Cornell Leadership Skills for Success

The Leadership Skills for Success are representative of the skills senior leaders across campus identified as being important for senior leaders/administrators (Director level and above in both academic and administrative departments) to demonstrate. Visionary ______Demonstrates foresight and imagination to see possibilities, opportunities, and trends to set unit vision, mission, and goals in alignment with the university vision, mission and strategic plan. ______Builds on and clearly articulates a shared university vision with others, inspiring them to translate it into action. ______Balances the interests of units to the interests of the University. Business Acumen ______Uses knowledge about how world trends impact higher education to create opportunities and set divisional goals that address strategic challenges. ______Uses knowledge of unit, data and metrics to provide accurate, thoughtful analyses and direction. ______Individually and with others, considers division priorities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to ensure the goals address strategic challenges. ______Successfully interacts with people and navigates systems in and outside the University to get things done. ______Works to build the reputation of the University in the context of its mission. Communicating with Impact ______Actively listens to others, seeks to understand and then be understood. ______Communicates important information and decisions in a way that people have a clear understanding of the process and desired result. ______Communicates the Cornell vision, mission, goals, and values to the individuals within the unit in a manner that inspires others to follow. Problem Solving/Systems Thinking ______Supports gathering data, ideas and solutions to achieve service performance. ______Supports the design, implementation and review of key processes to ensure high quality outcomes. ______Asks insightful and probing questions to enable others to recognize problems and think about old problems in new ways. ______Facilitates groups and mobilizes resources in a manner that enables them to achieve and deliver results in support of the units and universitys strategic plan and goals. ______Addresses problems and conflict quickly to keep them from getting out of hand. ______Negotiates well, orchestrating win-win solutions. Relationship Building ______Demonstrate compassion and empathy for others, putting them at ease, even in difficult situations. ______Creates a positive environment of honesty and openness, where people can be themselves. ______Involves others as appropriate when outcomes will impact their work. ______Creates an environment where people can feel safety, trust and synergy to perform optimally individually or in teams. Ethics/Integrity ______Leads by example, is a positive role model for others, demonstrating high standards of personal conduct. ______Sacrifices local needs for larger university needs when necessary. ______Takes action to ensure stewardship within the division and the university. ______Respectfully questions if what is being proposed/done is the right thing. ______Takes responsibility for actions. Developing Others ______Recognizes, develops and manages talent for optimal performance and growth beyond their roles. ______Develops leaders to ensure succession planning. ______Delegates and provides good exposure to team members. ______Provides others with helpful and timely feedback.

Achievement Orientation ______Creates an environment where people can perform optimally to accomplish the mission. ______Conducts and facilitates meetings and interactions effectively. ______Acknowledges the support and contributions of others in achieving results, giving others credit for their ideas and work. ______Supervises effectively by setting achievable goals, milestones and deadlines. Judgment/Decisiveness ______Utilizes a depth of knowledge and experience, either ones own or others, in making quality decisions. ______Balance the need to seek input and information with the need to make a decision. ______Synthesize complex information towards a positive outcome. ______Stands behind decisions. Strategic Thinking ______Identifies and focuses on the most significant priorities, setting goals that position the unit strategically. ______Maintains simple and effective administrative procedures. ______Considers different perspectives, including self, others, and big picture, when creating a strategy. ______Assesses internal and external drivers, opportunities, resources and risks to devise a strategy. Courage to Change ______Monitors and re-evaluates decisions, priorities and plans to achieve a vision. ______Welcomes questions, new information and feedback. ______Takes ethical actions no matter how difficult or contrary. ______Embraces, promotes and implements change. Self Mastery ______Makes time to develop new skills to ensure s/he is a role model of performance leadership. ______Manages time and priorities effectively. ______Recognizes the importance of how personal behaviors and emotions impact others. ______Is available and accessible. ______Provides reliable and dependable leadership in times of ambiguity. ______When necessary willingly admits mistakes and offers apologies if warranted. ______Demonstrate the University values to supervisor, direct reports, staff, colleagues, peers and external constituencies. Diversity and Inclusion ______Consistently demonstrates commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion. ______Facilitates recruitment and hiring of high quality and diverse staff. ______Provides leadership in creating an environment where everyone feels valued. ______Values and respects each member of the Cornell community regardless of position, showing a willingness to listen to ideas and learn from anyone.