Lessons From a Recovering Department Chair

Academic department chairs are usually pulled from successful faculty roles only to enter a world of mid-level management and leadership roles rarely anticipated when initiating one's career. Fortunately, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy provides opportunities for professional development related to some of the skills required of department chairs. Unfortunately, learning to apply that skill set is neither a linear process nor consistent across varied types of challenges. While learning to be an effective department chair will require a series of trials and errors, often, there isn't enough time for a department chair to make every misstep. Now a year out from 15 years of service as a department chair, I find myself reflecting on the lessons I've learned from colleagues and from my own personal experience. In hopes of moderating the learning curve of others in this role, I share a few lessons from a recovering department chair. 1. It's not about you Check your ego at the door. Your primary role is to help colleagues be successful. While no one expects you to set aside your desire for personal achievement, your desire should operate in the background. Attempts to serve as a departmental centerpiece around which others will revolve is rarely successful, takes the focus away from the department, and does not empower junior faculty in their personal development. 2. Find your faculty's vision, and hold on to it Strategic planning is a messy business that involves divergent opinions, give and take, and compromise in setting priorities. Part of the process includes defining a common vision. Ideally, creating a vision requires everyone's participation and everyone's buy in. Holding on to that vision will be up to you. The day after your departmental vision is defined, your colleagues return to their individual labs, clinics, offices, and projects. Each individual has unique challenges that are genuine and require resources, but collectively, the faculty will be looking to you to hold on to that vision. The departmental vision provides a measuring stick against which you can guide decision-making. There is always room to wiggle, but until the faculty regains energy to wipe the table clean and begin a new planning process; hold on. 3. Hire well, then stay out of the way No decision is more important than the first one. Your department is its faculty. Be certain that your hires complement the departmental vision, that you can support and mentor their development, and that they fit the culture of your department. It can sometimes be challenging, but once an individual is hired, remember that there was a reason he or she was selected. Provide unfailing support, but stay out of their way and clear a path for their success. Occasionally, there will be conflicts in deciding who to hire between the most outstanding candidate and the candidate who "fits" the department. It's important to be self-aware of any personal biases, and to consider that "fit" does matter. You can hire the best individual in his or her specialty, but if he or she does not complement where the department wants to go or is an individual with whom no one will want to collaborate, you have wasted an opportunity. 4. Listen well, even when it hurts There is no substitute for keeping "an ear to the ground." Hallway chatter and intentional efforts to connect with faculty on a regular basis are opportunities for you to provide guidance, often preempting a need for intervention later. Not a fan of hearing problems or critique? As artfully explained in the book The Four Agreements, don't take anything personally (or try not to). (1) Frustrations that boil over are often seeded by colleagues' personal or professional struggles of which you may not even be aware. If you routinely view a colleague's critique as a personal affront, you quickly become incapable of hearing or understanding the actual message. …