- Kevin Sanders
- Aug 9
- 5 min read
August 9, 2025
Read Time - 4 minutes
“The discipline of planning frees you to be creative when it counts."
— David Allen, Author of Getting Things Done
When faculty write a syllabus, they’re not just organizing the semester.
They’re creating a structure that lets them show up fully in the classroom.
Assignments are paced to support learning and outcomes.
Deadlines are staggered to reduce unnecessary stress.
Class time is shaped around big-picture goals.
It’s thoughtful. Strategic. And—critically—it frees up their energy to focus on teaching.
Leadership should work the same way.
But too often, the familiar cycles of academic life catch us off guard:
emails have to be rewritten, meetings get squeezed in, and priorities get lost in the noise.
And suddenly, the year becomes reactive—not strategic.
Remember, you’re not just here to manage the traffic.
You’re here to chart the course.
If you want more space for the work that really needs you (coaching people, solving problems, making meaningful progress)
you need a system for the work that doesn’t.
Here’s how to start.
A Syllabus Isn’t Just a Schedule. It’s a System.
A good syllabus helps students understand what matters, when, and why.
Thankfully, you already know how to build this:
What needs to happen, and when?
Where are the feedback loops and milestones?
What supports the outcomes you’re aiming for?
Now apply that same lens to your unit.
Ask yourself:
What problems are our committees solving this year?
→ Curriculum revision? Policy updates? Faculty development?
What conversations should shape our faculty meetings?
→ Will we build around a theme like mentorship, innovation, or student belonging?
What mindset or culture are we trying to build?
→ Collaboration? Trust? Strategic clarity?
What big questions are we wrestling with as a unit?
→ Are we improving advising? Clarifying workload? Exploring enrollment growth?
Tip: Bring in guest speakers during the year to “seed the ground”—create shared understanding, shared vocabulary, and energy around key priorities. There’s truth in the saying: you’re never a prophet in your own hometown. Let someone else help start the conversation.
Most Leadership Work Isn’t a Surprise
You already know the rhythms of the academic year:
Admissions and audition season
Faculty evaluations
Annual reports
Academic course scheduling and assessment deadlines
Research and award applications
These aren’t unpredictable.
But when we don’t plan for them, they eat up bandwidth—and push your strategic work to the margins.
In a previous role, I had 50 faculty evaluations due every February. That meant writing reports and 30-minute meetings with each faculty member. I loved learning about the great work happening across the unit, but it was time consuming. So, I stopped treating February like a regular month. I blocked time in January for prep and cleared space in March for catch up.
This kind of thinking doesn’t just protect your calendar.
It protects your capacity.
Build the Year on Purpose
If your leadership feels reactive, try thinking like a course designer.
What would it look like to plan your year instead of just surviving it?
Here’s where to begin:
1. Map the predictable cycles
You already know the patterns. Name them. Schedule around them.
When does advising start?
When are major reviews or applications due?
When are course schedules submitted, reports filed, assessments due?
These things don’t need to surprise you—or your team. Tip: Put deadlines on a shared calendar now. Your future self (and your staff) will thank you.
2. Schedule key meetings early
Before your calendar fills with everyone else’s priorities, block time for:
Unit-wide meetings
Leadership team check-ins
Standing 1:1s with staff or faculty
Major events, retreats, or deliverables
Tip: Meetings are more productive when they’re expected—not squeezed in.
3. Name your priorities—and who owns them
This is the real work: focus.
Ask:
What are our top 3–5 strategic goals for the year?
Who’s responsible for each one?
What are the milestones?
What does “done” look like?
Then:
Put check-ins on the calendar.
Communicate expectations early to committee chairs and team leads.
Protect the time to get it done.
Tip: If it’s important, schedule it. If it’s not scheduled, it usually slips.
Leadership Without Systems Is Just Triage
Imagine showing up to teach a course without a syllabus.
You’d spend every week figuring out what comes next, rewriting expectations over email, and scrambling to adjust due dates on the fly.
You’d be exhausted—not because the work is hard, but because none of it was structured.
That’s what leadership feels like without systems.
The recurring, task-heavy work—evaluations, reports, applications, scheduling—will consume your time if you let it. This kind of planning isn’t about control.
It’s about freeing your energy for higher-level decision-making.
Less time spent on low-level tasks and last-minute logistics.
More time for vision, strategy, and moving your people and programs forward.
Systematize the routine, so you can focus on the work that makes leadership worth doing.
The Bottom Line
The end of the academic year will come—one way or another.
You can coast there, reacting to what shows up…
Or you can lead there, with purpose.
The first time you build a system, it won’t be perfect.
But like any good course, you’ll refine it over time.
You’ll reuse language, adjust your timing, and improve what works.
That’s why experienced leaders make it look easy.
It’s not that their jobs are simpler—it’s that their systems are stronger.
Try This Before Friday
Block 90 minutes this week to sketch your leadership syllabus.
Start with:
Known cycles and key dates
Big-picture priorities
Recurring meetings and milestones
Then share a rough draft with your leadership team.
Let them help you shape the plan—and own it with you.
Because leadership feels different when you’re not buried in the predictable—
and you can spend the year doing the work only you can do: casting vision, building people, and moving things forward.
That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday.
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1.) Get the free guide: Your First 14 Days. A clear, practical playbook for new leaders navigating their first two weeks in higher ed leadership. 2.) Coaching for Academic Leaders: A focused 1:1 coaching experience for higher ed professionals who want to lead with clarity, build smarter systems, and stay centered on what matters most. I work with a limited number of clients each quarter to provide highly personalized, strategic support. Send me a message. 3.) Professional Development Workshops: Interactive sessions for faculty, staff, and leadership teams that help reduce conflict, streamline decision-making, and shift culture with smart systems. Virtual and in-person options available. Sessions tailored to your campus needs. |