Wednesday, February 22, 2023 - Thursday, March 23, 2023

Join us online! Each week includes live, synchronous meetings plus interactive activities to help you apply your understanding.

The following dates are interactive sessions. Please plan to attend all dates and times. There will also be some homework between sessions. Academy graduates will earn the Leadership Academy microcredential.

Start
Feb. 22, 2023

Orientation

At this first session, you'll learn more about the academy and how the course delivery works. You'll also introduce yourself and meet your cohort.

Date

Wednesday, February 22, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)

Week 1
Feb. 23-March 1, 2023

Learning to be a strengths-based leader

What does being a strengths-based leader even mean? Am I supposed to only focus on what I am good at and ignore my weaknesses? What about the people on my team?

In this session we will explore your top 5 CliftonStrengths and how you can leverage them as a leader in your organization.

This session will be highly interactive and will give you various materials for both your development and leading those around you.

Presenter

Marissa LeClaire Weaver
Owner
Your Leadership Trainer

Dates

Thursday, February 23, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)
Monday, February 27, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)

Week 2
March 2-8, 2023

Leading teams from anywhere

The pandemic has forced higher ed teams to rethink communication, collaboration, and leadership. Many of us have settled into hybrid or fully remote setups as colleges and universities become more open to remote work in the long run. But as managers, how do we effectively lead teams from anywhere? How do we create environments for employee well-being and high performance? How do we build culture remotely? And how do we measure success?

We’ll explore the foundations for remote success, practical ways to rethink work in remote-first settings, avoiding burnout, building human connections, and more. We will be able to workshop and talk through specific real-world challenges cohort members face.

Presenter

Josh Charles
Director of Web Strategy and Technology
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Dates

Thursday, March 2, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)
Monday, March 6, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)

Week 3
March 9-15, 2023

From strategic plan to action plan

An organization’s strategic plan outlines goals, objectives and priorities that set a course for the future. But with so many moving (and often decentralized) parts, it can be hard to apply these high-level plans to our own day-to-day work.

This session will help you see your work in your organization’s strategic plan. Together, the cohort will walk through the steps of creating an action plan, setting goals and objectives for yourself and your team, and deciding how best to measure success — all in alignment with an overarching strategic plan.

In this session, we will:

  • Walk through strategic planning frameworks.
  • Practice setting strategic goals and objectives.
  • Outline tactics and practice prioritizing work strategically.
  • Identify internal and external metrics.
  • Use an action plan template that you can immediately apply in your current role.

Participants are encouraged to reference their own organization’s strategic plan (if possible) in order to start an action plan that is tailored to their needs. Otherwise, sample strategic plan documents will be used for the purpose of workshop exercises.

Presenter

Alaina Wiens
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
StrategyCar // Flint & Genesee Group

Dates

Thursday, March 9, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CST)
Monday, March 13, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CDT)

Week 4
March 16-22, 2023

Driving digital governance

Governance empowers digital communicators to effectively support their specific goals while drawing from a consistent strategy; clear objectives and audiences; digital best practices; thoroughly documented processes; and well-defined roles and responsibilities. But in higher ed, governance can be elusive, owing to politics, silos, fear, decentralization, stasis and more.

This session will help solidify your understanding of what governance entails, why it’s important, how to assess your current state, and how to set yourself and your institution up for future success.

Topics of discussion will include:

  • Governance diagnostics.
  • Training, documentation and policies.
  • Roles and workflows.
  • Sustainable processes.
  • Systems oversight.
  • Internal community building.

Attendees can virtually share challenges and ideas with their cohort, problem-solving real challenges together.

Presenter

Georgy Cohen
Director of Digital Strategy
OHO Interactive

Dates

Thursday, March 16, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CDT)
Monday, March 20, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CDT)

End
March 23, 2023

Panel and closing

Build off what you've learned during the first four weeks of the Leadership Academy, and bounce ideas and questions off a panel of seasoned leaders in the digital higher ed space. 

Then celebrate with your cohort at the concluding session.

Panelists

James Orr
Vice provost for strategic enrollment management
Ohio State University
Jenny Petty
Chief marketing communications officer
The University of Montana
Ben Rapin
Associate vice president for IT and chief technology officer
Grand Valley State University
Matt Herzberger
Vice President Digital Experience and Analytics
VisionPoint Marketing
Joel Vertin
Executive director of digital marketing
Michigan Technological University

Date

Thursday, March 23, 202312:00 PM - 2:00 PM (CDT)