"Upswing" by Amber Heaton: http://www.amberheaton.com/g8biwqalcfjpqcwwy029nmvrwicwxa

 From Blog Director Jill Randall:

Today's post is an unusual one for Life as a Modern Dancer. I rarely post writing anonymously, but this topic in particular is a hot one within the dance world. I asked three dance department chairs – two current chairs and one retired chair – to candidly share their stories. Together, we wanted to tackle some of the more challenging components of higher ed – budgets, growing and cutting programs, building a professional learning community, and handling conflicts. Knowing that the writing would be posted without their own names and the names of their universities, these three dancers opened up their hearts and offer us a window into the work. Together, we hope to inspire current and future dance department chairs as well as provide valuable insight for dance professors as they build a relationship with their chairs. 

To the three fabulous, anonymous dance chairs here – thank you for sharing your stories and for supporting the field! Thank you for your generosity of spirt. 

Today I share the third perspective. Read the other two here.

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Perspective #3 – From a Retired Department Chair

The role of department chair is likely the most difficult (and possibly the most thankless) one in the university. Having held positions ranging from an assistant professor through an associate vice president at several universities, I feel qualified to make this statement. As a chair you are nominally “in charge,” but what you are really doing is taking care of your faculty and staff (who are always overworked, under-appreciated, over committed, and under-paid), your students (who are often overwhelmed on many fronts), and your department. Basically your job is to serve all of them to the best of your ability with never enough money or time to do so. Unlike administrative positions above the rank of chair, you are in the trenches with your department colleagues and students and your job keeps your door open to their needs and concerns on a daily basis. There is no distance. Try to keep a sense of humor. I had a bank of cartoons about leadership taped inside the closet door in my office. It helped me keep my perspective.

What were your strengths as chair? What did you bring to the position? 

I hope people would say I was an active listener with a strong sense of fairness. I understood the role of chair as a position of service to the students, faculty, and the university while promoting the advancement of the department. While I avidly supported faculty and student growth and opportunities whenever possible, in the end my decisions were guided by what was best for the future of the department. Most often those issues were in accord.

I believe one of my strengths was providing exciting opportunities for students and faculty to grow. I was willing to expend the extra effort to seek out these opportunities and work to make them a reality. In that capacity I became a successful fund-raiser and grant writer. When times were tough I understood it was my job to bolster morale and to set an example of a team player within the university system.

By the time I became a department chair I had experienced a number of leadership positions that just seemed to be handed to me without my actively seeking them. I imagine that others must have seen potential in me, thus I had some leadership experience through previous roles. When I became a dance department chair for the first time I also brought the huge advantage of having served under a cadre of wonderful dance chairs and arts leaders who served as mentors and brilliant examples and I had observed their work carefully. I felt comfortable in reaching out to them to ask advice. When faced with a decision, I often posed the question to myself: “How would XXX handle this situation?”

What are some of the major lessons you learned that you want to share and pass on to the field?

Be trustworthy

It is wonderful if your constituents admire you. It is terrific if they respect you. But, it is essential to your success that they trust you. Be consistent. Be honest. Be fair. Be open. Be ethical. If there are internal conflicts between students, staff, or faculty, listen to both sides before coming to a conclusion. You don’t need to make instantaneous decisions. Say, “I will get back to you on that;” do your research and then DO get back to him or her. Model the behavior you want to see. Analyze your actions…and remember: what does not work ON you will likely not work FOR you.

Set informed strategic goals

An important move for new chairs is to talk with faculty members one-on-one in their offices or in a neutral location about their work and their personal goals. Ask questions and then listen, listen, listen. You will also learn where the problems are. When I was an “outside” hire as chair for a department that was basically in internal warfare, I felt I spent the entire first year listening and   working to find common ground. You need to know the faculty’s strengths, limitations and desires in order to set achievable goals that can be accomplished as a team. You can also identify areas of   weakness that will serve as guidelines for hiring new faculty (in the rare case that you get that opportunity). The strategic goals should rise organically since one rarely has an opportunity to   hire new faculty and virtually no ability to fire existing faculty.

Encourage, acknowledge and support faculty

Engage others in finding answers by creating an environment where people feel safe in exploring problem solving and expressing opinions. Praise, praise, praise and say thank you. You can never provide enough or say thank you enough, but don’t necessarily expect others to thank you for your efforts. They typically believe that it is your job to provide them with what they want. That’s why you are making those “big bucks” (eye roll here). Say “yes” whenever possible, but learn to say no nicely and explain why. Encourage faculty to write grants to support their research and teaching goals. If you can find department funds to provide a grant-writing workshop or find one being offered elsewhere on campus and encourage your faculty to attend, it will definitely pay dividends.

There will be conflicts: Document, document, document

Remember that conflict is more common than congruence…it will happen no matter what you do. Keep good records of any actions that have the potential for problems or lawsuits resulting from conflict: save emails, letters, memos…any written documents pertaining to the issue; make notes indicating dates, names, and details of any meetings or verbal interactions. Know the university's policies and procedures so you do not violate or circumvent any of them. Be aware of any conflict resolution resources that exist on your campus and involve them as necessary.

Learn “university speak”

You might be lucky to have an administration that “gets” the way artists talk about their work, but generally, I would not expect upper administration to understand your language. Inquire and study the way other successful university administrators frame and promote their agenda, and use it to translate your work to the non-artists you need as advocates. Study the goals set by the university and demonstrate how your department’s work can and does support those goals. One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons shows an executive sitting behind a huge desk looking at a man in a business suit standing on one toe with the other leg in passé position and arms in high 5th. The executive is saying, “Say what you mean, Morrison. The language of dance has always eluded me.”

Practice MBWA, “management by walking around”

Tom Peters promoted this idea in his book In Search of Excellence, and I found it worked for me. Talk individually with faculty in their offices, drop into the costume shop to see what they are doing and ask about their work, go into the studio to observe faculty, students, and accompanists (not as an evaluator but as a cheerleader), ask if you can drop into classes or rehearsals, walk backstage and take an interest in what the stage crew is doing. Of course, sometimes you do need to be an evaluator, but this will seem less onerous to everyone if they are used to your presence and have felt your support in frequent visits. I found I learned more than if I just spoke to people in my office, and it was far more interesting.

Do preparatory work before broaching a difficult issue in faculty meetings

If you know a specific item has the potential to be volatile, take the time to understand the issues that will be raised. I suggest talking one-on-one with the most concerned individuals (in their offices), asking them about their opinions/objections and enlisting their help in finding a solution. You won’t always find a solution or avoid a contentious meeting, but at least they will have felt consulted and you will be forewarned, informed, and thus, have an opportunity to develop your own strategy for handling the situation in advance.

Be willing to reach out for help

If you need advice or mentoring, identify individuals you respect and ask for their help. Don’t be afraid they will think you are inadequate; most people LOVE to be asked for their advice. You probably have someone you trust from your past, but if not, you might find some experienced administrator through NASD conferences or similar professional organizations. Just walk up to the individual and say something like, ”I was so impressed by your comments in the last session. I was wondering if there would be a chance to talk with you one-on-one sometime either here or on the phone about an administrative issue I am facing.” The worst that can happen is that he or she will say no, but I would be willing to bet that won’t happen. Develop relationships with other department chairs across your campus. Although your disciplines are different, you will find they share most of the same problems and may have excellent advice. Plus, you need all the friends you can get, right?

What are some common pitfalls?

1. Focusing on YOUR needs and expecting others to meet them

By this I mean expectations that people should provide you or your department with everything needed, just because it IS needed. Of course part of your job is to ask for and substantiate things your department or faculty need. But, if help is not forthcoming, be a self-starter. If it is needed, YOU start working on ways to get it, through strategy or elbow grease. This is called leadership.

2. Taking other people’s behavior personally

See #4 below.

3. Avoiding unpleasant confrontations instead of facing and resolving them

Prepare yourself thoroughly prior to the situation so that you have all the facts and can exude confidence and maintain composure. Chairs have to do painful things sometimes. You may need to eliminate classes, positions or programs. You may need to give someone a negative performance review or even dismiss someone for performance, budgetary reasons or for the health of the department. It is nearly impossible to fire faculty and staff in a university setting. It is always unpleasant. You will need to work with the campus Human Resources Office and have upper administration support.

4. Beating yourself up

Forgive your mistakes. You won’t always make the right call. When you do, congratulate yourself.

Advice on handling strong personalities within the department.

Some of the best advice I ever received on dealing with difficult people came from a therapist (actually, I think every department chair would benefit from seeing a good therapist, and I am only half-joking here). She said, “Pretend that you are Margaret Mead.” Me, “What???!!” She said, “Behave like an anthropologist. Be an observer of human behavior, not affected by it. Imagine you are taking notes on an unfamiliar culture. For example, when certain situations arise people (person) in this particular culture do the following: scream, sulk, throw things” (you fill in the blanks). She also said something else I found very helpful: “Some people do not experience themselves as being fully alive unless they are in conflict with others.” They need the adrenaline of fighting to feel engaged or powerful…so, it is not about you.

Don’t take others’ behavior personally. Typically a person will exhibit the same behavior whenever and with whomever he/she interacts with in a given circumstance. As a department chair you may be a special target because you represent authority and, often, difficult people have a hard time with authority in any guise…so, again, it is not about you personally.

Two anecdotes, if I may: I was dealing with a faculty member who was habitually enraged about one thing or another. She burst into my office screaming at me about some issue (I cannot remember the issue because, of course, it really was not the issue). I sat at my desk pretending to be Margaret Mead while she railed on. When she paused to take a breath I thanked her for her opinion. She then began shouting, “And I am not going to change!!!” In my best Margaret Mead voice I responded, “Truer words were never spoken.” She stepped back as if I had slapped her, for the moment completely lost for a response. Then she sputtered, “Well, I WON’T change.” I calmly assured her I was under no illusions in that regard. She stalked out of my office, slamming the door. True to her word (and my expectations) she never did change, but she never tried this screaming attack on me again, probably because I refused to rise to her challenge.

The same person habitually challenged nearly every decision agreed upon by the rest of the faculty. I was told that before I became chair, faculty meetings were a battleground that went on far longer than necessary because of her need to argue. Once I observed this behavior I met with her in her office to let her know, in the interest of efficient meetings, how I would be handling this behavior in the future. As with all the faculty, she could state her opinion on a subject ONCE. If she started to reiterate I would interrupt to address the faculty, asking them if any had not understood her position the first time or had any questions. If they said yes, then she could explain ONCE. If not, I would inform her that her position was perfectly understood (if not agreed with) and it was unnecessary for her to repeat herself before a faculty vote. She tested this once and only once.

How to encourage a growth mindset with colleagues?

I have been faced with the situation where a colleague has “retired in place” only once, and I think it is among the most difficult issues to resolve. Here is what I tried:

• First, as aforementioned, meet with the colleague to understand what she sees is herr work, her goals, and her role in the department. Ask what gives her pleasure about being part of the department and what would enliven her participation.
• Document.
• Try providing opportunities for growth or supporting her participation in various professional activities and monitor and document the results. Give the person departmental responsibilities such as writing reports or certification surveys…monitor and document the results.
• Consult with your Dean. Ask if it is appropriate to meet with your university’s Office for Faculty or the equivalent to discuss options and ask for advice. If nothing else, you are alerting these people to the problem.

If your system allows you to allocate percentage raises during budget time, use it to get your point across. If people aren’t pulling their weight, direct the funds at your disposal to those who are. I would consult with the Dean before doing so and take your documentation along.

Dealing with budgets, positions, growth and decline in programs, etc. with grace.

Frame your budget requests in line with your department, college, and university written goals. Beyond the department this can take a bit of imagination, but you can do it.

Research other departments in your college (meaning the areas overseen by your Dean): ratio of students to faculty, number of staff positions, number of majors & non majors served, salaries, graduation rates, facilities and equipment, etc. Usually these numbers are published and should be public knowledge or obvious (in terms of facilities). Use this information to ascertain how your department compares and to provide justification for budget requests and requests for new positions. Generally speaking, it will be useless to compare yourself to the Business or Engineering School. Such comparisons will not be valuable to your cause, because of national salary and budgetary averages.

Leaders don’t whine. You are your department’s advocate and cheerleader. Do your best to keep a positive attitude in the department when your requests are not granted or your enrollment is declining. Involve your faculty and your students in strategy sessions regarding recruitment and retention. Meet with your Dean to discuss (not argue) about budget decisions and how you can be more effective in making your case. Help your faculty understand the decisions of upper administration rather than blaming. Be a grown-up.

Conversely, I do not mean that you cannot speak your truth or acknowledge your feelings, but communicate succinctly and use facts not emotions. Find a trusted friend (outside your university) or therapist to whom you can unload.

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The pleasure in chairing a dance department are the times that you get to envision, support and provide artistic, research, and scholastic opportunities for the faculty and students. There is joy in shepherding your department’s future. Many of the challenges you face are similar to that of your artistic life. The resilience, discipline, focus, and creativity you learned as a dancer sustain you in your leadership role. You will find your university world expanding with your new responsibilities. Your vision becomes broader and deeper. Personally, I felt my leadership roles taught me how to be an adult in the true sense of the word and in ways, both pleasurable and painful, these roles taught me who I was and who I could become. Leadership experiences expanded me and my world. To those of you willing to take on this important, challenging work…I hold you in my heart.

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