On Mirrors, Megaphones, and Mentoring Moments: Professional Development as Everyone’s Responsibility

Those academics among us who have titled positions of leadership—dean, director, department chair—know what our supervisory responsibilities are. We know that we are charged with, among other duties, the supervision of our faculty and others who report directly to us. We know that we need (following whatever system our institution has established) to establish annual performance goals, targeted metrics, and professional development plans that are fair and clear and that support our colleagues as they work toward their career goals. We know that clarity in articulating performance expectations and in delineating the consequences of poor performance, along with providing consistent and timely feedback on performance, advances the overall functioning of our unit and the professional development of those we supervise. (See, for instance, Crookston’s “Optimizing Performance: Three Essentials for Success.”)