Moving Up

Adjusting to a New President

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By Jean Dowdall

The arrival of a new president poses challenges for everyone at a college, but especially for the people who report directly to the new leader. The vice presidents wonder how they can decipher what the new president wants and needs to learn, and how they can be most helpful. They are likely to experience the most anxiety about a potentially changing culture, a new pace of work, and a wave of changes in policy, operations, even the dress code.

Many vice presidents wonder if they will keep their jobs in the new administration -- and if they will even want to keep their jobs. Although others in the institution worry about many of these same issues, the vice presidents have the most-direct relationships to the new chief executive early on, and they are the focus of this column.

My perspective is probably shaped by my role as a search consultant, but I would argue that the presidential transition begins when the previous president announces his or her departure, and it is further shaped by the search process. If the vice presidents have had access to the candidates during the search, and if institutional information has been fully disclosed to the lead candidates, the new president will have a good foundation of basic knowledge upon which to build a more detailed understanding. If the search goes smoothly, chances are the transition will too. But everyone will have a lot to learn even after the best search and with the best-informed new president.

The president initially has the most to learn, and must learn it fast. Some presidents articulate well what they want to know. But when they lack either the time or the insight to do so, the vice presidents will need to discover the best approach. Some presidents like to receive substantial briefing books that provide considerable detail and depth, and they will try to master the contents even before arriving on campus. Others want to have individual meetings with each vice president and oral presentations. Still others may prefer intensive senior staff retreats at which broad issues are discussed, rather than focusing on the activities of each "silo."

How can you determine which approach works best for your new president? It's perfectly appropriate -- unless you've received some indication otherwise -- to ask the new president what would help. If you don't feel you can ask directly, ask the people who know the president -- colleagues at his or her previous institution. Visit or call that campus, and ask how the president's office there was run, the style that worked best, the extent of delegation or hands-on involvement, the tempo of work, and so on. Alternately, some vice presidents prefer to use their own best judgment about the presentation of information, trying to gauge the new president's response as they go along.

Virtually all presidents want to define their presidency and put their mark on the institution, and this often includes some new ways of doing business and modifications of the existing institutional culture. Try not to be defensive when the president asks, "Why do we do it this way?" And try not to reply, "Because we've always done it this way."

Some institutions assemble transition teams. The membership sometimes overlaps with the search committee, since its members may already have a certain bond with the new president and certainly have a commitment to his or her success. Or a transition committee may begin its work while the search is in progress. Transition teams deal with things like the inaugural plans, the logistics of relocating the president's household, and the establishment of administrative processes (e.g., Will there be weekly cabinet meetings or monthly senior staff meetings? Should there be regular open hours for students? How will the new president view the mundane but culturally significant matter of forms of address?) To some degree or another, vice presidents need to be involved in these transition plans.

A subtle but powerful element of transition is the transfer of loyalty. If a vice president has served a president for many years and believes deeply in the vision they pursued together, it may not be a simple matter to shift that loyalty to the successor. But if a vice president wants to stay on, the shift is essential. You can remain friends and colleagues of the previous leader, but you must shift your loyalty to the new one -- not carrying tales of either outrage or joy to the predecessor, and not advocating for the furtherance of his or her agenda. This may be the most difficult element of the transition.

While building loyalty to the new chief, it is also appropriate for the vice presidents to take the lead in helping the departing president out of the position, making sure that he or she is celebrated and recognized appropriately. You might also advise the outgoing president to be very cautious about getting involved on the campus after leaving office. It's rare for new presidents to welcome the active involvement of their predecessors, although it happens.

What do each of the various vice presidents need to be especially aware of in the early weeks of the presidency?

Vice Presidents for Finance

A recent report by the American Council on Education reveals that 20 percent of new presidents said that they were not provided with full information during the search about the institution's financial condition; this was a particular problem for new presidents of private institutions. If you're the vice president for finance, you have a special responsibility to ensure that any gaps in the president's knowledge during the search are quickly filled. In addition, you should provide an analysis and some alternative strategies for dealing with any problems. Even a president with significant financial expertise will be swamped with new information at this stage, placing a greater burden on you to do this analytical work.

An essential item that often falls within this vice president's portfolio is the president's house -- a very hazardous item for a new president. It's your job to make sure that the president has complete information about the political history of the house and the financial resources available to modify it.

Vice Presidents for Advancement

You may have the happier task of seeing that the president is sufficiently visible to donors, community leaders, and legislators early in his or her term. Your challenges will include getting time on his or her calendar, providing background information that allows the president to decide whom to approach, when, and how. Although you should offer suggestions, the new president is likely to have a personal style that must be discovered and respected.

You may also have a special link to the trustees -- surely the most significant constituency for any president, and especially a new one. You can let the president know what the board's expectations have been in the past, which trustees need particular care and feeding, who the opinion-makers are, and so on.

Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs

People in this job are potentially the president's guide to the faculty, and also to the deans. Relations with faculty members are critical for any president. If you are the vice president for academic affairs, you should provide guidance about faculty expectations, power, and leadership as well as about emerging or longstanding issues and special sensitivities.

You might offer recommendations about good ways for the president to get to know the faculty. If there is a faculty union on the campus, the new president needs your insights into the nature and tone of labor relations. Many critical decisions in the academic domain occur on a fairly strict calendar -- allocation of positions for hiring; appointment, promotions, tenure and sabbatical decisions; scheduling of classes, etc. You need to figure out whether the new president wants to be sufficiently well informed to be personally involved in these decisions, or whether, at least for the first time around, he or she will delegate those decisions to others.

Vice Presidents for Student Affairs

You will want to keep the president informed both about the potentially volatile student life issues, and about student expectations for the new president. If the president is coming from a different type of institution, learning about student expectations can be especially important. Students at large urban institutions tend to have fewer expectations of a close connection to the president. I once asked a student on a large campus for directions to the president's office, and she responded, "We don't have a president." At a smaller campus, there may be intensely felt expectations that the president should be visible and available to students. You need to be sure the president knows what is expected.

Vice Presidents for Enrollment Management

Like the vice president for finance, you must keep the president informed about the revenue and discounting practices of the institution. These can be such complex issues that they are difficult to explore fully during the interview process. Trustees often lack a full grasp of the details, and the previous president may not have sought to keep them fully informed. You should begin with the assumption that, in an enrollment-driven institution, it is essential that the president grasp these details as soon as possible.

Changing Relationships

As the new presidency is established, the vice presidents may also find their own relationships changing. A new culture and new expectations may cause a previously effective vice president to struggle. The previous leader among the vice presidents may be eclipsed by someone else who is more in sync with the new president. One or more administrators may leave and be replaced by people who may be interim or permanent. The president may evaluate the vice presidents and find them wanting, and may bring in his or her own people.

All of these elements can create a new round of transition issues and considerable instability. Vice presidents need to think carefully about whether they want to stay, and be honest about whether the new president appears to be welcoming them to stay.

As the consultant placing a new president, I usually hope that the management team will remain stable, at least for a long enough time that the president can take stock. In support of this goal, some boards offer a year or more of a "golden handcuff" to the vice presidents in order to stabilize the senior team at the time of transition. But it can be very difficult to be a vice president who chooses to stay on and serve a new president, only to be told after a year that he or she is no longer needed.

There are no universal guidelines to the complex situation of presidential transition. You are probably best off if you consider all your options -- be open to institutional change and the excitement of a new approach, while also giving thought to making a career move yourself.