Teachers College Press A Self-Care Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Building Your Plan for Professional Sustainability

This self-care action plan is written for today’s leaders in higher education regardless of rank, tenure, or stature. Being a successful professional takes stamina, and successful individuals can only sustain their momentum for as long as they maintain their well-being. Approached in a thoughtful and personal way, this book identifies self-care challenges faced by professionals in higher education and provides strategies for building a rewarding, long-term career. The authors identify the root cause of issues that impact well-being to achieve professional sustainability. Each chapter provides background information on a topic, engaging activities to explore the topic in greater depth, and reflective questions for self-evaluation, and the final chapter offers guidance to help readers design their own self-care plan. Chapter topics were selected based on the authors’ interactions with professionals, information from the field, and trends in higher education. The topics include communication complexities; role clarity; lack of control; the need for meaningful recognition; lack of confidence in leadership; the need to trust others; building personalized professional growth opportunities; recognizing “job creep”; and the inherent challenges of high-achieving professionals. Book Features: Recognizes the unique challenges faced by those working in colleges and universities, guiding readers through the process of creating a self-care plan. Inspires readers to consider the root causes impacting their professional sustainability in higher education and assess where there might be room for self-care growth. Includes activities and reflection questions to prompt and guide introspection and engagement with each topic. Useful for anyone working on a college or university campus, including community colleges, 4-year institutions, or specialized educational organizations.