In a survey of professionals of higher education a few months ago, Academic Impressions found that: If asked to give their institution a letter grade for customer service, most professionals would assign a “C” or lower. There is a growing awareness among managers in higher education that customer service entails more than presenting students or internal clients with a “friendly face,” that it involves responsiveness and collaborative problem-solving. Yet most cite similar challenges to improving customer service in their office: lack of time and uncertainty on how to effectively train it. Two Resources on Training Customer Service Interviewing an array of experts who have made strides in providing customer service training in higher education or in transitioning enrollment or academic support services to a one-stop approach, Academic Impressions offers two complimentary resources: A Complimentary Publication Our recent Monthly Diagnostic, “Improving Customer Service in Higher Education,” we take a close look at the barriers to customer service and interview past and current presidents, vice presidents, and department heads in student services and enrollment management for practical advice in meeting those barriers. A Complimentary Webcast In our January 22, 2013 webcast, “Raising the Bar on Customer Service in Higher Education,” panelists Susan […]
Few academics would characterize themselves as comfortable or skilled in navigating difficult conversations. In fact, many of us go out of our way to avoid conflicts. Avoidance not only prevents problems from being resolved but can hinder opportunities to build interpersonal trust and respect within our departments. Effectively navigating difficult conversations can improve your sense of well-being, collegial relationships, the culture of your department, and your academic brand. The purpose of this video course is to help you develop the strategies and techniques required to resist the urge to avoid or fuel interpersonal conflicts and provide you with tools that will allow you to manage these situations with greater ease and confidence.
As Chief of Staff, you are often faced with implementing changes and initiatives set by the President, Board, and Executive Cabinet. Your role can be challenging especially when it comes to conflicting or disconnected initiatives. As those around you express concerns and ask questions regarding changes, it is your job to address them while also advancing the mission of the University and the goals of the Board and President. Join us for this hour-long virtual session to learn practical negotiation and communication strategies you can utilize to help implement the initiatives of your Board and President. You will leave this training feeling more confident to successfully collaborate with and support them.
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 10% of teams I have worked with just never performed well, despite great effort and talent. This article is an attempt to conduct a “post mortem” on the teams that just didn’t make it. These mistakes go beyond some of the essential elements of stellar team performance, such as having a shared purpose, holding each other accountable, open and trusted communication, and high levels of trust. All these are very important, but the absence of these was not responsible for these talented teams’ failures. The following five “mistakes” may sound like common sense, but they are often overlooked when leaders at colleges and universities are building their teams. For a limited time only: We have opened up our leadership content to registered users. Please login or create a free account to read the full paper. 1. The team leader falls prey to the “comfortable cloning” syndrome. “Comfortable cloning” describes our natural tendency to seek out other team members who are similar to us or who […]
Inclusive leadership requires that today’s leaders think about and understand change differently. Change is no longer a once-in-a-while ‘initiative’ that needs managing but is instead a constantly occurring process. And not everyone sits on a level playing field along the way: inclusive leaders must develop a greater awareness of their own blind spots and attend to the process they follow when leading change. Whose perspectives are being sought and heard, and whose aren’t? Who is the change serving, and who is it impacting? How can you invite and productively navigate through disagreement and conflict as change unfolds? Join us online to explore what managing change looks like in today’s higher education context for inclusive leaders. You will come away with:
Your team is growing more diverse every day; this includes across different generations from across generations. Each generation has its own preferences and values that motivate them, and it’s important to understand those differences in order to build a cohesive and resilient workplace culture that maximizes individual and team performance and minimizes conflict. With almost a quarter of the labor force set to retire in the next decade, it’s crucial to recognize the contributions of all generations of workers. Join us online to learn: Research that highlights the benefits of addressing the needs of your different generations. Strategies for how to motivate and coach your age-diverse team, so that they feel engaged in their work and have the tools to better understand and collaborate creatively and productively with each other. How to respond to and address interpersonal conflict that may arise within your team with an awareness and respect for the different generations. You’ll walk away with greater confidence in knowing how to communicate and engage across generational differences.
Tracy Wilson-Holden has been with Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Office of Research Administration since 2005. She is the Research Integrity Officer and is also responsible for overseeing research education and training. She directs the human subjects and responsible conduct of research training programs and oversees the work of the Conflict of Interests committee. Tracy is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Bioethics, teaching the graduate course “On Being a Professional Scientist”. She serves as a board member for the national organization the Association of Research Integrity Officers. In addition, she was the principal investigator of a federal grant from the Office of Research Integrity and has done peer review and taught workshops for the agency. She holds a BA in Communication Science and Disorders and a MA in Audiology, both from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to working in Research Administration, Tracy spent 11 years working as an intraoperative neurophysiologist in a private practice in Northeast Ohio and at Washington University in St. Louis.
Academic leaders and faculty members often cite the importance of interpersonal skills when leading an academic unit, managing a research team, or functioning as a productive member of any team or unit in academia. However, emotional intelligence and self-awareness are less commonly mentioned as predictors of success among academic teams. In this video course, department chairs and faculty will discover the connection between emotional intelligence and individual, team, and department results. Through Daniel Goleman’s four pillars of emotional intelligence, you will get ideas for how to: You will learn Daniel Goleman’s four pillars of emotional intelligence and informally assess your skill in each of these pillars. Once you have a greater awareness of how you “show up” for yourself and others, we’ll offer simple suggestions for how you can manage yourself and your relationships more productively.
Partnering with higher ed leaders to increase their influence and impact. Dorine Lawrence-Hughes, JD, EDD, has been counseling and coaching leaders since 2012. As certified coach and facilitator, she provides individual coaching for leaders seeking to expand their impact, transition into new leadership roles, or level up their leadership skills to face increasingly complex challenges. Dorine also facilitates group coaching and leadership workshops for teams and organizations and specializes in executive leadership, conflict, middle management, and leadership communication. Her most recent clients include the University of Michigan Medicine health system, Kansas State University, the University of Houston-Downtown, and several government agencies. Dorine also co-created a leadership development program for women in higher education through UCLA and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). Dorine’s own leadership experience includes serving as an Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education at the University of Michigan for 7 years where she provided strategic oversight of various cross school, cross-curricular, and co-curricular initiatives for effective teaching and learning. Prior to her work with the University of Michigan, she served as a Clinical Associate Professor with the University of Southern California. Dorine is also an attorney – licensed to practice law in California for over 20 years where […]
In higher education, as in other sectors, managers tend to prioritize individual talent over team chemistry. This is a mistake. Consider a sports team. The individual talent of the star players isn’t enough to ensure victories for the team. The best players have to do more than just score points, block shots, or play great defense. If you watch any sport and you listen to the announcers, you’ll find a recurring concept discussed. The very best players are judged not by their individual abilities, talent, or statistics, but by how much better they make their teammates. The best quarterbacks make their receivers, running backs, and even offensive linemen better. The best safeties make their defensive compatriots better. The best point guards make their teammates better. The mark of the truly great player is that she makes her teammates better. In your office, at your college, or at your university, this means your “star players” have to do more than get along with their colleagues; they should also positively affect their abilities and attitudes. They have to lift the productivity and effectiveness of the entire team. When you realize this, it has practical implications for who you promote (and why), for how you approach […]
