Drawing on current research on high-performing leadership teams both within and outside of higher education, Pat Sanaghan, president of The Sanaghan Group and author of Collaborative Leadership in Action (2011) and the forthcoming book, How to Actually Build an Exceptional Team (2013), has identified 10 differentiators of exceptional teams, 10 qualities that enable teams to rise to and perform at high levels consistently. Of the 10, Sanaghan points to trust as the most important quality that differentiates high-performing teams in higher education. “In a high-trust environment,” Sanaghan remarked in an interview with Academic Impressions, “you can do many things even with limited resources. But if you have low trust, even with high resources you can’t get much done. To build trust, you need transparency with information — especially around financial realities, decision-making roles, and process.” Higher education is by its nature a collaborative and people-driven enterprise — yet often, too little investment is made to improve the professionals within the institution work together. As the speed of change accelerates and higher-ed’s operating environment grows more complex, those institutions that will remain competitive and thrive will be those characterized by high-performing teams across all parts and levels of the organization. The High-Trust Environment […]
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 replication. Given shrinking resources and the rapid pace of change, the siloed approach to team building and decision making is neither strategic nor feasible. We must work collaboratively to utilize the collective talents of our campus stakeholders. And learning to build high performing teams is one of the most effective ways we can meet the many challenges that confront us. If a senior leader can build a stellar team, the organizational leverage that can be achieved is powerful and can be a game changer for a campus. In this scenario: We have had the opportunity to work with scores of senior teams in higher education. Almost always, these teams were comprised of highly intelligent, dedicated, honest, and mission-driven individuals. But few of them ever became a first class team. When you witness a high performing senior team being transparent with each other, asking for help, dealing with conflict effectively, and listening carefully to each other, […]
Faculty mentoring is key to faculty productivity and success. Get a nearly 600-page comprehensive guide and workbook to develop or improve your mentoring program.
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We’ve never had a term quite like this, and how we close our classes this semester matters. For some students, their classes may have been their most consistent and stable community during this time of rapid change and abrupt isolation. This article offers tips and techniques for approaching the last day of class in ways that provide both closure and connection. I was chatting – well, zooming actually – with a colleague who felt inclined to skip the final class session, given that students seemed so exhausted. I absolutely understand this inclination, but I suggested otherwise. I was not promoting intentional course closure due to policy or typical good practice, but because this semester is like no other we’ve experienced and students will likely be grateful for that closure. A webinar on trauma-informed pedagogy confirmed my belief in the importance of closure this semester. Let’s consider why. Your class, while inconsistently “delivered,” might have been the only consistent and stable community for students this semester. Many students had to leave their college residences and support networks. For some, the only thing in their lives that stayed the same was your presence, and that of other students in your course. As […]
Engaging in Racial Inequity Dialogue AN EDUCATIONAL SERIES Check back soon for more dates or sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know. Overview Let’s face it—while it’s imperative to call out racist comments, biases, and behaviors when we witness them, it can nevertheless be a difficult, daunting and emotionally risky task for some. Yet the cost of staying silent is too high to do otherwise as the fact remains that by staying silent, we continue to perpetuate harm. But how can we expect to change the inequities that exist on our campuses if we don’t consciously allow these and other vital “high-risk” conversations to take place? If we are unwilling to face discomfort and open discourse when racial bias shows up in our day-to-day lives, how can we expect to evolve toward true equality as individuals, as a group, and as a society? How It Works This educational series has been designed to help you overcome any fear or discomfort you might be experiencing in the interest of engaging more actively and confidently in conversations about racial inequity and bias. It consists of three live events, taking place on April 19, May 24, and June […]
Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable: Engaging in Dialogue About Freedom, Favoritism, and Fairness Recorded on July 10, 2024 September 2024 and January 2025 events covered the same content VIEW RECORDING Gain confidence entering conversations about favoritism and fairness in the workplace. Overview During this two-hour virtual workshop, Dr. Sandra Miles, Head of Practice for Team Development at Academic Impressions, will lead us as we explore the ways feelings of defensiveness and discomfort can be very common when engaging in conversations around favoritism and unfairness. Even those who have done extensive reading on topics related to conflict management can find themselves fumbling if they haven’t yet reflected on how their personal feelings may impact the ways they show up in the world—and in these difficult conversations. To get more comfortable engaging in these dialogues, we must first lean into the discomfort of individual reflection and actions that prepare us to enter into them in an open and effective way. Join us for a two-hour virtual training where we will explore four key concepts and how they come into play during conversations around topics that are deeply personal: Identifying favoritism Understanding personal perspectives Managing emotions Focusing on fairness You will be given a workbook […]
If the last five years in higher education have taught us anything, it’s that disruption is no longer episodic; it’s continuous. Financial pressure, demographic shifts, changing public expectations, advances in artificial intelligence, and growing questions about the value of higher education are no longer distant threats but daily leadership realities. We cannot predict exactly what higher education will look like in five or ten years. But we can predict this: that change will be constant, that ambiguity will be the norm, and that leaders will be asked to make high-stakes decisions with incomplete information and competing interests. That future offers profound implications for leadership development. If we continue to prepare leaders only for today’s higher education landscape, we will leave them underprepared to lead our institutions into the future. The future demands leaders who can think strategically and expansively, who can engage in anticipatory thinking, and who can navigate complexity without defaulting to fear, rigidity, or zero-sum thinking. Following are five skills that leadership programs should be teaching now. 1. Design Thinking: Encouraging “Possibility” Thinking Design thinking is, at its core, a disciplined approach to problem-solving that prioritizes curiosity, empathy, experimentation, and learning. It emphasizes divergent thinking, generating many possibilities, before moving into convergent thinking, where choices are narrowed and decisions are made. The sequencing […]
Series: Changing How We Understand the MarketIn this series, we analyze current enrollment and demographics data, uncovering stories that challenge how institutions often understand their marketplace—or that shed new light on emerging trends. We want to encourage a deeper look at the implications of today’s marketplace data. We hope that you will share these stories across your institution and use them to start critical conversations to drive not only enrollment strategy but discussions of curricular offerings, student support, and course design. While we’ll highlight findings and stories worthy of closer attention, each article includes an easy-to-use Tableau dashboard that you and your colleagues can use to drill deep in the data yourself.Also in this series:Yield Rates are Declining – Why?Is the International Enrollment Boom a Rising Tide that Lifts All Ships?How Simpson’s Index Can Offer Universities a Different Look at DiversityWhy Measuring Diversity Matters The rise in undergraduate enrollment in the United States has been well documented and much discussed: Between 1980 and 2010, for instance, undergraduate enrollment rose almost 74%, far outstripping the growth (about 2%) in traditional-age college students in the US. There are likely several factors contributing to this surge, including economic growth; population growth; the belief […]
I engage and empower leaders at all stages with wisdom and tools that instill confidence and focus in order for them to achieve quantifiable success throughout the evolving circumstances of their careers, their organizations, and those they lead. Dr. Marie Hansen is a dean, executive coach, leadership consultant and attorney with over 24 years’ experience in higher education. Her career has included work with higher educational faculty, staff and leaders at all levels. She currently supervises over 100 full and part time faculty and professional staff. She has created leadership training for external and internal constituents (corporate training), worked on several grants, and led strategic planning, corporate partner and mentoring programs. She has taught in the disciplines of business, criminal justice, law and organizational behavior. As a coach, she enjoys helping guide individuals aspiring to leadership roles and those with many years of experience as leaders set career goals and achieve quantifiable success in the higher education environment through application of social and emotional intelligence and leadership principles. As a PCC certified coach who focuses on social and emotional intelligence, Marie helps faculty, staff and leaders broaden their self-awareness to augment their own development. As a coach, she listens, supports and encourages growth in all […]
Microaggressions, microbullying, and bullying are the silent destroyers of a university’s climate.
In this handbook, two leading experts on hierarchical microaggressions – Dr. Myron Anderson and Dr. Kathryn Young – present in-depth scenarios, strategies, and worksheets for addressing these issues on your campus.
Fix your campus climate: Order 10+ copies and receive a $5 discount on every copy you purchase.
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