Presidential transitions are challenging for everyone--the new campus leader and the staff. Regardless of the challenge, the more that can be done to establish a sense of common purpose, trust, and understanding, the smoother the transition.
A transition is more than planning an administration "takeover." A transition is "the passing from one stage to another," so it is important to know where the incoming leader and the institution are going after the initial first steps. Connecting the initial transition to a long-term plan or vision for the near and distant future is a valuable tool once the "moving in" is over and a new team is in place.
Prior to beginning a transition it is important to assess the situation. Is there anything unique about the transition, and will that uniqueness be a factor during the transition?
My 2003 transition at Towson University (Md.) involved previous transition experience, but incorporated some unique factors. I was returning to a campus that I had been a part of for 21 years as a faculty member, dean, associate vice president, provost/vice president, and executive vice president. During the time I was away from that campus, almost nine years, I served as the president of San Jose State University (Calif.). Like any new president, I wanted the transition to go well, and, because of my unique history, it was necessary to make it clear that I was not coming in with preconceived ideas about the campus, ideas that may have been formed because of prior service on the campus. It was important for the campus community to know that, although the incoming president had a long history at Towson University. It understood there had been significant change in the almost nine years I had been away.
How will you coordinate the transition? Who will lead the effort? What preparation is necessary before beginning the transition?
Preparation for the upcoming transition included sorting through and benefiting from experiences in my earlier transition at San Jose State University and talking with a number of colleagues and professional executive coaches about leadership transition. Publications and several articles related to this very challenge--including one written by colleagues Steve Weber and Ira Krinsky at San Diego State University on "New Manager Assimilation"--were helpful resources. As a result of inquiry, dialogue, and working with key advisors on the campus, I developed an approach that used a "Transition Advisory Team" process (the team is described below). The last preparatory task was selection of a transition coordinator. I selected two transition coordinators for the Towson transition. The coordinators, and later the transition team, were given the charge of facilitating my leadership transition by soliciting feedback from on- and off-campus stakeholders.
An incoming president can use many types of transition coordinators: a firm specializing in transitions; a trusted current advisor used on a consultant basis; or people already on campus. For the Towson transition I selected two campus-based coordinators who were well known and trusted on the campus. I also knew both well. I worked with one professionally and personally before he joined the university near the time of my previous departure. The other was junior faculty when I departed nine years ago, but I got to know him well as chair of the Presidential Search Committee that had recruited me to the campus.
How will data and information be gathered? What types of groups will be involved? How will those groups be organized and facilitated?
The transition coordinators were also used as focus group facilitators. This approach provided a more cohesive approach and enabled me to gather large amounts of information without dealing separately with many individuals. The coordinators/facilitators established and met with at least one focus group from a wide range of stakeholders, such as the Alumni Board; Board of Visitors; Council of Chairpersons; Foundation Board; Provost's Council; Student Government Association; University Senate; and unaffiliated groups of faculty and staff. In a number of instances more than one meeting was necessary to allow full participation of all interested individuals. This was especially true for faculty and staff focus groups. The facilitators scheduled meetings of approximately 60 to 90 minutes, though many lasted much longer. During the meetings, focus groups were permitted to choose their own direction of discussion, comment, and questions, but during the discussions the facilitators asked a series of predefined questions. The questions, asked of each group, were intertwined in the discussion in the form of "what do you think of..." or " what advice would you...". Examples of questions threaded into the discussions:
