Supporting Higher Education Leaders Advancing Systemic Change: Lessons from the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT)

While groups such as ASCN are increasingly working to draw attention to the need for systemic change in higher education, there are still surprisingly few practical resources to help leaders with executing such changes. To support leaders in conceptualizing and enacting systemic change, we developed the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT), a step-by-step guidebook for leaders embarking on systemic change projects. It is both grounded in research and full of practical, hands-on tools that leaders can put to use on their campuses right away. This session will provide a brief overview of the CLT and its underlying conceptual framework and then help attendees dive into reflection and planning for leadership actions they can take on their campuses.

The CLT is underpinned by what we term the Ecosystem Model of Systemic Change Leadership (Figure 1), which conceptualizes systemic change as a process encompassing multiple parts and numerous different campus actors. This model emerged through collaborative research with leaders in various roles and at different types of institutions across the nation. There are three main components of the model, which are outlined in detail in the CLT: 1) Change Leader Moves, which are the actions leaders can take that support their desired systemic change; 2) Leadership Context, the unique set of internal and external influences shaping any change process; and 3) Levers, or opportunities to amplify the Moves that leaders make to achieve their overall change goals. Session attendees will learn about the model in detail and then explore specific aspects of systemic change leadership both individually and in groups. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the resources in the CLT–specifically worksheets that help them understand and grapple with specific aspects of their leadership context, potential levers to amplify their change process, and moves to enact their systemic change project.