Want to meet the right leader for your academics? 

A nontraditional leader might make your search end!

What does that mean?

Nontraditional leaders are breaking the mold. It is the higher calling of a work profile irrespective of the specialization.

What makes a leader in academics non-traditional? Let’s find out!

Beardsley, President, Dartmouth College (2012-2013) came up with his definition, which states as, “If you were ever on the tenure track, then you are traditional, and if you never were, you’re non-traditional.”

The higher education management seeks board executives outside of higher education to lead their academic enterprises from the recent past. The main reason could be attributed to economic pressures, digital disruption, and job complexity. This prompts the universities or colleges to seek ‘outsider’ or ‘non-traditional’ leaders for their top job profiles.

Yes, the new pressures at colleges and universities might be the reason. Innovating education is a priority for academic institutions in 2020 to make their graduates employable and keep up with the demand of the industry.

As a support of this,

  • Janet Napolitano got named as the president of the University of California system in 2013. He was a former secretary of Homeland security.
  • Clayton Rose got appointed as the president of Bowdoin college in 2015. He was a former vice chairman at JP Morgan Chase.
  • James Clark got appointed as the president of South Carolina State University. He was a retired AT&T executive.

Some of the pressures the colleges and universities face include rising costs, activist stakeholders, digitization of traditional educational models, new competitors, stiff competition, and demographic changes. Consequently, the number of education companies is soaring, to provide more quality education.

However, this series of disruption is more common in the corporate world. Hence, they might bring fresh approaches to the problem in the education industry. Though this is still spotty, the trend is set on. In addition, the talent tenure-track professors are not off the line to reach the top.

Though the debate on traditional or non-traditional leaders may continue for some more time, the other side of the concern is the challenges the leader must address.

Successful leadership of the academic enterprise demands close and pragmatic working relationship to lead change. The presidents and board members new to higher education can rely on executive education programs to support academic values and declare leadership.

Let’s explore how executive education programs break the mold and benefit high performing educating leaders.

Benefits of programs for educating leaders

A few of the benefits are highlighted here.

Personalized education

Though attending a conference might sound great and time-saving, executive education programs are in-depth and go beyond theory. It drills down to practical learning and delivers a workable blueprint.

It helps to solve the real-world challenges guided through an industry expert.

This might not be true with a conference or seminar owing to the short time-frame, but a high session content. World education company like Edvantic offers education programs that aim to transform leaders’ thought process and improve education.

Professional growth

The program participants receive actionable insights, frameworks, and strategies to apply in their present roles effectively. It expands the knowledge base and helps to manage people who are outside the realm of expertise, understand the responsibilities and impact on the educational institution.

It helps to cope with ambiguity, uncertainty, and reduces complexity. It enables them to work from an institutional perspective rather than a functional one.

Prepares to navigate change

A non-traditional or traditional leader cannot predict challenges. It is critical to prepare to face the unknown. The program keeps the participant ahead of the curve, withstand an uncertain and complex environment, and respond at a faster rate.

The programs envelope strategic leadership, change management, support innovation, and lead through disruption.

Let’s wrap it up 

The strongest educating leaders are those who become lifelong students.

To support them, executive education programs are risk-free that demands minimal time, financial commitment and smoothens their transition in a better way.