Higher education faces unprecedented challenges and paradoxes. Reimagining leadership and developing a new generation of leaders is not optional; it’s urgent.
Our institutions and society need to invest in developing a new generation of leaders with the courage, creativity, and capacity to reimagine higher education and help people and institutions not just survive, but thrive; increasing outcomes for faculty, staff, and students; and co-creating transformational change to move higher education forward.
In my role as a coach, consultant, and speaker, I have the opportunity to work with numerous higher education leaders and leadership teams. I also engage regularly with cutting-edge leaders and thinkers as co-host of Student Affairs Now. Some of the conversations that have spoken about this reimagining of leadership in higher education include:
- The Caring University by Kevin McClure
- Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education edited by Michelle C. Chatman, LeeRay Costa, and David W. Robinson-Morris
- Hope Circuits by Jessica Riddell
- Leading Toward Liberation by Ann Marie Caño
- Shared Equity Leadership by Pullias Center for Higher Education
- Whatever It Is, I’m Against It by Brian Rosenberg
What’s emerging from these conversations is a vision of leadership that looks and feels very different from the traditional model. This reimagining views leadership as:
- A process, not a position
- Centers caring, compassion, and connection
- Centering our purpose
- Slowing down to go faster
- Inclusive, collaborative, collective, and co-created decisions
- Student-centered innovation
- Grounded in power with rather than power over
This approach to leadership challenges traditional hierarchies and embraces a more human, collaborative, and courageous approach. This approach is centered, strategic, caring, and innovative.
- Centered: grounded, steady, engaged, and present
- Strategic: purposeful, systematic, intentional, and aligned
- Caring: connected, compassionate, inclusive, and empowering
- Innovative: creative, nimble, adaptive, and transformational
Your Leadership
As you read these qualities, ask yourself: Which of these come naturally to me? Which could I intentionally develop further? And where might I seek colleagues or team members whose strengths can complement my own?”
The future of higher education depends on leaders who are willing to adopt new approaches to leadership. No one embodies all of these qualities, but the best leaders invest in their growth and build teams that complement their talents to make the organization stronger. If you’re ready to develop this kind of leadership capacity within yourself or your institution, let’s connect to discuss coaching your leaders and leadership teams.
