How to set them up for success
For faculty members making a transition to academic leadership, inadequate preparation, unrealistic expectations and an increased workload can set them up for mediocrity. Yet, the role of department chair is one of the most critical in higher education: It’s been estimated that 80% of university decisions are made at the department level. Chairs can make (or break) an academic department, affecting everyone from first-year undergraduates to your most productive full professors.
What makes a great academic leader?
According to John Lynch, senior associate dean for faculty and research at Leeds School of Business, department chairs require a few key attributes in order to be effective:
- Leadership. Consistency, foresight, collegiality, sense of humor and quick thinking are essential skills of effective leaders.
- Incredible judgement. In deciding who will get tenure, department heads must understand scholarship to make fair and informed decisions.
- Respect. A strong chair must be sufficiently accomplished to earn the respect of their faculty and staff—especially if they want to have their judgement accepted.
- Persuasiveness. As representatives on university committees, they must be articulate, persuasive and adept at facilitating communication across campus.
How can we empower them?
“Good scholars don’t always have good people skills,” says Lynch. “And they must learn to be an administrator in addition to being a good leader.”
Here are five ways to help faculty master their new role:
- Provide a variety of training options.
Only 3% of department chairs receive training in leadership. Some report that it takes them several years to feel grounded in the role. It’s to the school’s advantage to provide resources for them to get the tools and skills they need. In addition to robust campus training programs, encourage external professional development opportunities that are geared toward department chairs, such as ACE’s Leadership Academy for Department Chairs. Also, many disciplines have a “chairs conference” or training at their annual meetings that provide useful information and networking. New chairs may also consider online training opportunities for skills development. - Hire administrative support.
One of the biggest challenges for a new department chair is the large workload. For example, they’re often responsible for staffing classes, budgeting, managing schedules and doing performance reviews. At Leeds, they can choose to forfeit some of their supplemental compensation for serving as department chair and hire an associate department chair who manages administrative tasks. - Ensure the baton gets passed.
An outgoing chair is a valuable resource to a new chair. Sharing files, imparting knowledge and insight, and attending meetings together can set up a new chair to hit the ground running. - Provide mentorship.
New administrators face new rules (written and unwritten) and a different set of skills needed to be successful. A set of mentors, sponsors, support and community is key to this transition. Connect them with other department chairs both within the school and campus-wide to help them tackle challenges and gain support when solving problems. - Encourage networking.
Department heads benefit from building relationships with a wide range of administrators and staff members across campus—the provost’s team, human resources, legal advisors and faculty development—for tactical assistance, breaking through the bureaucracy and moving their agenda forward.
Professor Walt Gmelch, a leading researcher in the study of academic leaders and former dean at the University of San Francisco, asserts that department chairs hold the most important position at a university: They advance their discipline, decide who teaches students, affect graduation rates and serve the professional community.
Given their enormous impact on the caliber of a school, it’s critical that faculty are thoroughly prepared to step into an academic leadership role.
