Title: Resilient and Ready
1Resilient and Ready How to thrive and excel
through Presidential Transition
Ijade Maxwell Rodrigues, York University Brenda
Buzynski, University of Northern Iowa
2What are presidential transitions
Transitions are critical moments in the lives of
organizations and individuals...one needs to
understand what transitions mean, not only from
ones own perspective, but also from the
viewpoint of others. Thomas N. Gilmore (1988)
3Change and transition
Change is not the same as transition. Change is
situationalwhile transition is the psychological
process people go through to come to terms with
the new situation. William Bridges (1980)
The process of transitioning is the way in which
the president and others respond to these
changes.
4Why managing a transition is important
- Change and transition affect both individuals and
institutions so it is critical to strategically
manage a presidential succession and transition. - Transitions present opportunities.
- Transitions are imperfect progress.
5Role of the Presidential Assistant
- A carefully planned and executed entry becomes
the new presidents first act of leadership
(Judith Block)
- Get Prepared.
- Reach out.
- Update Documents.
- Plan and Implement.
- Recognition of the past.
- Make an impression.
6Role of the Presidential Assistant
Plan for five conversations to build your
relationship with the President-Designate
- Understand how he/she sees the situation at the
University. - Understand the Presidents expectations
- Understand his/her working style
- Discuss what resources are critical to move
his/her priorities forward - Discuss how your role will contribute to your
professional development
7Transition Stages
- I. Ending
- Ending a university chapter, celebrating a legacy
-
- II. Neutral
- Clarity of start date for new president, ensure
celebration and respect of sitting president - III. New Beginning
- Ground rules for the transition, opportunity to
launch new excitement
Moore, J. W., Burrows, J. M., (2001).
Presidential Succession and Transition
Beginning, Ending, and Beginning Again. American
Association of State Colleges and Universities
(AASCU), Washington, DC.
8I. ENDING
- Transitions begin with endings the process of
accepting the inevitability of the impending
change and learning to let go of the past. - Exiting president
- The university is ending a chapter
- Celebrating a legacy (depends on the situation)
- One reason organizational change fails is that no
one thought about endings or planned to manage
their impact on people. Presidents are owed a
dignified ending to the presidency. - How an organization handles the ending of one
president is an indicator of how they will handle
the incoming president. - The ending of a presidency reflects on the
university and on the presidents office.
9I. ENDING
Example documents for Exiting a President.
- Ending Checklist
- Proclamation
- Highlights (one-page)
- Highlights (comprehensive)
10II. NEUTRAL
- Managing the neutral zone/overlap between a named
new president and a sitting president. - Coping with the ambiguities associated with the
end of one, and the newness of moving between a
previous president and a new president. - Clarity of start date for new president, ensure
celebration and respect of sitting president
11II. NEUTRAL
- For new president, designate a transition
coordinator/leader to manage communications and
orientation activities. - Communicate to the campus community and other
constituencies the ground rules pertaining to
the management of the transition. (Once new
president is named, the flurry of emails,
correspondence begins for the new president.) - Coordinate campus visits for the new president.
Ensure new president gets to know the campus
constituents (internal) before embarking on
meeting the external constituents. - Discuss transition planning with
- the new president.
12III. New Beginning
- Before you can begin something new, you must end
what used to be. - New beginnings involve letting go of the past,
redefining who you are, adjusting to new roles,
and accepting a new reality. - Beginnings involve new understanding, new
attitudes, new values, and new identities. - Avoid the twin errors of moving too quickly and
too slowly. - Determine ground rules for the transition
- This is an opportune time to launch new
excitement on-campus.
13TRANSITION PLANNING BEST PRACTICES
- Steering Committee to guide transition
- Create a Learning Network for the
President-designate - Use Presidential transition to raise
institutional awareness and priorities of the
university. - Use a variety of channels to welcome, educate and
orient the President-designate. - Orientation Activities with a variety of
audiences - Seek input from the university community on
orientation activities for the President-designate
14III. NEW Beginning
Example documents for Entering President.
- Communicating with Incoming President
- Operational To-Dos once President is named
- First Questions for President
- Presidential Transition Committee-Agenda
- Presidential Introduction Committee
- Potential Orientation Process
- Relationship Building Brief list
15CASE STUDY UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
UNI Midwestern Public Comprehensive University,
enrollment 13,200 August, 2012 President
announced retirement no later than July 1,
2013 Sept., 2012 Board of Regents, State of Iowa
initiated search 22 member search committee and
utilized search firm Parker Associates.
- Search
- Mid-Jan. interviewed 10 candidates
Minneapolis airport - At announcement time only 3 names released
- 3 to campus late Jan./early Feb. then 1
withdrew 2 remaining - Feb. 7 am 2 interviewed with the Board
- Feb. 7 330 pm Board announced their selection
(media present) - Feb. 7 430-630 pm reception held immediately
for the named president
16CASE STUDY UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
Visit 1 Feb. 28-Mar. 1 Incoming President
trip to campus Meet with faculty leaders,
direct reports, have a campus-wide welcome
reception, meet with sitting president, take
care of house logistics etc. Visit 2 Mar.
19-21 (spring break on-campus) potential visit
to Des Moines visit legislators and to campus
to visit with academic leadership Visit
3 Early - April potential 3rd visit to campus
visit with faculty, staff and student leaders
etc. Late May relocate to Pres. house June
1 start date
17THANK YOU! GOOD LUCK With Your presidential
Transition
Ijade Maxwell Rodrigues York University
Brenda Buzynski University of Northern Iowa
18References
ACE. (2008). The Presidency The American Council
on Educations magazine for higher Education
Leaders. Special Supplement. Winter. Washington,
DC American Council on Education. ACE. (2008).
King, J., Gomez, G., On the pathway to the
presidency Characteristics of higher
educations senior leadership. The American
college president 2007 edition. Washington, DC
American Council on Education. Bridges, W.,
(2003). Managing Transitions Making the Most of
Change. 2nd Edition. Da Capo Press. ISBN
0738208248 Fethke, G., Policano, A., (2012).
The Precarious Profession of University
Presidency. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
July 23. Kiley, K., (2012). A Pre-Presidential
Initiative. Inside Higher Ed. March 5. Martin,
J., Samels, J. E., (2004). Presidential
Transition In Higher Education. Baltimore Johns
Hopkins University Press. Martin, J., Samels,
J. E., (2005). Closing Remarks The End of the
Beginning Recognizing successful presidential
transitions. Council for Advancement and Support
of Education (CASE). Moore, J. W., Burrows, J.
M., (2001). Presidential Succession and
Transition Beginning, Ending, and Beginning
Again. American Association of State Colleges and
Universities (AASCU), Washington, DC.