Practical Approaches to Leadership, Decision-Making, and Well-Being in Higher Ed

At the recent American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting, several senior higher education leaders shared insights on how they manage decision-making, protect their time, and lead effectively without burning out.

While their institution types and roles vary, their strategies offer practical wisdom for leaders across higher education. In today’s environment of competing priorities, ongoing crisis management, and continuous communication with stakeholders, even the most experienced administrators can feel overwhelmed.

Here are some of the key takeaways discussed:

Leadership Practices That Strengthen Decision-Making

Francine Conway, chancellor of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick, emphasized decision triage. Not every decision needs her specific attention. If a decision doesn’t affect the institution’s mission or strategic direction, she empowers her team to handle it. This preserves energy for her to thoughtfully focus on higher impact and strategic decisions.

Carmenita Higginbotham, dean at Virginia Commonwealth University, highlighted the importance of self-awareness. Leaders shouldn’t try to replicate someone else’s leadership style. Instead, she encourages recognizing personal “glitches” or weak spots that could slow the process and protects her time by tiering responsibilities to others and categorizing emails by urgency in order to make strategic decisions.

Mardell Wilson, provost at Creighton University, offered a simple rule: nothing productive happens at 2 a.m. Don’t check your email in the middle of the night because you won’t be able to solve the problem at that moment. Prioritizing your sleep will improve decision-making. She also noted the power of “stop doing” such as pausing meetings during slower periods like July so everyone can have a breather. She also expressed the importance of setting clear expectations for communication from her team. For example, she would much rather someone set up a 5-10 minute in-person meeting compared to writing an overly extensive or drawn out email.

Jennifer Malat, dean at the University of New Mexico Main Campus, shared practical ideas for minimizing daily decisions and saving time. For example, as simple as it sounds, planning outfits in advance on a Sunday night for the entire week reduces her decision-making stress every morning — preserving her energy for the more consequential choices her role requires. If this tactic worked for President Obama, she thought it could work for her too! She also strongly advises using structured email folders (reply, revisit, read, meeting prep) and snoozes emails if necessary.

Designing Your Day with Intention

The panelists discussed practical approaches to protecting their time and establishing boundaries, ultimately improving their effectiveness and safeguarding their well-being.

Wilson encourages everyone to start the day with a personal win. Find what that win is for you, such as exercise, a calm breakfast, reading, reflecting, etc.

Higgonbotham shared her strategy of creating “untouchable” time blocks where work interruptions are minimized. During these times, she won’t accept work calls or check emails. Having these boundaries is necessary.

Conway reminded the audience that leaders can’t always control what lands on their desks, but they can control how they structure their time and energy to deal with needs

For instance, she suggests not overbooking yourself. Could you shorten meetings? Does every meeting have to be an hour? Also leave buffer time (she uses 15 minutes) between them so you aren’t meeting back-to-back, which can lead to exhaustion. And sometimes she gives herself permission to cancel or decline a meeting.

Malat suggests taking short breaks during the day to reset mentally. It’s amazing how a 15-minute break to walk to charge her car also recharges her mental wellness as well.

Delegation: It Doesn’t Just Help You — It Empowers Your Team

Throughout the conversation, delegation surfaced as a leadership necessity, not a mere luxury.

Wilson reminded attendees, “You aren’t as important as you think you are,” underscoring that hoarding responsibility limits team growth. She also cautioned against letting perfection become the enemy of progress.

Conway framed delegation in a powerful way, stating, “I don’t delegate tasks. I delegate outcomes.”

By focusing on goals and allowing staff to determine how to reach them, leaders build ownership and accountability. Her role, she explained, is to remove obstacles and support progress.

Higginbotham added that effective delegation requires context, clarity, and periodic check-ins. Not everyone is ready for every responsibility, and recognizing that is part of effective leadership.

The conversation echoed themes from the book “Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman, which emphasizes creating conditions for others to thrive and amplifying their capabilities rather than over-directing their work and draining them of energy to grow.

A Few More Things to Keep in Mind

The session ended with a “lightning round of wisdom.”

Here is some additional advice from the leadership desk to consider:

Block time before and after vacations. Build in space to wrap up key decisions or delegate tasks and allow yourself a buffer to process emails upon return in order to get up to speed and prevent potential chaos. Identify what brings you joy. Remember to protect the parts of work or your outside world that bring you happiness. Maybe you used to be a faculty member and miss it — try teaching a class or mentoring someone. Maybe you loved doing yoga or taking your dog for walks, don’t forget to protect those joyful moments. Remember that there is rarely such a thing as an “academic emergency.” Give yourself permission to put down the phone, not check your email, or delay a response until tomorrow to protect your well-being. Being completely disconnected isn’t always realistic, but you deserve a pause every once in a while. Rethink how you define growth. It isn’t always about climbing the ladder — it can also be about finding meaning, value, and perspective in a current role. Note everyone finds peace relaxing on the couch. If staying busy feels more natural to you, there’s no need to feel guilty. Just make sure you are balancing your expectations and getting enough rest!

A Final Thought on Leadership

As we learned throughout the session, there is no single “right” way to lead. But there is value in leading more deliberately — identifying which decisions truly require your attention, structuring your time strategically to prevent burnout, and recognizing what you can or cannot control. Every leader has a unique set of practical ingredients in their recipe for success.

For leaders across higher ed, I hope these insights serve as a reminder that clarity, boundaries, and self-awareness aren’t just personal habits — they are professional advantages.