Navigating Change: The Podcast from Teibel Education

For years, finance in higher education has worked quietly behind the scenes—essential, but rarely seen as a force for change. Budgets got balanced, reports got filed, and institutions moved forward... slowly. But what happens when that model starts to crack? When rising costs outpace tuition revenue, and the math that once worked no longer adds up?It's a moment of reckoning—and an opportunity.In this episode of Navigating Change, Pete Wright is joined by Michael Gower, Andrew Simpson, and Howard Teibel—three leaders who are reimagining what's possible when finance steps out of the back office and into the strategy room. They're not just managing numbers; they're reshaping mindsets.Together, they explore a bold idea: that financial health isn't just about closing budget gaps—it's about leadership, influence, and building a future-ready institution. Through the lens of the Rutgers University case study, they reveal how finance can become a catalyst for innovation rather than a barrier to it. They talk about navigating resistance, sparking breakthroughs, and embedding financial thinking into the DNA of decision-making.So what does it really take to shift from financial survival to sustainability? Can higher ed let go of outdated models before it's too late?This isn't just a conversation about money. It's about power, persuasion, and the future of higher education. Because the real question isn't whether universities can afford to change—it's whether they can afford not to.Links & NotesAdopting a Financial StrategyFinancial Strategy Policy

The opening speaker at the 2025 NBOA Annual Meeting will be Kyle Scheele, who is known for cooking up wild ideas that many people back for laughs and for learning. NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields discusses with Scheele the process behind some of his outlandish projects and about being creative in the workplace. “I don't want people to be like me,” said Scheele. “I want them to tap into their own creativity, wherever they may be working.” That might be anything from devising a financial plan to reconsidering the organizational chart. In addition to being a celebrated speaker, Scheele has published four books, one for adults: How To Host a Viking Funeral: The Case for Burning Your Regrets, Chasing Your Crazy Ideas, and Becoming the Person You're Meant to Be, one for teens: We Put A Man On The Moon: Thoughts on Living a Better Story, and two children's books.The Net Assets podcast is a partnership between NBOA and Teibel Education Consulting, with hosts NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields and Teibel Education President Howard Teibel. This show is made possible thanks to the generous support of Community Brands.You can also read a web article based on an excerpt of this podast episode, published in November 2024.

This week, Pete Wright and Howard Teibel dive deep into the topic of weak communication practices and their consequences in organizations. Howard, drawing from his extensive experience working with teams and leaders, shares insights on how miscommunication often stems from focusing on passing information rather than producing action and exploring assessments.The duo discusses five key consequences of weak communication: mistrust and lack of listening, working in isolation, blame-shifting, people not making offers, and building consensus over-commitment. Howard emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between assessments and assertions, encouraging individuals to back up their assessments with evidence. He also highlights the transformative power of making offers, which enables innovation and engagement at all levels of an organization.Throughout the conversation, Pete and Howard stress that merely knowing these concepts is not enough; embedding these skills into an organization's culture requires practice, repetition, and a willingness to embrace discomfort. They invite listeners to reflect on their own communication practices and consider how adopting these principles could lead to more effective collaboration and accelerated change within their teams.

Being of service. This is at the heart of the roles we play in higher education.At the 2024 WACUBO Annual Conference at Disneyland in California, leaders and practitioners in administration came together to explore how they can Dream, Lead, and Inspire others to serve the mission of our industry. Lupe Valencia, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Facilities Officer at the University of Texas at El Paso, recently served as President of WACUBO and just turned the reins over to Michael Clune, who serves as Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer at the University of California San Francisco.Howard sat down with the two of them at the annual conference to talk about service and what inspires them about being part of this extraordinary association committed to providing professional development and networking opportunities for business officers serving higher education in the West.  Don't miss the opportunity to consider participating in next year's Annual Conference, taking place on the Big Island of Hawaii! You won't want to miss this experience!Learn more and start planning your trip right here!

We are thrilled to present this episode of the Net Assets Podcast, a partnership between NBOA and Teibel Education Consulting, with NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields and Teibel Education President Howard Teibel.This episode marks the first in what we hope will become a collection of some of the best and most illuminating interviews dedicated to you, independent school business leaders. As NBOA grows into its new brand identity, we have the great privilege of launching this podcast with a conversation about an institution unafraid of telling the story of what makes them great, a school unburdened by the weight of telling the stories they think the public wants to hear. And who better to share that story than the extraordinary leaders of the Lakefield College School themselves?Lakefield College School is a coeducational boarding and day school in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, for students in grades 9 through 12. Today, Jeff and Howard are joined by Anne-Marie Kee, Head of School since 2017, and Tim Rutherford, Associate Head of School and Chief Financial Officer since 2014.If you've ever wondered what it takes to be authentic in your mission, elevate faculty, staff, and students, and transform enrollment growth along the way, you need to check out this conversation.This show is made possible thanks to the generous support of Community Brands.

This week, Jeff Shields, President and CEO at NBOA, joins Howard Teibel for a conversation on the future of independent schools ahead of the 2024 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase. Howard and Jeff speak about issues of integrating telework, the sustainability of post-pandemic innovations, and the critical importance of community and collaboration in sparking transformative ideas.“Your next best idea is not going to come from walking down the hallway at your own school,” he says, “It will come from being among more than a thousand people in an international community who have walked in your shoes,” he continues, stressing the invaluable benefits of shared experiences and collective wisdom that can be found at the NBOA Annual Meeting.Jeff offers a sneak peek into what attendees can anticipate at the 2024 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase, taking place February 25 – 28 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event promises to be a hub for independent school leaders to converge, share their experiences, and learn from the collective wisdom of the community.Links & Notes Learn More about the NBOA Annual Meeting NBOA Keynote Speaker Lineup NBOA Deep Dive Sessions

As we continue our gradual emergence from a certain hibernation over the last three years, the opportunity to engage with our colleagues is more critical than ever. Brad Bacca, President of Western Colorado University and the Western Association of College and University Business Officers, sits down this week with Howard Teibel as they turn their attention to the upcoming WACUBO Annual Conference coming April 30 to May 3 in Phoenix, Arizona. This year's theme is Rising to the Challenge - A call to intentionally engage in what we've learned and face our challenges with renewed resilience.You can join Howard at the conference in his pre-conference workshop on producing innovative and creative thinking in the business office.To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit WACUBO.org. (00:00) - Welcome to Navigating Change (01:50) - Introducing Brad Bacca (03:48) - The Value of Coming Together (05:07) - The Keynotes (10:00) - The President's View (11:48) - Rising Challenge of Divided Government (13:12) - The General Session (16:05) - Pre-Conference Workshops (17:01) - Business Partners (18:56) - WACUBO After Dark

NBOA President and CEO, Jeff Shields, joins Howard Teibel for a conversation on indepenent school business, finance, and operations, all in preparation for the association's 25 Anniversary Celebration in Los Angeles, February 19-22.What's top-of-mind for business officers coming out of the pandemic after three years? How are finance professionals addressing the ongoing financial issues pre-K-12 independent schools will face in the future? All this and a preview of the broad array of speakers, guests, and presenters coming to LA next month.Learn more and register now for the 2023 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase. (00:00) - Welcome to Navigating Change (01:36) - 25 Years of NBOA (05:32) - About the Keynote Speakers (12:55) - Themes for the Industry 2023

Unbeknownst to us in February 2020, we were about to go into a certain kind of hibernation, one forced on us by the circumstances of our time. Two years into this, we may be seeing the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel – learning how to live with this global pandemic and bring back the kind of social connection we value and need. Jeff Shields, President and CEO of the National Business Officers Association, and Howard Teibel turn their attention to looking forward in anticipation of the upcoming NBOA Annual Meeting to be held in Chicago this February. The theme this year – Elevate! A call to step up our game and bring into our work what we've learned these past two years. You can also join Howard at the conference in his talk with Taylor Hastrich from FAEF in an experiential session to elevate Strategic Thinking as a Business Officer. To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit NBOA. Whether your challenges are financial, structural or simply the need to build strong teams, Teibel Education can help your people move to the next level of excellence. Check out how we can help you be a stronger leader and build stronger teams at teibelinc.com! Howard Teibel Links & Notes Learn More and Register for the 2022 NBOA Annual Meeting Schedule Registration Follow Jeff on Social Media Twitter LinkedIn

Unbeknownst to us in February 2020, we were about to go into a certain kind of hibernation, one forced on us by the circumstances of our time. Two years into this, we may be seeing the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel – learning how to live with this global pandemic and bring back the kind of social connection we value and need.Jeff Shields, CEO of the National Business Officers Association and Howard Teibel turn their attention to looking forward in anticipation of the upcoming NBOA Annual Meeting to be held in Chicago this February. The theme this year – Elevate! A call to step up our game and bring into our work what we've learned these past two years.You can also join Howard at the conference in his talk with Taylor Hastrich from FAEF in an experiential session to elevate Strategic Thinking as a Business Officer.To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit NBOA.Whether your challenges are financial, structural or simply the need to build strong teams, Teibel Education can help your people move to the next level of excellence. Check out how we can help you be a stronger leader and build stronger teams at teibelinc.com!Howard TeibelLinks & NotesLearn More and Register for the 2022 NBOA Annual MeetingScheduleRegistrationFollow Jeff on Social MediaTwitterLinkedInß

Joining Howard Teibel today in conversation is Dr. Nathan Grawe, distinguished teaching professor of the social sciences at Carleton College, where he has served on the faculty since 1999. You might have seen Nathan's work as it relates to the framing of the enrollment cliff, something that's been exacerbated and accelerated in this last year. As we find ourselves beginning to emerge out of lockdowns in our lives — and for many of us on our campuses — the big question is how will we navigate back to what Georgia Tech is framing as a *return to better*? This conversation with Nathan covers many important topics, including his most recent analysis of enrollment trends, issues of shared governance, and how we need to think about work as we come out of this pandemic. Reach out to us at Teibel education if we can help you build an intentional mindset and process to navigate your challenges over this next year. ### About Dr. Nathan Grawe Dr. Nathan Grawe the Ada M. Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Carleton College. He is a labor economist whose work examines intergenerational connections with education and labor market outcomes. Nathan's book, Demographics and The Demand for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018) examines how recent demographic shifts are likely to affect demand for higher education. In a follow-up project, The Agile College (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021), Nathan draws on interviews with higher education leaders to provide examples of how proactive institutions are grappling with demographic change. ### Links & Notes - [About Dr. Nathan Grawe][nathan] - [*The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Challenges* by Nathan D. Grawe][book] - [Visit Nathan's Website at Carleton College][web] [book]:https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/agile-college [nathan]:https://www.carleton.edu/directory/ngrawe/ [web]:https://ngrawe.sites.carleton.edu

Joining Howard Teibel today in conversation is Dr. Nathan Grawe, distinguished teaching professor of the social sciences at Carleton college, where he has served on the faculty since 1999. You might have seen Nathan's work as it relates to the framing of the enrollment cliff, something that's been exacerbated and accelerated in this last year.As we find ourselves beginning to emerge out of lockdowns in our lives — and for many of us on our campuses — the big question is how will we navigate back to what Georgia Tech is framing as a return to better?This conversation with Nathan covers many important topics, including his most recent analysis of enrollment trends, issues of shared governance, and how we need to think about work as we come out of this pandemic.Reach out to us at Teibel education if we can help you build an intentional mindset and process to navigate your challenges over this next year.About Dr. Nathan GraweDr. Nathan Grawe the Ada M. Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Carleton College. He is a labor economist whose work examines intergenerational connections with education and labor market outcomes. Nathan's book, Demographics and The Demand for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018) examines how recent demographic shifts are likely to affect demand for higher education. In a follow-up project, The Agile College (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021), Nathan draws on interviews with higher education leaders to provide examples of how proactive institutions are grappling with demographic change.Links & NotesAbout Dr. Nathan GraweThe Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Challenges by Nathan D. GraweVisit Nathan's Website at Carleton College

As we turn our energy to 2021, we can begin to catch a glimpse of getting on the other side of this crisis. Independent school leaders have implemented innovations over the last nine months that they could only dream about prior to the pandemic. The question now is can they sustain these changes with intentionality. Jeff Shields, CEO of the National Business Officers Association and Howard Teibel explore these questions in anticipation of the upcoming February all-virtual NBOA Annual Meeting.  The opportunity in this year is to prepare ourselves with the right state of mind – resiliency, ambition for change and living our vision.Join Howard at the NBOA Annual conference for a Goldmine session on Being a Leader Without Being an Expert, February 22 and for a Deep Dive session around Building a Culture that can Innovate from the Bottom Up, February 23.  To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit NBOA.  Whether your challenges are financial, structural, or simply the need to build strong teams, Teibel Education can help your people move to the next level of excellence. Check out our work with Independent Schools today!

As we turn our energy to 2021, we can begin to catch a glimpse of getting on the other side of this crisis. Independent school leaders have implemented innovations over the last nine months that they could only dream about prior to the pandemic. The question now is can they sustain these changes with intentionality.  Jeff Shields, CEO of the National Business Officers Association and Howard Teibel explore these questions in anticipation of the upcoming February all-virtual NBOA Annual Meeting.  The opportunity in this year is to prepare ourselves with the right state of mind – _resiliency, ambition for change and living our vision._ Join Howard at the NBOA Annual conference for a Goldmine session on [Being a Leader Without Being an Expert](https://www.nboaannualmeeting.org/program/goldmines), February 22 and for a Deep Dive session around [Building a Culture that can Innovate from the Bottom Up](https://www.nboaannualmeeting.org/program/deep-dives), February 23.   To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit [NBOA.](https://www.nboaannualmeeting.org/home)   Whether your challenges are financial, structural, or simply the need to build strong teams, Teibel Education can help your people move to the next level of excellence. Check out our work with [Independent Schools](https://teibelinc.com/industries-independent-schools) today!

At Teibel Education we are committed to having your people be connected with a higher purpose. As we look to 2021 and the hope for greater ease and less uncertainty, we bring you a podcast on learning.How do you produce active listening in a colleague, student, or peer? Active listening is a central tenant to the capacity to learn and acquire new skills.In this podcast, we explore learning with UCLA professor Dr. Christopher Surro. Chris is committed to his student’s success and he teaches us how to engage others to learn by applying a few simple principles – showing care, guiding versus doing and creatively using technology.As administrators, Deans, CFO’s, or faculty, this is an invaluable conversation to listen to and share with others. We look forward to hearing how this resonates with you.Links & NotesAbout Chris Surro — UCLA Department of EconomicsAbout Dr. Christopher SurroChris Surro is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Economics at UCLA. He primarily teaches macro courses but has teaching interests across a variety of economic fields. His main teaching goal is to provide students with both economic knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge in practical ways to their future careers. He also tries to incorporate new technologies into his classes to improve student learning and engagement. His research focuses on using recent computational methods to improve economic analysis.

Mission in ActionToday on the show we bring a demonstration of living a mission. Our guest is Doug Brown, President of UMass Memorial Community Hospitals and Chief Administrative Officer for the UMass Memorial Health Care system. He had a vision for their community - looking in their own backyard and anchoring their institutional mission through local investing, local procurement, and local hiring.As a $2.4 billion integrated health care delivery system in Central Massachusetts, Umass Memorial’s “Anchor Mission Project” is addressing the social determinants of health beyond the traditional approach of providing excellent clinical care. UMass Memorial is putting their money where their mouth is by investing part of their institutional portfolio in local resources, purchasing directly from local businesses, and hiring a greater percentage from the surrounding community.Links & Notes“Anchoring Health beyond Clinical Care: UMass Memorial Health Care’s Anchor Mission Project” — Harvard.eduHarvard School of Public Health Highlights UMass Memorial’s Anchor Journey — DemocracyCollaborative.orgUMass community hospitals chief appointed to AHA trustees — Telegram.comUChicago Joins the Higher Education Anchor Mission Initiative — The University of Chicago Civic Engagement

This is an important conversation to listen to the whole way through. First, ask yourself: what’s the highest purpose of your organization? Likely you have an answer, something you’ve been told, or something you’ve absorbed through your experience over the years. But maybe the greater truth is that we need to discover our organization’s purpose with our people.  When we move to higher purpose, we form a contract with each other that transcends normal management theory – the need for greater control.  Dr. Robert Quinn and Howard Teibel pick up where they left off in episode 222 of the podcast and now focus on what it looks like to give up control to create something most of us only imagine – an engaged, connected and purpose-focused organization, where leaders put their egos aside and allow their people to step up. Links & NotesAbout Dr. Robert QuinnRobertQuinn.comRobert’s BlogConnect with Robert on LinkedInFollow Robert on Twitter • @BobQuinnUofMFind Robert on FacebookWatch "Find Your Purpose" on Facebook

Heather Jarhling is a rising senior at Colby College in Waterville Maine. She — like her peers — is facing an unsettled future. This cohort spent the last three and a half months running to keep up with a shift to online education that many of them did not sign up for.Of course, no one signed up for the changes sweeping education as a result of the pandemic. And the rising voices around racial injustice will be additional concerns you will need to face. We need to listen to one other — now more than ever — as our expectations, needs, and requirements shift toward the fall.Heather and Howard explore what the transition to learning from home meant for her and what students like her are looking for in their educational experience as we face the fall term. If you’re an administrator or a faculty member and you’re looking to understand your students’ expectations leading into next year, this is a must-listen. Next year’s class is looking for a signal for change ahead and as you’ll hear in this conversation, finding the middle-ground that demonstrates they’ve been heard today will go a long way when you need to ask for their flexibility tomorrow.We invite you to use this podcast to open or continue the conversation with others.

As we begin to pivot in our organizations from the necessary critical decisions to get through these first few months and on to living with a new way of working, how do we not fall back into business as usual? Our people are looking not only for direction and stability but a sense of connection to a larger purpose. At the heart of people feeling disconnected is the absence of a certain kind of leadership that puts one’s ego aside and empower others to genuinely connect with a deeper purpose.Today on the show, Howard has a conversation with Dr. Robert Quinn, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and co-founder for the Center for Positive Organizations. Howard and Robert explore what it looks like to step up into an authentic way of leading – both from the heart and with conviction.Links & NotesAbout Dr. Robert QuinnRobertQuinn.comRobert’s BlogConnect with Robert on LinkedInFollow Robert on Twitter • @BobQuinnUofMFind Robert on FacebookWatch "Find Your Purpose" on FacebookAbout Dr. Robert QuinnRobert E. Quinn is the Margaret Elliot Tracy Collegiate Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. His research and writing focuses on purpose, leadership, culture and change. He is one of the co-founders of the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship and a co-founder of the Ross Center for Positive Organizations. In terms of research, he is in the top 1% of professors cited in organizational behavior textbooks. He has published 18 books. As a teacher, Quinn is the recipient of multiple awards. In a global survey he was recently named one of the top speakers in the world on the topic of organizational culture and related issues. His talk on personal purpose went viral and has been viewed by over 16 million people.

In our lifetime, Higher Education has not seen the kind of global shock to its system that emerged over a two-month period. We anticipated a systematic and orderly shift in the next few years to address the rising cost of education, changing demographics, and a growing adult population choosing to come back to further their education. Those institutions that had already invested in a new kind of education now find themselves in a position to accelerate. Georgia Institute of Technology is one of those institutions.Today on Navigating Change we have Dr. Nelson Baker, who serves as Dean of Professional Education for Georgia Tech. His group oversees the delivery of Georgia Tech's extensive catalog of world-class credit and non-credit education programs for over 40,000 learners and 2,600 organizations worldwide each year.  Our conversation with Dr. Baker revolves around his experience overseeing this expansive arm of Professional Education and what that experience can teach us as we turn toward rebuilding in the COVID era.   Links & Notes“Deliberate Innovation, Lifetime Education” Report from the Commission on Creating The Next in Education at Georgia Tech (PDF)About Dr. Nelson BakerConnect with Dr. Nelson Baker on LinkedInThe Center for 21st Century Universities

Many of us listen to podcasts in moments of leisure or capacity to separate from work. Sometimes a topic comes along that is central to what we’re facing right now.This week, we are very fortunate to have educator and futurist Bryan Alexander joining us for a conversation around scenario planning in the era of COVID-19. Bryan recently has been a leader in a crowdsourced operation to document the impact of the pandemic on higher education and discusses approaches to scenario planning along with the pitfalls institutions may experience along the way.   Please share this episode with colleagues who would benefit from strategies in scenario planning. As always, feel free to reach out to the Teibel Education team to discuss further.Links & NotesGoogle Sheet: Higher Ed Closures and MigrationsAcademia Next: The Futures of Higher Education by Bryan AlexanderAbout Bryan Alexander

Over the last two episodes we've discussed two major functions of strategic thinking. In the first, we shared insights around uncovering your key message. In part two, we focused on how to get the attention of your audience with headlining your vision.This week, we'll focus on the key factors to bring strategic thinking to your work that asks the big questions.Strategic thinking is not linear or delivering on daily work. It's about peering around corners, across horizons, and uncovering trends that exist beyond the bubble of your institution.

Our guest is working to develop the 60-year curriculum, one with an eye toward a lifetime of education.Rovy Branon serves as Vice Provost for Continuum College at University of Washington. When you are a learner at Continuum College, you are taking part in one of the most aggressively innovative programs dedicated to bringing education to non-traditional students. Branon and his team are part of a dynamic shift in how we think about education well beyond the traditional student. This week, Rovy joins Howard Teibel to share the story of Continuum College, and how their work is shaped by re-evaluating how we learn...throughout our life.Links & NotesContinuum CollegeProfessional and Continuing Education at UWLearning for a Lifetime: A 100-year life requires a 60-year curriculum

There is an unnamed disruptor around the corner. So says our guest today, Rutgers University’s Mike Gower. As Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and University Treasurer, the breadth and depth of his involvement in university operations is extensive. With decades of experience in the field, one might expect him to carry more answers than questions these days. That, according to Gower, is far from the case, and the unnamed disruptor - the change you haven’t seen coming - is always right around the next corner.Being a part of the leadership team for an institution as large as Rutgers brings with it a unique set of demands. “We can’t solve the future. We can’t solve the next set of trends that may be coming our way — or may not. Instead, we have to explore them and say, ‘what might that mean?’… Then we can go positive and say, ‘what would we like to do? What should we do?’ Instead of being reactive, what would we like to do to continue growing as an institution?”This week on Navigating Change, Mike Gower joins Howard Teibel to talk about the questions before us and the disruptor around the corner. He shares the background to his work in leading change across his leadership team and how that work can help set the stage for the next generation of finance and administrative leaders.Our congratulations to Mike for winning the KPMG Distinguished Service Award at EACUBO for his service in advancing the role of the business officer as a strategic leader.

Cutting a path through the political and emotional landscape to deliver a strong strategic plan is an act of courage. Even with a clear consensus that a strategic plan is required, connecting intention to action is a massive undertaking. That’s precisely what Rhode Island School of Design’s leadership achieved with their 2020-2027 NEXT Strategic Plan. Under the management of Taylor Scott, RISD Chief of Staff & Communications, and the rest of the diverse RISD team, they developed a campus-wide effort to prioritize resources, gain commitment, and drive toward a productive new vision of the institution for the next decade. This week on the show, Taylor Scott joins Howard Teibel and Rebeka Mazzone as the three share their perspectives on marshalling the enthusiasm of resources while building a future based on realistic financial goals. Links & NotesLearn more about the RISD NEXT plan

In February 2015, Roger L. Martin joined us to talk about innovation, incentive, and inspiration. This is the stuff that drives teams to face the most complex, stubborn challenges with surprising and creative solutions.That episode quickly cemented itself as one of our most listened-to episodes in the nine years that we have been producing this show. Roger effortlessly demonstrates the kind of approach to change that has become foundational to our work at Teibel Ed. We're not solving problems, we’re navigating uncertainty.In his time as Dean of the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, he managed to enroll his best educators to help him solve a seemingly intractable recruiting challenge. The story he tells of this experience is at once bold and charming, and it carries our central message this week: what does it mean to be part of the solution, not part of the problem?Professor Martin's work in Harvard Business Review, "The Rise — and Likely Fall — of the Talent Economy," lays out the case for the disconnect of high salaries to performance in knowledge work. But can the same case be made for the impact of significant financial goals on cultivating our best creative solutions from our most engaged and willing teams?From Howard Teibel's work with institutions in administrative and academic reviews and Professor Martin's work as an academic and business leader comes a conversation that addresses the competencies of our teams, inspiring our best players to do their best work in the face of the significant challenges before them.Links & NotesRoger L. Martin — rogerlmartin.com@RogerLMartin — Twitter"The Rise (and Likely Fall) of the Talent Economy" — hbr.org"What Threatens the Talent Economy" — Innovation HubAbout Roger L. MartinProfessor Roger Martin is a writer, strategy advisor and currently #1 ranked management thinker in the world. He is the former Dean and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Requests are not directives — they live in conversation How often do we find ourselves hearing a request, waiting until we walk away from that person, and then say to ourselves, “I have no idea what my boss or colleague is asking me to do?” This universal experience is both comical and frustrating at the same time. Making and receiving requests are foundational speech acts in the workplace. Done with care, a request reveals both conditions of satisfaction for the speaker and the critical role of the listener as a partner in the exchange. Through conversation, we can discover a hidden efficiency and reduce the cycle of repetition of the request as we seek a common understanding. This week on the show, we’re going to explore the nature of requests, how to engage as a listener in those conversations, and a powerful alternative to merely accepting or declining what is asked of you: the counteroffer. Links & Notes 5 Minutes with Howard Teibel: Reading the Room by Howard Teibel — netassets.org *The Profession of IT: The Other Side of Language *by Peter Denning, a summary of Fernando Flores’ book,* Conversations for Action* (Amazon)

How do you build a culture of creativity and innovation? It starts with uncovering the unseen forces that keep a team from excelling, including fear of failure, lack of candor, and unwillingness to put aside individual needs. This week on the show, Howard shares an overview of his session at Cornell and an article you can read below titled Loosening the Grip on Silo Thinking. In the article, you will learn how to utilize principles from the animation studio PIXAR on how great teams go about building the capacity and structures required to invent the future together. This year’s conference takes place August 5-8. For more information, visit AMI. Links & Notes Administrative Management Institute at Cornell University NACUBO HR Horizons: “Loosen the Grip on Silo Thinking” Navigating Change 168: Finding Inspiration on the Outside — Bringing Innovation to Higher Ed

Peter Denning returns to the show this week to talk about innovation. But this most likely isn’t the innovation discussion you’re expecting. Instead, Peter challenges the conventional wisdom in the area of innovation and idea, inviting us to rethink our perceptions on contribution. His work and writing have lead to a series of observations in human and team behavior. The upshot: our ability to make offers and deliver on the offers we make to others are skills that can be honed and indisputably lead to new innovations in our work. These are skills that most of us aren’t very good at. If you haven’t read The Beginner’s Creed, we encourage you to read it now. It provides excellent background to this week’s discussion. You can find it, along with our earlier conversation with Peter, right here. About Peter Denning Peter is a Distinguished Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He chairs the Computer Science Department and directs the Cebrowski Institute, an interdisciplinary research center for information innovation. Peter has held previous faculty positions at Princeton, Purdue, and George Mason, and he was founding director for the computer science research institute at NASA Ames. Links & Notes Read The Beginner’s Creed by Peter Denning About Peter Denning — Naval Postgraduate School, Computer Science Department

Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke has dedicated her career as an educator to helping others better understand some of the most charged encounters we face. She is a thought leader in diversity and inclusion and even as her area of study engages in conversations that range from discomfort to rage, her approach to helping her institution find its voice on these issues is one worth understanding. Dr. Pratt-Clarke joins Howard Teibel on the show today and what starts as a discussion about the role of diversity and inclusion in the education environment turns quickly to our waning collective skill in truly engaging in difficult conversations — from our micro-conversations on social media to dialog among senior leadership. Dr. Pratt-Clarke and Howard Teibel will each be presenting at this year’s AuditCon — the annual conference of the Association of College and University Auditors — coming up September 15-19, 2019 in Baltimore. Learn more at ACUA.org. About Dr. Pratt-Clarke Menah Pratt-Clarke is the Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity, and Professor of Education (with tenure) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. With twenty-five years of administrative, academic, and legal experience, Dr. Pratt-Clarke has led and managed large-scale institution-wide transformational strategic initiatives at public and private higher education institutions. As a member of the President’s Executive Staff at Virginia Tech, she oversees the Office for Strategic Affairs and the Office for Inclusion and Diversity. Links & Notes ACUA — Learn more about AuditCon 2019! Baltimore, MD • September 15-19, 2019 InclusiveVT — Hub for more information on Virginia Tech’s mission, Ut Proism Newest Book: A Black Woman's Journey from Cotton Picking to College Professor: Lessons about Race, Class, and Gender in America by Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke (Kindle Edition) MenahPrattClarke.com Menah’s full list of publications

Who is on your first team? If I said to you, "tell me about your team", you likely would report about those who are your direct reports. This is not only natural, it's the way we orient ourselves to get our work done. The principle of “Team Number 1”, introduced by Patrick Lencioni, asks you to consider your first team as the person you report to and your peers. This week on the show, Howard Teibel introduces the first team model through the lens of higher education. Although work is performed within our organizational units, the missing piece is being on the same page with our peers that run other areas within our group. Navigating the "First Team" requires integrating a conversation about what our division wants to accomplish, not just what I want to do with my own team — moving from an I focus to a We focus. How do your deans collaborate across academic functions? How can your senior leadership team adapt to this first-team principle? This week, we offer a conversation intended to provoke your exploration of these questions. Listen to this with your direct reports and open a discussion about this important topic! Links & Notes Lencioni’s “Team Number One” Learn more about the Teibel Group Coaching Program

When our guest today started her career as an educator, 80% of the teachers at her school were new, the result of tectonic turnover resulting from burnout on staff. That experience drove her to leave teaching after just a few years and pursue a career studying educator burnout and the big lesson along the way? "The more I researched [burnout], the more I realized it wasn't just a pattern in education, but that it was a pattern in health care, social work ... I began to see that it was a nation wide thing. ... Sixty-six percent, two out of three people that you see on a daily basis are burned out." Dr. Newburgh joins Howard today to share her experience studying burnout and her effort to help high-burnout organizations to create human-centered cultures that are more resilient to overwhelm and stress, higher-functioning, and healthier. About Dr. Kate Newburgh Dr. Kate Newburgh is the founder of Deep Practices Consulting, L3C, a social enterprise that creates human-centered systems within your business or organization to foster strong, inspired, and productive workplace cultures. Dr. Newburgh has over a decade of experience in research and systems change. Learn more about Dr. Newburgh at Deep Practices Consulting. Links & Notes Deep Practices Consulting The Truth about Burnout by Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux

All around us, worlds are opening. Whether the result of cultural change or technological disruption, new opportunities present themselves every day that challenge our current state of understanding, comfort, and well-being. As leaders and experts in our respect fields, we know that this robust economy of change presents terrific opportunities, but how do we have conversations about a future we can’t predict? Make no mistake, this is not something we do naturally — or well — without practice. This week on the show, we’re presenting a few of the significant shifts that have come as the result of new worlds opening. In the process, we highlight clear areas of opportunity for developing our skills in the conversation; avoiding the trap of the immediate solution; and, visualizing yourself as a leader or influencer with the tools to cultivate a mood of positive anticipation and fearlessness in the face of change.

This week on the show, we invite our colleague Lampros Fatsis to explore our Group Coaching program and share lessons learned in personal transformation. To learn more about Group Coaching Program, click here. About Lampros Fatsis Lampros has over 20 years’ experience in organizational change consulting and executive & team coaching. He holds three degrees from MIT and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Links & Notes [Learn more about the Teibel Group Coaching Program] 1

This week on the show, Howard Teibel sits down with two esteemed leaders in the higher education space. Carol Mullaney serves as Senior Director for the Offices of Sustainability and Continuous Improvement, and president elect for the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI). Brent Ruben is director of the Rutgers Leadership Academy and faculty member at the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. His years of contribution change leadership have yielded more than 50 books and 200 journal articles and book chapters to his name. Carol and Brent join Howard for a conversation on change, provocation, and the evolving macro conversation that comes as we continue to learn to lead change in higher education. This comes as we prepare for the NCCI 20th Annual Conference in Denver Colorado, Moving Mountains: Cultivating Change in Higher Education, July 10–12. Registration is open now. Links & Notes Register now for NCCI

Today brings us a new conversation with one of our favorite return guests. Ruth Johnston serves as Vice Chancellor for Planning & Administration for University of Washington Bothell and is a leader in organizational excellence in higher education. What's more, she's third vice president on the WACUBO board of directors, helping the organization bring a vibrant curriculum to business officers in the excellence space. She joins Howard this week for a conversation in building collaboration between Business and Academic Officers along with useful tips to deal with overwhelm in the workplace, something we all struggle with.  Ruth also gives us a preview of things to come at the WACUBO Annual Conference in Vancouver on May 5-8, 2019. Check out the links in the show notes for more information or visit www.wacubo.org to learn more. About Ruth Johnston Ruth Johnston serves as Vice Chancellor for University of Washington Bothell Planning & Administration and provides leadership for administrative, financial, facilities and human resource operations. Dr. Johnston is a longtime University leader, with 37 years of experience in areas including housing and food services, continuing education, human resources, financial management, finance and facilities, and student fiscal services. She most recently served as Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff for the UW Planning & Management, with responsibility for units including organizational excellence, UW Sustainability and the business diversity program. Dr. Johnston holds a doctorate in organizational development and higher education, a master’s degree in human relations and a bachelor’s in counseling psychology. Ruth serves as second Vice President on the Western Association of College & University Business Officers board of directors. She also teaches a variety of classes and workshops, and consults with higher education institutions and associations and some federal agencies. Links & Notes Learn more about Ruth Johnston Register for the WACUBO Annual Conference 2019 in Vancouver, BC — May 5-8, 2019

NAEP executive director Krista Ferrell hasn’t been on the job long. But she’s already helping to guide the institution in bold new directions in educational procurement leadership. In just a few months, the association will ring in their 98th annual meeting in Kansas City under the theme, Engage! They’re latching onto the values of the vaunted 50-year-old science fiction franchise Star Trek as a means to reinforce the values they share so deeply with the 24th century: creativity, mission, and inclusion. Howard had the opportunity to talk with Ferrell this week to discuss her vision as a leader of the institution, and about the closing keynote that he’ll be delivering at this year’s annual meeting. It anchors an important shared effort for NAEP, as well: how do we work together toward authentic transformation when we’re so deeply accustomed to incremental change? Links & Notes Register Now for NAEP Annual Meeting 2019 Connect with Krista Ferrell on LinkedIn

On the eve of NBOA's 2019 Annual Meeting, President and CEO Jeff Shields joins Howard Teibel for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of change and leadership. Their conversation centers on the change in the narrative in independent school education as many in the field have adjusted to a new normal, incorporating new models in tuition and financial management across their operations. What’s more, he introduces Business Intelligence for Independent Schools — or BIIS — a tool for NBOA member institutions and business officers to analyze an exhaustive range of financial data and turn it into meaningful information. Links & Notes National Business Officers Association 2019 NBOA Annual Meeting NBOA Business Intelligence for Independent Schools (BIIS)

When most of us think of disruption in our institutions, we think of turnover, upheaval, cuts, a future state in which change to the status quo has the potential to negatively impact the team. Because of that image, we tend to hide from disruption. Our guest today has no issue confronting the frustrations of higher education, and possesses a unique skill in disrupting stasis with authenticity. Anouar Majid is a professor of English at the University of New England. However, his titles and accomplishments reach far beyond the campus classroom. Dr. Majid also serves UNE as the Vice President for Global Affairs and Managing Director of UNE Morocco. Additionally, within his role as the VP for Global Affairs, he also conceived and established the university’s campus in Tangier. He is a seemingly inexhaustible contributor to publications ranging from relations between Islam and the the West, culture, and higher education. Today, he joins us for a conversation that forms the theme of the first part of our year on this show: disruption. Links & Notes Let Your Workers Rebel by Francesca Gino A Damning Audit of Education by Anouar Majid Bill Moyers talks with Professor Anouar Majid Anouar Majid at University of New England

As a leader in higher education, you’ve undoubtedly been involved in sustainability projects across your institution. From recycling services to new architecture and design, we’re doing our best to adapt to a new sustainability orientation. But these practical applications, while noble, may not be sufficient to lead to universal, long-term, established change. It’s not easy to learn how to have these provocative conversations, let alone learn how to lead them. Our guest this week occupies a unique leadership position in the field of sustainability and brings a perspective that can help us change the way we take part in sustainable leadership. Gil Friend is a systems ecologist and business strategist with more than 40 years experience in business, communications, and environmental innovation. He’s one of the very founders of the sustainability movement, in fact, and was one of five inaugural members of the sustainability hall of fame of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. According to the Guardian, “he’s one of the 10 most influential sustainability voices in America.” Gil helps us to lead from a new perspective, to open a community to take part in a larger conversation, to think with your heart, and feel with your brain. Links & Notes Natural Logic Inc. Follow Gil Friend on Twitter Connect with Gil Friend on LinkedIn Declaration of Leadership

Larry Levine leads the information technology organization for University of Colorado at Boulder. Scott Munson leads the information technology group for the University of Colorado system. Between the two, University of Colorado IT has ushered in a new era of collaboration that embraces not just their teams, but departments and functions that span the University. And yet, collaboration is a tricky word. What Munson and Levine discovered was that while they had been cooperating between departments — completing tasks, checking boxes, et cetera — it was rare that the departments came together to innovate toward solutions to their biggest challenges, if it happened at all. Working with Teibel Education, using Pixar’s approach to cultivating an exceptional brand, Levine and Munson embarked on a journey of creativity that spanned the campus leading to just the sort of innovative solutions to challenges and sparking a transformative energy of inclusion and progress. This week, Levine and Munson join Howard Teibel in a conversation about their efforts to increase collaboration and trust, and to discuss the successes they’ve experienced together so far. And make no mistake, while this project started in the University’s IT operations, it most certainly did not end there. This is a conversation about big ideas and truly transformational relationships. We invite you to take some time to listen to the conversation today and ask yourself: where will you start the change on your campus?

Leadership is about orchestrating our people to coordinate actions toward a shared vision. How we speak our intentions to those around us can have either positive or negative impact to achieve our goals. This week on the show, we’re talking about emotional resiliency, a rarely discussed construct for education leaders. Learning how to show up as emotionally resilient is the backbone to navigating uncertainty and leading others to a future that addresses the concerns of those we serve. Resiliency includes orchestrating mood and developing a discipline to speak and listen with clarity and conviction. Our conversation this week is just a peek through the door. For a deeper dive, make sure to see Howard’s presentation, Leadership without losing your mind! — Emotional Resiliency and High Performance Teams, at the EACUBO 2018 Annual Meeting in Buffalo this weekend. For more information on the conference, visit EACUBO.org.

Walking into a darkened theater, settling in for a great movie, you expect to be moved. You expect to join the rest of the audience for an emotional roller coaster ride. You might even expect to learn a little something about yourself and your relationship to the world around you along the way. All of this happens thanks to the craft and skill of creators like our guest today. With their deep understanding of how we process symbols and archetypes, they’re able to take us on this journey make us feel rewarded for their gentle — albeit intentional — manipulation. Former Pixar story artist Matthew Luhn believes the same craft and skill that he honed over 25 years telling stories for Pixar and The Simpsons can be put to work for the rest of us. For Matthew, anyone seeking to inspire movement and change can do just that with a little study and practice in the power of the narrative. He makes his case in his new book The Best Story Wins: How to Leverage Hollywood Storytelling in Business and Beyond, and he joins us today to talk about story, disruption, and challenging norms. Links & Notes Matthew Luhn Buy the Book Watch Creating a Feeling | Matthew Luhn | TEDxUCSB