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<p>Preface xiii</p> <p><b>September 1</b></p> <p>1 Take advantage of new beginnings 3</p> <p>2 Know your limits 4</p> <p>3 Read the biography of an exemplary leader 5</p> <p>4 Attend a meeting just to listen 6</p> <p>5 Review your program’s publications 6</p> <p>6 Reorder your tasks 7</p> <p>7 Be a coach 8 8 Waste time 9</p> <p>9 Learn from a bad decision 10</p> <p>10 Reflect on respect 11</p> <p>11 Provide an outlet for dissent 12</p> <p>12 Tell your supervisor what you need 13</p> <p>13 Learn more about today’s college students 14</p> <p>14 Convey some good news and some bad news 15</p> <p>15 Describe your supervisor 16</p> <p>16 Stop—at least for a moment 17</p> <p>17 Remember that it’s not all about you 18</p> <p>18 Share someone else’s dream 19</p> <p>19 Learn from what others teach 19</p> <p>20 Evaluate without making value judgments 20</p> <p>21 Be the change you want to see 21</p> <p>22 Respect other people’s time 22</p> <p>23 Consider the first thing you do at work every day 24</p> <p>24 Find the weakest link 25</p> <p>25 Go back to the future 26</p> <p>26 Lead by serving 27</p> <p>27 Simplify something 27</p> <p>28 Study interactions 28</p> <p>29 Seek your own satisfaction 29</p> <p>30 Read a boring book 30</p> <p><b>October 33</b></p> <p>1 Take stock 35</p> <p>2 Ask questions 36</p> <p>3 Exhibit candor 37</p> <p>4 Remove one obstacle 38</p> <p>5 Look around you 39</p> <p>6 Have confidence 40</p> <p>7 Attend a campus event 41</p> <p>8 See people, not tasks, as your first priority 42</p> <p>9 Nominate someone for an award 42</p> <p>10 Discover new ways to manage stress 43</p> <p>11 Move on 44</p> <p>12 Assess your telephone style 45</p> <p>13 Learn from a case study 46</p> <p>14 Practice self-doubt 47</p> <p>15 Speak to a chronic latecomer 48</p> <p>16 Put agendas on your agenda 49</p> <p>17 Recommend a good book 50</p> <p>18 Raise awareness 51</p> <p>19 Plot an escape 52</p> <p>20 Be unique 53</p> <p>21 Show someone you care 54</p> <p>22 Question an assumption 55</p> <p>23 Define leadership 56</p> <p>24 Stay on message 57</p> <p>25 Celebrate something 58</p> <p>26 Open yourself to persuasion 59</p> <p>27 Ask, ‘‘Why?’’ 60</p> <p>28 Make time fly 61</p> <p>29 Become your own life coach 63</p> <p>30 Decide how you make decisions 64</p> <p>31 Be frightened 65</p> <p><b>November 67</b></p> <p>1 Do something that really matters 69</p> <p>2 Spend time with your best faculty members 69</p> <p>3 Use only positive words 70</p> <p>4 Discourage end runs 71</p> <p>5 Know your legislators 72</p> <p>6 Improve your telephone log 73</p> <p>7 Envision a better future 74</p> <p>8 Think holistically 75</p> <p>9 Learn something new about academic freedom 76</p> <p>10 Raise the bar 77</p> <p>11 Expand access 78</p> <p>12 Stop and smell the roses 79</p> <p>13 Think like a novice 80</p> <p>14 Seek common ground 81</p> <p>15 Don’t take it personally 83</p> <p>16 Establish boundaries 84</p> <p>17 Accommodate differences 85</p> <p>18 Identify your biggest challenge 86</p> <p>19 Make the first move 87</p> <p>20 Reflect on the relationship between students and faculty members 88</p> <p>21 Examine workload carefully 89</p> <p>22 Discover new sources of administrative insight 91</p> <p>23 Glow with pride 91</p> <p>24 Embrace your greatest frustration 92</p> <p>25 Build a team 93</p> <p>26 Share your story 95</p> <p>27 Clarify responsibilities 96</p> <p>28 Change your environment 97</p> <p>29 Take a chance on someone 98</p> <p>30 Provide context 99</p> <p><b>December 101</b></p> <p>1 Prepare for the home stretch 103</p> <p>2 Identify an opportunity 104</p> <p>3 Remember that having fun matters 105</p> <p>4 Don’t sell beyond the close 106</p> <p>5 Learn something new about tenure 107</p> <p>6 Embrace uncertainty 108</p> <p>7 Stop being busy 109</p> <p>8 Notice where the shoe pinches 110</p> <p>9 Redouble your efforts 112</p> <p>10 Think like a student 112</p> <p>11 Bookend your day 114</p> <p>12 Consider the law of unintended consequences 115</p> <p>13 Mix it up 116</p> <p>14 Build flexible time into your schedule 117</p> <p>15 Remember that you’re a symbol 118</p> <p>16 Identify your favorite word 119</p> <p>17 Simplify your focus 120</p> <p>18 Support those who support you 121</p> <p>19 Identify your brand 122</p> <p>20 Write an article on academic administration 123</p> <p>21 Explain the system 124</p> <p>22 Associate with someone you admire 125</p> <p>23 Have a meeting standing up 126</p> <p>24 Trust your instincts 127</p> <p>25 Take a day completely off 128</p> <p>26 Make a wish 129</p> <p>27 Count your blessings 130</p> <p>28 Reflect on your achievements 131</p> <p>29 Share credit 132</p> <p>30 Identify the first major task you’d like to tackle in the new year 133</p> <p>31 Consider why students leave 134</p> <p><b>January 135</b></p> <p>1 Do an anonymous good deed 137</p> <p>2 Create a leadership journal 137</p> <p>3 Thank someone 138</p> <p>4 Document your successes 139</p> <p>5 Stop procrastinating 140</p> <p>6 Listen to an opposing view 141</p> <p>7 Learn something new about assessment 142</p> <p>8 Reread a favorite book 143</p> <p>9 Pay a visit 144</p> <p>10 Discover time puddles 145</p> <p>11 Continue reinventing yourself 146</p> <p>12 Improve one policy 147</p> <p>13 Find a way to say yes to someone 148</p> <p>14 Talk about research 149</p> <p>15 Balance your life 151</p> <p>16 Set your priorities 152</p> <p>17 Let a student gush 153</p> <p>18 Attack your ignorance 154</p> <p>19 Demonstrate good stewardship 155</p> <p>20 Review your institution’s mission statement 156</p> <p>21 Expand your resources 157</p> <p>22 Dare to dream 158</p> <p>23 Focus on your lowest priorities 159</p> <p>24 Get back in touch with someone who made a difference 160</p> <p>25 Share a meal 160</p> <p>26 Release one frustration 161</p> <p>27 Solve a problem 162</p> <p>28 Be distinctive and concise 163</p> <p>29 Set short-term goals 164</p> <p>30 Reach out 165</p> <p>31 Enjoy a sense of accomplishment 166</p> <p><b>February 167</b></p> <p>1 Plan for spontaneity 169</p> <p>2 Think metaphorically 170</p> <p>3 Praise sincerely 171</p> <p>4 Identify a</p> <p>possible successor 172</p> <p>5 Update your résumé 173</p> <p>6 Return to the classics 174</p> <p>7 Contact the parent of a student 175</p> <p>8 Immerse yourself in history 176</p> <p>9 Assess your job satisfaction 177</p> <p>10 Celebrate someone else’s good news 178</p> <p>11 Study your competitors 179</p> <p>12 Offer encouragement 180</p> <p>13 Review your evaluation 181</p> <p>14 Think about potential donors 182</p> <p>15 Let a faculty member reminisce 183</p> <p>16 Continue your education 184</p> <p>17 Track your use of time 185</p> <p>18 Write yourself a letter of recommendation 186</p> <p>19 Imagine if money were no object 187</p> <p>20 Offer to be someone’s mentor 188</p> <p>21 Apologize to someone 188</p> <p>22 Write a note to a prospective student 189</p> <p>23 Consider the needs of an employee 190</p> <p>24 Manage your workload 191</p> <p>25 Articulate your vision 192</p> <p>26 Review patterns of expenditure 193</p> <p>27 Decide what you would change 194</p> <p>28 Read the job listings 195</p> <p>29 Take advantage of a rare gift 196</p> <p><b>March 199</b></p> <p>1 Be a philosopher 201</p> <p>2 Think of something outrageous 202</p> <p>3 Reread your institution’s strategic plan 203</p> <p>4 Invite a member of the staff to lunch 204</p> <p>5 Describe a ‘‘typical’’ student 204</p> <p>6 Take a personality test 206</p> <p>7 Analyze trends 207</p> <p>8 Be your own consultant 207</p> <p>9 Envision your dream job 208</p> <p>10 Explore your faculty’s scholarship 210</p> <p>11 Reallocate 5 percent of your budget 211</p> <p>12 Identify your most wasteful practice 212</p> <p>13 Think big Really big 213</p> <p>14 Develop five new interview questions 214</p> <p>15 Challenge your own leadership style 215</p> <p>16 Recall a poor judgment 216</p> <p>17 Relax. You’ve earned it 216</p> <p>18 Identify a pressure point 217</p> <p>19 Remember good administrative advice 219</p> <p>20 Make your environment more accessible 219</p> <p>21 Review your computer files 220</p> <p>22 Learn something new about strategic planning 222</p> <p>23 Identify a bad habit 223</p> <p>24 Empower others 224</p> <p>25 Find a hot-button issue 225</p> <p>26 Increase opportunities for research 225</p> <p>27 Reflect on your proudest accomplishment 227</p> <p>28 Improve your public presentations 227</p> <p>29 Examine your use of pronouns 228</p> <p>30 Explore a few other best practices in higher education 229</p> <p>31 Finish something 230</p> <p><b>April 233</b></p> <p>1 Do something foolish 235</p> <p>2 Audit your committees and meetings 235</p> <p>3 Reread your institution’s disaster plan 236</p> <p>4 Reward yourself 237</p> <p>5 Define your purpose 238</p> <p>6 Assess faculty and staff morale 239</p> <p>7 Sort through a stack of papers 240</p> <p>8 Expand your knowledge of higher education law 241</p> <p>9 Build a bridge 242</p> <p>10 Learn a new software application 243</p> <p>11 Overplan your day 244</p> <p>12 Chart your progress 245</p> <p>13 Check a blind spot 246</p> <p>14 Slow down 247</p> <p>15 Explore your insecurities 247</p> <p>16 Remember your favorite professor 248</p> <p>17 Get excited 249</p> <p>18 Identify a significant problem 250</p> <p>19 Think like a pilot 251</p> <p>20 Jot a note to a member of the staff 252</p> <p>21 Chat with a colleague 253</p> <p>22 Outline a plan 254</p> <p>23 Walk through your facilities 255</p> <p>24 Live in the moment 256</p> <p>25 Remove your mask 257</p> <p>26 Ask someone about his or her vision 258</p> <p>27 Ask, ‘‘What if?’’ 259</p> <p>28 Indulge your creative side 260</p> <p>29 Study your students 261</p> <p>30 Identify your Achilles’ heel 262</p> <p><b>May 265</b></p> <p>1 Start something 267</p> <p>2 Evaluate yourself 267</p> <p>3 Fill a need 268</p> <p>4 Engage in hero worship 270</p> <p>5 Spot an elephant 271</p> <p>6 Listen actively 272</p> <p>7 Share a treasure 273</p> <p>8 Reward others 274</p> <p>9 Reorganize a drawer 274</p> <p>10 Reflect on the law of reciprocity 275</p> <p>11 Use your resources 276</p> <p>12 Describe your coworkers 277</p> <p>13 Become disillusioned 279</p> <p>14 Learn something new about budgeting 280</p> <p>15 Make up for lost time 281</p> <p>16 Audit your organizational structure 282</p> <p>17 Practice concision 283</p> <p>18 Brag about someone 284</p> <p>19 Read about academic leadership 285</p> <p>20 Resist the temptation to be cynical 286</p> <p>21 Be a good public citizen 287</p> <p>22 Define who you are 288</p> <p>23 Pay it forward 289</p> <p>24 Take a calculated risk 290</p> <p>25 Assess your network 291</p> <p>26 Set a clear development goal 292</p> <p>27 Change your inner voice 293</p> <p>28 Learn from the fragments of broken promises 294</p> <p>29 Build outward from individual successes 295</p> <p>30 Reinvent the wheel 296</p> <p>31 Start your own daily guide 297</p> <p>The Author 299</p> <p>Index 301</p>

<p>THE AUTHOR </p> <p><b>JEFFREY L. BULLER</b> is dean of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University and author of <i>The Essential Department Chair, The Essential Academic Dean</i>, and <i>The Essential College Professor.</i>

<p>EVERY DAY ACADEMIC LEADERS face desks, inboxes, and schedules stuffed full of meetings, emails, complaints, committees, requests, and the occasional crisis—all competing for scarce time and attention. It’s all too easy to lose the forest for the trees—or vice versa—and there are few resources that help leaders rise above the noise of busy lives in the academy.</p> <p><i>Academic Leadership Day by Day</i> is a hands-on resource designed to give busy, over-scheduled, and over-worked academic leaders at all levels a chance to pause a few moments for useful, wise, and warm-hearted advice. The book is filled with practical insight and suggestions for meeting the challenges of academic administration in a way that reflects how leaders really work. <p>Drawn from both Jeffrey Buller’s many years of experience as a department chair, dean, and vice president for academic affairs and feedback from his popular workshops, this handy resource offers both new and seasoned leaders one good idea each day, ideas that can be put into practice immediately. <p>Jeffrey Buller presents suggestions that are designed to encourage leaders to experiment with and discover what works best for them. In just a few minutes each day, leaders can see how significant improvements result from small, gradual, and consistent efforts. From grappling with budget management to thinking about career advancement to navigating the tricky waters of institutional politics, <i>Academic Leadership Day by Day</i> is a daily companion to carry with you in the trenches of academic life.

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