How a Ta-da List Can Boost Your Confidence
Ta-da List: Tracking Small Achievements In a podcast conversation with Kate Bowler, educator of educators, Parker Palmer shared that during a debilitating bout of depression, a therapist encouraged him to keep a list of the tiniest achievements. The therapist told him that documenting these micro wins each day would be evidence of his progress, even […]
Why Strategic Planning Often Fails in Higher Education
Higher Ed strategic plans take months to create, but fail to produce real progress. These plans are often loaded with vague goals, endless metrics, and lofty promises that never turn into measurable results. Most campuses get strategic planning wrong because they focus on creating documents instead of driving action and strategy execution. We know the frustration of watching […]
How to Build Trust Through Staff Engagement in Planning
Faculty and staff engagement is essential to effective campus planning, yet it’s often overlooked. When we launch new initiatives, early involvement from staff and faculty shapes stronger outcomes and smoother implementation. Many plans fail not because of poor ideas but because the people responsible for carrying them out weren’t part of the initial planning. Including […]
Thoughts on Strategic Plan Implementation
Strategic planning engages our creativity This allows us to articulate our hopes for the future. Academics are GREAT at ideation. I’m sure you have found yourself at meetings where more ideas are generated than could ever possibly be implemented. We often have more ideas than the resources to carry them out. I have actually felt […]
The 4Ds of Task Management
The Overwhelm of the Academic Year There are times in the academic year that we all know are just a murky soup of overwhelm. The time of year probably correlates to your position on campus and the workflow of your department. September is usually a blur for everyone. So is May. Despite these predictable rhythms, […]
The Iterative Process of Creating Your Strategic Plan
Why Higher Ed Strategic Planning Matters In previous posts, I have written about the conditions leading to a successful strategic planning process, how appreciative inquiry can be used to facilitate an inclusive strategic planning process, how SOAR can be an effective analysis tool and, finally, how to involve multiple stakeholders. In this post, I offer […]
How to involve multiple stakeholders in an inclusive strategic planning process
The Power of Inclusive Strategic Planning When community college leaders envision future priorities, I can guarantee they are not only considering stakeholders within the metaphorical walls of the institution. Community colleges play a vital role in local and regional economic, community, and workforce development. They enjoy symbiotic relationships with many partners whose voices and perspectives […]
Are you ready to SOAR?
SOAR Analysis for Higher Education Leadership Many of us are familiar with the SWOT analysis, which examines an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT is a common strategic planning tool, especially in corporate settings. The organization’s strengths and weaknesses are discussed, and the opportunities and threats in the external environment are explored. From there, […]
The secret to implementing an inclusive and successful strategic planning process
Why Inclusive Planning Matters Including people in a decision that affects them increases its potential for success. The same goes for strategic planning. Strategic planning processes that include stakeholders are more successful because we are more likely to support ideas that we help shape. This is particularly pertinent in higher education, where shared governance is […]
Six Conditions Leading to a Successful Strategic Planning Process
Why Strategic Planning for College Leaders Matters In my almost three decades as a community college administrator, I heard a lot of people groan when discussing strategic planning. Often people felt they were too busy to participate in a process that they felt wasn’t worth their time. When facilitated properly, strategic planning can be a […]