Applying Derailment Advice: How Educational Leaders Can Use Job Loss Lessons to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life and work for people around the globe. This upheaval has created new challenges for those serving in or studying at higher education. College administrators have been forced to adapt, and many have used wisdom gained from past crises as proxies for the current crisis. After many months in a pandemic, however, many leaders are still searching for effective frameworks and mental models to guide their efforts. In this article, we offer the concept of derailment as a proxy for leaders in challenging times. We examined interview data from a recent in-depth study of 25 derailed leaders (Strietzel, 2020) and explored similarities between experiencing derailment and leading through a pandemic. Using the lessons learned from derailed administrators, we provide a three-layered approach to navigate the current crisis. Findings and implications encourage higher education leaders to focus on their purpose, growth, and environment