Overfunctioning in Higher Ed: What Supervisors Need to Own If you work in higher education, overfunctioning isn’t a concept you need explained to you. You’re probably doing it right now. And if you supervise people, there’s a decent chance someone on your team is doing it too (also right now) Read more
You Can’t Be Resourceful Without Resources Higher Ed folks are known for being scrappy. We stretch budgets, repurpose leftovers, and turn less-than-ideal spaces into creative solutions. Many of us have transformed storage closets into wellness lounges, pieced together programming with grant leftovers, or built whole student support initiatives with little Read more
From Mission Statement to Meaningful Work I once taught in a first-year program that was anchored in critical texts and thoughtful discourse. The goal was to help new students practice persuasive argumentation, critical thinking, and respectful debate, all cornerstone skills for any academic journey. At least part of the course Read more
Listening Well Imagine yourself at the beginning of a large-scale (but fun!) personal project…like planning a vacation to Bali. You do what any good information-gatherer does: you turn to your hive mind. You put out the call for restaurant recommendations, hiking trails, the best spa for a foot scrub after Read more
Grow Your People,or Watch Them Go There’s a question in Gallup’s engagement index that always gives me pause: Is there someone at work who encourages your development? It doesn’t ask whether you’re enrolled in a certification program. It doesn’t ask if you’re being considered for a promotion or if you’ve Read more
Care Is a Leadership Skill, Not a Personality Trait You don’t have to be everyone’s best friend. But you do have to give a damn. That’s the job. If that feels blunt, great. Because this particular leadership trait (genuinely caring about your people as people) is often treated like a Read more
Words of Affirmation: Work Edition Every once in a while, folks will talk to me about Love Languages – a clever way of describing intimate relationship communication strategies. One of the Love Languages is “Words of Affirmation,” and I personally respond to this one head-and-shoulders beyond the others. So for Read more
Help Your People Connect the Dots on What They Do Best When I was a baby assistant director, I had this magnificent boss who was very popular for her people skills. She was the beloved adviser of the college student honorary and she also handled complaining students, faculty and even Read more
How to Lead with Value When the Dollars Don’t Show Up In higher ed, we’re no strangers to scarcity. Budgets get trimmed. Positions go unfilled. Technology is “refreshed” less and less often. And still, we show up—managing events with borrowed supplies, onboarding new staff without full teams, supporting students through Read more
Clarity Isn’t Intrusive: Why Clear Expectations Are a Gift “They should know what’s expected of them.” Should they? It’s a phrase I’ve heard from supervisors more times than I can count. It usually surfaces after frustration has simmered too long—after something didn’t get done “the right way,” or after a Read more