Prepare to become a better leader of your unit, department, or college and a more valuable contributor to broader institutional goals.
Overview
Middle managers in higher education face a distinctive set of leadership challenges. They are responsible for leading their particular unit, crafting strategy, motivating staff, and allocating financial resources, at the same time that they work to enact the vision of senior leadership and mobilize support for broader institutional goals. To be successful, these individuals must be adept at managing both up and down the institutional hierarchy.
A flagship program within the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE) portfolio, the Management Development Program (MDP) provides higher education managers with the tools and insight to think more strategically, balance competing demands, and engage in more forward-thinking leadership.
Program Details
This intensive, two-week training program prepares mid-level managers early in their administrative experience with the skills to succeed in complex roles and shifting institutional and cultural landscapes. Through real-world case studies, small group discussions, interactive presentations, and other immersive experiences, you will learn to think beyond your own administrative area and lead in ways that support larger institutional objectives. Topics will include transformational learning, institutional values and integrity, personal, curricular and institutional perspectives on diversity, administrative challenges, financial management for middle managers, and the importance of managing external relationships.
You will gain a deeper understanding of how different units function and will leave ready to incorporate broader strategic considerations into your management decisions. A hallmark of the HIHE experience is the formation of deep and lasting relationships among a diverse and dynamic cohort. Through MDP, you will have the opportunity to learn and network with colleagues across the cohort, as well as to make deeper connections among assigned small groups that meet throughout the duration of the two-week program and maintain connections well beyond.
Download a sample schedule here.
Objectives
- Understand the characteristics of effective and ethical leadership in higher education
- Learn how to develop and lead high-functioning teams and function as a change agent
- Analyze financial data and understand how funds are allocated and budgets are created
- Understand your optimal role in planning initiatives
- Identify the conditions—individual and institutional—that increase opportunities for professional development and personal transformation