"Successful chairpersons are always easy to identify. They and
their departments are viewed on and off campus as somehow special.
Indeed, an air of energy usually surrounds a department headed by
such a person; it is evident in the behavior and attitude of the
faculty and students. Pride seems to emanate from the department
itself."
Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#542 Seven Habits of Successful Chairpersons
Folks:
The posting below looks at seven keys to being a successful department
chair. It is from Chapter 2: Seven Habits of Successful Chairpersons,
in Academic Leadership, A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department
by Deryl R. Leaming, Middle Tennessee State University. Anker Publishing
Company, Inc., Bolton, Massachusetts. Copyright 1998 by Anker Publishing
Company, Inc. http://www.ankerpub.com/ Reprinted with permission.
Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: The Twenty First Century Library
Tomorrow's Academia
--------------------------------- 1,216 words -----------------------------
SEVEN HABITS OF SUCCESSFUL CHAIRPERSONS
One of the biggest complaints I hear against administrators is
that they don't give faculty members straight answers.
Successful chairpersons are always easy to identify. They and their
departments are viewed on and off campus as somehow special. Indeed,
an air of energy usually surrounds a department headed by such a
person; it is evident in the behavior and attitude of the faculty
and students. Pride seems to emanate from the department itself.
So what is it that these chairpersons have in common? Is it something
others can acquire? I will try to answer the first question; you
can answer the second.
1. Successful chairpersons have goals.
Their goals are no secret. They are well articulated, shared with
the faculty, and pursued until accomplished.
I learned something recently about developing goals, and I don't
know why it took me so long to discover it. When our provost and
vice president for academic affairs asked each dean to submit goals
for the year, she said to limit them to not more than four or five.
"I don't think you can focus sufficiently on too many more
than that," she explained. She's right, I think. Four or five
important goals are sufficient for any year. Obviously each may
have many parts, so it's not as if you are accomplishing only a
few things annually.
No matter how many goals you settle on, it is important that you
define and develop them fully. You then must commit the department
to carrying them out, and you must see that sufficient time and
resources are made available to satisfy the goals.
2. Successful chairpersons get to know their colleagues and fellow
administrators.
They know the interests of faculty members, both professional and
personal. They know something about their personal lives. They come
to know the potential of each person in the department, and they
give them room to grow and develop-even to make mistakes.
Have you ever noticed how much harder you are willing to work for
someone who seems to understand you, who inquires from time to time
about your family, who remembers your favorite baseball team, and
who does not get angry and hold it against you forever if you make
a mistake? As chairpersons we need to be sensitive to the needs
of the faculty, and we cannot do that unless we get to know them.
3. Successful chairpersons are agents of change.
He or she understands that the status quo-even if comfortable-often
may stunt progress or fail to meet the needs of students.
We must look as far into the future as our best lights permit.What's
out there? And what does it mean to students who will be in the
workforce 10, 15, 20 years from now? What are the scientific,
technological, social, and economic forces that are shaping society?
Are we helping our students to understand these forces? With the
world changing so fast, we must be knowledgeable about directions
and tendencies. We must be avid readers and observers of new professional
developments, and we must be persuasive enough to engage the faculty
in this pursuit.
4. Successful chairpersons understand and appreciate teaching,
research, and public service.
While most chairpersons have heavy administrative burdens, they
must try to find time to keep their hands in each of these areas.
Faculty members respect chairpersons who are active in areas in
which they nare evaluated. They resent administrators finding fault
when the administrators themselves have not proved themselves in
teaching, research, and public service.
I remember how faculty members at another school resented a dean
who often rejected applications for promotion because the applicant
supposedly "had not done enough research." They resented
his
assessment because the dean himself had never done any research.
The point here is that as a chairperson, you are expected to serve
as a good role model when it comes to fulfilling basic responsibilities
that you expect of others.
Successful chairpersons must provide leadership for the assessment
of teaching, scholarship, and service. Chapter Sixteen deals directly
with these matters.
5. Successful chairpersons are honest, forthright, decent people.
They make tough calls and are decisive even when the decision goes
against those whom they would most like to please. Also, they make
clear that they cannot respond favorably to all requests. One of
the biggest complaints I hear against administrators is that they
don't give faculty members straight answers. They say what others
want to hear rather than what must be said.
I've worked with many different kinds of administrators, many honest
ones, and some who were less than honest. There were some I always
had to play games with. I am fortunate that the person I report
is not like that at all. She is honest. There's no game playing.
As a consequence, I like my job all the more, and I will do all
I can to meet her expectations.
6. Successful chairpersons are fair and evenhanded.
No matter how principled we are, it is difficult not to want to
show favoritism toward those we get along with best.
For your own good and for the good of the department, you must
learn that everyone profits from fairness and evenhandedness. Many
of the faculty members in your department will be resentful and
unsupportive if there are lapses.
7. Successful chairpersons are consensus builders and good communicators.
Their leadership style is to develop ideas and persuade others
to support them. They are good, and they also are good at communicating
their ideas.
I've watched and evaluated many different chairpersons. I have
seen them fail, even when they had good ideas. Faculty members need
to be involved in the department and its changes. Failure to involve
them generally means that new ideas are not going to be accepted.
Successful chairpersons understand this and work carefully to keep
faculty members informed and to get their support.
There undoubtedly are other character traits that successful chairpersons
have in common. Those enumerated here seen to stand out above all
others. I know that if you have these qualities, you are likely
to succeed. Faculty-members will give you their support, and you
will find that your dean and provost will provide support as well.
Of course when you are successful, the job is more enjoyable. Others
notice and praise your work, and, above all, your students are the
big winners. They are studying in a stronger, more vital department,
and they are being taught by people who are happier with their jobs.
At the beginning of this chapter, I raised two questions: 1) What
do successful chairpersons have in common? 2) Can these traits be
acquired? I indicated I would try to answer the first question and
leave the second to you. However, I can't resist trying to answer
the second as well. I strongly believe that these successful habits
can be acquired. With hard work and practice, we can all learn to
develop goals, get to know people who make up the department, and
become agents of change. Likewise, we can develop an understanding
and appreciation for teaching, research, and public service.
Furthermore, we can be honest and fair, and we can work to be consensus
builders. In short, it seems to me that all of us have a chance
to be successful if we acquire these habits.
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