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Establishing your own internal Leadership Academy can be one of the best decisions you will make as a college president. We often have hidden talent at our colleges and miss wonderful opportunities to uncover and discover such talent given set roles and responsibilities. As college presidents we rarely see people in roles other than what is defined or allowed by their given job. A “Grow Your Own” Leadership Academy can change that. A Leadership Academy has numerous benefits, including: Values: Creating an on-campus Leadership Academy is a great opportunity to strengthen your employee’s knowledge and buy-in of your college values. It can provide an avenue for meaningful discussions surrounding those values. Culture: Maintaining, building upon, or changing the college culture can occur when you create and structure the expectations of your desired expectation. Providing for and intentionally creating interactions and activities will reinforce those cultural changes over time. Increased communication: Communication increases due to the structured conversations and the depth of interaction that is part of the academy. Communication among colleagues, and between and among groups, improves along with an understanding of communication styles, and the need and value of constant positive and effective communication. Networking and Collaboration: Getting people to work together enhances services to students and the community. Breaking down existing or perceived barriers comes about when people work closely together in the academy. The academy will provide for greater collaboration and networking and increase participant’s involvement in your college. Leadership Assessments: Assessing leadership styles and strengths is often an eye- opener, not only for the participant, but for those who interact with that person. We know that people become more effective as they become more self-reflective and knowledgeable. They also perform better when they know and use their strengths. You and your administrative team will also see participant’s hidden strengths and talents thereby enabling you to tap into those strengths for the benefit of the college. Ideas and Problem-Solving: You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many wonderful ideas will be generated and how many college problems can be either formally or informally solved through the interaction, networking and communication of those in the academy and through structured activities. Real projects and problems can be used as learning experiences in your academy resulting in innovative solutions. Participants will also increase their understanding of college operations. Professional Growth: Participants develop professional growth plans, often with a mentoring component that truly helps your employees identify professional goals with a clear pathway to accomplishing those goals. It also provides participants an increased awareness of professional opportunities, potential roadblocks, and solutions. You will also identify people with talents who can assume new responsibilities as well as those you can eventually promote. You will also see an increase in self-confidence and greater professionalism in participants. Fun: Academies are fun amidst a lot of work, sharing, bonding, and development. Academies promote a positive atmosphere among colleagues as well as create a bond with the president. How the College Brain Trust can help you The Leadership Academy takes some time to develop because it needs to be specific and unique to your college and your culture. College Brain Trust consultant Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg and other CBT consultants such as Rocky Young, George Boggs, and Fran White, can help you develop the Academy through a Steering Team using a structured process to identify and accomplish your expected outcomes, along with assessing the projected leadership and personnel needs of your college. CBT will help develop the outcomes, the curriculum, the timeline, the application process, your targeted participants, retreats, speakers, assignments and mentoring program. We will also help assess your academy after it concludes and help you make desired changes based on input received. Typically, a two-day retreat with your Steering Team followed by a few more organizational meetings will enable you to develop your academy. The Steering Team typically includes a top-level administrator who will be responsible for the academy, a couple of other administrators/managers, faculty and classified leaders and a few hours of the President’s time to set the stage, review expectations and provide input as to the critical topics the Presidents believes should be a necessary part of the academy. Typical Leadership Academy topics will be identified by you, and your Steering Team, based on your expected outcomes. A typical academy usually includes topics such as:
It can also include the Competencies for Community College Leaders developed by the American Association of Community Colleges. Resources needed generally include time for the Steering Team to develop and run the academy, for participants to attend, for people to attend the retreats, for internal speakers, and for release time. Money will be needed for the retreats, food, certificates, books, and miscellaneous supplies. A typical Academy, including retreats, will cost around $10,000-$15,000 per year, although that can be adjusted downward if needed. Why should you consider developing an internal Leadership Academy? Quite simply, with diminished funding and increased challenges, it’s more cost effective to run your own academy than to send one or two people to a national academy. Your return on investment comes from educating over 25 people every year or two to your specific outcomes. You will develop leaders at all levels who can help advance your vision and goals, they will understand why your goals are important, they will be systems thinkers, plus you will have a source of leaders given eventual retirements. In addition, you will have complete control and influence over the curriculum and program to meet your specific needs. You can draw on the strengths of those in the academy to do critical jobs where you may not be able to hire from the outside. You will develop a spirit of camaraderie among participants and your administrative team, along with a spirit of innovation and collaboration. You will also develop people who share a greater understanding of your college and its operations, you will see increased efficiencies, better teaming and communication, and an increase in morale. The best part is that you will invest in your people, they will know you care, you will get to develop and watch future leaders grow, you will identify future leaders to meet the needs of your college, and you will have fun doing it. CBT consultant Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg The College Brain Trust will provide an experienced facilitator to work with your Steering Team to develop your Leadership Academy. Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg has developed several Leadership Academies at a variety of institutions, has run academies, and has fully participated in the academies and with the Steering Teams. She has also served as a mentor to numerous people who have advanced in their careers, many of whom have since become presidents, and she has developed mentoring programs around the country. In addition, she has worked with the University of San Diego in developing their national leadership academy for community colleges, served on the Community College Leadership Development Institute Board, and taught leadership development at Colorado State University. She also serves as a leadership coach using the 360 Leadership Circle tool. Click here to go to Diana Van Der Ploeg’s page to learn more about our consultant. For more information on how we can help you develop your Leadership Academy, please contact Ray Giles, Vice President, at the College Brain Trust at 916.446.5058 or at ray@collegebraintrust.com |
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College Brain Trust Phone: 916.446.5058
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