Practicing High-Trust Leadership Within Colleges and Universities

Trust is critical for college and university leaders in achieving organizational alignment. To pursue strategic goals and lasting innovations, leaders must seek to build trust with multiple constituencies on and off campus, including staff, faculty, students, governing board members, alumni, community members, and others. Trust is a complex challenge, though; it's hard to build and easy to break, and trustworthy behavior does not automatically engender trust.

Within this session, presenters will review recent research on trust-building among college and university presidents across the United States and share leadership practices that foster high-trust leadership—leadership that strengthens relationships, builds confidence, and enables institutions to work more effectively together.