Coaching in Higher Education

Dr. Tim Jansa
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Management

Coaching in Higher Education is a podcast for coaches by coaches. Coaching in Higher Education is a podcast for coaches, created by seasoned college and university coaching professionals. It serves as a resource for coaches across colleges and universities, exploring topics like executive coaching, leadership training and development, and organizational transformation. Through topical, in-depth, and inspiring conversations with higher education coaching experts from diverse specializations and experiences, this higher education podcast aims to serve as the go-to resource for both new and established leadership and organizational coaches in tertiary education. Find more information at https://leadershipimagined.com/coachingpodcast

  1. 3d ago

    Behind the Coach-Client Relationship - Part 3 | Dr. Alecia Naugle & Dr. Tim Jansa (S2 E11)

    Behind the Coaching Relationship — Part 3 | Season 2 Finale: A Real Coaching Journey With Dr. Alecia Naugle | S2E11 What happens when a senior federal government leader steps into academia as a department chair — and has to rebuild her academic professional identity from the ground up? In the Season 2 Finale, executive leadership coach Dr. Tim Jansa sits down with his own former client, Dr. Alecia Naugle, Chair of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University. Together, they pull back the curtain on a real coaching engagement, the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the moments that made all the difference. About Dr. Alecia Naugle: Dr. Alecia Naugle spent over 20 years in the U.S. federal government, including the Senior Executive Service, before transitioning into her current role as department chair in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State. She brought extensive leadership experience, but had to navigate an entirely new world of faculty governance, ambiguous decision-making authority, and academic culture. What you'll learn in this episode: ✳️ How coaching can support a major leadership transition from government to higher education ✳️ Why faculty governance and "flat" hierarchies can be disorienting, even for experienced leaders — and what to do about it ✳️ How to develop a faculty identity when your background doesn't fit the traditional mold ✳️ The role of sponsors in coaching engagements and how to leverage a sponsor–coach–client triad to accelerate a chair’s success ✳️ How assessments like DISC and 360s can build self-awareness without boxing you in ✳️ What makes a truly great coaching partnership, from the client's perspective 🎙️ Subscribe to Coaching in Higher Education: 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@DrTimJansaCoach 🌐 Visit the companion website: 👉 https://higheredcoaching.us 👉 https://leadershipimagined.com/podcast Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in these conversations are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or mental‑health advice. Leadership situations are always context‑specific, so viewers should consider their own institutional policies and consult appropriate professionals before making decisions based on this content. All guests speak from their own experience and do not represent the official position of any institution. #CoachingInHigherEducation #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipCoaching #AcademicLeadership #HigherEducation #DepartmentChair #FacultyLeadership #CoachingPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingRelationship

    30 min

  2. Jun 22

    Behind the Coach-Client Relationship - Part 1 | Katie Toro-Ferrari & Dr. Kate McCaffrey (S2 E09)

    What does a truly effective coaching engagement look like in higher education? In this episode, Dr. Tim Jansa pulls back the curtain on a real coach-client relationship to show exactly how professional coaching helps higher ed leaders reset, recalibrate, and lead with greater clarity. Katie Toro-Ferrari, Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs, came into her coaching engagement after one of the most intense years of her career. Her coach, Dr. Kate McCaffrey of Paradigm Twist Executive Coaching, brought not only professional coaching expertise but a deep insider understanding of higher education that made all the difference. In this episode, you'll hear: ✳️ How a sponsor-driven coaching engagement gets structured from day one ✳️ Why having a coach who truly understands higher ed changes everything ✳️ How the Leadership Circle Profile and 360 feedback helped Katie identify blind spots and recalibrate her leadership ✳️ What it really means to "slow down" as a senior leader in a fast-paced campus environment ✳️ How coaches can navigate confidentiality when a sponsor is involved ✳️ Why small, intentional behavioral shifts create ripple effects across entire teams ✳️ What made this particular coaching relationship genuinely successful, in three words or less Whether you are a professional coach, a higher ed leader considering coaching, or simply curious about what a real coaching engagement looks like from the inside, this episode offers a rare and honest look at the process. 🎙️ Guests: ✳️ Katie Toro-Ferrari — Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Student Engagement and Leadership ✳️ Dr. Kate McCaffrey — Executive Coach, Paradigm Twist Executive Coaching and Consulting 📚 More resources: 🔗 higheredcoaching.us 🔗 leadershipimagined.com/podcast Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in this conversation are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or mental-health advice. All guests speak from their own experience and do not represent the official position of any institution. #HigherEducation #LeadershipCoaching #CoachingInHigherEd #ExecutiveCoaching #StudentAffairs #CoachClientRelationship #AcademicLeadership #LeadershipCircleProfile #CoachingPodcast #HigherEdLeadership #ProfessionalCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment

    35 min

  3. Jun 22

    Behind the Coach-Client Relationship - Part 2 | Marshall Lancey & Dr. Joel Pérez (S2 E10)

    What does it actually take to shift from managing the details to leading at a strategic level? In this episode, Dr. Tim Jansa goes behind the scenes of a real coaching engagement to find out. Marshall Lancey, Assistant Vice President for Student Experience at Curry College, recently stepped into a senior leadership role and needed more than a mentor. He needed a coach. Dr. Joel Pérez of Apoyo Coaching and Consulting brought a strengths-based, client-centered approach that helped Marshall clarify his leadership identity, rethink how he empowered his team, and develop the mindset of a true senior leader. In this episode, you will learn: ✳️ How a leadership transition became the perfect entry point for a coaching engagement ✳️ Why framing coaching as strength-based from day one changes everything for the client ✳️ How StrengthsFinder, a values exercise, and a personalized operating manual helped Marshall discover how he leads ✳️ What triangulation looks like in higher ed and how coaching helps leaders navigate it ✳️ The powerful difference between setting expectations and building agreements ✳️ How a shared language between coach and client accelerates growth and self-reflection ✳️ What it means to shift from co-directing to truly empowering a team This is a candid, practical conversation for professional coaches, higher ed leaders considering coaching, and anyone curious about what the real work of a coaching engagement looks like from both sides of the relationship. 🎙️ Guests: Marshall Lancey — Assistant Vice President for Student Experience, Curry College Dr. Joel Pérez — Executive Coach, Apoyo Coaching and Consulting | Author of Dear White Leader 📚 More resources: 🔗 higheredcoaching.us 🔗 leadershipimagined.com/podcast Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in this conversation are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or mental-health advice. All guests speak from their own experience and do not represent the official position of any institution.

    32 min

  4. Jun 8

    Leading College Mergers & Closures: A Coaching Perspective | Dr. Mary L. Churchill (S2 E08)

    Institutional mergers don't fail because of bad strategy — they fail because leaders aren't equipped to handle the human side of change. In this episode, Dr. Tim Jansa sits down with Dr. Mary Churchill to explore what it truly looks like to coach leaders through one of higher education's most disruptive experiences: an institutional merger. Dr. Mary Churchill is Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement and Professor of Practice at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. She played a central role in guiding the closure of the original Wheelock College and its full integration into Boston University — giving her rare, firsthand insight into the grief, identity loss, and transformation that define these large-scale transitions. In this episode, you'll learn: ✳️ Why institutional mergers trigger grief, trauma, and identity loss for faculty, staff, students, and alumni ✳️ How the closure of Wheelock College unfolded — and what leaders had to navigate on the ground ✳️ Where coaching ends and therapy begins — and how to hold that boundary with confidence ✳️ How William Bridges' Transitions Framework was used as a leadership tool during the merger ✳️ Why reconnecting clients to their "why" is the most powerful coaching intervention during disruption ✳️ How journaling, physical wellness, and reflective practices sustained leaders through prolonged uncertainty ✳️ What coaches need to understand about shared governance before entering higher ed merger environments Whether you're a professional coach supporting higher education leaders, a higher ed administrator navigating change, or simply someone who wants to understand the human cost of institutional transformation — this episode offers rare, candid wisdom you won't find anywhere else. 🎙️ Guest: Dr. Mary Churchill — Associate Dean & Professor of Practice, Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development | Author of When Colleges Close 📚 Explore more resources at: 🔗 higheredcoaching.us 🔗 leadershipimagined.com/podcast Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in this conversation are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or mental-health advice. Leadership situations are always context-specific. All guests speak from their own experience and do not represent the official position of any institution. #HigherEducation #LeadershipCoaching #InstitutionalMerger #CoachingInHigherEd #AcademicLeadership

    29 min

  5. Mar 24

    Coaching Clients and Students with ADHD | Coach Juli Shulem (S2 E07)

    In this episode of Coaching in Higher Education, host Dr. Tim Jansa welcomes productivity coach and organizational psychologist Juli Shulem for a rich, practice-focused conversation on coaching college students, faculty, and staff with ADHD and executive functioning challenges. Drawing on decades of experience with undergraduates through PhD/postdoc clients, Juli unpacks how ADHD shows up in academic life—missed deadlines, chronic disorganization, decision fatigue, overwhelm—and offers concrete ways coaches can respond ethically and effectively while staying within coaching boundaries. She shares practical system-building strategies (from homework planning and calendar use to lifestyle structure and relationship-building with faculty), clarifies when and how to raise the possibility of ADHD or referral for evaluation in a non-pathologizing way, and explores how coaches can help reduce stigma and foster a kinder, more neuro-inclusive campus culture. This episode is especially valuable for professional coaches who want to deepen their skill set with neurodivergent clients in higher education and expand their impact beyond “pure coaching” into truly holistic support.

    30 min

  6. Mar 17

    Coaching Clients with and around Imposter Syndrome | Dr. AJ Lauer (S2 E06)

    In this episode of Coaching in Higher Education, host Dr. Tim Jansa speaks with Dr. AJ Lauer, a nationally recognized expert on imposter syndrome, about how imposter feelings uniquely show up for faculty, staff, and emerging leaders in colleges and universities. Drawing on research (including Dr. Valerie Young’s five imposter types), AJ explores how perfectionism, overachievement, “expert” identity, and systemic inequities intersect to fuel self-doubt, burnout, and defensive leadership behaviors in academic settings. Together, Tim and AJ examine how coaches can distinguish between personal and institutional contributors to imposter experiences, work with nervous-system activation and somatic cues in sessions, and use competence-focused conversations (rather than achievement lists) to help clients reframe expectations and build healthier relationships with their “imposter monsters.” Coaches will come away with practical approaches, a richer conceptual framework, and concrete ideas for supporting higher ed clients to move from hiding their perceived inadequacies to owning their expertise and impact.

    32 min

  7. Mar 10

    Coaching Academic Department Chairs | Dr. Whitney Newcomb & Dr. Sara Schley (S2 E05)

    In this episode of Coaching in Higher Education, host Dr. Tim Jansa speaks with Dr. Whitney Newcomb (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Dr. Sarah Schley (Oregon State University) about the distinct challenges and rich opportunities of coaching academic department chairs. Drawing on their dual roles as chairs and coaches, they unpack the complex “middle leader” position—navigating up, down, and across among faculty, staff, professional advisors, and senior administration—while managing relentless change, invisible supervisory work, and chronic trust gaps. The conversation highlights how coaching can help chairs develop greater self- and systems-awareness, lead through influence rather than authority, build trust across role boundaries, and shift from individual academic achievement to team- and culture-building. Coaches will come away with nuanced insight into the political, relational, and emotional landscape department chairs inhabit—and practical ideas for how coaching, assessments, and cohort-based development can meaningfully support these pivotal yet often under-resourced leaders.

    35 min

  8. Mar 3

    Coaching Middle Managers in Higher Education | Dr. Kim Burns (S2 E04)

    In this episode of Coaching in Higher Education, host Dr. Tim Jansa interviews Dr. Kim Burns—coach, consultant, former long-time community college dean, and contributor to Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education—about the distinctive realities of coaching middle managers in colleges and universities. Together, they unpack why deans, directors, and coordinators function as the “glue” of their institutions, carrying heavy emotional labor as they navigate the tensions of managing up and down, and how coaching can help them shift from overwhelmed people pleasers to confident boundary setters. Drawing on her extensive experience in community colleges, Dr. Burns explores what external coaches need to know about institutional culture, the often-misaligned espoused versus lived values, and the practical implications of democratizing coaching beyond the executive suite. She also shares a values-based coaching framework and concrete strategies coaches can use to support clients wrestling with burnout, role ambiguity, and value misalignment. This conversation offers rich, immediately applicable insights for professional coaches who work in—or want to better understand—the higher education context.

    25 min
See All (28)

About

Coaching in Higher Education is a podcast for coaches by coaches. Coaching in Higher Education is a podcast for coaches, created by seasoned college and university coaching professionals. It serves as a resource for coaches across colleges and universities, exploring topics like executive coaching, leadership training and development, and organizational transformation. Through topical, in-depth, and inspiring conversations with higher education coaching experts from diverse specializations and experiences, this higher education podcast aims to serve as the go-to resource for both new and established leadership and organizational coaches in tertiary education. Find more information at https://leadershipimagined.com/coachingpodcast

Information

You Might Also Like