More details about the timing of the days can be found by clicking Learn More and Register, but here is a previous agenda. Some sessions will change for the October 2025 iteration but will remain on the same themes:  

Horizon Scanning 
The world of higher education has changed fundamentally over the last few years and is continuing to transform in new and unexpected ways. In this interactive session, we’ll explore the events, trends, and issues that will impact higher ed over the next decade, and we’ll also share practical strategies to build on and practice this anticipatory mindset.  
 
Building Connections with LEGO® Serious Play® Methods: An Experiential Process for Reflective Dialogue 
This LEGO® Serious Play® activity is an experiential process designed for use with adults to prompt dialogue and encourage reflection. To help you get creative and expand your mindset using the approachable medium of play, our facilitator will lead you through a series of structured exercises to kick off the workshop.  
 
The Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment 
We’ll introduce you to Academic Impressions’ leadership model, the Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment. This assessment will help you understand your dominant leadership style and how it changes under stress. Knowing your leadership style will better equip you to make decisions that align with your strengths and weaknesses. Understanding your leadership style during a stressful situation can also help you lead your team more effectively, make better decisions, and communicate more clearly.  
 
Intersectionality and Innovation 
The various backgrounds, experiences, and identities we hold as leaders influence the ways we show up and allow others to show up, too. As we navigate adaptive challenges in higher education, we need to know how to create a climate and culture where everyone doesn’t simply belong, but also contributes. In this session, we’ll examine our own intersecting identities and the broader context in which we’re leading.  

 
The Five Paths to Leadership® 360 Assessment 
Each participant will complete a Five Paths to Leadership® 360 Assessment before coming to the program, and you’ll receive your results on-site. You’ll have a 30-minute coaching session with one of the facilitators to discuss your feedback, identify action steps you can take, and connect what you’ve learned to the topics of the workshop.  
 
Developing Trust Across Difference 
This session will give you an opportunity to reflect on the messages you’ve learned over time about how to engage in conversations about personal frustrations at work. You’ll practice intentional engagement versus moving past uncomfortable scenarios and arrive at a place where you are more willing to actively take part in solution-oriented conversations, even when they are uncomfortable.  
 
Difficult Conversations are Necessary, Not Unkind 
For years, there has been an increasingly dominant narrative in our society about the importance of being kind or “politically correct”. While these are important principles, we must unpack and examine how this narrative often gets in the way of difficult yet essential conversations that leaders avoid for fear of saying the wrong thing. We’ll explore how the messages you’ve learned influence your daily decisions to engage or disengage in difficult conversations over time. You’ll practice intentional engagement versus moving past uncomfortable scenarios and arrive at a place where you are more actively willing to take part in and lead uncomfortable conversations.  
 
Seven Practices for Creating High-Performing Teams 
Most teams don’t struggle because they lack the requisite talent, but because they don’t focus enough on their group dynamics and process—how they’ll work together. In this session, we’ll examine seven practices used by high-performing teams, including ways to ensure that everyone’s voice is included in the conversation, to improve decision making, and to support creative and innovative thinking.  
 
Power and System Simulation 
In this interactive session, you’ll participate in a simulation of a complex challenge that highlights the naturally occurring dynamics of organizational life. Often in the same day, we play multiple roles: leader, follower, or somewhere in the middle. Yet regardless of the roles we play, we’re all accountable for certain outcomes. In this session, you’ll gain insight into ways that you can contribute productively to solutions—and encourage others to do the same—no matter the role you’re playing.  
 
Mastering Agility 
Once you’ve engaged in a visioning process for you and your organization, it’s necessary to make decisions regarding activities that may or may not be moving your organization forward. In this session, we’ll delve deep into the four key strategies of the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). We’ll explore how these principles can be applied to enhance decision-making, giving you a valuable edge in navigating complexity.  
 
Action Planning, Presentations, and Reflection Time 
Throughout the three days, we’ll have built-in time to distill your learning and allow you to reflect on how you can apply different strategies when you return to your institution. During our final session, you’ll design your action plan for moving forward, first individually, and then with a thought partner. This action plan will detail how you’ll use the lessons you’ve learned here to impact and further improve your leadership. You’ll also have the chance to present your plan to the full group to receive feedback.