In higher-ed, there is a widely-held myth that the smartest person in the room should lead. We take for granted that someone who is smart can lead, and when we don't take steps to prepare or develop our people for leadership positions, leaders are more likely to derail. This is a problem, because college and university leaders at all levels increasingly face complex challenges without easy solutions. They are navigating unknown territory. When we lead in the absence of a map, often we rely too heavily on what we already know or think we know well. We fall back on tradition, losing sight of the creativity and the risks we need to take now. We rely more heavily on "smartship" than leadership. We are especially prone to this tendency in higher education because of the unique weight we assign to hierarchy and tradition. This tendency leads to four destructive dynamics, and Pat Sanaghan's new book explores these four in depth and offers specific strategies for countering them. These four include: Derailment of the leader - wherein leaders are often promoted on the basis of academic prowess or past achievement but lack the management training, development, and support needed to succeed. Seduction of the leader - wherein leaders incorrectly believe they are receiving accurate intel about what is happening within their division. Arrogance - wherein we over-emphasize and reward individual achievement rather than encourage leaders to seek broad input and approach complex issues as a team endeavor. Micromanagement - wherein the risk averse culture of higher ed fosters leadership patterns that emphasize control and predictability rather than the risk taking, courage, and empowerment of one's people that leadership in today's higher education requires. EARLY REVIEWS FOR THE BOOK: "Pat Sanaghan has done an excellent job of identifying the unique characteristics of executive positions in higher education and offering a learning agenda that will assure success for university and college leaders. This book should be required reading for any president, and deserves a place on every leader's desk in higher education." - Bob Kustra, President Emeritus, Boise State University "Noting that the academy usually fails to select and prepare leaders with the right traits and experiences, Sanaghan's book is masterful at not only helping leaders prevent derailment and failure, but also at helping new and experienced leaders succeed. This is a wonderful keep-by-your-side manual for higher-ed leaders." - Rebecca Chopp, Chancellor, University of Denver

Grady Bogue, organize, classify, and explain patterns of leadership failures, drawing on firsthand testimonies from "deraileduniversity presidents, sixteen case studies in four sectors of higher education, and reviews of the scholarly literature on leadership failures in the public and private sectors.

"Building on research from Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It, Gerald B. Kauvar, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, and E. Gordon Gee approach the matter of college and university leadership from a positive angle: what lessons can we learn from successful college and university leaders? The rolodex of authors--a veritable Who's Who in American Higher Education today--reveal the secret to success in leading institutions with real-life examples. Not content with vague answers or clichéd platitudes, the authors provide specifics on a list of core questions: how do you manage college athletics, the faculty, a governing board, donors, and a local community? How do you control an institutional budget and investment portfolio? What do you need to know about crisis management and legal affairs? When should you be outspoken in the media and when should you shut up? Leading Colleges and Universities is a primer on how successful presidents lead successful schools"--

Winner of the 2012 ASHE/CAHEP Barbara Townsend Lecture AwardTo prosper and thrive in an increasingly unpredictable national and global environment, U.S. higher education will need to adapt, innovate, and evolve once again, as it has during every major societal change over the past four centuries.The purpose of this new edition, published a turbulent decade after the first, is to provide institutional leaders -- from department chairs to trustees -- with a broad understanding of the academic enterprise, strategic guidance, and key principles, to assist them in navigating the future and drive the success of their institutions as they confront the unimagined.Recognizing that the hallmark of higher education in the U.S. is the diversity of institution types, each of which is affected differently by external and internal influences, the authors provide examples and ideas drawn from the spectrum of colleges and universities in the not-for-profit sector.This book covers the major functions and constituent departments and units within institutions; the stakeholders from students and faculty through the echelons of administration; the external environment of elected officials, foundations, philanthropists, and the new changing media; and innovations in teaching, technology, data analytics, legal frameworks, as well as economic, demographic, and political pressures.The book is informed by the proposition that adhering to four principles--which the authors identify as having enabled institutions of higher education to successfully navigate ever-changing and volatile pasts--will enable them to flourish in the coming decades:The four principles are:1. Be mission centric by making all key decisions based on a core mission and set of values.2. Be able to adapt to environmental change in alignment with the mission and core values.3. Be committed to democratic ideals by seeking to promote them and modeling democratic practices on and off campus.4. Be models for inclusion, equity, and positive social change.

Offering a unique insider view of higher education, Ferris and Waldron skillfully showcase expert leadership, providing a rich and meaningful understanding of higher education leadership from across the nexus of existential, philosophical and practical concerns.

FIRST EDITION SPECIAL RECOGNITION:Winner of the 2018 Sue DeWine Distinguished Scholarly Book Award, National Communication Association, Applied Communication Division REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION“The book provides frameworks and resources that would be highly relevant for new and aspiring department chairs. In fact, this text is ideally designed to serve as a selection for a book discussion group.”—The Department Chair“Succeeds in providing accessible and useful resources to individuals across different leadership roles... As a midpoint between textbook and reference work, it is successful at both and provides a clear and unbiased background to issues facing current leaders.”—Reflective TeachingDuring a time of unprecedented challenges facing higher education, the need for effective leadership – for informal and formal leaders across the organization – has never been more imperative.Since publication of the first edition, the environment for higher education has become more critical and complex. Whether facing falling enrollments, questions of economic sustainability, the changing composition of the faculty and student bodies, differential retention and graduation rates, declining public confidence in the enterprise, or the rise in the use of virtual technologies – not to mention how COVID-19 and an intensified focus on long standing issues of racial and gender representation and equity have impacted institutions and challenged many long-standing assumptions – it is clear that learning on the job no longer suffices. Leadership development in higher education has become essential for advancing institutional effectiveness, which is the focus of this book.Taking into account the imperative issues of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and the context of institutional mission and culture, this book centers on developing capacities for designing and implementing plans, strategies, and structures; connecting and engaging with colleagues and students; and communicating and collaborating with external constituencies in order to shape decisions and policies. It highlights the need to think broadly about the purposes of higher education and the dynamics of organizational excellence, and to apply these insights effectively in goal setting, planning and change leadership, outcomes assessment, addressing crises, and continuous improvement at both the level of the individual and organization.The concepts and tools in this book are equally valuable for faculty and staff leaders, whether in formal leadership roles, such as deans, chairs, or directors of institutes, committees, or task forces, or those who perform informal leadership functions within their departments, disciplines, or institutions. It can be used as a professional guide, a textbook in graduate courses, or as a resource in leadership training and development programs. Each chapter concludes with a series of case studies and guiding questions.

Combining expert knowledge, experience and reflections from senior leaders to distil collective leadership experiences, this book explores the realities of leadership at universities rather than the imagined and often-unrealistic expectations and perceptions of how leaders should act. This key text is an informed insider’s guide to leadership transitions that will assist talented individuals in considering whether to apply for, how to prepare for and how to take on the task of leading a university. The collection of leadership experiences provided will help universities to be more successful, students to have great educational experiences and staff at all levels to have more-fulfilling working environments. It will also consider how to avoid the emotional pain and suffering that can arise when leaders find themselves poorly equipped, unprepared, unable or unwilling to provide the sound and competent leadership that universities deserve. Centred on the practice and experience of leadership, this book will be a must-read for all new and existing heads of universities. It will also provide useful insights to those actively involved in the recruitment and development of senior leaders, members of senior leadership teams and those who hold governance roles in universities. Further updates and details about the application of the ideas in the book in practice can be found at www.leadershiptransitionsatthetop.com/.