The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher Education

This book provides a practical and theoretical guide based on preexisting and original research data to issues surrounding planned organizational change strategies, core competencies, tools, actions and an understanding of employee sensemaking of the change process needed for effective leadership in the ever-changing higher education setting.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Part 1: Groundwork // Fundamentals // And, the Research Says…. // Essential //Indispensable Ch 1: The Nature of Organizational Change Ch. 2 Approaches to the Process of Planned Organizational Change Ch. 3 The Nature of Communication Ch. 4 The Nature of Leadership Part 2: Leadership Practices That Work Ch. 5 Understanding the Higher Education Environment Ch. 6 Commitment Ch. 7 Change Agent Ch. 8 Communication Ch. 9 A New Model for Organizational Change Part 3: Leadership Toolkit: a three step process for helping organizational members – especially employees- to drive and succeed at change efforts. Chapter 10: Step 1: Self Discovery Chapter 11: Step 2: Organizational Member Discovery Chapter 12: Step 3: Implementation Conclusion References

About the Author :
Dr. Stacy Smulowitz is Executive Director of the Eastern Communication Association, a tenured, assistant professor at the University of Scranton and former Alumni Director at Wilkes University. Her passion for leading change started in 1995 as she traveled the United States to change the culture of an organization and continues through today as she helps leaders in higher education to make successful planned organizational change so that their institution can become more effective.

Review :
The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher Education by Stacy M. Smulowitz is the right book at the right time. As institutions of higher education across the globe prepare for unprecedented changes in course delivery and organizational structure, communication is the indispensable linchpin connecting all key university members: external decision-makers, administrators, faculty, staff, students, families, and communities. Smulowitz’s book centers on communication as vital now more than ever as higher education must adapt in order to survive and thrive. At a time of great challenge in higher education, Stacy Smulowitz has provided a valuable resource. Drawing on her experience in business as well as studies of change leadership in higher education, this book provides an overview of theory as well as practical advice. Smulowitz provides a clear guide on how to think about, plan, manage, and communicate change in colleges and universities. It will be of interest to faculty who teach courses on the change process as well as administrators who are called upon to lead their institutions through significant transformation. Planning change is an increasingly important and popular topic across a variety of organizational settings, and nowhere is need greater than in higher education. The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher Education helps to address this priority, and it does so in a way that translates theories of organizational change and communication theory into a practical guide for leaders at all levels. As a former dean and a professor of strategic communication, I found this book to be thoroughly grounded in the major foundational theories that underlie change management while also being accessible and applicable to busy academic leaders. There are few resources for professors who rise into leadership positions as chairs and deans, and this is one sets a solid framework for the challenges they will face. It fills the gap between faddish management books and ponderous theoretical tomes. With rapid and uncertain changes in higher education, we need this book now more than ever. Smulowitz uses a storytelling approach to show real-world examples of how to successfully plan and implement change and avoid common pitfalls. Merging theories of leadership and communication, this accessible and engaging text is an essential guide for practitioners, educators, and students. Dr. Stacy Smulowitz has created a book of incredible value to leaders in higher education. Academics are often asked to “step up” into administrative roles with little training or experience. Further, they usually find that most books about leadership and change might offer effective advice for managing within corporate cultures, but lack relevance for higher education. The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher Education addresses the unique nature and mission of academic organizations—the diverse range of internal and external stakeholders and their needs, and the critical importance of empowering them—in laying out a roadmap for effective leadership and successful change within our institutions of higher education. Informed by theory and research, but highly accessible and useful for approaching real-world challenges, this book should be required reading for administrators at all levels of our colleges and universities. In a book that is both grounded in theory and immensely practical, Dr. Smulowitz has provided an indispensable resource for students and seasoned leaders alike. She writes as a colleague and mentor who understands that the foundational work of self-knowledge and deep listening is as essential to organizational change as the concrete plans to enact it. Her analogies and true-to-life stories breathe context into the data and test it in the real world of organizational leadership.