I’m now serving (on an interim basis) as director of a small program at a university, and I am struggling with the question of whether to apply when the search to fill the director position gets underway.
About 60% of the job involves things I enjoy and am fairly good at. The person to whom I report says I’m doing a good job, and also tells me that others with whom I interact on campus say I’m doing a good job. The other 40% of the job, however, involves things I either 1) do not seem temperamentally very suited to do, or 2) things I know little about which happen to be kind of messed up at the moment and which the new director will have to fix.
The teaching position that I’ve had for several years in this program is something I still really enjoy. (Yes, I call it a teaching position rather than a faculty position, but explaining this could compromise anonymity.) I’m still doing almost my usual load of teaching on top of the interim director job—let’s call it an additional 70% of a job on top of the 60% and 40% mentioned above—which may also explain why aspects of the interim director job seem overwhelming at times.
At this point, I could happily just go back to the teaching side of things. At least once per week, I fend off discouragement at the end of the day just by reminding myself that I can walk away from the administration side of things if I want to. But what about the 60% of the job that I enjoy? And what if I can become more comfortable with the other 40%? I have appreciated the opportunity to do this work on an interim basis, and I do want to grow as a professional. I worry that if I leave this position in the rearview mirror, I may regret it later.
I guess my ultimate questions are these: How much of an administrative job does anybody really enjoy? How much growth is necessary/possible in order to become comfortable with it? For academics who have faced this type of decision, what tipped the scales for you and how did your decision work out?
I'll start with the obligatory disclaimer that I don't know the specifics of your personality, employer, or position, so I can only address this in general terms.
That said, a few things to consider:
- All else being equal, having more range is better than having less range. A track record of success in both faculty and administrative roles will give you more opportunities than a track record consisting entirely of teaching. The more thoughtful discussions of tenure I've seen have referred to a distinction between official tenure and real tenure. The former is what we usually refer to, but the latter refers to being marketable enough that even if one institution becomes inhospitable, you have the option of moving to another. You may have to give up official tenure -- though judging by your aside about 'teaching' vs. 'faculty,' that may or may not be the case -- but if you do the job well, you could come closer to the kind of real tenure that makes it easier to move if that becomes necessary.
- I've never seen a job that was 100 percent fun. I loved teaching, but didn't love grading papers. Most jobs involve at least some level of unpleasantness, which is why they have to pay people to do them. It also sounds like you're doing about a job and a half, which will tend to give you an artificially dark picture. (My first full admin gig was like that, which made for some very rough days.) There's also a very real difference between the authority granted to someone in an 'acting' role, and someone in the same 'permanent' role. A bit more authority to actually carry out the responsibility of the job may help. Responsibility without authority is a stress machine.
- In my experience and observation, growth into the role is slow, and some people never make it. If you're attracted by the prospect of power, don't do it. The best admins I've seen put 'mission' before 'ego,' and do their jobs for the benefit of the college as a whole. That means taking a longer-term view of most issues, being willing to let others take credit, and being a good enough listener to be able to reflect back on your own preferences and motives and put them aside when necessary. Many admin roles require a keen sense of confidentiality about certain issues, which can be a real struggle for people who make themselves important (or who just process information) by gossiping.
- What's fun about it? Some things are never fun. Laying somebody off is not fun, and if you think it is, I don't want to know you. Saying 'no' to great ideas is not fun. Although some would disagree, I find the mountains of administrivia to be not fun. (Some people actually like that stuff. I'm glad they do.) And some contexts are simply no-win; the local culture is so poisoned that you can do everything right and still get nowhere. But if you're in a basically positive context, and you have the right outlook, there are satisfactions to be found. My most satisfying moments -- I wouldn't call them 'fun,' exactly, but satisfying -- occur when I'm able to help the parties to a seemingly-intractable conflict find a solution that allows them both/all to save face, move forward, and focus on the actual task at hand. That takes practice, and you have to earn trust over time, but when it works, it's really something. The satisfaction is largely vicarious and behind-the-scenes, but no less real for that.
What tipped the scales for me? Several things, really, but it boiled down to what social scientists call 'comparative advantage.' I was a good teacher, probably somewhat above average, but I wasn't a star. My contributions as a teacher could be replicated, and even surpassed, without much trouble. But the folks with whom I worked at the time simply didn't 'get' administration. I suspected that I could contribute more as an administrator than I could as a professor, and all these years later, I think that was true. I wasn't a 'failed' professor by any means -- can we please take that cliche out back and shoot it in the head? -- but I was a replaceable one. As an admin, though, I felt like I could do the job better than most. Can that arrogant if you want, but there it is. Whether that holds for you or not, I can't say.
One admin's view, anyway.
I'd love to hear from others who have made the leap, including those who later leaped back. What have you enjoyed about the admin side? For those who jumped back, what tipped the balance for you?
Good luck with your decision!
Have a question? Ask the Administrator at deandad (at) gmail (dot) com.
