Introduction
Academic leaders benefit from intentional efforts to cultivate their relationships with their supervisors. Many new academic leaders will find themselves in the most formal supervisor/employee relationship they have experienced in their academic careers. Whether a chair reporting to a dean, a dean reporting to a chief academic officer, or a provost reporting to a president, academic leaders need to manage this relationship effectively while maintaining their positions as advocates for their own department, college, school, or division. A proactive approach to developing the relationship can produce both short- and long-term benefits for both parties. Experienced leaders may also be able to improve existing relationships with their supervisors via this type of proactive approach. In this article, I present some strategies for academic leaders to consider to nurture successful partnerships with their supervisors.
Cultivating the Relationship
Most academic leaders come from the faculty. In this role, one’s department chair may serve in a supervisory capacity in some respects, but faculty typically have considerable autonomy in most of their work, especially once they achieve tenure. In contrast, a full-time administrative appointment such as a deanship usually entails a more formal relationship with a supervisor. While many provosts and presidents grant significant autonomy to those reporting to them, it is nonetheless the case that the academic leader will need to have an effective relationship with their supervisor to achieve their full potential in the role. For this to happen, it is best to cultivate this relationship intentionally, looking after it with deliberate care. Academic leaders can take intentional steps in the following areas: communication; alignment of goals; serving as a resource; employing complementary skills to support their supervisor; and engaging in constructive disagreement to help their supervisor think through ramifications of proposals and ideas.
Communication
Poor communication is at the heart of many unsatisfying relationships, while good communication is an essential aspect of fulfilling partnerships. We communicate through many channels—email, phone, texting, and in person, among others. Think about your own preferences: Do you prefer some kinds of communication over others? Do you mind if people needing to see you drop in, or do you prefer they make appointments? Would you rather pick up the phone for a quick conversation, or write a brief email message? Just as you have preferences that make you more productive, so will your supervisor. It is a good idea to ask them how they would prefer to communicate with you, including both modality and frequency. In addition, coming to agreement about the level of detail is crucial (for example, whether you should present a bulleted list of key points or a detailed narrative). Ground rules about after-hours communication can also be helpful in managing expectations.
Alignment of Goals
Inevitably, you will need to make requests of your supervisor, whether for financial resources, authorization to proceed with a new initiative, or support in navigating other relationships at your institution. One way to garner support for your initiatives is to align them, where possible, with your supervisor’s goals. For example, if your provost is charged with achieving better student retention, you could provide them with data on how a new academic program could help retain students. Don’t assume they will see the connections; rather, incorporate them explicitly into your requests from the start.
Serving as a Resource
It is not uncommon for an academic leader who has served at an institution for many years to have a supervisor who is new to the institution. In this scenario, the supervisor ideally is interested in learning the institutional culture, the history of certain practices or decisions, and so on. If you are in a position to do so, providing context for conversations your supervisor might be engaged in can be valuable. Even if your supervisor is not new to the institution, keeping them apprised of developments in your area that might eventually rise to their attention can be wise. If they come to see you as a trusted resource who provides fair and impartial institutional history and timely information, this can foster a healthy partnership going forward.
Complementary Skills
A skilled leader is aware of their strengths and preferences for particular aspects of their work and conversely, the aspects with which they are less comfortable or less interested. In the best case, they will welcome and appreciate support in the latter areas. If your supervisor is more conceptual in their approach, they may not want to be mired in the operational details and may prefer to let you handle those. If your new provost’s academic background is in a business discipline, you might help them to more deeply understand the liberal arts mission of your College of Arts and Sciences. If your president has a background in Student Affairs, you can help them learn how to communicate effectively with faculty. The ability to provide this type of support can develop over time as you come to know your supervisor better, but it is worth looking for opportunities as soon as you can. If your fundamental goals are aligned, complementary skills can lead to very rewarding work.
Constructive Disagreement
Some of my most valued colleagues over the years have been those who would provide a perspective substantially different from mine and, often, find the holes in my ideas before they were widely shared. As long as there is mutual trust and alignment of priorities, disagreement is not only acceptable, but essential for growth and progress to occur. Of course, determining the best way to provide a countering view to your supervisor takes some thought. It should always be done privately—undermining your provost in a meeting with all of your fellow school deans is unlikely to pay off in the long run! But if done well, offering useful counterarguments or different perspectives will actually help to build trust between you and your supervisor, since they can be confident that you are being honest with them and not simply agreeing with them to keep the peace.
A Caveat
All of the above is predicated on good faith from your supervisor in participating in a healthy relationship. Should you find yourself in a truly toxic situation in which it is clear your supervisor is not interested in supporting you, or worse, is actively working against you, these suggestions are unlikely to repair the relationship, though some of them might help you manage until you are able to move on to a better environment.
Conclusion
Just as plants will grow with or without a gardener’s attention, relationships will develop regardless of the attention we give them. A gardener uses techniques to nurture their plants as they grow; we can similarly employ strategies to nurture a successful relationship with one of the most influential people in our careers—our immediate supervisor. Consider the suggestions presented here and select those that you feel are needed to cultivate a healthy relationship with your own supervisor. Our supervisors can help us to develop new skills, achieve at new levels, and even take another new career step if that is what we choose to do. Proactive efforts to “manage up” can pay major dividends for you and for your institution.
