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Higher Education – Development

The case for comprehensive leadership development in higher education

How to thrive amid new realities in higher educationStrong leadership is crucial for any organization. However, for higher education institutions, the ability to attract, cultivate, and retain great leaders will be key to navigating new realities: reduced funding, changes in technology, increased compliance regulations, and the imperative to improve diversity.1

Yet just as great leaders are needed more than ever before, institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to both find and retain them. Not only are Baby Boomers retiring in greater numbers, but a very real skills shortage means talented employees have more choices about where they work—and how long they stay.

How can institutions not only attract strong leaders but also more effectively cultivate and retain them?

With leadership development.

The case for leadership development A comprehensive, well-designed leadership development program helps higher education institutions:

  Ensure new and existing leaders are equipped to meet future challenges

  Compete in the talent shortage by attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent

  Maintain institutional mission and ensure longevity

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ENSURE NEW AND EXISTING LEADERS ARE EQUIPPED TO MEET FUTURE CHALLENGES.Leadership in higher education is complex. Not only must leaders serve the interests of multiple stakeholders—students, faculty, staff, government, and the community2 —but the traditional, i.e., tenured, path to leadership put faculty and organizations at a disadvantage. The deep subject knowledge and skills necessary to teach and research effectively are distinct from those required to lead. In contrast, providing leadership candidates with development opportunities can help ensure they are ready to navigate:

  Increasingly complex social challenges, growing dissatisfaction with the structure and model of higher education, and the growing need for diversity3

  Pressure from students, boards, and the public to demonstrate “quick wins,” often to the detriment of long-term planning4

  Increased financial constraints due to cuts in government education spending

  The changing nature of technology and how new developments, e.g., the increased use of artificial intelligence, will change learning and work environments

IMPROVE THE ABILITY TO ATTRACT, ENGAGE, AND RETAIN TALENT. From a talent management perspective, leadership development helps institutions:

  Attract new talent, even as the competition for top talent increases, by offering candidates meaningful career development and leadership opportunities

  Engage and retain existing talent by providing continuous development and increased responsibility

  Support succession management—just as leadership development builds skills and drives engagement, it also creates a ready pipeline for succession

  Build and nurture relationships—great leadership can foster collaboration, rather than competition, between individuals, departments, and administrations

MAINTAIN INSTITUTIONAL MISSION AND ENSURE LONGEVITY.The case for leadership development extends beyond ensuring continuity and creating a pipeline for succession. From a mission-centered perspective, leadership development helps institutions:

  Gain buy-in for change. Leaders play an important role in both navigating and facilitating change. Expanding leadership development training builds understanding and buy-in of how the institution works and what is required in terms of resources and productivity.

  Maintain academic values and ensuring consistency. As, higher education faces new pressures from students, government, and the community, leadership can help maintain focus on mission and values amid this pressure and help ensure the institution’s constancy and longevity.5

  Enhance the long-term viability of the institution. Institutional viability depends on leaders who are focused on innovation, adaptation, agility, and collaboration.

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Building a leadership development program: 6 key elements What constitutes an effective leadership development program? Broadly, it’s one that helps individuals expand their capacity and institutions to ensure continuity and mission. More specifically, an effective leadership development strategy is one that:

1. Unifies leadership development and recruiting practices. Institutions that unify recruiting practices and leadership development can hire for desired leadership aptitudes and subsequently foster and support those aptitudes with targeted leadership training.

2. Offers both general leadership development training and targeted training. There are two kinds of leadership training: general and targeted. General leadership development focuses on competencies applicable to all higher education leaders, e.g., management, ethics. Targeted training focuses on leadership skills specific to departments or fields of study.

3. Supports on-the-job practice of leadership skills with formal training. While hands-on practice of leadership skills is crucial, people must also have an initial framework for learning those skills. Formal training—e.g., curriculum focused on competency development—creates a point of reference for on-the-job learning and practice; in turn, on-the-job learning provides real-life context for formalized learning.

4. Relies on curriculum specific to the unique leadership challenges in higher education. Generic content won’t be as effective in developing leaders as content designed for those working in higher education.

5. Uses data and analytics to drive continuous improvement and demonstrate ROI. For administrators, learning analytics are crucial to proving ROI and integrating learning with succession and performance.

6. Makes it easy to access learning opportunities. People are more likely to engage in learning—and be self-directed—when courses are easy to access, i.e., available asynchronously, from multiple devices, etc.

Want to learn more about how to build a successful leadership program? Let’s chat! csod.com/lets-talk

1. Terry Rawls. “The Next 10 Years: Five Challenges Facing Higher Ed Administrators.” The Evolllution. August 6, 2014. Accessible at https://evolllution.com/opinions/10-years-challenges-facing-higher-ed-administrators/

2. Aschalew Degoma Durie and Elias Shetemam Beshir. “Leadership Effectiveness in Higher Education Institutions: The IPA Approach.” Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review. May 30, 2016. Accessible at https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/leadership-effectiveness-in-higher-education-institutions-the-ipa-approach-2223-5833-1000243.php?aid=80195

3. Lisa M. Rudgers and Julie A. Peterson. “Saddle Up: 7 Trends Coming in 2018.” Inside Higher Ed. January 2, 2018. Accessible at https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/01/02/predictions-higher-education-coming-year-opinion

4. Jeffrey Selingo, Sonny Chheng, Cole Clark. “Pathways to the university presidency.” Deloitte Insights. April 18, 2017. Accessible at https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/industry/public-sector/college-presidency-higher-education-leadership.html.

5. David Kiel. “Creating a Faculty Leadership Development Program.” Academic Impressions. December 14, 2015. Accessible at https://www.academicimpressions.com/creating-a-faculty-leadership-development-program/