A peer-to-peer discussion with the Director of Northwestern University's Center for Leadership.

🎙️It might be said that Adam Goodman, Director of Northwestern University's Center for Leadership, fell into leadership by way of working for a university president. Having taken on a unique experience as special assistant for the president of the University of Colorado as his first job after completing his undergraduate degree, he was afforded a unique learning opportunity in the politics, political forces and public policy that underpin running a university. Within a few years, Goodman was asked to revamp the President’s Leadership Class program, and over the next 12 years, he subsequently built it into one of the largest leadership studies programs in the country. 

He’s since grown an impressive career in national and international consulting with C-suite executives and business leaders, and now shares his knowledge and insight at Northwestern. In this practical discussion, Goodman shares his advice on leadership development for deans and academic administrators—from cultivating a peer group to the scientific benefits of regular exercise for successful leadership.

Among one of the many insights he provides is the 70-20-10 rule for becoming an effective leader, which comes out of research from the Center for Creative Leadership and he sees as applicable across varying situations and contexts. Essentially this outlines that 70% of a leader’s learning is generated from facing challenging experiences, 20% is gained in developmental relationships from coaches and mentors and 10% is obtained in formal academic environments such as an executive education program. Importantly, Goodman notes that taking time for reflection between issues and crises to synthesize your learning is also critical to optimal growth.

“I think a key question that new deans need to ask themselves is, ‘How do I create the mind share for strategic work and strategic thinking?’... What's the practice that you have that causes you to ask the kinds of questions that you really should be asking in terms of moving your school or college forward?” 

His bottom line: “Being a dean is really hard, and so you also want to have a great answer for what's your resilience strategy. What do those practices look like for you?”

Whether you are in your first year or a seasoned academic leader, episode 64 is an insightful resource for all things leadership development in real-world contexts. 

#highereducation #leadership #podcast #DeansCounsel

Photos courtesy of Northwestern.

Read more about Adam Goodman here.