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...

  (And Why It’s Killing Your Influence) You became chair because you’re brilliant at your discipline. You’ve published, mentored, and earned respect. Then, overnight, the job changed from doing great work to leading people, many of them, your peers. And now? You’re isolated. You’re buried in admin work no one trained you for. You hesitate to ask for help because you don’t want to look lost. You avoid cross-campus connections because it feels political, and you didn’t sign up for politics. Meanwhile, your department stalls. Your initiatives die in committee. You’re working 60 hours a week and wondering what you’re doing wrong. Here’s the truth no one told you: Your success as chair has less to do with your scholarship and everything to do with your relationships. Here’s the playbook: understand the isolation trap, redefine your team, build cross-campus relationships, make them reciprocal, and start small—but start now. The Isolation Problem Universities know this...

Universities now operate like corporations. Budgets, enrollment, and metrics dominate conversations that used to be about scholarship and teaching. And yet, while chairs are expected to run their departments like business units, most get no leadership training at all. You’re managing budgets, people, and strategy. But nobody ever taught you how. So let’s borrow something that works from the corporate world: Stop managing your dean. Start showing your work. The Problem with “Managing Up” If “managing up” makes you cringe, you’re not alone. It sounds political. Manipulative. Everything you went into academia to avoid. You’re right to resist that language. You don’t manage your dean. Your job is to lead your department well and make sure the right people know what’s happening. Why Deans Feel Distant Your dean isn’t ignoring you; they’re overwhelmed. Ten departments. Ten priorities. Ten contexts. That’s maybe two hours a week to focus on yours. They’re juggling...