The higher education sector faces mounting challenges, including troubling demographic forecasts and the rising cost of running a college. Given these issues, widespread market consolidation — including college mergers, acquisitions, and even closures — is inevitable.

Consequently, more higher education leaders will ask themselves whether they can lead major institutional restructurings through mergers and acquisitions — moves my colleagues and I have termed “Big Scary Change,” or BSC.

Leadership is not one-size-fits-all, especially not when it comes to college mergers and acquisitions. There are many types of leaders and leadership styles, some of which fit the institution, situation or environment better than others. Thus, leadership competencies required to do the job well will vary.

Research for our forthcoming book, “Leading Existential Change in Higher Ed,” has identified seven critical competencies essential to college mergers and acquisitions. These include:

  • Experience and comfort leading major change, uncertainty and risk.
  • Providing “all-inclusive operational envisioning.”
  • Setting the pace of change.
  • Generating urgency and selling the vision.
  • Building transformative teams and managing delegated work.
  • Leading from the front.
  • Courage.

However, not all leaders in higher education — actually, not most — should undertake major change initiatives.

Throughout the many years I’ve provided guidance and consulting on mergers and acquisitions, I’ve often heard the following eight statements from college or university leaders — statements whose responses impact the ability to successfully undertake a college merger or acquisition.

1. “I want to be loved.”

We all want to be loved. But if you need to be loved absolutely and always, then you will not be successful or happy leading BSC. Leading BSC is always about making unpopular and difficult decisions. Can you expect to be respected? Yes. Trusted? Yes. Loved? Not so much.

2. “I don’t like conflict.”

Unfortunately, undertaking BSC is about conflict. Although most of us don’t seek conflict, it will nonetheless arise when leading BSC. The one certainty about major institutional restructuring is that there will always be opposition and, therefore, conflict.

3. “I don’t like making difficult decisions.”

Leading BSC is all about making tough decisions. Who to keep? What to sacrifice? What can’t you promise? What can you say — and when? If you know you prefer not to make difficult decisions, undertaking BSC is not for you.

Read the full article about college mergers and acquisitions by Ricardo Azziz at Higher Ed Dive.