Managing People: A Guide for Department Chairs and Deans

One of the most challenging responsibilities of being an academic department chair or dean is to effectively manage diverse, independent, and autonomous intellectuals— the typical college faculty. This book is a collection of 13 essays by experienced chairs, deans, and vice presidents. In their more than 200 years of combined experience, they have encountered and dealt with all the common but troubling people management problems that come with being a manager. Each essay tackles a different aspect of people management, explaining the dimensions and subtleties of the issue and deftly offering suggestions and resources. Their sage advice will be welcome to both new and experienced academic managers.

Contents include:

• Understanding Yourself
• Understanding and Communicating With Others
• Establishing a Positive Leadership Approach
• Creating Consensus Among Faculty
• Using Meetings to Create Cohesion
• Winning Over Your Detractors
• Stripping Away Negative Defenses
• Handling Conflict With Difficult Faculty
• Dealing With Troubled Faculty
• Improving the Odds of Hiring the Right Person
• Using Evaluation to Enhance Faculty Performance and Satisfaction
• Building and Maintaining Morale
• Putting All the Pieces Together to Be a Better People Manager and Leader