larrysmith

Recently I made a new acquaintance who asked me when he found out what I did, “how do you make people accountable for results at a university.”  He was new to higher education administration and “frustrated beyond belief” that people responsible for leading change were not held accountable when it did not occur.”

In our last blog post, we noted that there is a retirement wave coming among college and university presidents. As many as fifty percent of presidents may retire in the next five years. They will be replaced by younger professionals who no doubt are bright and capable. In fact, this next generation of leaders may be better prepared to meet the innovation and change challenges ahead.

Recently, a university president came to us with the following questions. “How do I refocus my executive team to work on the innovation and change we need? How can I do it without making everyone defensive and even more protective of their administrative areas?

This article describes five traps higher education executives face when trying to become more effective in their role of leading innovation and change for the future when daily pressures conspire to keep them focused on managing the crises of the present.