How can you develop your leadership and collaboration skills as a faculty member?

2 Seek mentorship and feedback

Another way to develop your leadership and collaboration skills is to seek mentorship and feedback from senior faculty members, peers, and students. Mentorship and feedback can help you improve your teaching, research, and service, as well as your interpersonal and communication skills. To seek mentorship and feedback, you need to identify potential mentors and mentees, establish clear expectations and goals, and maintain regular contact and dialogue. You also need to be open-minded, respectful, and receptive to constructive criticism and suggestions.

4 Join or lead a team

A fourth way to develop your leadership and collaboration skills is to join or lead a team, such as a research group, a committee, or a project. Joining or leading a team can help you enhance your teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, as well as your creativity and productivity. To join or lead a team, you need to select or form a team with complementary skills and goals, define clear roles and responsibilities, and foster trust and communication. You also need to monitor and evaluate the team's progress and performance, and celebrate and acknowledge the team's achievements.

5 Embrace diversity and inclusion

A fifth way to develop your leadership and collaboration skills is to embrace diversity and inclusion in your teaching, research, and service. Embracing diversity and inclusion can help you broaden your perspectives, enrich your learning and teaching experiences, and address the needs and challenges of diverse learners and communities. To embrace diversity and inclusion, you need to respect and value the differences and similarities among people, cultures, and disciplines, incorporate diverse and inclusive content and pedagogy in your courses, and engage in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue. You also need to reflect on your own biases and assumptions, and seek feedback and support from others.

6 Demonstrate impact and value

A sixth way to develop your leadership and collaboration skills is to demonstrate the impact and value of your work to your students, colleagues, institution, and society. Demonstrating impact and value can help you showcase your achievements, contributions, and potential, as well as your passion and commitment. To demonstrate impact and value, you need to align your work with the mission, vision, and goals of your department and institution, document and disseminate your work through various channels and formats, and measure and communicate your work's outcomes and benefits. You also need to seek recognition and reward for your work, and advocate for yourself and others.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?