Academic Leadership Day by Day

THE AUTHOR JEFFREY L. BULLER is dean of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University and author of The Essential Department Chair, The Essential Academic Dean, and The Essential College Professor.

• Preface xiiiSeptember 11 Take advantage of new beginnings 32 Know your limits 43 Read the biography of an exemplary leader 54 Attend a meeting just to listen 65 Review your program’s publications 66 Reorder your tasks 77 Be a coach 8 8 Waste time 99 Learn from a bad decision 1010 Reflect on respect 1111 Provide an outlet for dissent 1212 Tell your supervisor what you need 1313 Learn more about today’s college students 1414 Convey some good news and some bad news 1515 Describe your supervisor 1616 Stop—at least for a moment 1717 Remember that it’s not all about you 1818 Share someone else’s dream 1919 Learn from what others teach 1920 Evaluate without making value judgments 2021 Be the change you want to see 2122 Respect other people’s time 2223 Consider the first thing you do at work every day 2424 Find the weakest link 2525 Go back to the future 2626 Lead by serving 2727 Simplify something 2728 Study interactions 2829 Seek your own satisfaction 2930 Read a boring book 30October 331 Take stock 352 Ask questions 363 Exhibit candor 374 Remove one obstacle 385 Look around you 396 Have confidence 407 Attend a campus event 418 See people, not tasks, as your first priority 429 Nominate someone for an award 4210 Discover new ways to manage stress 4311 Move on 4412 Assess your telephone style 4513 Learn from a case study 4614 Practice self-doubt 4715 Speak to a chronic latecomer 4816 Put agendas on your agenda 4917 Recommend a good book 5018 Raise awareness 5119 Plot an escape 5220 Be unique 5321 Show someone you care 5422 Question an assumption 5523 Define leadership 5624 Stay on message 5725 Celebrate something 5826 Open yourself to persuasion 5927 Ask, ‘‘Why?’’ 6028 Make time fly 6129 Become your own life coach 6330 Decide how you make decisions 6431 Be frightened 65November 671 Do something that really matters 692 Spend time with your best faculty members 693 Use only positive words 704 Discourage end runs 715 Know your legislators 726 Improve your telephone log 737 Envision a better future 748 Think holistically 759 Learn something new about academic freedom 7610 Raise the bar 7711 Expand access 7812 Stop and smell the roses 7913 Think like a novice 8014 Seek common ground 8115 Don’t take it personally 8316 Establish boundaries 8417 Accommodate differences 8518 Identify your biggest challenge 8619 Make the first move 8720 Reflect on the relationship between students and faculty members 8821 Examine workload carefully 8922 Discover new sources of administrative insight 9123 Glow with pride 9124 Embrace your greatest frustration 9225 Build a team 9326 Share your story 9527 Clarify responsibilities 9628 Change your environment 9729 Take a chance on someone 9830 Provide context 99December 1011 Prepare for the home stretch 1032 Identify an opportunity 1043 Remember that having fun matters 1054 Don’t sell beyond the close 1065 Learn something new about tenure 1076 Embrace uncertainty 1087 Stop being busy 1098 Notice where the shoe pinches 1109 Redouble your efforts 11210 Think like a student 11211 Bookend your day 11412 Consider the law of unintended consequences 11513 Mix it up 11614 Build flexible time into your schedule 11715 Remember that you’re a symbol 11816 Identify your favorite word 11917 Simplify your focus 12018 Support those who support you 12119 Identify your brand 12220 Write an article on academic administration 12321 Explain the system 12422 Associate with someone you admire 12523 Have a meeting standing up 12624 Trust your instincts 12725 Take a day completely off 12826 Make a wish 12927 Count your blessings 13028 Reflect on your achievements 13129 Share credit 13230 Identify the first major task you’d like to tackle in the new year 13331 Consider why students leave 134January 1351 Do an anonymous good deed 1372 Create a leadership journal 1373 Thank someone 1384 Document your successes 1395 Stop procrastinating 1406 Listen to an opposing view 1417 Learn something new about assessment 1428 Reread a favorite book 1439 Pay a visit 14410 Discover time puddles 14511 Continue reinventing yourself 14612 Improve one policy 14713 Find a way to say yes to someone 14814 Talk about research 14915 Balance your life 15116 Set your priorities 15217 Let a student gush 15318 Attack your ignorance 15419 Demonstrate good stewardship 15520 Review your institution’s mission statement 15621 Expand your resources 15722 Dare to dream 15823 Focus on your lowest priorities 15924 Get back in touch with someone who made a difference 16025 Share a meal 16026 Release one frustration 16127 Solve a problem 16228 Be distinctive and concise 16329 Set short-term goals 16430 Reach out 16531 Enjoy a sense of accomplishment 166February 1671 Plan for spontaneity 1692 Think metaphorically 1703 Praise sincerely 1714 Identify apossible successor 1725 Update your résumé 1736 Return to the classics 1747 Contact the parent of a student 1758 Immerse yourself in history 1769 Assess your job satisfaction 17710 Celebrate someone else’s good news 17811 Study your competitors 17912 Offer encouragement 18013 Review your evaluation 18114 Think about potential donors 18215 Let a faculty member reminisce 18316 Continue your education 18417 Track your use of time 18518 Write yourself a letter of recommendation 18619 Imagine if money were no object 18720 Offer to be someone’s mentor 18821 Apologize to someone 18822 Write a note to a prospective student 18923 Consider the needs of an employee 19024 Manage your workload 19125 Articulate your vision 19226 Review patterns of expenditure 19327 Decide what you would change 19428 Read the job listings 19529 Take advantage of a rare gift 196March 1991 Be a philosopher 2012 Think of something outrageous 2023 Reread your institution’s strategic plan 2034 Invite a member of the staff to lunch 2045 Describe a ‘‘typical’’ student 2046 Take a personality test 2067 Analyze trends 2078 Be your own consultant 2079 Envision your dream job 20810 Explore your faculty’s scholarship 21011 Reallocate 5 percent of your budget 21112 Identify your most wasteful practice 21213 Think big Really big 21314 Develop five new interview questions 21415 Challenge your own leadership style 21516 Recall a poor judgment 21617 Relax. You’ve earned it 21618 Identify a pressure point 21719 Remember good administrative advice 21920 Make your environment more accessible 21921 Review your computer files 22022 Learn something new about strategic planning 22223 Identify a bad habit 22324 Empower others 22425 Find a hot-button issue 22526 Increase opportunities for research 22527 Reflect on your proudest accomplishment 22728 Improve your public presentations 22729 Examine your use of pronouns 22830 Explore a few other best practices in higher education 22931 Finish something 230April 2331 Do something foolish 2352 Audit your committees and meetings 2353 Reread your institution’s disaster plan 2364 Reward yourself 2375 Define your purpose 2386 Assess faculty and staff morale 2397 Sort through a stack of papers 2408 Expand your knowledge of higher education law 2419 Build a bridge 24210 Learn a new software application 24311 Overplan your day 24412 Chart your progress 24513 Check a blind spot 24614 Slow down 24715 Explore your insecurities 24716 Remember your favorite professor 24817 Get excited 24918 Identify a significant problem 25019 Think like a pilot 25120 Jot a note to a member of the staff 25221 Chat with a colleague 25322 Outline a plan 25423 Walk through your facilities 25524 Live in the moment 25625 Remove your mask 25726 Ask someone about his or her vision 25827 Ask, ‘‘What if?’’ 25928 Indulge your creative side 26029 Study your students 26130 Identify your Achilles’ heel 262May 2651 Start something 2672 Evaluate yourself 2673 Fill a need 2684 Engage in hero worship 2705 Spot an elephant 2716 Listen actively 2727 Share a treasure 2738 Reward others 2749 Reorganize a drawer 27410 Reflect on the law of reciprocity 27511 Use your resources 27612 Describe your coworkers 27713 Become disillusioned 27914 Learn something new about budgeting 28015 Make up for lost time 28116 Audit your organizational structure 28217 Practice concision 28318 Brag about someone 28419 Read about academic leadership 28520 Resist the temptation to be cynical 28621 Be a good public citizen 28722 Define who you are 28823 Pay it forward 28924 Take a calculated risk 29025 Assess your network 29126 Set a clear development goal 29227 Change your inner voice 29328 Learn from the fragments of broken promises 29429 Build outward from individual successes 29530 Reinvent the wheel 29631 Start your own daily guide 297The Author 299Index 301