Every crisis presents challenge and heartache, but it also provides opportunity. Perhaps the most obvious opportunity is when ordinary people step up to accomplish extraordinary things during a moment of crisis. Situational leaders become a bit like the plot line to the movie “A Star is Born”: certain preconditions exist in a moment of time that intersect favorably with their ability to lead.
We are all watching new leaders be born during COVID-19. I suspect every school and college is witnessing the real-time growth and ascent to leadership roles by specific faculty, staff, administrators, and even volunteers. What are the characteristics of these leaders? And, more importantly, what are the attributes of leaders in the new normal?
We are in the midst of an inflection point, where a new model of industry is being born. It will take a new breed of leader to succeed in the future. Here are five competencies that I believe will be the critical elements of educational leadership in the future of education.
Social Emotional Connectors.
In a world where disruption is normal and ongoing, future leaders will care for their people first. They will lean into the strengths of their organizational ethos and tap into emotions that calm and assuage their constituencies. They will have a calming effect to those they lead, providing needed consistency and continuity in their lives. It is this attribute that will enable them to galvanize a community around a strategic direction.
Environmental Scanners.
Future leaders will focus more than ever before on reading the tea leaves of the environment, including culture, competition, and economies, as insight into consumer behaviors. They will pivot organizational strategies according to the data they synthesize and internalize. Future innovations will be drawn from data, market insight and opportunity, rather than waiting for some new idea to emerge from an internal committee.
Honest Brokers.
In a world wrought with division, finger pointing, and elevated political rhetoric, there will be a resurgence of great leaders that are honest brokers of information. They will focus less on image and more on facts, being present with their people, and personal, place-based communication. Transparency will rule the day for these leaders, even if it is the hard truth. Their honesty will be an essential element of their credibility.
Trust-Builders Over Consensus-Makers.
We can all see now how the world can pivot quickly. Who would have guessed just two months ago that nearly 25 million people would file for unemployment in roughly 30 days during the wake of one of the largest economic booms in history? Historically, schools and colleges are process-oriented organizations that prefer to make decisions through consensus-building. There will not be time for these elongated processes to pivot in the future. Leaders will rely on their equity of trust with stakeholders rather than consensus among their people to set their future direction.
Entrepreneurial Mindset.
There is no question that education is moving to a more entrepreneurial model. Leaders of the future must be nimble, agile, and able to pivot an organization toward external opportunity and away from environmental threats. They will be entrepreneurs at their heart, with a sensibility toward social entrepreneurship, making the world a better place. And, they won’t be afraid to fail, seeing it as a necessary endeavor.
I also suspect that the outdated search process of finding college presidents and school heads will change in the future. Gone will be the days of 18 month searches through expensive search firms and three day interviews with every board, faculty, and staff member, along with their pets and children. No, schools and colleges will be more nimble and agile in finding leaders in their selection process.
And, we will see boards and governance change. Governance cannot continue to operate at a glacial pace in an industry that is being redefined. They must be an entrepreneurial part of the solution. They will need to be more adaptable and agile, responding more quickly to the external environment. They will nurture the growth and development of a new breed of board member, one that stays out of the internal operational weeds and responds to market challenges and opportunities, one that drives higher level thinking.
All aspects of education are being recalibrated. This process started long before COVID-19, which now is serving as an accelerant of our industry issues. Leadership must change in order to usher in a new way of doing things. A new model of leadership is just another element of the changing landscape of education, along with 1) how we use time (scheduling), 2) how we credential our work (assessment), 3) how we deliver it (continuous learning), and 4) how we pay for it (tuition modeling).