A few months ago, we had the opportunity to co-author and publish a chapter in a book titled Developing Deans (many thanks to editor L. Lynn Vidler for the invitation!). We are overdue in sharing this news, but now that I’ve finally carved out time to dig into the rest of the book, what I am finding there resonates deeply.
Vidler describes the collection as one that considers “how higher education might intentionally and deliberately develop faculty toward deanship, thereby expanding the leadership capacity needed to effectively administer our universities.” The words intentionally and deliberately jump out at me: too often, we fall into leadership roles by accident, by virtue of being competent in a particular area or perhaps simply by virtue of being available to fill a role. And while of course one can learn leadership on the job, how much more useful and rewarding might it be to develop leaders proactively, with intentionality?
Skimming the table of contents, one can see how far we have come from the outdated notion that leaders are born, not made. Our fellow authors privilege terms like mentorship, training, nurturing, and cultivation, whether that involves developing the self for a future leadership role or raising up others in our midst. Perhaps we were all drawn to contributing to this volume because of a shared foundational belief that our institutions can do better.
In our chapter on “Leveraging Slow Leadership to Develop Deans,” Christine, Sheryl, and I emphasize the importance of good communication and of valuing those around you by flattening the hierarchy. Deans and other administrators can foster tremendous goodwill and positive morale when they communicate openly and honestly and when they promote the idea that leadership and good ideas can come from anyone in the organization. I found many of our chapter’s themes echoed in the chapter I just finished reading, “Cultivating Faculty Leadership: The Crucial Role of Deans in Nurturing Stewardship and Shared Governance,” by two professors at Occidental College. One part that sticks in my mind right now is their discussion of how empathy is a crucial characteristic for an effective academic dean because it “supports the nurturing of faculty talents and contributes to a collegial atmosphere conducive to innovation and excellence in teaching and research. It also allows the dean to connect personally with faculty and understand their challenges, concerns and aspirations” (79).
It seems like common sense that our academic (and other!) leaders should have this kind of emotional intelligence but we know that it is not always so. And when it is not so, then that emotional intelligence must be developed, with intention and deliberation. I am eager to continue dipping into the chapters of this book and to find where else Slow Leadership resonates or might be pushed in new directions.