Dear Faculty Relations -鈥疻hat do you wish you had known earlier in your career about being a leader? I鈥檇 appreciate hearing from our deans. 鈥� Looking for Advice听

Dear Looking for Advice听-听Here are听some thoughts from our academic deans: 听

  • Listen each time with a 鈥渘ew鈥� ear. Don鈥檛 presume the upcoming personal interaction will be difficult based on past experiences with the individual.鈥�

  • Be open to changing your view or position on something. Seek the counsel and input of those around you whom you respect. It鈥檚 a sign of a good leader.听

  • Quickly learn your context because people will immediately want your view on things. For example, while learning the ins and outs of 兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 new budget model, many I was meeting just after starting wanted to know my thoughts about it.听

  • Don鈥檛 say yes to everything! The number of asks you will receive will outnumber the resources you have to fund them. I always say, 鈥渢hank you for the fresh thinking, and please develop a short white paper on this idea.鈥澨�

  • Prioritize saying 鈥渢hank you.鈥� An email, text, or even better, a handwritten note really lets people know that you, as a leader, value their contributions. 听

  • Celebrate accomplishments. Honor programs when they come to an end, celebrate something new and appreciate ongoing work. A culture of appreciation shows an understanding of the effort and expertise that makes all our efforts possible.听

  • Learn first to be a good follower and model that behavior. Once I became a better follower, I became a better leader and now lead better teams.听听

  • Almost every 鈥渃risis鈥� can be put off until tomorrow. By tomorrow, it鈥檚 likely only a problem, and by next Tuesday, it has probably resolved itself.听听

  • Don鈥檛 be afraid to question the practices of your organization. An important part of leadership is understanding not just what an organization does but how and why it makes certain choices.听

  • Not all the skills that are required to be an outstanding scholar and teacher at a university,听like self-reliance, are necessarily听skills that translate for outstanding leaders at a university. 听You鈥檙e better off learning to be collaborative and fostering cooperative team effort.听

  • I wish I had read more about or consulted with leaders whose leadership style I admire to learn more about managing people.听听

  • I wish I had better understood how much of my academic career (primarily writing) I would have to give up.听

  • As an expert in my field of research, I wish I鈥檇 known that I did not have to be an administrative expert on day one.听 When I allowed myself to be a beginner, I really loved the job, and I got better at it!听

  • It鈥檚 important to acknowledge and elevate your own values and听strategic priorities 鈥� in terms of both your position and your work-life balance.听听听

  • Network broadly 鈥� and LISTEN to what people are communicating to you 鈥� through their words and their actions.听

听

With contributions from:听

  • Glen Krutz, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences听

  • Katherine Schultz Schultz, Dean, School of Education听

  • Keith Molenaar, Dean, College of Engineering & Applied Science听

  • Lolita Buckner Inniss, Dean, University of Colorado Law School听

  • Lori Bergen, Founding Dean, College of Media, Communication and Information听

  • John Davis, Dean, College of Music听

  • E. Scott Adler, Dean of the Graduate School听

  • Scott Battle, Dean, Division of Continuing Education & Professional Studies听

  • Robert McDonald, Dean, University Libraries听

听