The conflict management guide academic leaders have been searching for Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict gives academic leaders the tools and insight they need to effectively manage conflict affiliated with leading change and problematic faculty performance. Using case studies that bring typical issues to light, this book guides you through difficult situations with strategies and analyses of key issues, variables, and options. The real-life examples show you effective conflict management at work, and provide direct application to your own tricky leadership situations. You'll learn how to deal with difficult people, how to have difficult conversations, and how to successfully manage change in the face of departmental resistance. Written by an experienced academic leader, consultant, and writer, this practical guide provides the leadership training academics wish they already had. Successful conflict management is essential not just to departments, but to the entire institution. Senior leaders, faculty, and students all rely on you to smooth the change process and keep the department running smoothly. This book gives you a foundation in the critical skills for managing conflict when leading change and managing problem performance, and the insight to apply them appropriately. Communicate more effectively with students, parents, and faculty Navigate difficult conversations with tenured faculty more successfully Lead change more effectively Mentor and manage problem performance more effectively Keep faculty performing well and focused on the right priorities Most academic leaders come into their position reluctantly, with little or no preparation for the role, receive very little training or coaching, and are thus not equipped to manage conflict when it arises. Communication Strategies for Managing Conflict is a lively, readable, and practical guide that will prove useful in the most difficult and common departmental situations.

Author Biography

MARY LOU HIGGERSON is a writer, consultant, and vice president emerita for academic affairs and dean at Baldwin-Wallace College. She has also served on the board of trustees at Elmhurst College and is the recipient of eight prestigious teaching awards, including the Distinguished Teacher Award at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Bill Cashin Award for outstanding research contribution to the study and practice of higher education administration.