What if you could ask the most experienced advancement leaders for their perspectives on your toughest challenges? 

That’s exactly what takes place at the CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement. This annual gathering brings together thought leaders at the peak of their careers from around the world and across advancement disciplines for an exchange of the strategies and insights required to lead in an ever-changing environment. 

In this blog, we’re giving you an inside look at the important insights shared during the key session at this year’s Summit, held in July in New York City. 

The big takeaway? The surest way for advancement practitioners to excel and grow into highly valued advancement leaders is to understand the unique perspectives of our institutional leaders amid new challenges and change. 

To give you a head start, we’re unpacking the top five challenges shared by institutional leaders at this year’s Summit and how, as an advancement professional, you can rise to become a vital partner and leader at your institution. 

“With the weight and speed of the world right now, I think leaders need opportunities to take a breath. The Summit is that breath for advancement leaders to step away, get a little perspective, and come back to their institutions refreshed.” 

—Amanda Adolph Fore, CASE Chief of Staff

 

1. Institutional Leaders Are Facing Growing Demands

Institutional leaders are expected to focus on academic pursuits, faculty interests, financial stability, and enrollment issues. Their role and domain of influence is growing beyond that traditional scope. Today, institutional leaders are facing pressure to be our community's voice on social, geopolitical, and economic issues. Not everyone in an institution sees all of these demands. The full breadth of a leader's responsibilities might be hidden to various peers.

What You Can Do: Empathy is one of our sharpest tools for building trust and diffusing pressure. By taking a step back to understand the worries, dilemmas, and fluid priorities of our institutional leaders, we can be ready to offer support and guidance. Whether you specialize in fundraising, alumni relations, or marketing and communications, finding ways to foster positive peer relationships and collaboration with other leaders will make you a trusted voice at the executive table. 

How CASE Can Help: Of the many opportunities CASE offers for individual and team development, the annual CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement is the cornerstone event for senior advancement leaders. You’ll get exposure to experienced thought leaders, diverse strategies, global perspectives, and innovative approaches for supporting your team through evolving challenges. 

Additionally, CASE offers volunteer opportunities to participate in our think tanks, which provide a platform for top professionals to regularly share challenges and explore effective solutions collectively.

2. Successful Institutional Leaders Prioritize Personal Growth

Change is happening faster than ever. Successful institutional leaders recognize the importance of ongoing personal development to stay ahead of the curve. 

In fact, according to The American College President: 2023 Edition, published in April by The American Council on Education, advancement is a key area where presidents would like more training and development. 

What You Can Do: While this data is based on college presidents in the U.S., from our interactions with CASE members around the world, many of the same training needs exist. Heads of school want more training in all areas where advancement leaders have great expertise.

• Crisis Management and Communications: Leaders want to feel confident that their team can manage a crisis, especially when it comes to communication. As an advancement professional, you are an expert at handling communication in a variety of scenarios, and CASE offers several training opportunities and resources to help academic leaders and advancement practitioners in this area. 
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Advancement is the pathway to social change. If you’re involved in DEI efforts at your school, take a look at the tools, training, and resources available through the CASE Opportunity and Inclusion Center.
• Fundraising Expertise: No surprise here—leaders are always interested in new ideas for enhancing fundraising. With peer support and networking through CASE membership, you always have a place to turn for effective new strategies and tactics.  
• Entrepreneurial Ventures: Advancement professionals are also in a perfect position to help leaders create partnerships that encourage innovation and growth. By serving as a bridge between your school and your community’s business development resources, you can help open doors to exciting new opportunities that match what your institutional leader wants to achieve.  

3. Do We Have the Data to Make Sound Decisions? 

When institutional leaders plot a course for the future of their school, they want the most current and accurate information at hand to guide their decision-making. When you sit down with your institutional leader, do you have the data you need to explain what’s happening, what’s working, and what needs attention? Are you able to speak the language of data that your leader understands and appreciates? 

How CASE Can Help: One of the ways CASE makes a crucial difference for its members is through survey and benchmarking reports. These reports give you a glimpse into how your advancement efforts compare to those of your peers and other institutions similar to yours. This data is not intended to be a report card, but rather a roadmap that shows where your institution is now compared to where it could be. It provides an opportunity for you and your leader to examine your institution from a different vantage point and chart long-term strategies that support a culture of philanthropy and more holistic, fruitful campaigns. 

4. Are We Minimizing Reputational Risks? 

For institutional leaders, it can feel like every eye is squarely on you. The possibility of a reputational issue is especially stressful in the digital age, where there are more eyes, more risks, and information can spread faster than ever.

What You Can Do: You know that trust and credibility are paramount in advancement. It can take years to build a strong reputation and mere seconds to shatter it. Reputation issues can rear their heads in various forms, often entangled with fundraising efforts and beyond. These issues can arise for numerous reasons, but the key is to have a solid foundation in place for your advancement work. 

How CASE Can Help: CASE sets the bar for ethical and professional conduct in the advancement field. Our standards and guidelines ensure that every action taken by advancement professionals aligns with the highest standards of ethics, principles, and expectations. Additionally, our CASE Global Reporting Standards provide a common set of standards, guidelines, and definitions for accurately reporting the results of educational philanthropy activities at schools, colleges, and universities across the globe. 

So, when the path forward gets tricky, when decisions become unclear, and when the reputation of your institution is at stake, remember that you’re not alone. CASE is here to provide you with the guidance, support, and professional standards needed to navigate these complex waters with integrity.

5. Incoming Leaders Seek Allies Amid Transitions

Leadership transitions, while inevitable, often pose significant challenges for institutions and advancement teams. During these transitions, there is a palpable shift in focus. The incoming leader becomes the center of attention, with numerous individuals vying for their time. Additionally, there’s a wealth of institutional knowledge, relationships, and community ties that need to be passed on to the new leader. 

What You Can Do: As an advancement professional, you are in a unique position to build strong bonds with new leaders. The cornerstone of any successful transition is trust, and you can build that by acting as a resource for the new leader and by helping maintain continuity as everyone adapts to the leadership change.

How CASE Can Help: CASE provides an extensive library of resources with guides, samples, and articles to help advancement professionals navigate times of transition. We also provide on-demand trainings for leaders to enhance their emotional intelligence, helping them build stronger, more effective relationships with other core leaders.