3 strategies for leading your university through unprecedented change

Colleges and universities are currently facing a series of complex and compounded crises that demand adept leadership and strategic foresight. They are grappling with shifting government policies that can alter funding streams and regulatory environments overnight. Meanwhile, declining enrollment numbers, exacerbated by demographic changes and shifting public perceptions, present unprecedented challenges to traditional models of higher education. As trust in the value of a college degree wanes among segments of the public, leaders are faced with urgent questions about how to demonstrate institutional relevance and efficacy.

In this environment, effective leadership is not just an asset; it’s a necessity for institutional survival and growth. Students, faculty, staff, and community members expect their cabinets and boards to navigate these turbulent waters with clarity and confidence. To succeed, leadership teams must not only address immediate challenges as they arise but also maintain focus on long-term strategic goals and ensure a collective vision for the future.

We’ve identified three strategies higher education leaders should rely on to help guide their institutions through difficult times. Together, these tactics form a comprehensive approach to translating current challenges into opportunities for transformative growth.

1. Improve your change management approach

In a turbulent landscape, it’s more important than ever to ensure large-scale changes are successful. However, effective change management can be especially difficult in higher ed due to psychological, cultural, and structural barriers, including stakeholder resistance, risk aversion, organizational bureaucracy, and internal siloes.

In attempting to overcome these barriers, many institutions don’t spend enough time on pre-planning activities before introducing a new initiative. It’s even more challenging to allocate sufficient staff and resources to re-evaluate and adapt a change post-launch. To successfully implement large-scale changes, leadership teams should follow our five-step framework:

1. Anticipate: Assess change readiness, potential barriers, and impacts.
2. Mobilize: Convince and motivate stakeholders to buy into change.
3. Empower: Promote and support change implementation.
4. Sustain: Reinforce change and hold stakeholders accountable.
5. Monitor and adapt: Track progress and iterate as needed.

Furthermore, cabinets should practice applying this framework and their change leadership skills in future planning workshops. Setting time aside to plan how to strategically introduce new initiatives and gain buy-in will help make change more palatable to stakeholders when it’s time to move in a new direction.

2. Invest in building a cohesive cabinet and resilient organization

Of course, effectively implementing new initiatives and navigating unprecedented change requires a cohesive leadership team with a shared long-term vision. Disjointed cabinets risk losing sight of strategic objectives, focusing instead on urgent but less critical tasks. In other words, crises can make managers out of leaders, spurring a pattern of “crisis thinking”—a reactive mindset that often limits leaders’ ability to engage in proactive strategy.

“What worries me most is that the urgent is crowding out time for strategy—are we prioritizing the right things?” – President, Large Research University

It is vital for cabinets to periodically step back from day-to-day operations and reactive crisis management and turn their focus toward their own cohesion and functioning. To avoid the pitfalls of crisis thinking, leaders should dedicate time together to not only recalibrate the group’s strategic vision but also improve “decision hygiene”—discussion should center not on what decisions should be made, but how they should be made and communicated clearly with the institution at large.

Investing in cabinet cohesion builds a psychologically safe culture and collaborative environment that encourages openness, resilience, and trust. Leadership teams dedicated to promoting a positive organizational culture will be better positioned to innovate and emerge stronger from crises than before.

Organizational resilience: An institution’s ability to effectively absorb, develop responses to, and ultimately engage in transformative activities to capitalize on disruptive surprises that potentially threaten the institution’s survival.

3. Optimize effective board leadership

Leadership extends beyond the executive cabinet to include the Board of Trustees, particularly during uncertain times when guidance is most needed. Boards must not only fulfill their governance roles but also act as strategic partners and effective stewards in supporting their institutions.

There are three major elements of effective board governance:

1. Fiduciary oversight: The board is financially and legally responsible for the institution and must uphold its duties of care, loyalty, prudence, and confidentiality. The board must ensure compliance with laws and regulations and the appropriate use of resources.
2. Strategic problem solving: The board is the steward of the institution’s mission, vision, and values, and must advance its mission in a changing environment of threats and opportunities.
3. Generative problem finding: The board must create a compelling vision for the institution’s future. Trustees bring their diverse knowledge and wisdom to help the institution think wisely about its long-term viability and vitality.

However, board meetings can easily stray from these goals when leaders focus on the wrong questions. Time may be wasted on topics that are too broad and not directly related to the institution, leading to distracting and controversial debate. Or discussions can veer toward micromanagement and be at a tactical altitude better suited for campus leaders. Cabinet must work with boards to find their strategic sweet spot, asking questions that:

• Appropriately allocate board effort on the issues that matter most for long-term success
• Leverage the unique expertise of board members
• Address challenging topics in a productive, solution-oriented manner

“Trustees’ most important fiduciary obligation is to worry about the future, not merely the present. Board members are accountable for ensuring that the institution will have the resources it needs 30 or 40 years from now” – President Emeritus, Private University

Navigate times of change with a shared vision

As higher education leaders face the complexities of leading in an unpredictable environment, fostering trust and open communication is essential. By prioritizing effective change management, cabinet cohesion, strategic engagement, and strong board leadership, institutions can transform challenges into opportunities for growth.

If you’re ready to refine your leadership approach and create a more resilient institution, reach out to your Strategic Leader or [email protected] to schedule a customizable workshop for your team. Our workshops for cabinets and boards are structured to address varied aspects of leadership, focusing on crucial areas such as change management, dynamic strategy development, and psychological safety—key elements that empower leaders to respond positively to upheaval and drive meaningful progress, even amid uncertainty.