How to Lead Faculty Who Don’t Want to Be Led

You can’t fire them. You can’t promote them. You can’t give big raises.

And last semester, they were your peers.

Now you’re chair responsible for budgets, outcomes, and student success with a team that technically reports to you but answers to no one. Some even think you “joined the dark side.”

Welcome to academic leadership: authority without power.

But here’s the truth: this isn’t a hopeless job. It’s just a different kind of leadership.
One built not on control, but on influence, clarity, and trust.

Here’s what that really looks like.

The Chair’s Real Job

You’re not here to manage faculty. You’re here to lead colleagues.

That means:

• Remove obstacles so people can do their best work
• Build consensus around what matters
• Translate and advocate between faculty and administration
• Create conditions where faculty want to contribute
• Show your work so others see how individual choices drive collective outcomes

Try this: Spend one week asking, “What’s getting in your way?” more than you ask, “What are you working on?” You’ll learn more and build more goodwill than in a semester of meetings.

Six Principles That Actually Work

1. Be Clear on How Decisions Get Made

Ambiguity breeds drama. Clarity builds trust.

Try this: Map out every common decision your department makes and who owns it. Share the list. Invite edits. Post it.

When everyone knows the process, they stop fighting over it.

When in doubt, consult. You can always move faster than you can repair trust.

2. Show Strength Through Vulnerability

Faculty know when you’re bluffing. Don’t.

Try this: Start department meetings with one honest “constraint from above” you’re navigating. Then ask: “How would you approach it?”

It shifts the tone from defending to collaborating.

Vulnerability isn’t weakness; it’s the fastest route to credibility.

3. Lead Through Motivation, Not Mandate

Tenured faculty don’t respond to pressure. They respond to purpose.

Try this: Ask each faculty member, “What part of your work gives you the most energy?”
Then connect departmental goals to those sources of motivation.

Influence follows alignment.

4. Make the Invisible Visible

Most faculty don’t see the domino effect of their choices.

Try this: Once a semester, show a simple slide:
“Here’s where our budget, enrollments, and research output come from.”

Keep it factual. No spin.

Clarity turns skeptics into collaborators.

5. Create Conditions, Not Compliance

You can’t force engagement, but you can make it easier.

Try this:

• Make service assignments public so everyone sees workload balance.
• Celebrate small wins in meetings.
• Block time for your own deep work and tell them why.

Model the environment you want to scale.

6. Escalate Wisely

You won’t win every battle, and you don’t need to.

Try this: Before escalating, ask yourself:
“Is this a hill to die on, or a rock to walk around?”

Document, decide, and move on.

Protect your energy for where you can make progress.

The Conversations You’re Avoiding

You don’t need perfect language, just courage and clarity.

Performance: “What’s getting in the way of your research right now?”
Resources: “Here’s the progress we’ve made, here’s what we could do with one more line.”
Succession: “What do you want your legacy to look like when you step back?”

These aren’t confrontations. They’re leadership in practice.

What Success Looks Like

Not control. Not perfection.
Just movement in the right direction:

• Faculty show up because they want to
• Problems surface early
• Wins get shared widely
• The department’s reputation grows quietly but steadily

You won’t make everyone happy. But you’ll make the work matter.

 

If you are ready for some support navigating this uncertain role, let’s talk.

You’re great at the work. Let’s make it visible.