IU Indianapolis takes leadership development seriously. We know that training our faculty and staff for leadership positions now, and providing guidance to future leadership applicants, will enable IU Indianapolis to grow to be an employer of choice in the city, state, and beyond. Leadership development addresses strategic plan priorities Goal 9 (Promote an Inclusive Campus Climate) and Goal 10 (Develop Faculty and Staff).
Leadership at IU Indianapolis includes*: *Also IU Columbus and IU Fort Wayne
Our leaders must know, understand and value the mission of IU Indianapolis, IU Columbus and IU Fort Wayne and this mission should always drive decision making with respect to student success, research excellence, and community impact.
Our leaders are guided by a strong belief in collaborating across disciplines to leverage institutional resources. They should be transparently collaborative (“I will give you all the information and insight needed and will provide as much help as I and my unit can provide.").
Our leaders are equity-minded; they should be able to identify patterns of inequity in student and faculty outcomes, and be willing to assume personal responsibility for effecting changes that will eliminate inequities.
Our leaders exemplify our shared commitment to a diverse and inclusive community—including our commitment to global education and research—as the foundation of the strongest academic community.
Our leaders utilize performance management processes to support and nurture IU Indianapolis staff, and effectively communicate, collaborate and motivate staff in a manner that leverages campus resources.
Our leaders embrace our role as innovators in education and research and are willing to take reasonable risks to encourage positive evolution in both of those realms. Our leaders are innovative by necessity - the current way of doing things will not work for long on a dynamic campus like ours.
Our leaders understand and support the value of community engaged education and research and our role as an anchor institution within the city of Indianapolis.
Our leaders are trusted partners who make commitments that can be kept, and who keep those commitments.
Our leaders value and understand how to use high-quality data and information to improve student, staff, and faculty outcomes and to guide policy decisions.
Our leaders know the history of IU Indianapolis, IU Columbus and IU Fort Wayne and understand its relationship to IU and to Purdue University. They know and are sensitive to organizational complexities associated with core schools, clinical affairs, and university administration. While schools and units are typically the focus of leadership activities, our leaders value the notion of a “welcoming campus” and champion campus and university citizenship.
Our leaders value the fostering of student, staff, faculty and community democratic voice. Our leaders are committed to a democratic society as we harness the power of education in preparing its citizenry
Strategic Vision:
Each leader must develop a vision for the future of his or her area that is aligned with campus and university goals. To do this effectively, one must analyze issues and be able to imagine all of the aspects of a more idealized instance of the area – the leader needs to be able to see this and be guided by it continuously.
The leader must also be able to cultivate a shared vision among those he or she leads. To do this, one must have outstanding interpersonal skills. One must know your “base” and how to convince them to share this vision.
The leader must be able to engage in strategic planning and goal setting aligned with the vision.
The leader must be able to secure and allocate resources to support goal achievement.
Dynamic Leadership:
The leader must be able to structure the organization to help actualize the vision.
The leader must advocate for the unit.
The leader must achieve mission-related activities (quality teaching, research, service/engagement).
The leader must possess the courage to make tough decisions and to know when to say no.
The leader must cultivate relationships and communicate with team before and after change, and be able to convey both positive and negative feedback
The leader must generate resources.
The leader must be able to continuously assess what he or she is doing, and have the courage to admit having made a mistake.
The leader must be able to hold people accountable in order to sustain changes that are made.
The leader must help to cultivate a collegial environment and work to promote interdisciplinary efforts.
Administrative and Operational Functions:
The leader must manage resources (human, physical, fiscal, intellectual) effectively.
The leader must be able to cultivate and develop talent. Particularly in complex organizations, the leader must be able to hire well and surround him/herself with outstanding people.
The leader must promote diversity and effectively help to create an authentically inclusive climate within the unit.
The leader must ensure quality offerings of the programs and services of unit and be committed to continuous improvement.
The leader must be able to engage in development efforts (craft case statements, cultivate relationships with prospects; steward donors; supervise development officers; generate gifts and deepen donor relations).
Personal Goals:
The leader must maintain his/her own professional development.
The leader must model work-life balance.
The leader should be a good campus citizen and steward his/her role.
Knowledge:
technical/disciplinary expertise
knowledge of IU Indianapolis and IU (and/or Purdue)
knowledge of professions in higher education
Skills:
communication
conflict resolution
planning
problem-solving
decision-making
goal setting
interpersonal skills
data literacy
Abilities:
analytical
good judgment
ability/capacity to think strategically and multi-dimensionally
ability to continuously analyze what you’re leading and make adjustments (e.g., ongoing SWOT analysis for your unit)
ability to lead change (need to know whether to force things vs. educate and empower others to do the work)
ability to select, orient, and train others (leaders, managers, employees)
ability to promote change, risk-taking, innovation
ability to evaluate and improve performance
ability to “manage up” - discernment of which battles are worth fighting and which are not; sensitivity to individuals in power (making your wins their wins)
Traits:
high energy/drive
intelligence
solid emotional health/maturity
honesty/integrity
self-confidence
resilient
sense of humor
strong work ethic/hard work
humility
commitment to quality at all times
The Office of Academic Affairs at IU Indianapolis provides a comprehensive and coordinated approach to career development for faculty across the academic spectrum. Opportunities for training, education, career development, and academic advancement are coordinated through OAA in a series of workshops, as well as through online resources.
Events for new and junior faculty, department chairs, and associate deans help with the development of talented and diverse faculty in their transition to IU Indianapolis. Workshops include sessions on leadership, higher education, legal and ethical issues, fiscal stewardship, personnel development, and other topics pertinent to junior faculty and leaders alike.
This is a nine-month leadership development program dedicated to the preparation of women and underrepresented faculty and staff for positions of leadership and opportunities for advancement in higher education.
The New Chair’s Leadership Group brings together a cohort of recently-named chairs to learn from key leaders on campus about challenges they face and resources that are available to support them in their work.
Led by a cadre of external executive coaches, this program provides new leader coaching, continuing leader coaching, and spot coaching. It provides additional support to our senior leaders. Their effectiveness is vital for continuing IU Indianapolis’s excellence. The program will help new leaders (externally- or internally-recruited) successfully transition into their new roles, assist current leaders with specific development needs, and aid leaders who need short-term help to solve occasional challenges.
The Leadership Advisory Council provides advice on the current leadership framework and recommends ways of filling gaps in programming. They are considering an IU Indianapolis version of the successful IU Executive Leadership Institute that is currently offered to emerging faculty and staff leaders across IU campuses. They also provide advice to the Chancellor’s Cabinet on leadership development activities in order to ensure continuous improvement.
The Digital Fellows program is a one-year program in which the fellows form a community of practice to investigate, evaluate, and implement digital courseware and/or adaptive learning tools appropriate for a gateway face-to-face undergraduate course. Each fellow is to redesign a course for the fall 2019 semester to include digital pedagogies.
