The need for a different kind of community college leader

Three trends are converging to create the perfect storm of conditions for community colleges: 1) the magnitude and diversity of anticipated student enrollment growth; 2) shrinking resources at the state and federal level; and 3) the tidal wave of retirement among the current generation of community college leadership. The convergence of these factors will create immense challenges for our nation’s community colleges and those who lead them in the future.

Faced with these realities, future community college leaders must be entrepreneurial – cultivating new strategies for delivering services to students and the community. Entrepreneurial leaders do more than simply apply business principles to produce external revenue to support college operations. Entrepreneurial leaders weave the qualities of innovation and creativity throughout the fabric of the college. Innovation, creativity, and resource development to meet community expectations must become a way of business in the 21st century community college.

Tomorrow’s leaders will transform their colleges through transformational leadership

Transformational leadership literature clearly demonstrates that creating, communicating, and imparting vision are important components to transformational leadership. Transformational leaders encourage innovation and creativity by developing new ways of looking at current challenges (Bass & Avolio 2002; Hinkin & Tracy 1999).

A defining quality of transformational leadership, visioning requires having a future orientation which is viewed as both desirable and achievable by followers (Bennis & Nanus 1985; Zaleznik 1986; Tichy & Ulrich 1984; Kouzes & Posner 1987; Roueche, Baker, & Rose 1989). The entire campus must be engaged in the process of operationalizing the entrepreneurial spirit. Effective community college leaders must encourage others to participate in defining the future vision, and influencing what the institution should be in the future. (Roueche & Jones, 2005).

It is not enough to create a new and exciting vision for the organization. Twenty-first century college leaders create the structure, policies and practices which bring the vision to life. Those colleges which build their capacity to meet community needs will thrive; those that simply accept the status quo will decline.

Tomorrow’s leaders must break down traditional silos on the campus

Successful leaders in the 21st century community college will be those who create teamwork and collaboration, to a higher degree than ever before, as the college is transformed to meet the needs of students and the community. Organizational silos which separate traditional academic units from non-traditional units such as workforce development and non-credit instruction impede transformation and limit the college’s ability to meet student and community needs. Building consensus around what the college should be, and how it should perform to meet student needs, is a critical role of future college leadership.

Tomorrow’s leaders must shape the college’s values and build organizational culture.

The literature on transformational leadership notes that values, beliefs, and behaviors form organizational culture, and that leaders influence culture in a variety of ways. In the 21st century community college, leaders must create cultures characterized by academic excellence, community responsiveness, partnership development both on campus and off campus, and innovation. Creating a culture which integrates these values, rather than seeing them at odds with one another, characterizes the successful 21st century community college leader. (Myran, Baker, Simone, & Zeiss, 2003).

Tomorrow’s leaders must drive change

In an environment of shared governance, California community college leaders may be better prepared to lead change through transformational leadership than leaders in other types of organizations.

Aligning the organizational structure to be learning-focused rather than teaching-focused is the first step in the change process. Breaking down the silos between traditional academic programs, student services, and non-credit instruction is another step in the change process. Creating policies and practices which integrate credit, non-credit, workforce education will enable the college to develop innovative, flexible responses to community needs. Effective 21st century community college leaders must use their power to shape the organizational culture and structure of their institutions so that innovation and creativity can take root.

How to prepare tomorrow’s leaders

Much has been written about the tidal wave of impending retirements of community college leaders at all levels over the next ten years. Providing education and training in transformational leadership in general, and entrepreneurship in particular, will be effective strategies for preparing future community college leaders to meet the challenges that confront their institutions.

Future college leaders should develop experiences working in nontraditional areas of the college including noncredit instruction, workforce training, and economic development. By experiencing the impact these programs have on the college and the community, college leadership is better able to integrate these activities into the future direction of the college.

Training future leaders in how to develop partnerships with the community, identify opportunities, and create entrepreneurial organizational structures and practices are important strategies in developing resources which advance the college's ability to serve students.

Community colleges—rising to the challenge

Given rapidly changing economic conditions which require workers to re-tool their skills quickly and efficiently, the need for the community college will grow. In addition, advances in technology and the demands of the knowledge economy make post-secondary education a must in the future. Community colleges will continue to be an important part of the equation in higher education, providing access to higher education and a college degree a reality for millions of Americans.

The anticipated rate of retirement among college faculty, administrators and staff is almost unimaginable. In the coming years, community colleges will be increasingly vital to our nation's economic well-being and the quality of life for our citizens, but those who successfully led the colleges so well for so long will be gone.

Community colleges of the past are being forever changed by new demands and shrinking resources. Traditional sources of funding will not be able to support the community colleges to the degree required to meet demand, putting these colleges at risk in meeting their mission. It is up to the community college leaders of the future to transform their institutions if community colleges are to adapt and thrive. It is clear that entrepreneurial community college leaders, engaged in transformational leadership, are well suited to the future challenges facing the community colleges.

References

Avolio, Bruce J., & Bernard M. Bass. 2002. Developing potential across a full range of leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bennis, Warren G., & Burt Nanus. 1985. Leaders: The strategies for taking charge. Philadelphia: Harper and Row.

Hinkin, Timothy R., & J. Bruce Tracey. 1999. The relevance of charisma for transformational leadership in stable organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management 12, no. 2: 105-120.

Kouzes, J. M., & B. Z. Posner. 1987. The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Myran, G., George A. Baker III, Beverly Simone, & Tony Zeiss. 2003. Leadership strategies for community college executives. Washington, DC: Community College Press.

Roueche, John E., & Barbara R. Jones, eds. 2005. The entrepreneurial community college. Washington, DC: Community College Press.

Roueche, John E., George A. Baker III, & Robert R. Rose. 1989. Shared vision: Transformational leadership in American community colleges. Washington, DC: Community College Press.

Tichy, Noel M., & David O. Ulrich. 1984. SMR Forum: The leadership challenge—a call for the transformational leader. Sloan Management Review 26, no. 1: 59-68.

Zaleznik, Abraham. 1986. Managers and leaders: Are they different? In Organizational behavior and the practice of management, ed. D. R. Hampton, C.E. Summer, and R.A. Webber, 595-602. Glenville, IL: Scott Foresman and Company.

About the Author

Dena P. Maloney, Ed.D.
Dean of Economic Development
Santa Clarita Community College District

Dena P. Maloney is Dean of Economic Development for the Santa Clarita Community College District, where she is responsible for the district’s business partnerships, customized training, and relationships with the workforce development system in the region. She is a member of the statewide Business and Workforce Performance Improvement Advisory Committee, and serves on numerous business/education boards on behalf of the District. Prior to becoming Dean, Dena led the College of the Canyons’ Center for Applied Competitive Technology and its Employee Training Institute.

Dena earned a doctorate in educational leadership in 2006. Her dissertation study examined the leadership behaviors of California Community College presidents of entrepreneurial community colleges. For more information, contact dena.maloney@canyons.edu.