6. Talk straight: Someone once said: “Sincerity is the key to good leadership — if you can fake that, you’re in.”

This is not the best advice, as the bumpy progress of many a politician has shown. Every day, you talk to many people, often on the same subject. If you spin a different story to one and not the other, you will be caught. Maybe not immediately, but when you do, there goes your credibility. Tell the truth at all times. Be economical with it — everyone doesn’t need to know everything — but be direct and honest, even if it may be uncomfortable at times. In the long run, it’s better to be known as a trusted and honest leader whose words have credibility and consistency even if the message you deliver is not always what everyone will want to hear.

7. Borrow freely: Very little is new in academic administration. A lot of very smart people have come before us, and they’ve tried just about everything. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Find out what others have done and shamelessly appropriate the ideas, adapting them as necessary. My decanal colleagues and I have been pilfering each other’s ideas for years — the phrase ‘bubonic plagiarist’ has been used on occasion — and usually improving on the other’s performance in the latter iterations of each idea.

8. Go with your strengths: Administrators all have different styles and different strengths. If you’re a detail-oriented person focused on the inner workings of your school, be careful if you enter an arena that expects you to be the Vision Person or the Outside Dean — the transition may be difficult. Play to your strengths, be true to your core characteristics and choose a role and/or a school which is compatible to your skills. Even if the match isn’t perfect, do your job in the best way that utilizes your skills. The results are likely to be better than if you retool mid-task.

9. Look, listen and learn: Most day-to-day problems stem from poor communication — people not telling their story clearly (see Point 5) or others not hearing — or rather hearing, but not necessarily listening. A good legal contract has been described as a ‘meeting of the minds.’ If you want your mind to meet those of others, concentrate on what they are saying, both in words and in their body language. Ask frequent questions, confirm key details (‘so you mean…’) and commit the result of any actions to paper as soon as possible.

10. Do it with humor: Leaders are asked constantly to speak at a conference or meeting, or provide opening remarks at any number of events, often with very little notice. Humor is a serious tool that can set the tone, leaven otherwise doughty comments and actually increase the likelihood that your words are being heard — people listen more if they are interested and/or entertained.

Of course, not everyone is a natural comedian, so choose your material carefully. Keep a file of short jokes, anecdotes, quotations, statistics, lists — anything that might one day be relevant to commentary you have to make. Even the dullest of bureaucrats can light up a presentation with a well-chosen quote or appropriate aphorism.

Summary
While there may be no real secret to sustaining a long career as an academic administrator — it could be luck and circumstance — developing skill sets that attitudinally engage you more with your colleagues and programs are a good first step in being an effective leader in a current climate where short-term change is prevalent.

Robert Greenstreet, PhD., is the dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Of course, many administrators move on or up to more appealing administrative jobs, but if you are considering the long haul — and quite frankly some believe it is hard to make substantial, meaningful change in fewer than five years — the following are a few thoughts on building a long-term administrative career relying, for the most part, on basic principles of communication and common sense.

1. Don’t bear a grudge: Every day, people will annoy you. They may not mean to, or they may have every intention of driving you to distraction but whatever the cause, there will be irritation — it’s the nature of your job. Being in a position of authority, you could have the opportunity to retaliate in ways large and small. Don’t.

“Getting even” really doesn’t feel that good and, more importantly, if your actions are viewed as petty and vindictive, your stock as a leader is diminished. Learn to rise above the irritation — it’s a more sustainable and appropriate response for a leader.

2. See the best in everyone and the bright side of everything: You may not believe all your colleagues are doing things the way you want them done or that aspects of the program are as good as they should be. Do the best you can to effect positive change — that’s your job.

Forcing change may be hard, frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful. So try a change in attitude — yours. Look for the best attributes in people and work with them. Sure, Professor X is not the most active senior member and hasn’t done a lick of research in 20 years but…he’s a pretty good teacher, popular with the students and alumni, and is generally ‘underappreciated’ by his colleagues. Encourage his teaching, take him out on an alumni event, put him forward for a teaching award — you may be surprised by the response.

3. It’s all about people: Regardless of mission statements, written curricula, and action plans, it all boils down to people — faculty and staff — to make it all work in the end. Talk to your colleagues about their work and aspirations, and be helpful where possible — even in very modest ways. Put them forward for awards, fund their requests wherever practicable, and take an active, personal role in their career development.

Where you have time, go walkabout — wander around the offices and chat to people on their territory about their classes, research or service, and send them notes/emails on their accomplishments. Building a long-term relationship with your colleagues heightens your value as a long-term administrator.

4. Think big picture: If your intention is to be part of the future of your program, don’t lose sight of the big picture. Day-to-day minutiae, crises, and administrative clutter can fill your life and waking hours and refocus you on short-term achievements. Remember to focus on the big stuff, ignore the ‘yes buts’ and the difficulties (at least at first) wherever possible, and keep your eyes on the horizon. Filter out the ‘noise’ of less important material, and stick to major principles. If not, you will quickly get immersed in details that confuse the final outcome of a vision.

5. Make sense of it all: Semesters begin with a bang, hurtle at breakneck speed through finals and end abruptly. Despite everyone’s best efforts, progress toward programmatic goals and even awareness of the program’s identity may be unclear or unshared by the players in the frantic rush to “get the work done.”

Try and develop a detached, critical overview of your program and be the commentator on its development. Once you’ve made sense of it all — or at least your version of it — try to communicate the story to the appropriate audiences, and engage your colleagues in constructive discourse about its future. Simplify. Then simplify again.

There are endless complications, nuances and complexities in everyday administration. Once you’ve cleared the noise to give you a chance to “think big,” don’t blow it by talking gibberish. Reduce your message to manageable concepts — short sentences, clear examples, appropriate metaphors, and no jargon.

Editor’s Note: Click HERE for part 2 of this article.

Robert Greenstreet, PhD., is the dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.