The disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic to all organizations and sectors is staggering, and we have felt the impact directly in many ways at Rutgers. As a hub for academic leadership development research and initiatives at Rutgers University, the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership is committed to supporting individual and collective leadership capacity and cultivating a culture of leadership development across the University as we navigate these unsettling times. The Center for Organizational Leadership will continue to provide support, guidance, and consultation to individual leaders and units across the University, including the following programs and resources which can be delivered virtually:
Crisis Leadership Facilitation
Using content provided in Crisis Leadership in Higher Education: Theory and Practice (Gigliotti, 2019), the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership offers facilitated workshops for units on the preparation and development of crisis leadership competencies. This workshop provides participants with an opportunity to identify and analyze the types of crises that are most relevant to their unit/department and to self-assess the strengths and areas for improvement as it relates to the critical skills, values, and competencies associated with crisis leadership. This program will also provide individuals with an opportunity to reflect on the strengths and areas for improvement in addressing departmental and institutional crises.
Strategic Planning
Determining a path forward after a significant disruption and high uncertainty can be a daunting task. We offer a modular approach to strategic planning and project planning that allows units and departments to systematically clarify their mission, vision, and values, and establish measurable goals and action plans. This program can be customized to allow your unit, department, or school to collectively recalibrate efforts in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.
Organizational Assessment
Our organizational assessment efforts engage faculty and staff in the evaluation of the work of their organization and in the identification of strengths and priorities for improvement. Using the Excellence in Higher Education framework (Ruben, 2016)—a Baldrige-informed model for organizational excellence—our staff could provide a full-day program for your unit, department, or school to collectively identify shared strengths and areas for improvement, and to explore needed changes that may have emerged from the coronavirus crisis.
Academic Leader Consultation
We regularly coach and consult with individual leaders and departments on a wide array of topics, and we could provide individual consultation with academic leaders as they explore strategies for engaging colleagues throughout this unfolding crisis and areas for consideration as we transition back to some degree of normalcy.
Crisis Leadership in Higher Education Resources
Throughout this crisis, our Center has been actively engaged in providing guidance through publications, webinars, and podcasts with various national and international outlets. Some of the following resources may be of value for you and your colleagues:
- Opinion Essay on Leadership Styles – The Star-Ledger
- Opinion Essay on the Higher Education Response to Covid-19 – Evolllution Online
Newspaper - Leading through Crisis and Implications for Higher Education Practitioners – NASPA Leadership Podcast
- Crisis Leadership in Higher Education Webinar Recording – International Leadership
Association
For more information on any of the above offerings, please contact Ralph Gigliotti at ralph.gigliotti@rutgers.edu.
We wish you and your colleagues all the best during these challenging times.