Leading Without All the Answers: Navigating Uncertainty with Influence and Integrity

As higher education faces the demographic cliff, shifting public perceptions, and institutional volatility, leadership cannot rely on title alone. This session explores how registrars, admissions officers, and enrollment managers can drive change through influence rather than authority. Using adaptive leadership and organizational agility, participants will learn to build trust, secure cross-campus buy-in, and guide strategy even amid ambiguity. Case studies, lived experiences, and practical tools will equip attendees to lead confidently when direction is unclear, knowledge is incomplete, and authority is limited, preparing them to navigate complexity with resilience and impact.

Committee Group: Group IV: Leadership and Management Development

First Learning Outcome: Apply adaptive leadership principles to effectively lead without relying on formal authority. 

Second Learning Outcome: Assist participants in developing strategies to gain trust and cross-functional buy-in.

Third Learning Outcome: Reflect on their own lived experiences of “leading without authority” and integrate new approaches for navigating the current higher education landscape.

Core Competency: Change Management

Proficiency: Enrollment Management Proficiencies

Presenter(s): 

Cassandra Heath Biola University

Anthony Cole College of Saint Mary

Ariel Baumgartner University of Alaska Fairbanks

Malia Jones Elon University