The Key to a Chair’s Success: Situational Awareness of Your Department

A 3-Week Program

Join our program to receive bite-sized content for 3 weeks.

The next cohort starts on Monday.

Inform your leadership choices by developing a greater understanding of what is happening in your department and why it’s happening.

You’ll be introduced to a four-step process called an environmental scan, which allows you to systematically research and assess your department’s history, trends and strategic position – all of which influence the way others view and engage with you and your department. More importantly, you’ll further explore how your environmental scan can help you make better decisions, make a case, communicate effectively with your stakeholders, leverage institutional collaborations and empower others throughout your department.

See Recommended Schedule

Who Will Benefit

This course is designed for any/all department chairs who want to develop a greater awareness and understanding of their department and its strategic position within their institution. This course will be helpful for new chairs because it will help orient them to the environment in which chairs have to work and help them chart a path forward that sets them up for success. This video is equally valuable to experienced chairs who want to maximize their effectiveness.

How It Works

For three weeks, you will get weekly emails on Monday, which introduce a new lesson. Each lesson will include bite-sized videos that you can complete throughout the week. Videos will be 15 minutes or less each day. There are also complementary worksheets you can begin working on, which will help you reflect on and practice the concepts presented during the videos. If you complete all lessons within three weeks, you will have the chance to request a certificate. New cohorts start every Monday.

Don’t miss the opportunity to integrate professional development into your daily routine and establish a solid understanding of what effective leadership looks like for department chairs.

A new cohort starts every Monday.

Valued at $595. Free for members.

MEMBERS - Sign Up Now to Enroll in This Member Exclusive Program

Submit your information to enroll into our three-week program that will help you grow your situational awareness as department chair. For three weeks, you will get weekly emails on Monday, which introduce a new lesson. Each lesson will include bite-sized videos that you can complete throughout the week. Videos will be 15 minutes or less each day. There are also complementary worksheets you can complete to help you reflect on and practice the concepts presented during the videos. If you finish the curriculum within three weeks, you will have the chance to request a certificate of completion.

Members: Sign in to register.

Before You Start

01.

Make sure you’re logged in with your membership credentials

02.

Start The Key to a Chair’s Success on this webpage or from one of your daily emails

Recommended Schedule

Week 1 – The Importance of Assessing Your Field of Operations

Day 1

10 minutes

Watch:
Introduction

Day 2

20 minutes

Watch:
Understanding Your Field of Operations

Complete:
Worksheet 1

Day 3

30 minutes

Watch:
Understanding Your Organizational Structure

Complete:
Worksheet 2

Day 4

20 minutes

Watch:
Embracing Your Positional Power

Complete:
Worksheet 3

Week 2 – Conducting an Environmental Scan

Day 5

20 minutes

Watch:
Step 1: Goal Setting

Begin working on Worksheet 4. This worksheet is designed to be a living document. As you work through your environmental scan, update it as needed.

Day 6

30 minutes

Watch:
Step 2: Interview Your Actors

Begin working on Worksheet 5. This worksheet is designed to be a living document. As you work through your environmental scan, update it as needed.

Day 7

30 minutes

Watch:
Step 3: Acquire Data

Begin working on Worksheet 6. This worksheet is designed to be a living document. As you work through your environmental scan, update it as needed.

Day 8

30 minutes

Watch:
Step 4: Assess Your Department’s Strategic Position

Begin working on Worksheet 7. This worksheet is designed to be a living document. As you work through your environmental scan, update it as needed.

Day 9

30 minutes

Take Action:
If you haven’t already done so, reach out to one of the actors you identified in Step 2 and invite them to an interview.

Continue to work on Worksheets 4 – 7 by doing some research about your department’s history and strategic position.