Developing the talent, leadership, and culture to build resilience
Strategic plans do not make resilience possible; people do. The colleges and universities that navigate disruption most effectively invest in a workforce that can flex, adapt, and carry change forward. This requires strong governance, authentic communication, and a genuine commitment to growing people from within.
In brief
- Resilient institutions build the structures, processes, and workforce capabilities needed to make decisions quickly, adapt to change, and sustain progress over time.
- Clear governance, strong data and information flows, and transparent communication help leaders build trust, align stakeholders, and execute change more effectively.
- Institutions that invest in employee growth, career mobility, and leadership development are better positioned to navigate disruption and advance their mission.
People are at the heart of resilience
Resilience initiatives often begin with strong momentum but lose traction when they are treated as top-down mandates rather than shared efforts. Announcing a change once in a town hall is rarely enough; lasting progress requires engaging the people responsible for implementation from the start.
Getting there requires bringing people in early, building a genuine understanding of the rationale, and giving them the capability to act. To succeed, leaders need to understand how new ways of working, evolving job descriptions, and increased anxiety about AI and other job threats have changed views of higher education careers.
Working at a college or university has historically offered security and the opportunity to do important work that transforms lives.
“Higher education has long focused on stability, institutional connection, and purpose as key components of the employment value proposition,” says Kurt Dorschel, principal. “Those are the very same factors being challenged.”
Today’s expectations of what a career looks like in terms of growth, mobility, and flexibility are much higher. Institutions must catch up. Faculty and staff want to be trusted, involved, and empowered to make meaningful contributions and chart a fulfilling career path.
To build resilience, institutional leaders need to take these expectations seriously and commit to the people who will execute change. That journey begins with clear governance, collaborative change management, and future-focused workforce development.
Governance that builds trust
Strong governance is the foundation of resilient decision making. When institutions have clear structures for who decides what, with what information, and through what process, they can act with speed and accountability, even under pressure.
This process begins with the right information. Dorschel says that “to adapt and change, we need the ability to access information that leads to actionable insights. That comes from having the right infrastructure, data, and technology.”
Just as important is formalizing and communicating the process and agreed-upon decisions.
“How do we put building resilience into practice?” says Dorschel. “With best-in-class project management, change management, and communications. Once something is decided, we need to engage stakeholders effectively and keep doing so until adaptability becomes part of the culture.”
Change management that endures
Communicating decisions well is just as important as making them. Resilient colleges and universities treat change management as a set of skills, tools, and cultural norms designed to inspire people to change rather than thrust it upon them. Ways we’ve seen institutions do this effectively include:
- Identifying change champions early and intentionally, not just communicating top-down
- Understanding the stakeholder groups that are most critical to a change’s success and engaging them differently, either in small groups, one-on-one, or through the channels and relationships that matter most to them
- Acknowledging challenges honestly rather than projecting false confidence
As Susan Basso, managing director with former senior HR leadership roles at institutions such as The Ohio State University and Penn State University, says, “People have proven time and time again how resilient they are, especially when processes are inconsistent, technology is antiquated, and expectations are not clear.”
Even people who don’t fully agree with a decision will support it if they feel they were heard before it was made. Institutions that communicate authentically and with empathy build credibility, making it easier for employees to trust the process and their leadership.
Growing the workforce your institution will need
Institutions that will thrive amid change understand that the future of work will look different from today. They recognize that it encompasses not only the operating models and business processes that will define how work gets done, but also the workforce itself.
Work will be more flexible, team-based, and skills-based than the job description may specify. The role of the front-line manager will become more critical, not less, as they act as the connective tissue between resilience strategy and day-to-day execution. Career paths will become less linear and more fluid, with individuals moving across the organization, developing new skills, and contributing in different ways across their careers.
Resilient institutions do not wait for the market to produce the talent they need. They build it themselves, recognizing that reducing investment in talent is a risky strategy. They grow it internally, through a sustained commitment to learning and development, coaching and mentoring programs, employee assistance, career pathways, and other resources.
“Growing and developing internal talent has become more critical than ever,” says Dorschel. “Leading colleges and universities not only address how work is structured and performed, but how to develop, upskill, recruit, and support the people who carry it out. And they invest in strengthening human capabilities that will always be needed, such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, and judgment.”
Investing in employee growth sends a powerful message: people are valued as an institution’s most important asset and critical to its long-term success.
5 actions leaders can take now to strengthen resilience
Building a resilient workforce is long-term work, but it begins with near-term choices.
- Start by listening. Engage different segments of the workforce in honest conversations about what they’re experiencing, what they’re worried about, what would make them more effective, and how you can help them navigate uncertainty.
- Communicate direction early and often. Share what you know and what you don’t, establish timelines, and commit to continued updates. This transparency builds more trust than a perfect plan announced too late.
- Focus on low- or no-cost benefits. Consider flexible work arrangements such as remote/hybrid work or alternative work schedules. Emphasize the energy of a college campus and the higher education experience by connecting employees to activities you already offer, such as events, learning experiences, and community engagement.
- Invest in your current teams. Go beyond job architecture; just having a series of titles does not constitute career progression. Formalize internal career pathways and make it easy for talented people to advance or move within the institution.
- Emphasize manager and leader involvement. Managers are on the front line of employee development and succession planning. Reduce talent hoarding and foster mentorship and coaching to create local, meaningful opportunities.
Resilience is not built through isolated initiatives. It emerges when governance, change management, and workforce development operate as a connected system that enables institutions to make decisions, execute effectively, and adapt continuously. Colleges and universities that invest in these capabilities now will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty, accelerate transformation, and deliver on their mission in the future.