To be a successful manager and leader in higher education, you must master a variety of skills and competencies, and veterans bring a diverse set of skills to the table that make them well-suited for leadership positions in higher education. One skill that is often overlooked, yet a hallmark of strong leaders, is the ability to manage and lead yourself. This self-leadership is not just a skill but a source of empowerment. It requires self-exploration and recognition of your strengths and areas of growth. How can and should you manage and lead yourself to grow professionally? If you aspire to serve in educational leadership roles, consider developing the following competencies to ensure you can lead and manage yourself successfully.

Developing a Personal Strategic Plan

Just as you would create a strategic plan for your department or institution, it's equally important to develop a personal strategic plan. This plan should focus on your vision, personal ambitions, and dreams. To create it, consider being externally aware, thinking beyond the present, and setting a shared vision. This process involves seeking and understanding external trends, challenging the status quo, and being open to others' opinions. It also includes setting a visible direction and building support for it, all while developing yourself.

Execution in Leadership

It is no surprise that military veterans master the skill of execution due to their military service and the high-risk and demanding nature of their profession; however, what does execution in educational leadership look like? Like execution in the military, execution promotes accountability; it sets the standards and measures performance against those standards. Execution drives results; it provides processes and focus to get things done and deliver on the promise. Execution is a bias for action; it proactively identifies needs and operates with a sense of urgency to meet them. To lead yourself, you must develop and understand the importance of execution in your ability to lead.

Developing Strong Communication Skills

Verbal and non-verbal communication skills are some of the many abilities mastered in the military, and they are equally crucial in educational leadership. Effective communication is not just a tool but a key to building and maintaining constructive relationships. It encourages communication at all levels through storytelling and treating people with respect and empathy. Non-verbally, you will need to exhibit presence, i.e., you have the confidence to express ideas and the ability to engage and influence others, and you command the attention of those around you. You will also have to develop a "change-capable" mindset. Unlike the military, where you are used to "doing what you're told," a change-capable mindset navigates change and gains and mobilizes the commitment of others.

Developing a Leadership Mindset

Effective leadership in higher education stems from your ability to lead yourself and to plan, grow, and lead talented people under your charge. This looks like having a strategic view of talent and effectively deploying and evaluating talent. Sharing leadership responsibilities encourages involvement and accountability and provides coaching and feedback. Developing and embodying a leadership mindset attracts talented people and empowers them; it instills a sense of purpose and unleashes the passion in others. So, what does this look like practically? Below, I have highlighted some essential leadership strategies derived from Peter McCaffery's "The Higher Education Manager's Handbook":

• Provide a clear sense of direction and strategic vision.
• Create a department structure to support the direction.
• Foster a supportive and collaborative environment.
• Be trustworthy.
• Have personal integrity.
• Have credibility as a role model.
• Facilitate participation in decision-making.
• Provide communication about developments.
• Represent the department and proactively advance its cause.
• Respect existing culture while seeking to realize the vision of the department.

Veterans as Leaders in Higher Education

Veterans bring a diverse set of skills to the table that make them well-suited for leadership positions in higher education. One often underestimated quality of influential leaders is the ability to lead oneself. This requires introspection, understanding one's strengths and areas for improvement, creating a personal strategic plan, effectively executing leadership responsibilities, honing communication skills, and cultivating a leadership mindset. These elements collectively contribute to the development of strong leaders in the realm of higher education.

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