Empowering Your New Department Chairs from the Beginning

By Sarah Hanawald, Senior Director, Academic Leaders, with ilana saxe, M.Ed, Assistant Dean of Faculty at The Lawrenceville School (NJ) and Anna Scott, Ph.D., Science Department Chair at Athens Academy (GA), and Kelly Hadden, Science Department Chair at Blair Academy (NJ). ilana and Kelly both serve as members of the Association Advisory Board, and Anna is the co-facilitator of our popular Preparing for Your First Year in Department Leadership course.

​Stepping into a leadership role as a new independent school department chair is both exciting and challenging. For many, it’s their first experience “leading from the middle,” as we describe it in our courses and cohorts for department and team leaders. As a supervisor, your guidance and support are pivotal in helping these emerging leaders succeed—especially for those transitioning to supervising teachers for the first time. By providing regular feedback, clear expectations, and opportunities for growth, you set the foundation for their success and the department’s overall effectiveness.

As the leader of the school academic leadership team, it’s crucial to support emerging leaders in a way that empowers them to succeed from the beginning and foster a sense of belonging and confidence from day one. Here are key strategies to help your new department chair integrate into their role and contribute meaningfully to your school’s mission from day one, whether the chair is new to the school or an emerging leader stepping into the chair from a current teaching role,

Introduce Them with Purpose: When welcoming a new department chair, emphasize the specific strengths and experiences that make them an asset to your school. Highlight how these qualities align with the school’s mission and how they will support key initiatives within the division. Make it clear to faculty and staff why their leadership will be crucial to the department’s success. This purposeful introduction helps set a positive tone and reassures the new leader of their value from the start.

Provide Clarity: While the job description provides the basics, help the new department chair understand some of the nuance of their transition into leadership. Is the chair charged with making a course correction immediately, holding a steady helm, or something else? Perhaps there’s a history of the department or prior interpersonal dynamics that would be helpful for a new leader to know. Share a bit about the strengths and weaknesses of the department collectively and individually. What can the new chair do (and avoid doing) to help them have a smooth transition into your school’s distinct environment? New hires are often eager to have an impact and may need guidance to watch, listen, and learn first. Make sure that the new chair is provided with all the important information about tasks that happen under their watch, preferably with checklists and calendars.

Engage Their Vision Early: Create a regular, recurring one-on-one meeting schedule to build your professional relationships with your colleagues. Use this time to explore department members’ ideas for enhancing the department’s impact on student learning and faculty development. Actively seek out and implement their suggestions where possible, showing that their input is valued and essential to your school's growth. By involving them early in decision-making processes, you not only build their confidence but also create an environment where they feel empowered to lead.

Support Relationship Building: Facilitate introductions to key stakeholders, beyond the divisional faculty. Seek to help them build individual connections with other department heads beyond leadership team meetings. Introduce them to other key campus administrative leaders such as the business officer and enrollment leadership team. Encourage them to participate in both formal and informal settings, such as cross-departmental meetings or social gatherings, to help them build meaningful connections that are vital for collaboration and support.

Share Your Leadership Journey: Be candid about your own experiences, including both successes and challenges you navigated during your own leadership transitions. Sharing these stories helps demystify the leadership journey and can build trust with your new department chair. It signals that you’re invested in their growth and understand the complexities of leading within an independent school setting. This transparency fosters a supportive relationship, encouraging them to seek guidance when needed.

Supporting a new department chair is an investment in the future success of your school. With these steps, you’ll help them build a strong foundation for effective leadership. These efforts not only benefit the individual but also strengthen your entire academic community, ensuring that all leaders feel supported, valued, and ready to make a lasting impact.

Adapted from Samir Nurmohamed and Zoe Schwingel-Sauer’s Help A New Hire Thrive in Harvard Business Review’s Management Tip of the Day