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Over 700 college and university presidents have responded to a new survey, providing a glimpse into the ever-evolving higher education landscape. Their insights along with those from four focus groups identified the leadership traits necessary to succeed in the current climate.Â
The survey was highlighted in a new report titled, “2024 Competencies for the College Presidency: A National Study of Effective Leadership in Higher Education,” released this week by Academic Search, which with its parent organization, the American Academic Leadership Institute.Â
“Those aspiring to be presidents now see the competencies needed,” said Dr. Shawn M. Hartman, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Academic Search. “How do you gain understanding so as you walk into the presidency you’ve done some work on those competencies. For boards and search committees, it’s also a good reminder of what presidents are telling us makes a good leader, but also we look at it from a gendered and a racial perspective.”
This study looks at aspects of leadership qualities necessary in today’s climate. The essential competencies for effective presidential leadership are trust building, demonstrating resilience, communications savvy, crafting a cabinet and team building, emotional intelligence, leading with courage, data acumen and resource management.
“When you look at the report, there are some [competencies] that we have talked about in previous research, but really how are people thinking about these today and how are they developing or leveraging the skills to be able to be a more effective president,” said Dr. Jorge Burmicky, an assistant professor of higher education leadership and policy studies at Howard University and one of the authors of the report.
Behaving in a trustworthy, consistent and accountable manner was the survey item most frequently rated as very relevant and a critical skill. This includes engaging key stakeholders. Being resilient, coping with adversity and being able to take criticism was also instrumental. Burmicky noted that presidents said having a core support system, which includes family, close friends and peers, was a key component of resilience. Cabinets can be a great asset or a challenge, and carefully building a presidential cabinet is integral to success.
“When you look at resiliency, it’s about connection to the institution—to the mission, to the students, to the work of the institution,” said Hartman. “If you’re going to ask a president to lead with courage, are [boards] prepared to support that president when they lead with that courage?
“There have always been complications to the presidency,” he adds. “What the competencies say is if…you haven’t built a good team, if you don’t have a communications savvy, then when these challenges hit, there’s not a foundation from which to respond.”
Communicating effectively and authentically in formal and informal settings was also very important. “The best presidents not only leverage their communications team, but they also leverage different forms of communication,” said Burmicky.
53% of survey respondents identified as male and 68% identified as white or Caucasian. 33.5% identified as female and 13.3% did not state their gender identity. 9.5% identified as African American or Black, 3.5% as Hispanic or Latinx and 2.1% as Asian or Asian American. 70% of respondents were between the ages of 51 and 70. Time in the presidency varied with the largest percentage being between six to 10 years.
There were differences in responses by gender and race. By example, 81% of female respondents and 68% of male respondents noted weighting the consequences of decisions on different groups as an important leadership quality. On that point, 79% of presidents of color versus 69% of white presidents noted that importance.
Female presidents placed greater priority on being knowledgeable about demographic changes and their impact on enrollment. Presidents of color emphasized the importance of enacting an anti-racist approach to policies and practices.
“We know that women and presidents of color tended to share that they lead through an equity-minded framework more so than their white male peers. They’re more aware of how their decisions impact others,” said Burmicky.
Burmicky noted that information and data in this report can be extremely beneficial to both leadership development programs and to institutions looking for a new president. They pointed out that colleges and universities must be prepared to support an individual who has one or more marginalized identities. If a crisis arises, the institution must be supportive of its president’s decision-making.
“The disaggregated data…is really important for everybody to see so they can become more ready for their next leader and be able to better support them so the college can thrive as a whole,” said Burmicky. “We know that leadership competencies cannot be just a check list.”
Dr. Marjorie Hass, president of the Council of Independent Colleges and the author of A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education and past president of Rhodes College and Austin College, agrees.
“We see a move away from listing job titles or very specific, narrow skills or competencies as the important prerequisites and much more focused on broad style, emotional intelligence, relationship building and many of the kinds of things that women are often socialized to do better at,” she said. “It’s, I think, fascinating that our whole conversation about leadership has shifted over the last 10 years, in part because we are seeing a wider range of people earning their way into those positions.”