Permission to Begin Again: Leading with Intention This Academic Year

Fall is almost here. In Arkansas, I’ve survived the 100+ degree temperatures, navigated the frenzied back-to-school shopping, and have watched the branded university merch pop up in stores across town. As the summer winds to a close, it is almost time to begin a new academic year. A new academic year is one of my favorite times as a higher education marketing leader because it gives us all permission to begin again. 

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I find myself full of nostalgia thinking about what beginning again meant when I was a child. In grade school, that fresh start was signaled with buying a new backpack, a meet-the-teacher night at school, and getting to pick out a new outfit for the first day of class. 

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As someone who’s worked for nearly two decades in higher education marketing, the idea of permission to begin again is something that is driven by the leader. It is a culture framework that they set and help create. As such, here are five strategies that I am using to help signal to my team that we all have permission to begin again as we head back to school in the next couple of weeks. 

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1) New leadership approaches –

With a new academic year, there is an opportunity to try new approaches to leadership. Is there someone who is ready for their next step? In situational leadership, the idea is that we can move someone from delegating a task to coaching someone on how to achieve the big idea of the task but leaving them free to do it in their own way. This year, I’m looking to grow some of my team members to better handle these tasks, and I can move more toward a coaching and support role. For example, I have a leader on our team who is ready to take on more complex leadership roles. However, one thing that is holding her back is the budget experience. To help remedy that, this year I have given her one area of the budget to manage. She’s going to be responsible for allocating funds in that area, getting purchasing approvals, tracking things in the system, and tracking the expenditures throughout the year. 

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2) Fresh start with technology –

The new year also means that everyone is back from summer vacations and budgets are refreshed, so it is a great time to explore how to better use technology to ensure your team can work smarter and more efficiently throughout the year. There are two great places to start when thinking about using technology better. First, look at existing contracts to see if there are new features that would make your work more efficient. Second, encourage the team to have conversations around how AI can help make their work better. We did this over the summer at UA Little Rock, and we realized a need to expand our use of custom GPTs. As such, this summer we have worked with IT, and beginning in mid-August several members of the team will have access to paid ChatGPT use cases, which will allow everyone to be better at speaking on brand and on message. 

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3) Changing culture –

One of the things that I like best about the new year is the opportunity to address culture work. It is an ideal time to bring the team together to set new expectations around key topics or approaches. I have framed this as “new office resolutions” which helps everyone change how they work. For example, if your staff meetings feel stale, this might be a time to discuss how to make the staff meeting more actionable and less reporting of to-do lists. Additionally, if you are wanting to create a culture where team members are less hesitant about AI, perhaps it is an opportunity to talk each month about an AI win for the office. Broadly speaking, the symbolism of a new year allows leaders to create new practices that align with the culture we are trying to create.  

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4) Reconnecting with campus partners –

Campus relationships are key to success, but the partnership can often become formulaic and less strategic. The new year offers the opportunity to revisit how the team works, tasks they undertake, and what constitutes success. For example, we recently had this conversation with one campus partner. As a result, we recognized a need to grow our partnership and are planning to take on an advertising campaign together later this fall. Developing the campaign, the creative, and then reviewing the impact will be key in ensuring how we are aligned in our partnership and will (I believe) result in a much stronger relationship.   

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5) Emphasizing professional development –

A final reason I love the new year is it can help create expectations. Personally, I think about how much of a shift I’ve seen in AI in the past year. That will continue evolving, which is why, more than ever before I think it is important that we invest in professional development for our teams. As a new year begins, what a perfect time to encourage our teams to look at the plethora of options out there for professional content. Whether it’s attending the Engage Summit, a virtual option, or one of the many higher-ed specific options, it’s important to set an expectation for our teams to be engaging in regular professional development this year. 

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As our profession welcomes a new academic year, as leaders we have an opportunity to use this time as a leadership tool for team growth. By embracing fresh strategies, technology, culture shifts, and professional growth, we can create momentum helping to fuel our teams and the institutions we serve. Now is the perfect time to set the tone for a year of intentional leadership. I’m trying to do the same, and I’m excited to see where it leads.