Six Attributes of an Agile Institution for Chief Strategy Officers

Colleges and universities are facing unprecedented pressure to move faster while navigating growing resistance to change. In environments where faculty and staff are craving greater stability than ever before, financial strain, demographic shifts, political scrutiny, and rapid technological disruption are forcing leadership teams to make increasingly difficult strategic decisions.

This session explores the leadership capabilities that distinguish agile institutions from those that struggle to adapt. Drawing on EAB’s latest research, participants will examine six attributes of institutional agility and discuss how executive teams can strengthen both their operating capabilities, such as decision-making, prioritization, and resource allocation, and their endurance capabilities, including long-term strategic stewardship and leadership continuity.

Participants will learn how to:

• Strengthen institutional agility by building decision-making processes that enable faster, more strategic action.
• Balance short-term operational demands with long-term institutional priorities through “urgent long-termism.”
• Build executive resilience by creating systems that sustain momentum through leadership transitions.
• Identify organizational structures and leadership practices that accelerate (not inhibit) innovation and change.
• Use a practical self-assessment to evaluate their institution’s readiness and identify priority capability gaps.

Designed for chiefs of staff and chief strategy officers, this session will provide practical frameworks to help leadership teams move beyond responding to disruption and instead build the organizational capabilities needed to thrive in an increasingly uncertain higher education landscape.

Session

Click the Register button to sign up.

Attendance is limited to chiefs of staff and chief strategy officers. Registration is limited to two attendees per institution.

• Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time