Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict: A Guide for Academic Leaders (Jossey-Bass Resources for Department Chairs) - Hardcover

Higgerson, Mary Lou

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1118761626 ISBN 13: 9781118761625

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2016

Synopsis

The conflict management guide academic leaders have been searching for

Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict gives academic leaders the tools and insight they need to effectively manage conflict affiliated with leading change and problematic faculty performance. Using case studies that bring typical issues to light, this book guides you through difficult situations with strategies and analyses of key issues, variables, and options. The real-life examples show you effective conflict management at work, and provide direct application to your own tricky leadership situations. You'll learn how to deal with difficult people, how to have difficult conversations, and how to successfully manage change in the face of departmental resistance. Written by an experienced academic leader, consultant, and writer, this practical guide provides the leadership training academics wish they already had.

Successful conflict management is essential not just to departments, but to the entire institution. Senior leaders, faculty, and students all rely on you to smooth the change process and keep the department running smoothly. This book gives you a foundation in the critical skills for managing conflict when leading change and managing problem performance, and the insight to apply them appropriately.

• Communicate more effectively with students, parents, and faculty
• Navigate difficult conversations with tenured faculty more successfully
• Lead change more effectively
• Mentor and manage problem performance more effectively
• Keep faculty performing well and focused on the right priorities

Most academic leaders come into their position reluctantly, with little or no preparation for the role, receive very little training or coaching, and are thus not equipped to manage conflict when it arises. Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict is a lively, readable, and practical guide that will prove useful in the most difficult and common departmental situations.

About this title

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICT

"This is a one-of-a-kind case study book, rich with analysis and dozens of cases and insights. Not only do we learn through theory but as many academics and practitioners contend, we learn through story—cases!"
—Walter H. Gmelch, professor of leadership studies, University of San Francisco

THE ESSENTIAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT GUIDE FOR ACADEMIC LEADERS

Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict gives new and experienced academic leaders a collection of proven tools and strategies for handling conflict and enhancing leadership effectiveness. Filled with real-world examples that highlight typical issues, the practical guide offers techniques for addressing disputes that can occur when leading change. Rather than offering one-size- fits-all answers for dealing with challenging situations, the book outlines methods for identifying and analyzing key issues, variables, and options. Taking this approach, leaders will discover how to use the most effective and appropriate communication strategies when working with their own tricky leadership situations.

Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict shows how to communicate effectively with students, parents, and faculty and successfully navigate difficult conversations with tenured faculty. The author equips readers with new ways of thinking and effective methods for identifying early warning signs of problems.

About the Author

MARY LOU HIGGERSON is a writer, consultant, and vice president emerita for academic affairs and dean at Baldwin-Wallace College. She has also served on the board of trustees at Elmhurst College and is the recipient of eight prestigious teaching awards, including the Distinguished Teacher Award at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Bill Cashin Award for outstanding research contribution to the study and practice of higher education administration.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1118761626
• ISBN 13: 9781118761625
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 368