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As we venture through our professional journeys, each of us will experience a spectrum of leadership styles. Some will serve as inspiring models for us to emulate, while others act as reminders of how we hope to never treat others. As you gather experience with various approaches, there may ultimately come a time when it is your opportunity to lead others.
In this article, I’ll share key strategies to begin practicing now to set yourself apart when it’s your turn to become a great leader.
Management versus Leadership
It’s important to differentiate between management and leadership. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they encompass distinct differences.
Management is a functional role within institutions focused on tasks such as reviewing, hiring, firing, and promoting staff. This position can include elements of leadership, but its primary focus is on setting and meeting institutional expectations. An example includes a university’s associate director of admissions, who develops criteria and policies related to accepting prospective students. While this role may manage other staff members, its key function is to ensure that processes and procedures are followed across the institution.
Leadership, on the other hand, transcends the core function of management.
McKinsey & Company defines leadership as a set of behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, execute strategic plans, and continually renew an organization. An example of a higher education leader is a dean of an academic college. This position’s focus extends beyond management and includes providing direction for an entire unit.
Washington University in St. Louis defines a dean’s role as being responsible for everything in their college, from developing departmental budgets to considering equipment needs, and ensuring compliance with federal regulations.
A leader can be viewed as akin to a commander, focusing on the big picture. A manager oversees tasks and ensures day-to-day operations are in order. Both roles are critical to the success of their institutions, but they operate at different levels of influence.
Understand Your Institutional Culture
A great higher education leader must invest significant time in understanding their institution and its mission. Start this process by delving into your university’s history, goals, culture, and inner workings. Take the time to meet faculty and staff at all levels to understand their roles and perspectives, as well as how they contribute to the institution.
These interactions are critical to figuring out how everything and everyone fit together. They also speak to the important of having a growth mindset and using a test-and-learn approach, which was covered in an HEJ article by Justin Zackal.
Your initial assessment period should also include gathering data on what’s working, what needs improvement and what separates the institution apart from its peers.
Reviews like these are often conducted through sessions where leaders create a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and take an objective look at the institution. Although this work may at times reveal blemishes in your university or unit, use this exercise to objectively review its potential so you can make valuable decisions about its future.
In a recent HEJ article, President Emeritus Bob Scott of Adelphi University acknowledged that organizational culture is a powerful force. “We sense its presence in successful businesses and championship teams, and we sense when it’s absent or toxic,” he wrote.
Develop a Clear Vision
Once you’ve met with the team and gain an understanding of the institution’s position, it is time to develop an aspirational direction for its future.
Utilize the insights you’ve gained as well as data collected to help you develop this new vision. For instance, if your institution aims to become a leader in your state, delve into what this really means. Perhaps you want to increase student enrollment by 15% over the course of the next five years or expand certain academic programs. Consider all aspects of what is aspirational, yet attainable.
A leader should also be prepared to share why this vision matters and how everyone’s collective efforts will help your institution attain it.
Build Consensus with Peers
Even the most skilled leaders will struggle if their team doesn’t believe in their vision. Great higher education leaders should include faculty and staff when making critical decisions and create an environment where everyone feels safe to provide input.
The act of building consensus shows that you recognize and value the advice and opinions of others.
Jennifer Philpot, senior director of development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine advises leaders to “bring stakeholders into the conversation early.”
She said that people process and respond to information differently and, that different communication channels are important to achieve clarity and understanding.
“Consensus-building is not about you,” she said. “It is about success for everyone. You must be adaptable, respectful, and trustworthy.”
One caveat to receiving input is that you must also be prepared to occasionally make unpopular decisions if they are the best strategic direction for the institution. When this occurs, be prepared to share your rationale. Others may not relish your decision. However, it is important for them to know that they were heard and that the route you chose aligns with the university’s best interests.
Empower Others to Thrive
There will come a time when you will no longer have the capacity to do it all. This shift will force you to delegate if you’re not already doing so.
Great leaders need to trust others and empower them, providing the proper resources needed to be successful. Picture the coach of a basketball team. These leaders are on the sidelines, so they focus on overall strategy and make sure each player is best suited in their role to accomplish the team’s collective goal.
You should also appreciate your team members’ unique talents and aspirations. A direct report may show a propensity toward developing predictive models for your institution. Lean into this strength of theirs and find ways to let them lead, while keeping your pulse on the institution’s progress.
Maintain a Growth Mindset
Each of us may be viewed as experts in our respective disciplines, but these experiences do not always prepare us to become great leaders. It is important to regularly assess your skills and recognize when you have weaknesses and blind spots.
Maintaining and sharing this sense of self-awareness will go a long way toward earning the trust of your team and showing that you have vulnerabilities. A leader won’t always know the answers to hard questions, but, at a minimum, you should be willing to admit this reality.
Pushing yourself to expand your knowledge and skillset will challenge you at times and make you feel uncomfortable. Lean into this sense of un-comfortability. You will feel this way because it is new for you; this is a good thing.
Surround yourself with other higher education leaders that you can trust and seek their advice when times get challenging. A consistent source of wise words may be found by researching some of the greats who came before your time. Read biographies of great leaders in the industry or listen to podcasts from individuals you aspire to replicate. Delve into what you appreciate about their style or level of success and find ways you can incorporate these concepts into your own leadership journey.
Nothing is Above or Below
Good leaders must recognize that they are always on a journey of growth. Remember that even the best of our leaders didn’t start with all the skills they needed to attain their success.
The great pro football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else – through hard work.”
Fortunately for most of us, we can also develop and hone the set of skills necessary to become a leader.
