The Art of Diplomacy
Diplomat—”someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you begin to look forward to the trip.” Well, dean colleague, how good of a diplomat
Thomas McDaniel
May 19, 2025
Diplomat—”someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you begin to look forward to the trip.” Well, dean colleague, how good of a diplomat
Department heads and academic unit leaders in higher education occupy some of the most challenging administrative positions, balancing the often competing needs of faculty, students, and senior leadership. While all
Listening as a leader is the hardest of practices. While we may intend to listen and even think we are listening, too many distractions keep us from just simply hearing
At a recent regional meeting I did a presentation on what leaders could consider when working with Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012). During the discussion, there was
Faculty leadership development is crucial to building the bench of future leaders at our institutions of higher learning. In many ways, our regular practice of promoting faculty into leadership roles
When I interviewed Olivia during the summer of 2024, I was collecting stories from higher education administrators about leadership and burnout. Olivia is a senior leader in academic affairs whose
When we talk to administrators on unionized campuses, they tend to describe the constraints they face and inability to make positive changes for VITAL (visiting, instructional, teaching, and lecturing) faculty.
Exemplifying the trend that dean positions open every four to six years, in the past 26 years, I have held dean and director positions at five institutions—an average a new
One word that I heard repeatedly from the 50+ higher ed leaders I interviewed last summer[*] was “impossible.” According to these interviewees, leadership jobs today are impossible, working with faculty
Those in deanships in higher education change on average every four to six years (Henk, Wepner, and Ali 2022). Given the turnover rate, one would think institutions would have a
