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 […]
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 […]
As Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA), Dr. Totten oversees resources, services and programs to promote faculty success across all career stages, including providing strategic vision and leadership, overseeing critical administrative processes, developing and refining policies related to faculty participation in university decision-making, supporting faculty development initiatives, and collaborating with academic leaders and campus offices to navigate conflict and disciplinary processes. Dr. Totten has held a number of leadership roles throughout his career, including as graduate program director, department chair, and faculty senate chair at North Dakota State University, and department chair at UNLV. He has served on a number of national and international editorial and executive boards in his field. Dr. Totten has a PhD in English, with expertise in late nineteenth- and twentieth-century US literature, multiethnic US literature, travel writing, and critical theory. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, published by Oxford University Press. He has written, edited, and co-edited a number of books, and he has published over forty articles or chapters in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections. His most recent edited books include A Companion to Multiethnic Literature of the United States (Wiley, 2024) and Race in the Multiethnic Literature Classroom (U of […]
As you navigate more complex leadership roles, you will also navigate more contentious issues and conflicts. This makes the relationships you form with your colleagues not only “nice to have,” but essential: there is very little that cannot be accomplished when relationships are strong and built on a foundation of trust and mutual respect. During this discussion, you’ll learn how a President and a CFO built a relationship that propelled the success of their teams, the institution, and helped them both to thrive individually. Carmen Twillie Ambar, President of Oberlin College, and Audra Hoffman Kahr, Executive Vice President of Finance & Administration at Lafayette College, will share how they met, how their relationship evolved, and a few lessons they’ve learned along the way as women leaders in higher education.
Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of designing and delivering more than 100 leadership development programs in higher education and supporting institutions as they launched dozens more. These programs have ranged from single, cohort-based initiatives to multi-layered efforts designed to shape institutional culture over time. At Academic Impressions, we’ve worked with first-time department chairs as well as with presidents rebuilding senior cabinets. We’ve partnered with well-resourced research universities as well as with small and mid-sized institutions doing the best they can with very limited capacity. The good news is that during this time, I’ve seen a growing recognition that leadership development is mission critical. More institutions are investing in helping leaders to build emotional intelligence, resolve conflict more productively, lead teams effectively, and navigate change with greater confidence. Many are also working intentionally to build pipelines for future leaders who will be ready when the moment calls. And yet, because many institutions have limited experience designing leadership development programs, a predictable set of mistakes shows up again and again. Ironically, these missteps are usually rooted in good intentions—but they ultimately undermine the very outcomes these programs are meant to achieve. Following are the five most common mistakes I see when institutions launch or attempt to sustain leadership programming. 1. Trying to Do Too Much In an effort to be comprehensive, institutions often try to cover as much […]
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Academic leaders are typically expert scholars in their fields but don’t learn core leadership skills when they move into their leadership positions. They rarely get formal training on ways to be simultaneously self-aware, emotionally intelligent, savvy about navigating systems and hierarchies, as well as effective at financial management, public speaking, crisis management, and conflict resolution. To support the health and climate of their departments and, in turn, institutions, academic leaders need to intentionally develop these crucial skills. Join us online with Jennie S. Knight, Ph.D., to hear how the University of Virginia has developed their successful Leadership in Academic Matters program (LAM) that draws on cross-campus collaborations and addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion. You will leave with solid ideas for how to approach your academic leadership programs that create an inclusive, equitable climate in which staff, faculty, and students can thrive.
Hate speech incidents are a growing concern on college campuses and can come in many forms: Controversial keynote speakers and event topics Disruptive student demonstrations Anonymous hate speech written on campus property Register for this webcast to learn how to respond to hate speech incidents in ways that serve students, leadership, faculty, and staff. In these moments, you may feel torn between advocating for the students and acting on behalf of the institution. We’ll help resolve this conflict by sharing policies and procedures that create safe spaces for students while encouraging holistic institutional responses.
Use Our Learning Plans to Combat Burnout and Gain New Skills Become a member to gain access to all learning plan resources. Start our member favorite learning paths for a deeper dive into current challenges around workplace culture and communication. Become a member to get full access to these plans. We will also work to match you with the resources that align with your development goals and create custom learning plans for you and your team. Workplace Culture and Morale Approx. 8.5 hours Learn how to maintain a positive workplace culture and morale within your team by building resilience, integrating inclusivity, engaging in empathy, reducing bullying, understanding microaggressions, and more. Download the Learning Plan Effective Communication Approx. 6.5 hours Learn how to manage conflict, confront toxicity, and cultivate an engaging persona on your video calls. Download the Learning Plan Professional Communication Approx. 8.5 hours Learn the most crucial communication skills you need as a leader navigating through remote work and high-anxiety times. Download the Learning Plan Our current members are using custom learning plans to: Create a development plan to achieve a particular strategic goal Help team members stay engaged and motivated over the summer Provide a focused plan to […]
