Higher ed is facing unprecedented challenges. If you are a leader operating from a fear- and scarcity-based mindset, there’s plenty of evidence to justify that perspective. But leading from fear and scarcity will not help us move our people, institutions, or students forward. To navigate this moment, we must also see the possibilities and strategically move toward better tomorrows for us all.
A colleague recently recommended an article from Harvard Business Review, Now Is the Time for Courage: Five Strategies to Drive Bold Action Amid Uncertainty by Harvard Business professor Ranjay Gulati. I’ve been sharing it widely ever since. Gulati uses research and examples to show how leaders facing the toughest challenges can still drive courageous action to advance their organizations.
In my role as a coach, consultant, and speaker, I have the opportunity to speak with higher education leaders across the US and Canada on a weekly basis. Additionally, through hosting Student Affairs Now, I engage with some of the very best scholars and practitioners in our field. Across those conversations, I see a clear divide: some leaders hunker down, retreat, and focus only on survival, while others clarify, invest, and advance even in the midst of difficulty.
Higher Education is Facing Unprecedented Challenges
- We live in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous). This is not a passing storm. It’s the new normal, and we need to lead with and through it.
- The challenges are real: budget cuts, erratic state legislatures, federal policy swings, enrollment cliffs, staff disengagement and attrition, and upheaval in shared governance.
- Leaders are uneasy. Even those with strong enrollments and short-term surpluses aren’t reassured. They’re bracing for what next year might bring.
Advancing Through the Challenges
The goal is not just to survive or minimize harm, it’s to advance the purpose and people of our institutions in ways that strengthen, deepen, and grow.
- Focus on strengths and differentiation. What sets you apart from peer institutions? Where can you invest to move forward?
- See the opportunities in the obstacles. Budget shortfalls can spark tough but necessary prioritization. Enrollment challenges can push innovation. Staff attrition can open space for rethinking roles and structures.
- Ask possibility questions. What new paths do these challenges reveal? What once felt impossible but now feels feasible? How can today’s difficulties be leveraged to create better tomorrows?
Practicing Courageous Leadership
For leaders who want to move their institutions forward but feel daunted, here are practices that make courage actionable:
- Be the eye of the storm. Don’t wait for the storm to pass and bring you calm, peace, and joy. Learn to be the eye at the center of the hurricane. Stay grounded and centered within yourself to more effectively navigate the storm around you.
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Leading boldly is not easy. It will come with fear, criticism, and mistakes. The best leaders are not all-knowing and self-assured; they are comfortable being uncomfortable and are able to learn, adjust, and do better.
- Consider identities and power. We tend to focus on the power we don’t have and ignore the power we do have. Lean into this.
- Do less to be more. Curate, subtract, and simplify to invest in what matters most.
- Make the hard calls. This won’t be easy, smooth, or popular. It will be hard and you’ll face plenty of criticism and self-doubt. That doesn’t mean you are doing it wrong – it often means you are doing it right.
- Lead, co-create, and communicate a shared vision. This must not be your vision but a collaboratively, quickly, and efficiently co-created vision. Communicate this vision and the aligned actions that will move you toward it explicitly, clearly, and often.
- Practice courageous humility. If your focus is on you or how this positions you to move up or your next (better) job, you’ll lose your rudder. If your focus is on being of service to the people and the institution, you will keep your rudder and make the right decisions (that will also benefit you when the time is right). Courageous humility. Blend courage and boldness about your work and purpose with personal humility.
- Lead Courageously. Gulati’s HBR strategies add further evidence and practical steps: create a positive narrative, cultivate confidence, take small steps, find connection, and stay calm.
Leading Toward Better Tomorrows
Higher education is facing unprecedented challenges. It is a very difficult time to be a higher education leader. We are in a leadership crisis in higher education. The cost of poor leadership has never been higher. We need exceptional leadership more than ever.
I help higher education leaders and leadership teams get out of their own way, move forward, clarify their aims, and align actions, creating transformation for better tomorrows for us all. If you are ready to invest in your institution’s leadership, let’s connect to talk about developing your leadership team’s courageous leadership.
