Articles

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Report: The Skills Future Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed

How do you lead when there is no map? When the territory is unknown? The swift pace of change and the complexity of the challenges facing our colleges and universities is immense, and is testing the abilities of our institutions’ leaders. The playbook of the past does not offer a sustainable path forward for all […]

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Preventing Presidential Derailment

Do you know the 10 early warning signs? Patrick Sanaghan, Kathleen Gaval, Steve Riccio, and Steve Titus review the early signs of a derailing president in this paper informed by decades of experience from university presidents and professionals who work closely with them. Presidential derailments (defined by Stephen Trachtenberg as an exit in less than […]

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7 Powerful Practices Presidents Use to Increase Their Creativity

“Creativity takes courage.” This paper by Patrick Sanaghan of The Sanaghan Group shares 7 tested and proven practices that college and university presidents have used to enhance their creativity: Develop a system for capturing new ideas immediately Neutralize the critic in your meetings Invite “wildcards” to your senior meetings Create or find your own physical […]

Building an In-House Leadership Development Program: Image of Leaders Brainstorming Together

24 Higher-Ed Leaders Look to the Future

by David Kiel, Dr. P.H., David Kiel Associates, LLC with contributions from Amit Mrig (President, Academic Impressions) and Pat Sanaghan (President, The Sanaghan Group) Future Timeline: What Trends, Events, and Issues Will Shape Your Campus? No one can foresee the future of higher education with certainty, but we can cultivate the habit of looking forward, scanning the […]

How Leaaders Can Plan for the Future in Higher Ed - Image of a Crystal Ball

How Good is Your Crystal Ball?

by David Kiel, Dr. P.H., David Kiel Associates, LLCwith contributions from Amit Mrig (President, Academic Impressions)and Pat Sanaghan (President, The Sanaghan Group) Dr. David Kiel is a higher-education organization and leadership consultant currently involved in projects at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. He is the author of the paper Creating a Faculty Leadership Development Program (Academic […]

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The Strategic Planning Implementation Clinic

Bogged down in implementing your strategic plan? Try this creative meeting design to get things moving. by Patrick Sanaghan (The Sanaghan Group) Successful execution of a strategic plan separates the excellent from the “pretty good.” Creating great “visions” and ennobling pictures of the future for a campus is not difficult. There are many smart, dedicated and hardworking […]

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6 Powerful Ideas for Building a First-Class Team on Campus

by Patrick Sanaghan (President, The Sanaghan Group), with Clint Sidle Why You Need a Stellar Team To build a high performing team is a daunting and noble task, and such teams are as rare as blue diamonds. The silo mentality that often exists on our campuses often limits our collective actions, and creates redundancy and […]

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Can Confusion Be an Asset and a Resource for a Leader?

by Patrick Sanaghan (President, The Sanaghan Group) How Do Successful Higher-Ed Leaders Deal with Adaptive Change? We’re well-equipped, in higher education, to meet technical change head-on. We’re often less well-equipped for adaptive change. This is a distinction Ron Heifetz drew, first in his thought-provoking book Leadership without Easy Answers (1998) and later with Martin Linsky in […]

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Building Leadership Resilience in Higher Ed

This paper by Patrick Sanaghan of The Sanaghan Group will: Share the most recent research on resilience Identify critical characteristics of resilient leaders Suggest practical strategies for developing your own leadership resilience Share resources that will be helpful guides as you continue to learn about and practice resilience Download Your Free Paper See Upcoming Leadership […]

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The 5 Biggest Mistakes Team Leaders Make

by Patrick Sanaghan (President, The Sanaghan Group, and creator of the High Performing Teams Survey) Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with over 100 senior teams and cabinets in higher education. Overall, the experience has been quite positive due to the intelligence, dedication, aspirations, and integrity of those veteran leaders. Unfortunately, about […]

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One Big Mistake New Presidents Make

by Kathleen D. Gaval and Patrick Sanaghan A presidential transition can be a fragile time for any campus; expectations are high and so is the stress level. Almost everyone wants the new president to be successful and create a new beginning for the institution. The transition process can be a minefield of challenges and opportunities, and a […]

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What Does Collaborative Strategic Planning Actually Look Like? An Informal Case Study

A PROCESS THAT WORKS If the case study below intrigues you, you can learn the 5-phase Collaborative Strategic Planning process that Anoka Ramsey Community College undertook in Pat Sanaghan’s book Strategic Planning: 5 Tough Questions, 5 Proven Answers. Case Study: Anoka Technical College & Anoka Ramsey Community College by Andrew Aspaas, Patrick Sanaghan, Donald Lewis, […]

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6 Destructive Myths About Teams in Higher Education

Higher education will face daunting and complex challenges over the next decade, and campuses will need high-performing teams, especially a high-performing senior team, in order to face those challenges. In this paper, Patrick Sanaghan and Jillian Lohndorf expose 6 potentially destructive myths — myths that get in the way of building and nurturing a great team. Come to the Conference “Leading and […]

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Video: What Makes a High-Functioning Team in Higher Ed?

by Patrick Sanaghan (The Sanaghan Group) In these three videos, I share some of the insights I’ve gathered from working closely with hundreds of teams in higher education — some of which were high-functioning and some of which were not. These are three of the top differentiators of truly exceptional teams. 1. Exceptional teams have […]

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10 Tips to Improve Your Meetings

by Pat Sanaghan (The Sanaghan Group) Most meetings simply don’t work and are a waste of precious time. Unfortunately, many higher education leaders spend much of their professional lives in these unproductive meetings. Higher education runs on thousands of daily meetings including committees, task forces, departmental meetings, and so on. When was the last time you […]

Building an In-House Leadership Development Program: Image of Leaders Brainstorming Together

10 Ways Leadership Development Programs Fail in Higher Ed

  Diagnosing Leadership Development Programs In the past decade, institutions of all types and sizes have started in-house leadership development programs—programs aimed at developing key faculty, staff, and administrators. While building in-house leadership development programs is a critical long-term strategy, these investments are not without risk. These programs often come at considerable cost and can […]

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Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders: Leadership Coaching in Higher Education

Spotlight on Leaders in Transition In this paper, leadership experts Beth Weinstock and Patrick Sanaghan walk you through: Myths that new leaders often believe — myths that can work against them as they expand their roles or positions. Hidden challenges that new leaders often face as they transition. A strong case for how leadership coaching can […]

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Higher Ed is Facing Adaptive Changes: Why This Conversation? Why Right Now?

by Patrick Sanaghan and Jillian Lohndorf (The Sanaghan Group) The Changes You Face Now Are Different From the Changes in the Past We’re well-equipped, in higher education, to meet technical change head-on. We’re often less well-equipped for adaptive change. This is a distinction Ron Heifetz drew, first in his thought-provoking book Leadership without Easy Answers […]

Pat Sanaghan leading a strategic planning discussion

10 Critical Lessons I’ve Learned About Implementing a Strategic Plan

I have been involved with over one hundred planning efforts on a variety of campuses (including DePaul University, Central Community College, Tarleton State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, The University of the West Indies, Saint Joseph’s University, The University of California, Santa Cruz, Cornell University, Anoka Ramsey Community College). I have had my share of […]

Successful Task Forces Deal Effectively with Underperforming Members

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Follow Through on Recommendations

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Don’t Let Politics Unduly Influence the Work

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Manage the Process, Not Just the Task

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Put the Right People in the Right Seats

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Need Adequate Resources to Do Their Work

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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Effective Task Forces Follow a Clear Purpose

<- back to the main page of this report THIS IS ONE CHAPTER IN A FULL REPORT ON TASK FORCES IN HIGHER ED Academic Impressions has conducted a survey of 300 higher-ed professionals, and what we learned about task forces and committees in higher education was both revealing and powerful: On July 9, we shared […]

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8 Keys to Improving Task Forces and Committees in Higher Education

by Amit Mrig (Academic Impressions) and Patrick Sanaghan (The Sanaghan Group) Time is the most precious resource on campus, and it is one we can control and influence. But how closely do we manage people’s time across our institutions? What are the biggest opportunities to increase the value from someone’s time? And how do we […]

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Executive Summary: What We’ve Learned About Task Forces and Committees in Higher Education

<- back to the main page of this report by Amit Mrig (Academic Impressions) and Patrick Sanaghan (The Sanaghan Group) The Scope of the Opportunity Committees and task forces are ubiquitous in higher education, yet, very limited attention is invested to help asses or improve their effectiveness. Whether mandated through shared governance structures or because […]

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5 Secrets to Developing a High-Performing Team in Higher Education

Higher education will face daunting and complex challenges over the next decade, and campuses will need high-performing teams, especially a high-performing senior team, in order to face those challenges. Building and nurturing a great team is a daunting and noble task for any leader. It takes courage and care, perspiration and aspiration, and investment of time and attention—all of […]

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Planning and Budgeting: Critical Advice for the President and Cabinet

This week, we interviewed Pat Sanaghan, president of The Sanaghan Group, who has worked with dozens of institutions to coach them through a collaborative and effective strategic planning and budgeting process. We wanted to ask what advice he would most want college and university presidents and members of their cabinets to hear. This is what […]