Leadership for Academic Units: A Performance Improvement Model for Department Chairs, Deans, and Academic Vice Presidents (and those who aspire to be)

Leadership Enhancements

Changing the organizational structure to be able to effectively manage the “line” functions (departments or colleges, depending on the scope of activities) and the “matrixed” task forces will not yield the desired result if department chairs (or deans) continue to function as they always have. Leading a task force and administering a department each require different sets of management skills. Both skill sets are now required of the department chair. As pointed out in Chapter 1, higher-education leadership is generally transitory, amateurish, and constrained, which is why there is little consistency in how department chairs, deans, and academic vice presidents perform their duties. Many try to emulate what they have seen ...