Intentional Leadership in Higher Education: How to Break the Reaction Cycle

Intentional leadership in higher education starts with breaking the habit of reacting to everything that comes your way.

If you’ve worked in higher education marketing or enrollment for any length of time, you know what it feels like to spend an entire day putting out fires.

You start the morning with a plan. There’s a strategic initiative to tackle, an important conversation to have, or a new idea you’d like to explore.

Then the emails start coming.

Enrollment numbers need attention. A stakeholder needs an immediate response. Someone schedules an unexpected meeting. Before you know it, the day’s gone, and that important work hasn’t moved forward.

Sound familiar?

Higher education leadership can feel like an endless cycle of reacting to whatever happens next.

And while responding to urgent challenges is certainly part of the job, there’s a real danger in allowing those demands to define how we lead.

That’s exactly what I wanted to explore when I welcomed Kathy Kissane back to The Higher Ed Marketer podcast.

Kathy spent more than 30 years in higher education, including serving as Associate Chief Marketing Officer and Associate Vice President at Thomas Jefferson University. Today, she’s the Founder and Executive Coach at Create What’s Next Coaching, helping higher ed leaders move from constant reaction to intentional leadership.

During our conversation, Kathy shared practical ways to reclaim our calendars, recognize the hidden costs of busyness, and build habits that make intentional leadership possible.

What I appreciated most is that she’s not suggesting some dramatic overhaul of how we work.

Instead, she’s challenging us to make a few deliberate changes that can transform how we lead ourselves, our teams, and ultimately our institutions.

The Hidden Cost of Reactive Leadership in Higher Education

Higher education has a lot of moving parts.

We’ve got enrollment cycles, commencement, convocation, budget deadlines, marketing campaigns, and countless stakeholders with priorities competing for our attention.

There’s always another deadline around the corner.

And because the work is so cyclical, it’s easy to fall into the habit of doing what we did last year, perhaps making a few adjustments, and moving on to the next thing.

Kathy reminded me that this reactive approach can actually make someone quite successful.

After all, people who respond quickly, solve problems, and get things done are often rewarded for their efforts.

But there’s a hidden cost.

I think the immediate cost could be burnout, you know, exhaustion.

…you can very easily get on autopilot. and you can also get disconnected with your own …judgment, your own creativity, you know, your own direction…

I think over time you can lose your imagination a little bit. and you’re always kind of solving last year’s problems.

When we’re constantly reacting, we risk becoming experts at solving yesterday’s problems rather than imagining tomorrow’s possibilities.

Think about what that means for higher ed marketing.

We might keep running the same campaigns because that’s what we’ve always done. We might continue using familiar communication strategies even though prospective students’ expectations have changed.

We become so focused on executing that we don’t give ourselves permission to question whether we’re executing the right things.

And that can have significant consequences for enrollment and institutional growth.

Intentional leadership isn’t about ignoring urgent responsibilities. It’s about creating enough perspective to distinguish between what demands our immediate attention and what deserves our long-term investment.

Otherwise, we’re allowing everyone else’s priorities to determine our direction.

Intentional Leadership in Higher Education Starts with Your Calendar

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was Kathy’s perspective on calendars.

Most of us treat our calendars like scheduling tools.

We look at them to see where we’re supposed to be, what meetings we need to attend, and which deadlines are coming up.

But Kathy challenged that thinking.

What if your calendar wasn’t simply a record of where other people expected you to be?

What if it reflected what matters most to you as a leader?

I think a lot of leaders use their calendar like most people, you know, as kind of a record of where people need them to be.

…it should really show what matters most to them and what they prioritize.

…a calendar shouldn’t just be where people …tell you where people expect you to be. It should be a reflection of the leader you wanna be.

As leaders, we often say strategic thinking is important. We say professional development matters. We talk about investing in our teams and planning for the future.

But do our calendars actually reflect those priorities?

I shared with Kathy how my own team encouraged me to block vacation time on my calendar at the beginning of the year.

They wanted me to protect that time before other commitments could crowd it out.

I’ve also developed the habit of blocking Tuesdays for my own processing and Friday afternoons for additional focused work.

Those changes didn’t happen automatically. They required intentional choices.

For higher ed marketing leaders, this might look like:

• Blocking strategic thinking time: Reserve uninterrupted time to evaluate marketing performance, emerging opportunities, and enrollment challenges.
• Prioritizing team development: Schedule conversations focused on helping team members grow rather than simply reviewing project updates.
• Protecting creative thinking: Create space to explore new ideas without the pressure of immediately producing deliverables.
• Establishing boundaries: Recognize that being available for everything often means being fully present for nothing.
• Planning proactively: Identify upcoming institutional priorities before they become emergencies.

You have to protect that time. And really, only you can do it.

Because if you don’t decide how to use your calendar, someone else will gladly decide for you.

Why Being Busy Can Become a Leadership Trap

Have you ever noticed how often people respond to the question, “How are things going?” with some version of “Busy!”

Sometimes we almost wear that busyness as a badge of honor.

We’re booked solid. We’re answering emails late into the evening. We’re jumping from one meeting to another.

It can make us feel important and productive.

But Kathy raised an interesting possibility during our conversation.

Sometimes staying busy is actually easier than slowing down.

When we’re constantly occupied, we don’t have to confront difficult questions about where we’re going, whether our priorities still make sense, or what we really want from our careers.

Busyness can become a shield against the discomfort of thinking differently.

And the longer we maintain that pace, the more we reinforce a leadership culture where constant availability becomes the expectation.

That’s not particularly healthy for us, and it’s not a great example for the people we’re developing.

Intentional leadership in higher education means recognizing that activity and impact are not necessarily the same thing.

Here’s a question I’ve been asking myself more often:

Just because I can do something, does that mean I should be the one doing it?

As Leaders, Our Responsibility Isn’t to Personally Accomplish Every Task

It’s to create the conditions where our teams can accomplish meaningful work.

Delegation is part of that responsibility.

When we hold on to every decision or project, we may unintentionally prevent others from developing their skills and confidence.

But when we deliberately pass responsibilities to capable team members, we create opportunities for them to grow.

That frees us to focus on the strategic work that uniquely requires our leadership.

It’s a win for everyone.

The challenge is recognizing those opportunities before another week disappears into reactive problem-solving.

Three Questions to Break the Reaction Cycle

Of all the practical strategies Kathy shared, this might be the easiest one to implement immediately.

She uses a simple three-question weekly check-in to help leaders recognize reactive patterns and build more intentional habits.

And the best part?

It only takes about ten minutes.

Kathy recommends setting aside time toward the end of the week, whether that’s Friday morning, Friday afternoon, or another time that works for you.

Then ask yourself three questions.

1. Where Did I Intentionally Lead This Week?

Think about the moments when you were proactive rather than reactive.

Did you make progress on an important strategic initiative? Did you spend time developing a team member? Did you make a decision that reflects your long-term priorities?

Recognize those moments because they’re worth repeating.

2. Where Did I Slip Back into Reacting?

This isn’t about criticizing yourself.

It’s about noticing patterns.

Maybe you agreed to meetings that weren’t necessary. Perhaps you allowed an urgent request to derail an important project.

Or maybe you realized you’d spent too much time doing work someone else could have handled.

The goal is awareness.

3. What Needs My Attention Next Week?

Now look forward.

What’s coming up that deserves your intentional attention?

What important decision have you been postponing? Where do you need to create time for strategic thinking?

Kathy emphasized that reflecting on these questions isn’t enough by itself.

You need to translate that reflection into action.

The one thing that we do in coaching is it’s all about the next small step, right? So pick one thing that you noticed and then put it on the calendar before the week starts.

…what you’re trying to do is build this habit. And your habits are gonna build from doing something small and consistent.

That’s such an important distinction.

You don’t need to redesign your entire workweek overnight.

Start with one thing.

Put it on your calendar. Follow through. Then repeat the process next week.

Over time, those small decisions become habits that allow you to lead more deliberately.

And as Kathy pointed out, this practice can become a team exercise, too.

Imagine what could happen if your marketing leadership team regularly reflected on where they were being proactive, where they were falling into reactive patterns, and what deserved their attention next.

That’s how intentional leadership becomes part of your team’s culture.

Creating a Better Future for Higher Ed Leadership

There’s another important reason to break the reaction cycle: the next generation of higher education leaders is watching.

Kathy and I discussed how talented professionals sometimes hesitate to move into leadership positions.

It’s tempting to make assumptions about generational differences or a lack of ambition.

But Kathy offered another perspective.

Maybe emerging leaders aren’t rejecting leadership itself.

Maybe they’re rejecting the version of leadership they’ve seen modeled.

When they look at senior leaders who are constantly exhausted, buried in meetings, answering emails at all hours, and sacrificing personal time, is it surprising that they question whether they want those responsibilities?

That doesn’t necessarily mean they lack ambition.

It might mean they want a different kind of leadership experience.

And frankly, I think that’s a challenge we need to take seriously.

If we’re going to develop tomorrow’s higher ed leaders, we need to demonstrate that leadership can be purposeful, sustainable, and fulfilling.

That starts with the example we set today.

Kathy’s own story reinforces this point.

After more than three decades in higher education, she earned her MBA in her fifties, pursued professional coaching credentials, and launched Create What’s Next Coaching.

She describes this next chapter not as starting over but as building upon everything she’s learned.

It’s an encouraging reminder that careers don’t have to follow a fixed script.

As our working lives evolve, we have opportunities to keep learning, reinventing, and contributing in meaningful ways.

And that same mindset can help us rethink how we lead our institutions.

Intentional leadership in higher education isn’t about having complete control over the future. It’s about giving ourselves the space to help shape it.

If there’s one thing I’d encourage you to do after reading this, it’s to open your calendar.

Find one hour next week.

Not for catching up on emails. Not for completing another presentation.

Use it to think.

Think about your team, your institution, your own leadership, and the opportunities you haven’t had time to explore.

Because sometimes the most valuable thing you can do as a leader is create the space to imagine what’s next.

Listen to the Full Conversation With Kathy Kissane

There’s much more to discover in this episode of The Higher Ed Marketer podcast.

Listen to our conversation with Kathy Kissane for additional insights into:

• The hidden costs of constantly reacting to institutional demands (7:08)
• Why your calendar should reflect your leadership priorities (11:08)
• Kathy’s three-question check-in for intentional leadership (19:06)
• Why emerging leaders hesitate to pursue leadership roles (24:33)
• One practical step to break the reaction cycle today (29:19)

Let’s Build More Intentional Higher Ed Marketing Teams

At Caylor Solutions, we understand the pressures higher education marketing and enrollment leaders face.

Between enrollment goals, limited resources, competing priorities, and constant change, it’s easy to get caught in a cycle of reacting instead of planning.

That’s why we believe effective marketing starts with a thoughtful strategy.

Our team partners with colleges and universities to clarify their marketing priorities, strengthen their institutional messaging, and create enrollment marketing strategies aligned with their mission and goals.

Whether you need a fresh perspective on your enrollment strategy, support for your marketing team, or help identifying where to focus your resources, we’d love to have a conversation.

Let’s talk about how Caylor Solutions can help your institution move forward with greater clarity and intention.

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