There is a persistent illusion in higher education professional development: that a well-designed coaching program, once launched after a standard RFP process and the selection of vendors, simply runs by itself: coaches get paired with participants; assessments get administered, sessions get scheduled and held… and somewhere along the way, leaders are expected to emerge, transformed […]
Tag: executive coaching
The Competent Outsider: Bridging Institutional Silos and Driving Strategic Alignment in Higher Education
What puzzles me to no end is how many higher education leaders still view and treat their institutions as mechanical systems that can be overhauled with a new strategic plan handed down from the President’s office or “fixed” by replacing a proverbial squeaky wheel in the form of an employee who won’t fall in line. […]
The Inward Frontier: Why Global Education Leaders Must Turn Their Cross-Cultural Lens on Their Own Campuses
Navigating international higher education feels like managing continuous tectonic shifts, from national policy changes to dramatic enrollment fluctuations, leaving global educators no strangers to uncertainty. According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, since the beginning of 2025, international student enrollments at U.S. colleges and universities have shifted toward a steep downturn, driven by dropping new […]
The Broken Campus Contract: Why Self-Care Can’t Fix Systemic Academic Burnout
As external executive coaches and organizational development advisors to colleges and universities, we frequently observe leaders who are highly accomplished but deeply exhausted. In higher education, professionals experience a profound form of exhaustion that goes far beyond typical workplace stress. When I spoke with Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark, a certified professional coach, expert on academic burnout, […]
Nudging the Cotton Ball: Trust Coaching to Bridge the Leadership Divide
Universities are built for learning, yet they are notoriously resistant to learning from within. As external partners working to develop academic leaders, Dr. Jennifer Brown, the CEO and founder of Northstar Consulting, and I frequently observe a frustrating paradox: Institutions of higher education are highly complex systems where contemporary leadership is not only in demand, […]
From Firefighting to Future-Proofing: Reimagining Leadership Development in Enrollment Management
With the new academic year upon us, I find myself reflecting on the sheer intensity of the pressures our colleagues in higher education enrollment management face. These units are the fiscal engines of our institutions, yet they are currently operating amid unprecedented volatility. In Season 1 of my podcast, Coaching in Higher Education, I had […]
The Hero Liability: Moving from Solo Mastery to Systemic Leadership in Academic Medicine
I have long argued that our institutions of higher learning function as complex adaptive human ecosystems where every interaction carries weight – and in few areas is this more pronounced than when we’re coaching professionals at academic medical centers. Last year, I had a chance to explore this unique and often volatile world on my […]
Big Lives on Small Stages: Rethinking Leadership Coaching at Small Colleges
I have long argued that our institutions of higher learning are far more than simple mechanisms with replaceable parts – and not one is exactly the same. These complex adaptive human ecosystems also differ significantly by institutional type and determine where every interaction carries extra weight. When I wanted to explore this dynamic during a […]
The Disruptive Power of Humility: Re-imagining Equity in the Academic Ecosystem
Why do equity initiatives so often stall despite our best intentions? In a Season 1 conversation on my podcast, Coaching in Higher Education, I sat down with Dr. Joel Pérez to explore this very dilemma. Joel is the author of 𝘋𝘦a𝘳 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 and an experienced professional […]
Coaches as Translators: Why Higher Education Coaching Demands an Institutional Dialect
I have spent a significant portion of my career exploring the unique and often puzzling ecosystem of university administration. When I spoke with James Walton, President of Collaborative Brain Trust, on my podcast, Coaching in Higher Education, our conversation quickly took a fascinating turn toward the business side of our field and a truth that […]