Search Results for: conflict

Responding to a Bad Employee Engagement Survey: A Call to Action for Higher Education Leaders 

Posted on by sarah.adams@academicimpressions.com

Employee engagement surveys, if thoughtfully designed, are a powerful tool for understanding the lived experiences of faculty and staff. They can illuminate areas of strength and expose systemic issues that hinder inclusivity, belonging, and engagement. However, too often, leaders in higher education conduct these surveys infrequently, and when the results are less than favorable, they either bury the data or delegate the issue to a committee that produces little meaningful action. This approach not only wastes time and resources but also erodes trust and credibility. If your institution has received poor results from a climate survey, it’s time to take decisive action. But here’s the key: this isn’t a problem for senior leadership to solve alone. The best outcomes come from a dual approach—from transparent leadership from the top down, and from active engagement from the bottom up. Faculty and staff don’t just want to hear the results; they also want a role in shaping the response. When leaders both own the results publicly and empower their teams to develop solutions, they create a stronger, more engaged institution.   Own the Results The first step in responding to a bad climate survey is for leadership to create transparency by owning […]

The 21st Century Library: An Inside Look at Auraria Library

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

with Sommer Browning, Marical Farner, Cynthia Hashert, and Jenny Filipetti (Auraria Library) We recently had the opportunity to visit the newly renovated Auraria Library. This unique tri-institution academic library is shared by the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver, and located in the heart of downtown Denver. The recent revitalization of the Auraria Library is impressive for several reasons. First, the library remained open – for all three institutions – during the multiple years of the renovation. Second, the library integrates a lot of the features discussed in The Library of the 21st Century. Notably, the library’s new learning space includes multimedia walls for collaborative learning. To learn more about the uniqueness of this library project – and what may be replicable at other institutions – we interviewed the panel of stakeholders responsible for this newly-renovated learning space. This article highlights the key takeaways from that interview. Participants at our 2017 Academic Planning and Revitalization Institute, an annual workshop that has highlighted innovative library design since 2007, will also get to discuss the project further with the library planning team, and will get to tour the facility. The Institute’s post-conference workshop on March 8 will also provide […]

As a Leader You Need Honest, Direct Feedback – Here’s How to Get It

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

“If you’re not getting information or feedback on a regular basis that is uncomfortable for you, go seek it out.” One of the traps a higher-ed leader can fall into is in believing that they are receiving accurate feedback when in fact their colleagues and team members are holding back. Here’s a way to break through that trap: an anonymous 360° feedback process. This article is adapted from an excerpt of Pat Sanaghan’s book How Higher-Ed Leaders Derail: A Survival Guide for Leaders. For leaders in higher ed, I cannot stress enough that you have to be proactive in encouraging (and rewarding behavior that fosters) a climate of candor and transparency. If others around you are not pushing back on your ideas, sharing different perspectives, and asking the tough questions, you may not realize how your leadership is actually being received. It’s very likely that you have an inaccurate and incomplete picture. In How Higher-Ed Leaders Derail: A Survival Guide for Leaders, I refer to this situation as “the seduction of the leader,” a common dynamic in which leaders are “seduced” into believing they have all the facts when in fact, they don’t. It is a dynamic that, if allowed […]

Critical Advice for College and University Chiefs of Staff

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

The role of college or university chief of staff looks very different at each institution and requires a unique skill set for continued success. Here is critical advice from current and past chiefs of staff and (one university president). Welcome to this new series of articles, where experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: Now, let’s start! Here is our first installment in this series: 1. Liaison vs Gatekeeper: Finding Balance as a Chief of Staff Academic Impressions. You’re charged with being the president’s voice and implementing their initiatives, yet you are also the liaison with faculty. The faculty will come to you with disagreements and objections. How do you make yourself available without appearing as a gatekeeper for the president? Josh Jacobs, Marietta College. Whether you intend to be are or not, it is likely that you will be perceived as a gatekeeper. One strategy […]

Responding to Microaggressions in Online Learning Environments During a Pandemic

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

With faculty and students both stressed during the pandemic, microaggressions may become more frequent in our online learning environment. Here are some practical strategies for mitigating the impact of microaggressions in online and remote classes. by Dr. Tasha Souza, Associate Director for Inclusive Excellence for the Center for Teaching and Learning, Professor of Communication, Boise State University Students are especially anxious right now given that their daily routine and expectations of college life have likely been completely derailed. Many have had to move, some to less safe and/or hospitable living environments, and all who were taking face-to-face classes have had to learn how to navigate a different learning and teaching space led by many instructors doing the same. When cortisol levels are high, we are less likely to self-monitor well and more likely to behave in ways that reveal and act upon our implicit biases. These biases can show up as written or oral microaggressions in online and remote spaces and can have a negative effect on the communication climate. Are you equipped to deal with them? When microaggressions occur in our learning environments, it is important that we respond in ways that maintain a supportive communication climate (Souza, 2017) […]

IngenioUs Leadership in Action: The Power of Unleashing Human Experience and Potential 

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

“When doing what we most love transforms us into the best possible version of ourselves and hints at even greater future possibilities, the urge to explore becomes a feverish compulsion.” -Steven Kotler1   Leadership in higher education goes beyond operational management—it is about creating a culture that inspires every individual to unleash their full potential. Over five seasons of the IngenioUs podcast, I’ve interviewed over 100 college and university presidents, uncovering key themes that show how exceptional leaders shape environments where human experience and potential can truly flourish.  In this first article of a new blog series, I explore a foundational theme: the transformative power of leadership that prioritizes people and a human-centered culture.  The stories in my latest book Ingenious Leadership reveal a powerful truth: the most impactful leaders are those who embrace authenticity, cultivate emotional intelligence, foster inclusion, and develop others to achieve their full potential.      Embrace Your Story: Authenticity as Leadership Strength Mary Dana Hinton, President of Hollins University, exemplifies the transformative power of owning one’s narrative. Growing up in the American South, Hinton often felt marginalized. Initially, she believed she needed to conform to traditional leadership norms to succeed. However, her journey toward educational equity revealed […]

Distributed Leadership as a Sustainable and Inclusive Leadership Approach

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

Introduction Distributed leadership is best defined as participatory leadership across an organization. In an organization which practices distributed leadership, both the responsibility and the accountability of leadership is embraced and shared by those who have the expertise and skills to move the institution forward. This is accomplished not singularly as a positional leader, but through a team of accountable leaders. The membership on the leader-team may change as others who hold the expertise needed to address specific situations occur. While it is unlikely that everyone will embrace the practice of distributed leadership, this should not impede the effort of leader-teams to introduce the practice into their institutions. What is distributed leadership and why is it effective? Distributed leadership is providing a culture in which leader-teams can generate solutions and initiatives that will be used to improve the organization and position it for future success. Effective educational leadership today depends upon the ability to lead change effectively and build trust to transform higher education organizations. Leader-teams who invest in building distributed leadership skills, practice development of buy-in with constituents across the organization and find inclusive approaches to working with a wide variety of individual will be rewarded by the outcomes. Distributed […]

College Student Mental Health Statistics and What They Really Mean

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

There has been a lot of media attention to college student mental health statistics and to the upsurge in demand for mental health services. But does the data really suggest a mental health “crisis”? What does the upsurge actually mean for postsecondary institutions? Where do we need to shift the conversation, and what do we need to do next? Learn more in the infographic and article below. What the Upsurge in Demand for Mental Health Services Means (and Doesn’t Mean) The first thing I want to underscore is that institutions are facing an unprecedented level of demand from students seeking help and support for mental health issues. Counseling centers are not new on campus–and mental health services are certainly not new–but the upsurge in volume from students accessing these services is. The two main presenting issues we’re seeing in students are anxiety and depression. The other issue institutions are concerned about but that is statistically much less frequent is suicidality. If you read the press on this topic, there are a lot of articles that emphasize the number of college students committing suicide. That’s obviously a horrible mental health outcome and something institutions are investing prevention and education efforts around, […]

7 Steps to Launch a Robust Brand Strategy

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Recently, during an Academic Impressions webcast (you can order a recording here), we covered the approach that the University of California, Davis took to overcome a crisis and rebuild its internal culture, while also promoting itself and its strengths to external audiences. No matter where your institution currently stands, the same steps can be used when considering a wide-scale and new approach to branding. Here is an outline of seven critical steps to developing a robust brand strategy. 1. Identity Research and Analysis The first step in branding is knowing three elements about your institution: Only after you have been thoughtful about each of these steps, can you start to use your research to build your platform. In this step, you can truth-test your perceptions about your institution with the most important people you want to engage. Doing this helps senior leaders fully see reputational gaps and why your targeting marketing and branding efforts will advance the university. 2. Define Marketing and its ROI After the first step, conversations with senior leaders, key champions and opinion leaders about what marketing is and is not able to achieve will help you manage expectations. In addition, this is the time to share […]

What the Chief of Staff Needs to Do on Day One

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

In this series, we’ve talked about how the chief of staff can operate as an effective liaison, what qualities presidents desire in the chief of staff, and where new chiefs of staff could look for resources. Now, in our fifth article, we want to ask: What does the new chief of staff need to do, their first day, first week, first month on the job? In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: Today, here is the fifth installment in our series: 5. What Does the New Chief of Staff Need to Know? Academic Impressions. The four of you have served as chiefs of staff. What is one specific piece of critical advice you would offer to a new COS? Chris Romano, Ramapo College. Relationships are everything in this role. An effective chief of staff must spend his/her time among the campus and […]