Peer Relationships

  • Maintaining faculty relationships is an ongoing priority for department chairs. Use this Chronicle article to help you reflect on your communication with the faculty in your department. Consider taking advice from the article by seeking to demonstrate how you respect their opinions and appreciate their professional abilities.
  • The next time you tackle a difficult problem, proactively work on building your relationship with the people involved in the resolution. Use the process as a case study for your learning. Listen to this podcast and use the journal technique to focus your learning.

Learn from Others

  • Ask one of the Associate Deans in your school whom you interact with a lot for constructive feedback. Ask for suggestions and make it safe for him/her to provide you honest feedback about his/her view of how you manage your peer relationships. You may be surprised at what you learn and at the ideas offered. Be ready to receive their feedback by using this tool.
  • Read the Faculty Focus article, Understanding Collegial Relationships within Academic Departments. Consider the importance of building a network and discuss any ideas it generates with your colleagues.  

Learn from Experts