Transitioning into academic leadership position: What to know and consider
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Leadership training, or preparation for the transition of an athlete into a leadership role, such as to captain or athlete to coach, is a critical element for team success (citation), and an area that has been studied extensively in sport psychology. Coupled with other psychological skills we routinely train, such as stress management, autonomy supportive coaching, and team-building, sport psychology faculty may be uniquely positioned to perform well in academic leadership positions, such as graduate coordinator, department chair, and dean. However, academia does not routinely support leadership development in its professoriate (Aziz et al., 2005) in the same intentional and sequential manner seen in athletics or professional organizations (e.g., president-elect, president, past-president), often resulting in a stressful, unorganized, and scattered transition into leadership positions and may lead to job role-strain and turnover (Tietjen-Smith et al., 2020). It is critical to better equip faculty who either aspire to or are persuaded into leadership positions with an understanding of the scope and tools needed to be successful in academic leadership through appropriate succession planning (Davis, 2019). In this panel, five academic administrators will share their varied experiences in academic leadership positions. Panelists will address typical duties and expectations of the position, discussing how psychology skills play a role in our successes. Panelists will also discuss the barriers they have experienced in their transition (departmental, university, societal) and the impact of being in leadership positions during a pivotal time in higher education as COVID-19 changes the landscape of instruction while colleges and universities nationwide (and society at large) are experiencing a reckoning with their roles in reproducing and reinforcing white supremacy and racism. We’ll share our experiences supporting our colleagues and students through this tumultuous and emotionally-challenging time. Presenters will provide initiatives proposed and implemented to address barriers and better support their students and faculty.
