A tenured professor recalls stumbling badly on his first day of leadership, after he shifted abruptly from running a lab to becoming interim dean of a science division at a regional public university. As a professor, he had limited restrictions on his schedule (class time, office hours, standing meetings). But on becoming dean, he quickly realized how little control he had over his own calendar.
By 10 a.m., on Day 1 of his new post, he had already faced:
- A call from an upset parent demanding action on a classroom issue.
- A request from the provost’s office seeking important accreditation data that “was due by noon.”
- A squabble between two department chairs who wanted to meet individually with him “as soon as possible.”
- And a lot of confusion among staff members who had assumed their usual Monday 8 a.m. meeting would take place — even though it was not actually on their new dean’s calendar.
As a novice leader in an interim or acting role, you can recover from that sort of rocky start (as did my acquaintance). But there are ways to prepare — even for a temporary gig — so that you spend your first day feeling situationally aware rather than flailing around.
In the Admin 101 column, I write about all aspects of campus leadership, major and minor. The latter can be just as important to your job and your career as the former. In recent essays, I’ve been focusing on the common phenomenon of unexpected leadership promotions: how to be “ready to lead on short notice,” how to decide whether to accept the role, and how to mentally and logistically prepare for it. Now in this final essay of the series, let’s turn to your debut on the job.
Early on, review your entire budget, broadly if not deeply. Almost every decision you make as an administrator has a financial component. Trouble is, very few of us in academic-leadership posts have degrees in accounting or finance.
So one of your must-learn skill sets is to be able to understand and work with the myriad components of a modern campus financial system. As a dean at an R1 institution, for example, I have to deal with hundreds of budget codes, spending types, financial processes, and approval mechanisms.
The financial picture may not be that complicated in your new interim position, and you certainly don’t need to understand all of the fiscal details on Day 1. But as soon as possible, it is imperative that you meet with the “go to” financial experts in your unit or institution, and at least gain a big-picture view of your budget.
Perhaps you already had a chance to review some of these financial documents and/or looked at “the budget” previously. The big difference is that, on your first day on the job, you are officially in charge of the budget. You are managerially and legally responsible not only for decisions but also for mistakes.
And you never know what’s there until you look for yourself. A new associate dean for undergraduate studies told me that he had been assured — by the dean who asked him to fill the unexpected opening — that “your budget is fine; that’s the one thing you won’t have to worry about.” But it took only a few days to learn differently: His staff members alerted him to some serious budget holes caused by overspending that had not been transmitted up the hierarchy. Luckily, the dean was sympathetic and grateful to be finally getting straight information: The fixing could begin.
The point here: Inspect the books yourself and don’t necessarily trust anyone’s assurances.
Tour the office spaces and be seen. You may feel a tremendous urge to spend your first day on the job “doing homework” in your new office — looking at documents, holding meetings, talking to key players and constituents. However, morale depends on your not just being a gnome behind a castle wall.
On Day 1, then, find time to just walk around the offices and facilities of your unit. Many years ago, when I was appointed interim graduate director almost overnight, I was swimming in data and meetings on my first day, but I also made a conscious effort to visit the offices and lab spaces of graduate students. I had no set agenda or talking points. My goal was just to communicate, “Hi, I’m starting my first day and thought I’d just see how you are doing.” A lot of conversations ensued — some awkward, some airing grievances and complaints, and others just amiable getting-to-know-you chats. But I heard many useful takeaways to guide me in the months ahead.
Take key staff members to lunch and listen to them. Some new leaders hold a big town hall on their first day in an attempt to meet, and hear from, everyone all at once. I think that’s too much, too fast. While some variation of a town hall should be on your agenda for your first semester, on your first day, you really want to get the pulse and feel from a pool of key players.
Obviously that pool includes faculty members, and you should arrange to meet with some of them soon. But on your first day, what is most crucial is to begin building good relationships with key staff members of your unit.
This lunch gathering might have only three or four people if you’re the new leader of a small department, or as many as a dozen if you’re suddenly running a large college. Invite them into your office, put out a nice spread (food is fundamental to intragroup trust and camaraderie), and let the chat begin.
Have goals, but no agenda. Don’t get too official too quickly. Ask people about their histories on the job and about the recent focus of their work. You want to get a feel, from actual testimony and body language, for your new position’s work relationships. At some point, ask a few goal-oriented questions, such as “What do you see as the biggest things I should get done in my time on the job?” or “How can somebody in my position help you?”
Don’t expect to solve any major problems in this meeting. Just try to understand what it’s like to live and work in this new world.
Contact the most essential external players on and off of the campus. Every administrative position has external constituencies — it’s just a matter of how many and how varied. On your first day as a new department chair, for example, the external figures you will want to contact include the dean or associate deans. Leadership posts further up the administrative ladder, such as a new interim dean, might also want to call key off-campus figures, such as the head of an alumni fund-raising group.
Before you take office, identify a few of these “outsiders” and arrange to talk with them on your first day, via a phone or Zoom call.
The goal of these conversations will mostly be to make introductions. But sometimes, things get real very fast. On his first day, an interim dean at a western regional university told me, the campus fund-raising office begged him to “urgently” call a major donor who was unhappy with the stewardship of his family’s gift to the college. An hour later, the donor was assuaged. It was damage control, and a rough way to start the job, but at least a fiscal calamity was avoided.
Check off one easy item on your priority list. Your first day in an unexpected leadership job can be overwhelming, especially if a lot of new data and even crises are thrown at you. Keep in mind: No matter how short or long your interim tenure, nobody expects you to immediately save the world (or the geosciences department). Yet it can be highly satisfying to end that first day having checked off at least one item on your long to-do list.
A colleague who became an interim associate dean of a graduate school almost overnight offered a simple example: On his first day he discovered that a lot of graduate-admissions decisions — already approved at every faculty and lower administrative level — had gotten clogged up in the software because of the tumultuous leadership transition. He devoted more than an hour to clicking “approve” hundreds of times. Whatever else he accomplished that day, he knew that he had made a lot of future grad students very happy, not to mention their programs and advisers.
Day 1 of your new leadership position is going to be busy. The key — as will be true of the days, weeks, and months to come — is to pace yourself. Understand the rhythms of your new office, its people, and its mission. A good first day means leaving a strong impression that you are going to pay attention to what needs to be done.
