Leadership Development and Articles, Papers, and Reports

Aspiring IT leaders can take specific steps to develop their skills and help their colleagues grow.

This ECAR case study complements the 2008 ECAR study by Philip J. Goldstein, Leading the IT Workforce in Higher Education. Developing the IT Workforce at the University of South Australia describes both the commitment of the University of South Australia (UniSA) to its workforce and the information technology organization’s successful effort to create and foster a high-performing IT team. Since its formation in 1991, UniSA faced exceptionally stiff challenges in transforming itself from a technical institute and college of advanced education into a comprehensive research-oriented university. This evolution brought with it workforce misalignments in both the academic and professional staff. With its longstanding and explicit commitment to equity and a great deal of foresight, UniSA’s leaders have established the institution’s reputation as an employer committed to the well-being of academic and professional staff even in the face of major competition in the turbulent financial environment and the local employment market.

The author discusses the importance of EDUCAUSE members volunteering their time and service to the profession, that "efforts put forth by volunteers not only benefit the community but also provide rewards to the individual and to his or her institution."

The next generation of IT leaders must learn to navigate the complexities of higher education financial planning and negotiation.

Constant change in higher education means that those aspiring to the CIO role must explore new avenues of flexibility and involvement to prepare for the future.

The aging of the current generation of IT leaders adds urgency to the professional development of future IT leaders from among the next generation

This research bulletin discusses how leaders at the University of Kansas merged the Libraries and Information Technology into an Information Services department using well-documented strategies for enabling collaboration, group decision making, and mentoring of new leaders. It describes the challenges—and successes—related to making rapid changes in organizational structure, staffing, and services while remaining engaged with users and delivering technology services that were not necessarily tied to organizational boundaries.

If IT professionals can start learning these twelve skills early in their career, they will have a good chance of turning the skills into habits—and of becoming successful and effective IT professionals.

Successful leadership requires character as well as competence, and followers rather than subordinates.