplished by developing an engagement plan that aligns their core passion with your fundraising goals. Once you have them on board, creating a meaningful experience worthy of their time can then lead to lifelong engagement and sustained success. Join us at this live event and learn how to approach and manage leadership volunteer recruitment and sustainable engagement for major donors while cultivating these relationships as a central part of your fundraising strategies.
