While the life of strategic plans has grown shorter, strategy remains the basis for decision making, resource allocation, and organizational achievement. AAL works with clients to customize a strategic planning process that provides the framework needed to develop and implement strategic plans. The planning process includes the tailored definition of a vision, mission, core values, core competencies, long and short range strategies. An important component of the methodology is to assist the organization in developing a more effective management process to guide the implementation of the new strategic direction. Most engagements start with a preliminary assessment to help the leadership team to better understand the needs, issues, and the desired future state.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, one that is influenced by emerging technologies, demographic changes, and globalization, organizations must develop their most important resource, people, to welcome, lead, and manage change. AAL’s change management services focus on working directly with organizational leaders and managers to address attitudes and behaviors as they relate to change and to make specific plans to ensure the vitality of their organization in today’s world. The AAL team brings extensive experience and credentials that comes from the personal experience of guiding organizations through turbulent periods of change and instability.

AAL assists educational institutions to develop and implement an updated, more relevant curriculum. With the changes in society, the impact of technology, the generational issues, the challenges for continual improvement, globalization, and the ever-increasing budget scrutiny, the AAL team is poised to help institutions to evaluate, update, and improve their curriculum to better address the contemporary needs of higher education. The program is developed and implemented by experienced consultants with decades of hands-on experience in curriculum development and classroom dynamics.

Those newly positioned in academic leadership roles, from program directors or department chairs to presidencies, as well as those who simply want to respond more effectively to current challenges, can substantially increase their achievement of professional goals through AAL’s coaching services that are focused on understanding and using key strengths in ourselves and others. Our coaching strategies are sensitive to the contexts and problems of complex health science organizations and their multiple constituencies. Dr. Judith Albino, current president of the Society of Psychologists in Management, leads this program. She has served as president of both a large public research university and an international private university system, as well as in other administrative roles and those of dental and medical school faculty member.

Building research capacity is a key ingredient for institutional growth. AAL can assist in this task by conducting grant writing, scientific writing, and research methods workshops for faculty groups, provide consultation to mentor faculty teams who are developing funding proposals and assist institutions in developing scholarship infrastructure. Bill Hendricson, AAL Director of Educational Programs, leads this program. From 1996 - 2005, Bill was the instructor for the Grant Writing Fellowship of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the North American Primary Care Research Group. Bill conducted a Writing Grant Applications Course and a Writing for Publication Course for 15 years at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, each completed by more than 1,000 faculty.

The Academy for Academic Leadership (AAL) and the 2HC Group work together to provide executive search and related consulting services. Leveraging our combined expertise in executive search, professional coaching, and extensive consultation in higher education, our collaboration allows us to offer a continuum of services seldom matched in traditional offerings of executive search firms. Levels of service include: consulting with the search committee to define procedure and increase efficiency; providing a broader candidate pool and checking references beyond the scope of traditional academic criteria; and conducting a full-service search on your behalf. The Academy for Academic Leadership specializes in coaching services (often referred to as “onboarding”) for the new academic administrator during the first six to twelve months in the position. This strategy-focused coaching accomplishes several objectives. During the search process, candidates are more attracted to a position that has a built-in coaching component provided by a third party because this inherently increases the potential for maximum performance and faster results on the job. In addition, the rigor of the coaching process facilitates communication throughout the organization, helping to ensure the success of the new administrator during the critical first year.