Pilot Leadership Program Prepares Department Chairs and Heads for Success

The Leadership Development Program for Department Chairs and Heads held its inaugural pilot program in July, bringing together 18 department chairs and heads from six colleges for five half-day sessions focused on strengthening leadership and effectiveness and building capacity to lead academic units through change and growth.

Developed through a collaboration between the Office of the Provost and Human Resources, the program adapted elements of the university's existing Supervisor Development Program specifically for department chairs and heads. Participants ranged from newly appointed leaders to those with as many as 10 years of experience in the role.

"Department chairs and heads have an enormous influence on the experiences of our faculty and students, but the transition into these roles can be challenging," said Anna Zajicek, vice provost for faculty affairs. "Building on our strong and expanding collaboration with Human Resources, this program gives them practical tools they can use immediately while also creating a community of colleagues they can turn to for advice and support. The response to our pilot was very encouraging, and we look forward to building on its success with additional opportunities for chairs and heads in the months ahead."

The five sessions, facilitated by Anne Shelley, director of talent and organization development, addressed leading at the U of A, leading oneself, leading individuals and departments, and leading strategically. Topics included communication and feedback, conflict management, emotional intelligence, effective faculty meetings, decision-making, strategic planning and change management.

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive. All respondents rated the sessions as valuable or very valuable for department chairs and heads, and all said they would recommend the program to colleagues. Participants gave very high scores to program effectiveness, repeatedly cited peer connections, discussions of shared challenges and opportunities to practice difficult conversations and other real-world leadership scenarios as strengths of the program.

Building on that success, the Office for Faculty Affairs plans to offer just-in-time refresher sessions throughout the year, providing practical guidance and support as leadership needs and challenges arise. Future efforts will also include development of a Building the Bench program, in collaboration with Human Resources, to help identify and prepare faculty members for future academic leadership roles.

Together, these new and existing initiatives are intended to build a leadership development and support ecosystem that nurtures academic leaders at every career stage, from faculty exploring initial leadership roles to experienced chairs and heads seeking to strengthen their leadership effectiveness and advance their professional growth.

For more information about this program, as well as other leadership development opportunities, visit the Faculty Affairs site.