President's Council
Significant learning points:
Some
of the major topics discussed at this meeting included research on student
“grit” as it applies to Delaware Tech completion initiatives, the new marketing
campaign, the strategic enrollment management framework, the blueprint task
force, and the work/life balance initiative.
The new marketing campaign, with the tagline “A degree different,” was the result of extensive research. I was excited to see the design for new billboards at the same time as President’s council, but we were instructed that the details of the campaign were not to leave the room.
Brian Shirey led a discussion of the progress on the work-life balance initiative. Dr. Brainard stated that the purpose of the change was to provide the better service to students and to create a better work environment for employees. He cautioned that there will be significant management challenges, so they needed to put their best thinking forward in terms of processes and procedures for implementation.
It was clear that a significant amount of work and communication takes place in the Ad Hoc meetings in order to make President’s Council meetings flow smoother. The administrators shared that the Ad Hoc meetings are a great opportunity to get feedback on and support for new initiatives.
The new marketing campaign, with the tagline “A degree different,” was the result of extensive research. I was excited to see the design for new billboards at the same time as President’s council, but we were instructed that the details of the campaign were not to leave the room.
Brian Shirey led a discussion of the progress on the work-life balance initiative. Dr. Brainard stated that the purpose of the change was to provide the better service to students and to create a better work environment for employees. He cautioned that there will be significant management challenges, so they needed to put their best thinking forward in terms of processes and procedures for implementation.
It was clear that a significant amount of work and communication takes place in the Ad Hoc meetings in order to make President’s Council meetings flow smoother. The administrators shared that the Ad Hoc meetings are a great opportunity to get feedback on and support for new initiatives.
Relevance to ideas about leadership:
A
leader always strives to get it right and this was a common theme throughout
the President’s council meeting. Within
each topic there was a discussion of the current situation, the progress made towards
change, and the potential impact. This
process enabled the council members to raise potential issues and give
constructive feedback on initiatives in order to ensure the best result
possible.
Ways to apply learning to current role:
As
a department chair, I will be responsible with implementing and managing
flexible work arrangements with my faculty.
I will have to be flexible and proactive as we implement the new work
structure, while still ensuring that we maintain the highest level of service
to our students.