Advertise on podcast: Navigating Change from Teibel Education

In a moment when higher education finds itself pressed on all sides—demographics, policy shifts, the financial realities of running institutions—this live conversation from the EACUBO Annual Meeting offers something increasingly rare: clarity grounded in humanity. Howard Teibel invites Bill Guerrero and Nico Washington to reflect not on strategy alone, but on the personal philosophies that have shaped their careers and their impact. Bill shares how his journey from first-gen student athlete to seasoned financial leader has always been driven by a single metric: student impact. His willingness to “follow the puck” toward the real challenges facing institutions reveals a mindset that embraces change rather than fears it. Nico brings a complementary perspective—rooted in her early years balancing work, education, and parenthood—that centers empathy, intuition, and authentic connection as core leadership tools. Together, they illuminate the often-unseen emotional and relational dimensions of the CBO role. Across discussions of Ikigai, institutional partnerships, and the myth of certainty, the conversation becomes a guide for leaders seeking purpose in the midst of volatility. What emerges is a portrait of leadership defined not by hierarchy or job titles, but by curiosity, confidence, and a profound commitment to the people and communities higher education serves. This episode challenges listeners to rethink how they approach professional change—and to consider what it means to lead as a whole human being.

At first glance, the idea seems almost too ordinary to merit investigation: every workplace has a layer of tasks no one celebrates. Coordinating committees. Taking notes. Ordering refreshments. Keeping the machine running. These responsibilities rarely lead to promotions, and yet they quietly shape careers. Laurie Weingart, Carnegie Mellon professor and co-author of The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work, has spent years tracing how this hidden layer of work forms—and who ends up carrying more of it. Laurie sat down with Howard Teibel at the EACUBO Annual Meeting 2025. She takes us through the simple dinner between colleagues that turned into a research project that exposed a predictable pattern: non-promotable tasks tend to cluster around women, not because women are less assertive, but because norms inside organizations subtly nudge these tasks in their direction. Once you see the mechanism, it’s hard to unsee it. The distribution isn’t random. It’s structural. Howard and Laurie explore what happens when you give language to something everyone feels but few people label. Suddenly, decisions that were automatic become deliberate. Employees can negotiate what they take on. Leaders can notice who they’re asking. And men—who often don’t realize the imbalance—can take part in recalibrating the system rather than watching it operate in the background. The conversation lands in a place that feels like an invitation: when organizations make this work visible, people gain the freedom to direct their energy toward tasks that develop them, not deplete them. The result? A clearer sense of how talent is used, grown, and valued.

There are moments in a career when a small interaction—almost forgettable at the time—reshapes how a person thinks about leadership. For Mitch Wein, one of those key moments came during a meeting about selecting an architect, where a simple vote turned into a lesson about transparency and the value of explaining the reasoning behind our choices. That experience became the backbone of how he approaches strategy today, whether inside a college cabinet room or at the senior table of the Brookings Institution. In this conversation with Howard Teibel recorded live at the EACUBO Annual Meeting, Mitch talks about his transition from higher education to his role as Senior Vice President for Finance and COO of a national think tank and how the two worlds mirror each other more than most people realize. Both require long-term thinking, both rely on evidence and principled debate, and both demand leaders who can see beyond the immediate decision to the ripple effects it creates. Mitch describes the way Brookings brings data and rigorous analysis to the public policy sphere to help people understand the trade-offs that sit beneath every major issue. Howard and Mitch explore the pressures facing higher education—from public perception to financial resilience—and the importance of sharpening institutional focus rather than trying to be all things to all people. Through it all, Mitch returns to a theme that threads his entire career: leadership is less about asserting a direction and more about cultivating the conversations that help people understand why a direction makes sense. When leaders invite that kind of participation, decisions become clearer, strategy becomes more coherent, and the work feels connected to a larger purpose.

Leadership inside a professional community rarely looks like leadership on an organizational chart. It’s quieter, more relational, shaped by volunteers who balance full workloads with the desire to support their peers. In this episode, recorded live at EACUBO 2025, Howard Teibel talks with Romayne Botti and Sara Thorndike about the transition from one chair to the next and what it reveals about how the association continues to adapt. Romayne describes a period marked by post-pandemic uncertainty: members juggling expanded responsibilities, vacancies that never got refilled, and a growing appetite for learning that happens in shorter bursts rather than at multi-day workshops. Sara reflects on the importance of saying yes—and the equally important discipline of saying no—while recognizing how opportunities inside the association helped her find her footing as a leader. Both speak candidly about the connections they’ve built through EACUBO, the decisions that have reshaped how professional development is delivered, and the need for flexibility as the industry recalibrates. Howard guides the conversation toward the deeper value of this work: the ability to learn from peers, to test leadership instincts in a supportive environment, and to experience the kind of candor that is often hard to find inside one’s own institution. The result is a conversation about continuity and change, and about the sustained effort required to steward a community through evolving expectations while staying rooted in its purpose.

In 1877, the first college "major" was coined at Johns Hopkins. The catalog for that year is a dense read, though short; courses toward the baccalaureate only required two years of study and then—presumably—a job. That catalog has hardened into something else today: a system that prizes credentials over curiosity, standardization over discovery, and completion over connection. In this episode, we sit down with Ned Laff and Scott Carlson, co-authors of Hacking College, and our own higher education strategist Howard Teibel, to ask a simple but urgent question: what are we really preparing students for? Drawing on decades of experience in academic affairs, journalism, and institutional change, our guests lay out an alternative framework—the “Field of Study”—that puts students back at the center of their education. We talk about advising as design instead of compliance, about pilot programs that quietly rewire entire universities, and about the faculty and leadership required to shift the system without burning it down. And we hear stories—personal, institutional, and philosophical—of what happens when students reclaim the blank spaces of their education and begin to connect the dots on their own terms. This is a conversation about possibility. And about how, even in the face of inertia, the path forward is already being built—one desire path at a time. We explore...  Why the traditional college major no longer matches real-world workThe Field of Study framework: structure, stories, and student agencyHow advising can shift from checklist to compassInstitutional inertia and the myth of undecided studentsWhy reform doesn’t have to mean top-down revolutionThe hidden job market and student-designed experiencesWhat happens when we reintroduce joy, risk, and meaning into higher edLinks & Resources Hacking College by Ned Laff & Scott CarlsonScott Carlson at The Chronicle of Higher EducationNed Laff at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For years, finance in higher education has worked quietly behind the scenes—essential, but rarely seen as a force for change. Budgets got balanced, reports got filed, and institutions moved forward... slowly. But what happens when that model starts to crack? When rising costs outpace tuition revenue, and the math that once worked no longer adds up? It’s a moment of reckoning—and an opportunity. In this episode of Navigating Change, Pete Wright is joined by Michael Gower, Andrew Simpson, and Howard Teibel—three leaders who are reimagining what’s possible when finance steps out of the back office and into the strategy room. They’re not just managing numbers; they’re reshaping mindsets. Together, they explore a bold idea: that financial health isn't just about closing budget gaps—it’s about leadership, influence, and building a future-ready institution. Through the lens of the Rutgers University case study, they reveal how finance can become a catalyst for innovation rather than a barrier to it. They talk about navigating resistance, sparking breakthroughs, and embedding financial thinking into the DNA of decision-making. So what does it really take to shift from financial survival to sustainability? Can higher ed let go of outdated models before it’s too late? This isn’t just a conversation about money. It’s about power, persuasion, and the future of higher education. Because the real question isn’t whether universities can afford to change—it’s whether they can afford not to. Links & Notes Adopting a Financial StrategyFinancial Strategy Policy

The opening speaker at the 2025 NBOA Annual Meeting will be Kyle Scheele, who is known for cooking up wild ideas that many people back for laughs and for learning. NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields discusses with Scheele the process behind some of his outlandish projects and about being creative in the workplace. “I don’t want people to be like me,” said Scheele. “I want them to tap into their own creativity, wherever they may be working.” That might be anything from devising a financial plan to reconsidering the organizational chart. In addition to being a celebrated speaker, Scheele has published four books, one for adults: How To Host a Viking Funeral: The Case for Burning Your Regrets, Chasing Your Crazy Ideas, and Becoming the Person You're Meant to Be, one for teens: We Put A Man On The Moon: Thoughts on Living a Better Story, and two children’s books. The Net Assets podcast is a partnership between NBOA and Teibel Education Consulting, with hosts NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields and Teibel Education President Howard Teibel. This show is made possible thanks to the generous support of Community Brands. You can also read a web article based on an excerpt of this podast episode, published in November 2024.

This week, Pete Wright and Howard Teibel dive deep into the topic of weak communication practices and their consequences in organizations. Howard, drawing from his extensive experience working with teams and leaders, shares insights on how miscommunication often stems from focusing on passing information rather than producing action and exploring assessments. The duo discusses five key consequences of weak communication: mistrust and lack of listening, working in isolation, blame-shifting, people not making offers, and building consensus over-commitment. Howard emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between assessments and assertions, encouraging individuals to back up their assessments with evidence. He also highlights the transformative power of making offers, which enables innovation and engagement at all levels of an organization. Throughout the conversation, Pete and Howard stress that merely knowing these concepts is not enough; embedding these skills into an organization's culture requires practice, repetition, and a willingness to embrace discomfort. They invite listeners to reflect on their own communication practices and consider how adopting these principles could lead to more effective collaboration and accelerated change within their teams.

Being of service. This is at the heart of the roles we play in higher education. At the 2024 WACUBO Annual Conference at Disneyland in California, leaders and practitioners in administration came together to explore how they can Dream, Lead, and Inspire others to serve the mission of our industry. Lupe Valencia, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Facilities Officer at the University of Texas at El Paso, recently served as President of WACUBO and just turned the reins over to Michael Clune, who serves as Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer at the University of California San Francisco. Howard sat down with the two of them at the annual conference to talk about service and what inspires them about being part of this extraordinary association committed to providing professional development and networking opportunities for business officers serving higher education in the West.  Don't miss the opportunity to consider participating in next year’s Annual Conference, taking place on the Big Island of Hawaii! You won't want to miss this experience! Learn more and start planning your trip right here!

We are thrilled to present this episode of the Net Assets Podcast, a partnership between NBOA and Teibel Education Consulting, with NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields and Teibel Education President Howard Teibel. This episode marks the first in what we hope will become a collection of some of the best and most illuminating interviews dedicated to you, independent school business leaders. As NBOA grows into its new brand identity, we have the great privilege of launching this podcast with a conversation about an institution unafraid of telling the story of what makes them great, a school unburdened by the weight of telling the stories they think the public wants to hear. And who better to share that story than the extraordinary leaders of the Lakefield College School themselves? Lakefield College School is a coeducational boarding and day school in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, for students in grades 9 through 12. Today, Jeff and Howard are joined by Anne-Marie Kee, Head of School since 2017, and Tim Rutherford, Associate Head of School and Chief Financial Officer since 2014. If you've ever wondered what it takes to be authentic in your mission, elevate faculty, staff, and students, and transform enrollment growth along the way, you need to check out this conversation. This show is made possible thanks to the generous support of Community Brands.

This week, Jeff Shields, President and CEO at NBOA, joins Howard Teibel for a conversation on the future of independent schools ahead of the 2024 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase. Howard and Jeff speak about issues of integrating telework, the sustainability of post-pandemic innovations, and the critical importance of community and collaboration in sparking transformative ideas. “Your next best idea is not going to come from walking down the hallway at your own school,” he says, “It will come from being among more than a thousand people in an international community who have walked in your shoes,” he continues, stressing the invaluable benefits of shared experiences and collective wisdom that can be found at the NBOA Annual Meeting. Jeff offers a sneak peek into what attendees can anticipate at the 2024 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase, taking place February 25 – 28 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event promises to be a hub for independent school leaders to converge, share their experiences, and learn from the collective wisdom of the community. Links & Notes Learn More about the NBOA Annual MeetingNBOA Keynote Speaker LineupNBOA Deep Dive Sessions

As we continue our gradual emergence from a certain hibernation over the last three years, the opportunity to engage with our colleagues is more critical than ever. Brad Bacca, President of Western Colorado University and the Western Association of College and University Business Officers, sits down this week with Howard Teibel as they turn their attention to the upcoming WACUBO Annual Conference coming April 30 to May 3 in Phoenix, Arizona.  This year's theme is Rising to the Challenge - A call to intentionally engage in what we've learned and face our challenges with renewed resilience. You can join Howard at the conference in his pre-conference workshop on producing innovative and creative thinking in the business office. To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit WACUBO.org.

NBOA President and CEO, Jeff Shields, joins Howard Teibel for a conversation on indepenent school business, finance, and operations, all in preparation for the association's 25 Anniversary Celebration in Los Angeles, February 19-22. What’s top-of-mind for business officers coming out of the pandemic after three years? How are finance professionals addressing the ongoing financial issues pre-K-12 independent schools will face in the future? All this and a preview of the broad array of speakers, guests, and presenters coming to LA next month. Learn more and register now for the 2023 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase.

Unbeknownst to us in February 2020, we were about to go into a certain kind of hibernation, one forced on us by the circumstances of our time. Two years into this, we may be seeing the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel – learning how to live with this global pandemic and bring back the kind of social connection we value and need. Jeff Shields, CEO of the National Business Officers Association and Howard Teibel turn their attention to looking forward in anticipation of the upcoming NBOA Annual Meeting to be held in Chicago this February. The theme this year – Elevate! A call to step up our game and bring into our work what we’ve learned these past two years. You can also join Howard at the conference in his talk with Taylor Hastrich from FAEF in an experiential session to elevate Strategic Thinking as a Business Officer. To learn more about this conference or register for the event, visit NBOA. Whether your challenges are financial, structural or simply the need to build strong teams, Teibel Education can help your people move to the next level of excellence. Check out how we can help you be a stronger leader and build stronger teams at teibelinc.com! Howard Teibel Links & Notes Learn More and Register for the 2022 NBOA Annual MeetingScheduleRegistrationFollow Jeff on Social MediaTwitterLinkedInß

Joining Howard Teibel today in conversation is Dr. Nathan Grawe, distinguished teaching professor of the social sciences at Carleton college, where he has served on the faculty since 1999. You might have seen Nathan's work as it relates to the framing of the enrollment cliff, something that's been exacerbated and accelerated in this last year. As we find ourselves beginning to emerge out of lockdowns in our lives — and for many of us on our campuses — the big question is how will we navigate back to what Georgia Tech is framing as a return to better? This conversation with Nathan covers many important topics, including his most recent analysis of enrollment trends, issues of shared governance, and how we need to think about work as we come out of this pandemic. Reach out to us at Teibel education if we can help you build an intentional mindset and process to navigate your challenges over this next year. About Dr. Nathan Grawe Dr. Nathan Grawe the Ada M. Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Carleton College. He is a labor economist whose work examines intergenerational connections with education and labor market outcomes. Nathan's book, Demographics and The Demand for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018) examines how recent demographic shifts are likely to affect demand for higher education. In a follow-up project, The Agile College (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021), Nathan draws on interviews with higher education leaders to provide examples of how proactive institutions are grappling with demographic change. Links & Notes About Dr. Nathan GraweThe Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Challenges by Nathan D. GraweVisit Nathan's Website at Carleton College