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In this Issue: The Leader as Learner
Most leadership development initiatives are built on the assumptions that leaders need better tools, stronger skills, and broader networks. These things matter, but they are not sufficient. In this issue of Noteworthy, we consider not what leaders should know, but how leaders should learn.
The three curated articles approach the same underlying problem from different angles: the timing and accessibility of leadership development; specific learning habits of successful leaders; and how the growth-mindset framework educators champion for their students applies equally to their own professional growth.
The lead article grounds the conversation in the lived experiences of faculty and administrators. Drawing on scenario data submitted by participants in two AAL programs, it argues that effective leadership requires cultivating wisdom through learning designed not to deliver answers but to develop the capacity to find them.
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Effective leadership development requires cultivating practical wisdom — not just skills — through honest engagement with difficult, people-centered problems. Drawing on case scenarios from academic leadership programs and three supporting articles, the author argues that wise judgment develops through structured reflection, mentorship, cross-institutional dialogue, and a sustained growth mindset applied continuously across one's career, not achieved at any single point.
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Drawing on narratives from fifteen senior academic leaders, the authors identify six learning habits that distinguish effective leaders: metacognition, principled action, theory building, institutional literacy, transfer, and identity negotiation. They argue that adopting a learner's mindset is not a precondition for leadership but its defining orientation — one that must be continuously practiced, not achieved at any single point.
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Higher education selects leaders based on scholarly credentials while deferring leadership development until after roles are assumed — too late for meaningful growth. The authors argue that leadership is not a heroic individual endeavor but a shared responsibility rooted in influence, character, and relationships. Embedding leadership development into everyday academic practice benefits everyone, not only those in formal roles.
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Maximizing Opportunities for Success as an Early Career STEM Faculty: A Growth Mindset Approach
José O. Vigoreaux and Laura A. Caromile, "Maximizing Opportunities for Success as an Early Career STEM Faculty: A Growth Mindset Approach," BMC Proceedings Vol. 18, (2025).
Academics readily employ growth mindset principles to support student learning, yet rarely apply the same framework to their own professional development. The authors argue that early-career STEM faculty should approach challenges, setbacks, and new responsibilities with the same deliberate learning orientation they model for students — treating obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than signs of inadequacy.
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CAAMP builds the financial and leadership judgment your chairs and administrators need.
ITL develops the faculty who carry your academic mission forward.
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The hard work of academic leadership rarely appears in a job description. CAAMP helps department chairs and academic administrators develop not just the administrative competencies their roles require, but the judgment and purpose that distinguish managers from genuine leaders.
Participants leave not just better informed, but genuinely better equipped for the responsibilities they carry.
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Great teachers, like great leaders, develop through intentional practice and reflective growth. The ITL provides current and aspiring faculty in dentistry and dental hygiene with the pedagogical foundation to teach more effectively and lead more confidently.
Participants consistently describe it as a turning point in their academic careers.
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