Defining Leadership: Why Do You Want to Lead?
What Kind of Leader Do You Want to Be?
This short article shares a list of leadership behaviors that up-and-coming leaders should think about, with the most important ‘footprints’ being intent (what kind of leader you want to be) and impact (what legacy you want to leave).
Newton, R. (2015). What Kind of Leader Do You Want to Be? Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-kind-of-leader-do-you-want-to-be
Should I Be the Next Chair?
These are questions for faculty members to ask themselves before deciding to take an administrative position for the first time.
Lehfeldt, E. A. (2015). Should I Be the Next Chair? Chronicle Vitae.
Retrieved from: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/969-should-i-be-the-next-chair?cid=articlepromo
Self-Awareness: Strength and Weaknesses
Managing Oneself
This Harvard Business Review Classic targets knowledge workers who often must become their own chief executive officers. The current article poses several important questions to ponder and provides advice to more effectively develop a career. An excellent read for today’s leaders, whose careers often span decades and who may re-invent themselves on many occasions.
Drucker, P. F. (2008). Managing Oneself. Harvard Business Review Press.
StrengthsFinder 2.0
Gallup provides hundreds of strategies to help people find their talents and develop their strengths. This book also provides structured ways to solicit team discussion.
Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0. Simon and Schuster.
The 3 Qualities That Make a Good Dean
With more than 10 years of experience as a dean, the author talks about how and why he accepted the position and shares three most important qualities needed for the position.
Bruner, R. F. (2017). The 3 Qualities That Make a Good Dean. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
What Makes a Leader?
This article was a best seller in 1998 from the Harvard Business Review when the concept of emotional intelligence was first brought up as a leadership quality. Dr. Goleman claims emotional intelligence (which refers to high levels of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill) is key to serving as an effective leader. There are more detailed resources on the topic of emotional intelligence.
Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader
The Most Productive Way to Develop as a Leader
The current article shares a different and creative perspective for a leader: a playful self-concept. The author argues “play-mode” fosters creativity and innovation.
Ibarra, H. (2015). The Most Productive Way to Develop as a Leader. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/03/the-most-productive-way-to-develop-as-a-leader
What Makes Good Leaders
The college administrator’s survival guide
There are different roles and expectations for college administrators and here are the common dilemmas that many college administrators struggle to navigate through. The author offers tips, insights, and tools on dealing with not-entirely-manageable environments.
Gunsalus, C. K. (2006). The college administrator’s survival guide. Harvard University Press.
The Harvard Business Review Manager’s Handbook: The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out
This handbook is devoted to help readers develop leadership skills with step-by-step advice and best practices on specific topics. The advice ranges from building credibility and emotional intelligence to recruiting and understanding financial strategies.
Harvard Business Review (2017). The Harvard Business Review Manager’s Handbook: The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out. Harvard Business Review Press.
To Succeed as a First-Time Leader, Relax
This article acknowledges how stressful role transition to a leadership position may be, and introduces structured process to the smooth the transition. The process follows mindset shift, mindfulness skills, medical wellness, and meaning structures. Each step is succinctly explained with personal and evidence-based examples.
Brendel, D. (2016). To succeed as a first-time leader, relax. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/09/to-succeed-as-a-girst-time-leader-relax
For New Academic Leaders
Advice for new administrators
The author provides friendly quick tips for rookies in administrative positions.
Lehfeldt, E. (2016). Advice for new administrators. Chronicle Vitae.
Retrieved from: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1513-advice-for-new-administrators
They don’t train us for this
This article has a subtitle as ’13 lessons I wish someone had taught me before I became an academic administrator.’ A short but practical wisdom piece from an experienced academic administrator.
Schwarback, F. (2016). They don’t train us for this. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Retrieved from: http://www.chronicle.com/article/They-Don-t-Train-Us-for-This/23729
Your To-Do List as Chair
Five core responsibilities expected for a chair are explained with applicable examples.
Jenkins, R (2015). Your To-Do List as Chair. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Chair in despair
This article contains a consultation on common difficulties that a new department chair often experiences. Several suggestions are provided by a president of National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.
Rockquemore, K. A. (2016). Chair in despair. Inside Higher Education.
Advice to Academic Leaders
Caught in the Middle
Department chairs commonly feel helpless in the face of trying to meet everyone’s needs. The author answers to the struggles with detailed strategies for coping.
Gunsalus, C. K. (2009). Inside Higher Education.
Retrieved from: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/survival_guide/gunsalus11
Friend or Administrator?
The author offers a realistic advice to those who are struggling with interpersonal role conflicts in administrative positions.
Gunsalus, C. K. (2010). Inside Higher Education.
Retrieved from: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/survival_guide/gunsalus20
Deeper Dive: Academic Review and other Sources
The Nature of Leadership
The work consists of 16 chapters exhaustively reviewing what has been achieved in the field of leadership. Starting from the overall insight on the topic from the two prominent editors, the book addresses important issues including science and method in the field, different schools of leadership theories, and leadership with more specific topics (e.g., ethics, gender, culture). Particularly, Chapter 4 (The Nature of Leadership Development) explains theories on how leaders emerge and leadership develops.
Day, D. V., & Antonakis, J. (2012). The Nature of Leadership. Sage.
Advances in Leader and Leadership Development: A Review of 25 Years of Research and Theory
This review article summarizes 25 years of theoretical and empirical research on the topic of leadership. The review provides a list of intra-/inter-personal competencies of leaders (e.g., personality, skills); explains process factors that shape the pattern of leadership development over time; addresses the longitudinal nature of leadership development; and finally shows how leadership development has been assessed in varying methods (e.g., social network analysis).
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.
Transitions between Faculty and Administrative Careers
Providing extensive real life examples, this book is a collection of wisdom on how to manage challenges of transitioning between faculty and administrative careers, written by multiple experts on each topic. Issues such as building a diverse support team, developing flexible management skills to enhance all types of professional relationships, actively bridging academe and administration, and articulating your vision, among others, are discussed in detail. There are also a couple of chapters addressing back transition.
Henry, R. J. (2006). Jossey-Bass.
Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence
Dr. Goleman, the emotional intelligence expert, provides stories and anecdotes on how leaders in corporations and schools can positively influence others by priming good feelings in team.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.