Faculty Perspectives on Effective Supportive Department Leadership

Faculty must develop new skill sets as academic leaders, over and beyond what made them successful as faculty members. The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics, skills, and responsibilities of an effective academic department leader, as defined from the faculty member’s perspective. While previous research has focused on a top-down approach and desired leadership characteristics from the academic leaders themselves (Department Heads/Chairs, Deans, Provosts, etc.), there is a gap in the literature on leadership expectations from the faculty members being directly supervised. This study was developed to address this gap in knowledge. The specific objectives of this study are to: 1. Characterize faculty expectations of a department chair, with a specific focus on faculty member support and development, 2. Identify effective leadership practices from the perspective of faculty members, and 3. Provide examples of effective behaviors for faculty member support This study focuses specifically on effective supportive behaviors as described by the faculty members themselves. We compare and contrast responses from PhD and non-PhD granting institutions, as well as differences between responses from faculty who have and have not held department leadership roles. The authors distributed a survey widely among faculty at varying career levels across several institutions of varying demographics. Survey results were used to generate a list of recommended leadership practices. The most important responsibility and attribute of a department chair were identified as faculty and staff development and ethical behavior, respectively. Behaviors such as establishing clear expectations, supporting faculty in their development, communicating effectively, behaving ethically, and managing the department in an organized and fair manner are valued for leading, developing, and supporting faculty.