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If you work in higher education, you’re likely well aware of the pressures facing college presidents, as well as their shortening tenures and wave of retirements since the start of the pandemic. It’s often been said that it’s lonely at the top, but that doesn’t mean the people below aren’t affected by the turnover of the highest ranking executives at colleges and universities.
The tremendous burdens on the shoulders of presidents must be carried by others during transitions. The president’s many constituents still need to be served, or they are still around to apply pressure on someone making decisions for an institution until the next leader is hired and caught up to speed. Not only should contingency plans be set and institutional knowledge retained for the collective good, but individual careers need to be preserved and developed in the wake of change at the top.
Presidents have exorbitant salaries that allow them to retire early, but they are held accountable for everything that happens at an institution, even if they are only seeing that the work gets done rather than actually cranking the gears that make a university run. But if presidents aren’t going to stay at a college as long as its graduates do, that means there’s more at stake for all campus employees, both for the institution and individuals’ careers.
Knowing this might lead to burnout, or at least more stress. Whether your job is to balance an institution’s budget, manage a residence life staff, or teach multiple sections of an English composition course, you have enough to worry about. But here are a few things to consider that will make you more resilient and a better steward of your institution and your career during times of greater presidential turnover:
Change is Here to Stay
First, the issue of shorter presidential terms is not a temporary result of the pandemic. The American Council on Education reported in 2017 that college presidents were serving an average of 6.5 years in that position, compared to seven years in 2011 and 8.5 in 2006. While the pandemic has exacerbated the problem, it is perhaps more noticeable for two reasons: presidents delayed their retirement at the onset of the pandemic and are just now retiring, and there’s more awareness of The Great Resignation and transience across all professions.
“There was a turnover crisis (after the financial crisis of 2009),” said Michael Horowitz, who was president of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology from 2000-10. “It’s escalating now with the Great Resignation and a lot of it is Baby Boomers who are retiring, but I think this is a moment where people are evaluating their work from all sorts of angles, some for money, but for others, they’re saying, ‘I’m just done and there are other things I can do.'”
You’re Not Alone
Horowitz is now the president of TCS Education System, a nonprofit consortium of five colleges and universities, that practices successful retention of its executive leaders with weekly summits and collaborative sessions to address issues on their campuses. That, according to Horowitz, has been important for retaining top administrators, but there’s something to be learned by this practice for everyone working in higher education.
“We’re sharing all these tough issues that make it lonely at the top,” said Horowitz, mentioning the many issues just related to COVID-19 that leaders must confront. “It’s an affinity community, but we do the same with our chief academic officers, our HR leaders and others, because it might be tough to talk about sensitive matters at your campus. And if you have that affinity group, that (provides) a broader framework, it takes out that loneliness and the pressure. That’s been a very powerful element of our community framework.”
“One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen in higher ed or any organization is they get insular. You think your problems are unique to your college or even higher ed. So create that affinity group.”
Your campus might not be a part of a consortium like TCS or a state system, but there are many professional associations that offer opportunities to discuss everything from pandemic-related issues to handling leadership turnover. You can even form your own small, informal group of peers. Organize coffee breaks with people from other functional areas of your campus. Reach out to counterparts at other institutions on LinkedIn and schedule regular virtual meetings. You’ll find solutions, or at least peace of mind, to whatever you’re encountering.
Knowledge Growth
Maintaining and growing institutional knowledge can be difficult in times of turnover and attribution. It will benefit you and your institution if you anticipate this by becoming a resource for answers, or at least familiar with other areas of how your campus operates. This will make your job easier by recognizing collaborations and it will elevate your status as a leader and a connector within your institution. Who knows, you might get a promotion if the new president sees your value, or at least in dire circumstances of transitions, you can apply your new knowledge with your speciality and fill a role wherever it is needed.
Having more knowledge is also motivating. At TCS, the chief financial officer conducts presentations for the general counsel on budgeting and finance and their legal team even takes field trips to medical schools so they can better understand the contracts they are writing.
“They can sit with the faculty member and ask, ‘What are your concerns?’ or ‘What does it mean (for you) when we write this contact?'” Horowitz said. “That will make it a more motivating job so they can write contracts and understand what the implications are. That’s going to make them a better lawyer.”
Innovation Over Continuity
Horowitz recognizes the importance of sustaining long tenures for presidents. Among the many reasons are the fulfillment of big projects, such as the creation of a medical school that is a TCS affiliate. But he said TCS views leadership transitions as opportunities to sharpen organizational strategy.
“Prior to opening search efforts, we first assess the status of the affected department to determine whether continuity or innovation should dominate our priorities for the evolving role,” Horowitz wrote in a Forbes article about leadership change.
At your institution, try to recognize the urgent need as well as what is valued by the interim or incumbent administrators making decisions. Presidents might leave before a strategic plan is developed or executed, or there might be great momentum with new academic programs, locations, or other initiatives. Your institutions might be entering a period with several senior-level administrators approaching retirement.
“If you have too much turnover, then you’re just worried about the continuity and keeping the lights on,” Horowitz said. “But it all goes back to innovation and looking for new ideas. That has to be continuous, and it’s challenging if you’re losing people at too high of a rate.”
Survival mode, whether for an institution or a career, is not only about protecting the turf that’s already gained, it’s about gaining new ground. Horowitz said employees should always be asking themselves, “How do I advance my department?” You don’t need a president who’s been at your institution for 10 years telling you how to advance your department, but it helps to use established goals, such as those from a strategic plan or an accrediting body, to use as your guide during times of leadership transition.
Having institutional goals tied to department goals is important, Horowitz said, “because we want people to understand that your work, (though) it may seem discrete, is part of advancing the whole.”
The Bottom Line: Be Open to Change
Should higher education professionals feel like they have less job security in the midst of presidential turnover? Horowitz said the closer a position is to the president, such as cabinet-level administrators, the more likely a new president will want to bring in people who they are more comfortable with, regardless of how good the incumbent administrator is.
But employees at all levels need to be prepared for turnover.
“It’s about being nimble, cross-functional and not working in silos,” Horowitz said. “You want to show that, as an employee, you are open to change and have new ideas.”
