Department Chair Leadership Skills

Citation

Lloyd‐Jones, B. (2012), "Department Chair Leadership Skills", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 245-248. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231211210585

Although academic chairpersons have a vital role in the success of their departments, only 3 percent of them receive effective training in leadership (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011). In their book, Department Chair Leadership Skills, Gmelch and Miskin (2011, p. 5) emphasize that “the time of “amateur administration” – where professors play musical chairs, stepping occasionally into the role of department chair – is over”. To their credit, the authors offer academicians practical ways in which to develop leadership skills. Drawing from their own combined extensive scholarship, research findings, and higher education leadership experiences, Gmelch and Miskin have written a comprehensive resource manual replete with self‐assessment activities, planning forms, and leadership inventories and instruments, thus demonstrating their commitment to leadership training and the development of the “next generation of department chairs” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 18).

The current leadership crisis in higher education has challenged the traditional vision of an academic leader as a quiet, scholarly type as compared with that of an “executive who is politically astute and economically savvy” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 17). Increasingly, academic chairpersons are responsible for external funding opportunities, personnel decisions, alumni relations, and balancing of their roles as faculty member and administrator, can be both problematic and difficult (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011). According to the authors, an effective academic department requires the department head to assume four primary roles: faculty developer, manager, leader, and scholar. Acquiring proficiency in each of these roles necessitates leadership development and training of department chairs.

Rather than designate specific training programs as the solution, the authors introduce three focus areas essential to the development of effective academic department chairs. The first is a conceptual understanding of the numerous dimensions and unique responsibilities of academic leadership. Skill development is the second area, encompassing both on‐the‐job experience and formal training in acquiring competencies necessary to achieve results through working with faculty, staff, students, and other administrators. The third area of leadership development is the practice of reflection, and it incorporates learning from past experience, self‐knowledge, and corrective feedback (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, pp. 18‐21). While the development of talented chairs requires all three of these areas, the authors asserts that “ultimately, leadership development resides with individuals' own motivation and talent, and with the reception of their organizations to supporting and coaching their skills” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 22).

The volume examines at length the chief roles, responsibilities, and duties of department chairs. One of their key tasks is developing an academic team with a goal of advancing a “productive community of colleagues” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 24). The authors are explicit in their use of the word “team” when referring to a productive academic unit, calling attention to the enjoyable and effective relationships teams often experience. Although members of an academic team do not always agree with one another, colleagues in successful departments draw on their ability to work efficiently together despite their differences (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011). In this section of the book, the authors help prospective and existing chairs to define what it means to be a team, to assess their readiness in cultivating such a cohort in their department, and to examine the vital characteristics for team development. They present a definition of the term “academic team” adapted from Katzenbach and Smith (1993): “An academic team is a manageable number of faculty members with multiple perspectives, complementary skills and compatible group processes who are committed to a common purpose and hold themselves mutually accountable for its results” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 45). They add, “The essence of academic leadership lies in the ability to develop a functioning community of faculty colleagues who work as a team” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 36).

A resounding theme in Department Chair Leadership Skills is the importance of goal‐setting and action‐planning to produce department results, which is another major responsibility of department chairs, according to the authors. The development of this particular skill involves identifying the mission of the department, isolating key outcome areas, and setting goals. Four questions are essential to this process: what opportunities or potential rewards are possible for the department; what are the existing levels of department productivity; how can they be continued or improved; and how can the chair influence faculty productivity? Gmelch and Miskin (2011, p. 76) note, “The challenge as department chair is to cultivate a team attitude that encourages individual excellence, strengthens relationships among faculty and staff, and celebrates long‐term department success”.

One of the book's many strengths is the emphasis placed on the act of managing time, conflict, and stress, which represents a critical skill‐set that directly impacts the effectiveness and productivity of academic leaders. While sensitive to the issue of time management and its importance to the process of leadership, Gmelch and Miskin (2011, p. 88) nonetheless contend that the solution to time management is not more time but rather “more control over what you choose to do and when you choose to do it”. The authors explain that skilled department chairs set clear priorities and make definitive, although seldom easy, choices in relation to those priorities.

Managing conflict is a challenge in that controversy is inherent in the chair's position, and academic leaders must inevitably reconcile the differing concerns of administration and faculty. The book includes a study conducted by the Center for the Study of the Department Chair, in which department heads identified conflict with faculty as their principal source of stress. Among their many contributions, Gmelch and Miskin (2011) expertly delineate the nature and causes of conflict, explore effective response choices, and provide approaches for handling opposing views.

Managing stress – which not only requires chairs to control it but also to use it to their advantage – is another important skill, and the authors present a framework for administrators to cope with various kinds of tension. While examining the nature of dissension, the authors assert that “excessive stress is a disease endemic to higher education, invading all aspects of the university” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 145). In a study that ranks stressors specific to chairs, findings indicate that the number one factor is “having insufficient time to stay current in my academic field” (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011, p. 121). In this part of the book, the authors illuminate the adverse consequences of stress which, when left unchecked and undirected, can generate psychological, emotional, and physical concerns for department chairs, their departments, and ultimately the overall institution.

Whereas the earlier chapters of the book include the disadvantages and drawbacks to department leadership, readers will note in the final chapter the authors' focus on the positive side of chairing a department, discussing the rewards and benefits that provide balance for the chair's professional life. Research findings on the advantages of department leadership reveal six distinct areas of reward: financial reward, personal sense of achievement, personal sense of power, altruistic satisfaction, departmental success, and personal growth (Gmelch and Miskin, 2011). This section offers numerous suggestions to department heads about how to gauge their legacy and how to develop further as an academic leader.

In summary, the second edition of Gmelch and Miskin's (2011) eight‐chapter book positions three areas of leadership development as an analytical framework for determining what is required to develop academic chairpersons: conceptual understanding, skill development, and reflective practice. Specifically, they focus on the unique roles, responsibilities, and specific skills that academic department chairs need to lead their department, including developing an academic team, encouraging department productivity, setting goals and action plans, and managing time, conflict, and stress. The authors emphasize the responsibility of chairs to transition from specialists (scholars) to generalists (administrators) embracing the charge to influence the futures of their department. Rich with exercises for self‐evaluation and assessment and detailed leadership strategies and techniques for chairing academic departments, Department Chair Leadership Skills is well worth reading and particularly useful for newly appointed chairpersons, seasoned veterans, and prospective department chairs. The volume should be required reading for academic team members seeking to increase their understanding of this important position and its affect on their professional vitality and success.