Ed Cornelius
Latest posts by Ed Cornelius (see all)
- How to Get Ready for an ERP Implementation - June 7, 2016
- How to Create a Plan for Upgrading Administrative Software - March 9, 2016
- No More Firefighting!Transform Your Leadership Team in 5 Steps - August 13, 2015
Does the leadership team at your institution spend too much time putting out fires and jumping from one problem to the next? We believe the role of a higher education leadership team should be setting strategic direction, and not bogged down with problems and obstacles.
Is it possible to transform your campus leadership team? Absolutely. And we’ve done it in six months.
A Vision for Campus Leadership Teams
Let’s start with a vision for a (high functioning) campus leadership team:
- The leadership team acts as a cohesive team, not just as a staff representing distinct divisions or departments.
- The leadership team has more engaging and productive meetings and has a greater impact on the institution.
- The leadership team serves as a model to other teams in the institution.
- Over time, the organization faces fewer daily crises; the frequency of “firefighting” has diminished.
How Can this Happen? A Case Study…
Let’s use a recent consulting engagement to illustrate how such a transformation is possible…
The Situation
The leadership team of a university worked fairly well and everyone got along reasonably well; nevertheless they had many opportunities to improve customer relationships, management systems, and operational efficiencies. The team was consumed with endless meetings, unexpected crises, cancelled leadership team meetings, and very little or no scheduled time to look strategically at issues or deal with the long-term patterns that were creating the various daily problems that they faced.
The Goal
The leadership team committed to the goal of transforming the way it operated, to add value as a team, and to learn how to focus on the “important” issues of the institution and not just the “urgent” issues.
The Method
The leadership team agreed to set aside a half-day block of time twice each month to operate together as a team. The focus on this time would be tackling long-term, strategic issues. They agreed not to reschedule and to make a conscious effort not to work on “urgent” items during this time.
Initial Focus
The leadership team posed the following question: “What could we do as a leadership team that, if accomplished in six months, would make the biggest positive impact on our lives and those of our stakeholders.”
Within this context, the leadership team brainstormed and then prioritized major goals they wanted to accomplish as a team over the next six months. (NOTE: these were not goals delegated to others in the organization, but instead were goals that the team itself would work toward achieving).
Outcome
Within six months, the team substantially accomplished three of the four goals they had set, and was able to report moderate progress on the fourth. And further, toward the end of the six-month period, the team was already holding sessions to cascade this process to the next lower level of the organization.
Transforming a Leadership Team in 5 Steps
How did this group accomplish these turnaround results? They followed a simple five-step process. Here it is:
1. Agree on the new role. The leadership team should have a clearly stated vision and purpose that is understood by all team members.
2. Establish a team charter. The leadership team should produce a written understanding of what they will spend time doing and what they will not (i.e., boundaries). This charter will clarify how much time will be spent on the tactical, “urgent,” issues of the institution, and how much time will be spent on the strategic, “important,” issues.
3. Set short-term team goals. Periodically (e.g. every six months) the leadership team will set specific, measurable goals that are aligned and prioritized with the team’s vision. Note that these are not goals for the institution, but rather goals for the leadership team itself.
4. Work as a team to achieve these goals. All members of the leadership team take responsibility for ensuring these goals are met and that the unique talents of the leadership team are used to their fullest extent.
5. Continually repeat the process. After the periodic goals have been accomplished, the leadership team should celebrate its accomplishments, and then start the process again. The team should set new specific, measurable goals that are aligned and prioritized with the team’s purpose so that they become a permanent, continuous improvement team that is constantly adding value to the institution.
The future of higher education is filled with pervasive complexity, ambiguity, and change. However, aligned leadership teams can move higher education institutions to greater heights.
What is possible at your institution if you put aside ‘firefighting’ and focus on strategic issues and goals?
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