If you are a dean or a department chair, you are probably spending some energy these days planning the meeting you will have with your faculty to mark the opening of the 2025–26 year. I have written on this topic before, back when I was a well-intentioned dean trying to help my faculty get a good start to what promised to be (and was) a difficult year. Now I am a faculty member anticipating that start-of-the-year meeting from a new perspective.

Ted Lasso’s Playbook for Academic Leadership: Rethinking Performance Reviews
The Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso (2020–) has captured hearts with its charm, but it also offered a masterclass in leadership. Ted’s approach—rooted in humility, emotional intelligence, and belief