Agenda topics are subject to change based on ongoing collaboration between OU and Academic Impressions. Please revisit this page for updated pre-work and other information in advance of each session. 

September 12 | Empowered Leadership 

12 – 4pm Central 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. Leadership is contextual and situational and ultimately the most successful approach is that which is authentic to the leader. In this session, we’ll explore the differences between management and leadership and we’ll identify the qualities, skills and actions effective leaders embrace.  You will begin to create a personalized definition of leadership that is unique to you.  You’ll also be joined by other OU leaders and you’ll hear about their leadership journeys.   

October 17 | Understanding Yourself as a Leader  

12 – 4pm Central 

Our second session focuses on understanding your leadership strengths and gaps via Academic Impressions’ Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment. Its purpose is to help you to understand how your natural leadership style shows up in both normal and stressful situations, and how you can adapt your leadership approach to different situations and people as needed, thus enhancing your leadership effectiveness.   

After spending some time understanding the results of your assessment, we’ll go one step further and show you how you can apply the model to your everyday leadership.  Top-down leadership doesn’t work in the academy. Leaders must have a collaborative stance to be effective; but collaboration isn’t simply bringing people together and hoping good things happen. Collaboration works best when you intentionally design a process that supports it.  In this session, we explore how to design effective and inclusive meetings that ensure all the voices are heard and the work gets done. You will then take these lessons and begin to redesign a meeting you lead. 

Pre-Work 

Before the session:   

• Take the Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment here

What to Bring to the Session: 

• Make sure you bring your Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment results.  Results will be emailed to you from webmaster@academicimpressions.com, and your results will also appear at the top of this page: https://www.academicimpressions.com/my-account/my-profile

November 14 | The Building Blocks of Building Trust 

12 – 4pm Central 

Trust is at the heart of leadership; you cannot lead those who do not trust you.  Covey says we move at the speed of trust—when trust is high, people give you the benefit of the doubt, they find your meaning, they are willing to take a chance. When trust is low, they challenge you every step of the way, they misinterpret you, they assume the worst.  It’s our job as leaders to build and cultivate trust—both interpersonally and also among and between the team.  In this session, we’ll explore the topic of trust building.  Specifically, we’ll explore the following: 

• How to assess when and how trust can break down 

• How, as leaders, we can assume responsibility for the breakdown of trust that may be happening within and across our teams. 

One way to build trust and strengthen your relationships is to provide regular feedback to others.  It shows you care and demonstrates a commitment to the other person’s growth.  But giving feedback can be tricky.  There’s a risk it can harm the relationship.  So in this session, we also explore a simple, yet effective four-step method, which you can use to provide timely, constructive and meaningful feedback in a way that feels collaborative and engaging and nurtures the relationship.  You will practice using the new model. 

December 5 | Navigating Difficult (and Sometimes Crucial) Conversations 

12 – 4pm Central 

This training is a deeper dive into trust-building when it matters the most.  In this training, we’ll explore the STATE Your Path framework from “Crucial Conversations” as a way to engage thoughtfully and respectfully with others when we need to have a difficult conversation.  The framework encourages us to “check” the narratives we bring into these conversations, so we can create a safe and open environment for dialogue.  This training is an interactive one that will require you to practice your crucial conversation skills through role-play, so come prepared ready to engage. 

January 30 | Setting and Maintaining Healthy Boundaries 

12 – 4pm Central 

We’ve learned throughout this program that empathy is a behavior that can help you build connections and trust with others throughout your department or unit.  Given the uncertainty and rapid change we are navigating within higher education right now, you may have found yourself exercising empathy with colleagues more often and at greater depths than you’ve ever had to before. Empathy fatigue may be settling in and you might be noticing that exercising empathy gets more difficult the more tired and worn out you become.  In this session, we’ll discuss what it means to practice empathy and we’ll discuss how to recognize the signals of empathy fatigue, so that you can maintain balance in leading yourself and others.   

February 27 | Leading Up, Down and Across 

12 – 4pm Central  

You serve in a critical and visible leadership role.  You are often the first line of support and direction for faculty and staff within your department/unit.  And you are a conduit that translates and executes institutional plans and priorities across your department/unit.  These roles require you to lead up, down and across effectively, which is a new and larger scope of responsibility than you might be used to, especially compared to being a faculty member.  In this session, we’re going to dig a little deeper into understanding what it takes to be successful in these new capacities by discussing tips and strategies that will help you lead up, down and across.   

For many academic leaders, leading up can feel tricky given the power dynamics in play.  To effectively lead upward, it’s critical to know your boss’s priorities and needs.  Equally important, it’s important to understand the priorities and needs of their bosses – the senior leadership team.  To help you create this alignment, we will close out this session with an activity that allows you to engage meaningfully with the leadership team to better understand their goals and priorities. 

March 27 | Enhancing Decision-Making Through Collaboration 

12 – 4pm Central  

As a leader, you’re charged with making decisions.  And at the same time, you work within a shared governance structure where decisions are meant to be shared.  So how does shared decision-making actually work in practice?  How can you make decisions in collaboration with others?  In this session, we showcase and demonstrate some collaborative practices you can use to ensure your decision-making includes the voices of others in the process.   

April 17 | Celebrating Your Leadership Journey  

2 – 4pm Central (2 hours only) 

In this closing session, we’ll celebrate our leadership development journeys over the last year.  Prior to the session, you’ll be asked to create two deliverables, which you will present to the rest of the cohort during this session: 

• Your Personal Leadership Philosophy, which communicates your reason and excitement for being a leader and how you plan to leverage your strengths to be an empowered leader.   

• A Program Testimonial, which explains what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown throughout the program. 

Pre-Work:   

Complete the worksheet called “My Leadership Philosophy” found in the Course Materials, Session 8 folder. Complete the worksheet and come prepared to share your philosophy with others. Remember this – your leadership philosophy is something that will grow and evolve over time – just like you! So, it doesn’t have to be perfect right now…but we’re eager to hear what you have so far.