Inspiring Today’s CAO: Strategies for Critical Relationships

CAOs often feel disconnected and isolated from their institutional community, but strong relationships are critical to their success in the role, which means we must address this issue openly and intentionally.

The first article in this series, “Inspiring or Inhibiting Today’s CAO,” shared the context and overall findings for our study on chief academic officers (CAOs). Described as the most challenging position in higher education, CAOs navigate complex organizational dynamics, face high levels of responsibility and frequently encounter institutional policy and personnel management stressors. But tough jobs are not impossible jobs, and strong, effective leaders require strong, effective partnerships. Fifteen current or recently serving CAOs were interviewed about their experiences and recommendations for relationships to produce longer tenure and a more positive experience in academic leadership. This article focuses on the study’s findings related to relationships and recommendations for practice. 

Relationships as a Critical Tool for CAO Success 

As the CAOs shared their stories, descriptions often included stories of isolation, exhaustion and disconnection from supportive relationships. CAO roles have been shown to tend toward loneliness (Kristen, 2024), and collaboration is essential to effect change (Feren & Stanton, 2014). CAOs described challenging relationships with their presidents and chancellors, cabinet members and faculty and unions, which impacted mental health. However, these relationships underpin consensus building that is essential for student advocacy and academic leadership within a shared-governance environment.  

Isolation often began early in transitions from being a chair or dean—positions where they were part of a collegial network—or as they moved to a new region, leaving a community for a new position. Either scenario results in losing peers and support. Being atop an academic hierarchy, it is often harder to find colleagues who understand the responsibilities and pressures. One participant noted, “One of the challenges with the role is that it’s thankless. It’s very solitary. You see the deans all walking off to go to lunch, and you lose those relationships because everybody reports to you except the president. So, it’s an extremely stressful role. And it’s a very, very lonely role.” 

Another participant shared, “Even forming friendships has been difficult, because I quickly learned that people have agendas because you have a certain title or a certain role. They try to take advantage of that. So, I’ve really closed myself off because I just don’t have the time or energy to deal with that kind of nonsense.” CAOs may opt for self-preservation in the form of silence over connection. 

Isolation exacerbated the work of navigating complex institutional dynamics, resolving conflicts and making difficult decisions, all while balancing students and employees’ needs and fostering faculty morale. CAOs especially described isolation during program closures, personnel retrenchment, budget cuts or controversial policy rollouts. Such work relies upon strong professional relationships and, without them, impacts mental health. New initiatives typically demand immediate attention, adaptation and political capital. Such perpetual motion stressed and impeded CAOs effective implementation and evaluation of any given project or their attempts to maintain a coherent sense of strategy. 

Relationships with Faculty 

CAOs faced challenges navigating faculty relationships while implementing initiatives, addressing personnel challenges or managing conflicts. Union and tenure system further complicated the requisite relationship building. Participants described unexpected, unaddressed performance issues, some with legal ramifications. Many CAOs felt underprepared to lead effectively amidst union negotiations and grievances, public criticism, personal attacks, heightened scrutiny and strained relationships. The pressure to address these complex issues while building community was difficult and demoralizing.  

One participant noted, “You go into an arbitration or a mediation, but you know the [union] members can behave any way they want, say anything they want, true or not true, in those sessions and in our ongoing interactions under the name of academic freedom, right? But it really crosses the line. It really crosses the line.” 

The emotional toll combined with the need to remain impartial and further institutional goals was identified to a more pronounced degree than had been anticipated. Another participant shared, “We all expect some level of conflict and disagreement in these jobs, but the level of nastiness is beyond what is acceptable to anyone in any position.” Unlike other areas of the institution, CAOs are unable to be successful if they do not have the respectful working relationships with faculty members to drive new initiatives through the governance process.   

Relationships with Senior Leadership 

Strong partnerships between the institutional and the academic leader was described as crucial for effective governance and institutional leadership. This relationship also mattered to the CAO’s longevity and personal fulfillment in the position. Support from the president or chancellor is essential for securing resources, navigating political challenges and aligning academic initiatives with an overarching institutional strategy. However, for some respondents, multiple presidential transitions caused rapid change to an institution’s vision and direction, putting the two essential leaders at odds. One participant stated, “You should never see any space between the vice president of academic affairs and the president of the institution. However, the Grand Canyon is at my house.”  

A lack of visible and public support presented in the form of advancing decisions without alignment, needing to shield the president without reciprocity, absorbing criticism while implementing difficult directives, while lacking connection with cabinet members: These are critical dynamics that presidents and chancellors can actively moderate to signal value to their academic leader.  

Recommendations 

Another finding from the study was labelled “fixing, fixing, fixing,” meaning that these individuals were nothing if not fixers and builders. As such, it was not enough to describe the hardship; they were solution-focused for how to improve the atmosphere and structure of the position. If adopted by a president or chancellor, each has the potential to positively impact job satisfaction and retention. 

• Address exhaustion isolation 

• • Bridge cabinet member relationships, translating the CAO’s positionality and cultivating colleagueship.  
    
    
  • Recognize that CAOs are in the middle, always. Alleviate tension by modeling and standardizing constructive faculty interactions and policy decisions. Work with CAOs to define opportunities to participate in key faculty discussions, lending authority to initiatives that may be contentious. 
    
    
  • Presidents and chancellors can facilitate CAO connections to peers and mentors, networking opportunities, sharing practices and support in a safe space. Likewise, they can offer intentional connections to CAOs who arrive from other geographic regions. 
    
    
• Focus and relate strategic initiatives
  
  
  • Prioritize and align new initiatives with the CAO, jointly strategizing resources, transparent communication and overt public support. Clear CAO roles and responsibilities can be revisited periodically during times of rapid change.  
    
    
  • Provide human resource training for CAOs given the large portion of this work in their positions. College and university doctoral programs that prepare higher education administrators can include human resources curricula as well.  
    
    
• Foster a culture of partnerships 

• • Build relationships with CAOs that engage strong public and private support and showcase the CAO’s ability to lead teams effectively, enhance the institution’s mission and drive their boss’s vision and priorities. These partnerships can include frequent points of connection and open communication to foster trust and mutual alignment of institutional priorities. 

Our respondents report no regrets and felt passionate about this work. High turnover rates, loneliness and a vexing pattern of disconnection and misalignment must become points of curiosity and concern for senior leaders. They must also become safe topics that CAOs can explore with their peers. 

References 

Ferren, A. S., & Stanton, W. W (2004). Leadership through Collaboration: The Role of the Chief  

Academic Officer. American Council on Education/Praeger Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-57356-574-1. 

Prince, K. N. (2024). It Can Be Lonely at the Top, but It Doesn’t Have to Be: Workplace Loneliness as  

Experienced by Senior Leaders and Potential Coping Strategies (Publication No. 31562638) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri - Saint Louis]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.