Fitkin Consulting

Clients: Medical Equipment Manufacturing, Higher Education, Technology, SaaS, B2B

- Partner with C-suite and senior leaders to implement strategic HR solutions, including organizational restructuring, performance management frameworks, and succession planning that increased leadership bench strength across multiple clients.

- Created and implemented a proprietary 7-module leadership development program that transforms high-potential managers into strategic leaders through focused training on crucial skills including effective delegation, conflict resolution, performance management, and strategic decision-making.

- Deployed my custom leadership methodology across organizations ranging from growth-stage startups to established enterprises, empowering leaders to build stronger teams, have difficult conversations, and drive measurable business results through improved people management.

- Facilitate challenging personnel decisions and conflict resolution through data-driven assessments, resulting in improved team dynamics and higher employee engagement scores for client organizations.

Leadership Development | People Operations & Marketing Consultant

KlientBoost

- 100+ team members, $22M ARR
- Awarded the #1 place to work by Glassdoor 2022
- Forecasted new revenue, retention, and EBITDA to support strategic planning
- Created VP tracks and grew leadership team to 20 director level+ leaders
- Developed career growth tracks for 13 departments

President | People Operations & Strategy

- Led our client services team through major growth, delivering standout customer service with NPS scores consistently above 60 by setting clear expectations and keeping teams accountable

- Built our HR team from the ground up, personally interviewing hundreds of candidates from entry-level specialists to executives across client services, admin, HR, and sales

- Created and ran "BoostBabes," a women's leadership program where we read books by female authors, mentored each other, and developed activities to support women in the workplace

- Rolled out ongoing feedback systems that ditched the traditional year-end review model. Coached managers to have meaningful weekly check-ins during 1:1s so team members always knew where they stood and had clear growth paths

- Partnered with HR to design competitive comp plans that gave people financial rewards and clear career progression – making sure top talent stayed and thrived with us

- Developed an onboarding program that new hires consistently called "the best experience they ever had" – complete with cross-team training, lunch dates with executives, and a structured first-month journey

- Navigated the constant change that comes with startup growth – pivoting teams, promoting leaders, and revamping processes to keep up with our rapid scaling from $11M to $22M

- Made employee satisfaction a priority by tracking engagement monthly, quickly addressing concerns, and implementing changes based on feedback. Consistently hit our 95% employee happiness target

- Created a culture where psychological safety wasn't just a buzzword – we celebrated different perspectives, understood what motivated each person, and weren't afraid to challenge how things had always been done

- Stepped in to resolve team conflicts before they escalated, creating clear communication channels and helping different departments understand each other's challenges

VP of Client Services | People Operations & Strategy

Director of Paid Search

Senior PPC Account Manager

Blink Development, Inc.

Senior Account Manager

EXPRESS

Co-Manager

Sales Leader

Cbeyond - now a Birch Company

Direct sales of $10,000 T1 internet product
* Top salesperson nation-wide August, 2006

Technical Sales Representative

Developing senior managers to lead high-performing agencies | Leadership coach | Scaled from start-up to 8-figure agency

I help companies grow by developing their most valuable asset: their leaders.

For over a decade, I've worked at the intersection of leadership development and data-driven results, showing organizations that investing in people isn't just good culture but good business.

My approach is straightforward. I design performance management systems that actually motivate people while building cultures where psychological safety and accountability coexist. I strip away leadership fluff to focus on what works: targeted people development that connects directly to business outcomes.

As a consultant, I partner with companies looking to transform their leadership teams through practical skill-building and honest feedback systems. I help organizations create environments where diverse perspectives are valued and teams feel empowered to innovate. My clients appreciate that I don't sugarcoat challenges, but I'm always in their corner.

My background in digital marketing gives me a unique perspective on measuring what matters, whether that's campaign performance or leadership effectiveness.

I'm passionate about sharing what I've learned from studying influential thinkers like Daniel Goleman, Robert Greene, Dale Carnegie, and Kim Scott. More importantly, I share what I've learned from being in the trenches myself as an executive balancing business demands with family life.

The best companies know that leadership excellence drives business success. If you're ready to make that connection explicit in your organization, reach out and let's discuss how I can help.

Kim Fitkin

Baylor University

Dean, School of Music

Raw Tuba Foundation

By providing a multi-purpose environment for all to develop, refine and attend Music and Art experiences, the RawTuba Foundation helps to foster positive social change within our society.
We at the RawTuba Foundation are committed to assisting rural and underserved individuals of all ages through friendship, creativity and belonging. Offering a welcoming space, we host and present concerts, lectures and activities that are meant to encourage excellence and expand possibilities for all.

Board Member

Cornerstone Leadership Group LLC

The Cornerstone Leadership Group comprises a diverse team with over 25 years of experience that helps develop leadership in higher education and non-profits.

President

The University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music

Oversight of all academic and administrative functions within the
School of Music and represent the school’s interests to local, state, regional, national, and international communities.

Director, Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music

Professor Of Music

Support external grant research, develop and manage the college’s faculty research grants, chair the College Research Council, and nurture interdisciplinary research initiatives with the campus and community.

Dean's Fellow for Research Development

Manage all aspects of graduate curriculum and policies, chair the graduate curriculum committee, oversee graduate advising, recruitment, and retention.

Associate Director for Graduate Studies

Supervise and evaluate graduate assistants, manage $1M graduate award budget, coordinate graduate teaching assignments with faculty, and notification and management of all graduate award offers.

Assistant Director for Graduate Admissions

Manage $1.2M undergraduate scholarship budget, oversee student compliance with scholarship policies, chair the awards committee, and manage all scholarship offers.

Assistant Director for Student Services

State University of New York College at Potsdam

Visiting Instructor

University of Arkansas - Fort Smith

Instructor of Low Brass

For over two decades, I performed as a professional tubist on five continents, working with Olympic-caliber artists and ensembles.

Then, in 2020, I made a career change.

I loved teaching and performing, but realized my particular skills were best utilized playing a different role in higher education and the arts.

I accepted a full-time leadership role overseeing a comprehensive School of Music at the Univ. of Memphis with over 80 faculty and staff, 400+ students, 75 community partners, producing 300 events per year, and a satellite campus in Jackson, TN.

I discovered that leadership development and support for new leaders can vary, and I had a lot of development to do if I wanted to have the tools to succeed in my new position.

So, I sought out workshops, mentors, coaching, and certifications to equip myself with those tools.

Learning to harness my own skills while empowering the people I work with led to transformational results:

➔ Modernizing how we train students for professional careers.
➔ Overseeing the highest applications and enrollment in the school's history.
➔ Substantially increasing the diversity of faculty and staff with over 50 hires.
➔ Raising over $2.5M in philanthropic funds.
➔ Establishing international partnerships.
➔ Increasing our community engagement through programs and partnerships.
➔ Leading the school through the planning and opening of a $40M Performing Arts Center.

In July 2024, I begin a new role as dean of the School of Music at Baylor University.

This kind of work energizes me, and I love sharing and partnering with higher education professionals and arts leaders to accelerate their learning curve. 

You can read some of their testimonials
→ GO HERE: https://www.kevinsanders.me/testimonials 

If you would like to learn more about 1-on-1 coaching or other types of support I can offer:
➔ Send me a DM on LinkedIn
➔ Email me: hello@kevinsanders.me

Kevin Sanders

I don’t hear this talked about often, but the leaders I look up to share one trait:

They love people.

Not just those they naturally connect with.

Not just the ones who think like them, work like them or communicate the same way.

They also care about the ones who challenge them, frustrate them, and see the world differently.

Because great leaders don’t just tolerate differences—they value them. They recognize that every single person brings unique strengths.

It's okay to love strategy, resource management, spreadsheets, or even your title.

But, at the end of the day remember...

👉 You're not leading a building, a program, or a budget.

You're leading people.

--------------------------------
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Academic Dean & Leadership Coach | Helping New Leaders Navigate Change, Build Teams & Stay Human | Artist by Training

A few years ago, I changed a scholarship process to make it more equitable for faculty participation.
After the decision, one faculty member told me “you’re not listening to anyone.”
The next day, someone else said: "Thank you. This is the first time I've felt included in the process.”

Same decision. 
Opposite reactions. 

What I noticed is the “you're not listening" criticism stuck with me for weeks. The quiet thank you? Gone by morning.

Our brains can give unequal weight to criticism, 
and that asymmetry can distort our judgment if we’re not careful.

If you lead in higher ed, you know this dynamic.

The question isn't whether you'll face contradictory criticism (you will) —
it's whether you'll let the loudest voice dictate your direction. 

Has anyone ever thanked you quietly for something they publicly stayed silent about?

(btw—this week's Academic Leader's Playbook breaks down the four questions that help me evaluate criticism based on its validity, not its volume. 
Link in the comments if you'd like to subscribe 👇) 

It will go out to 400+ campuses tomorrow morning.

-------------------------------
#HigherEdLeadership #AcademicLeadership #Leadership

Some collaborations check a box.
Others create moments students will carry with them.

Last week was the second kind.

The Baylor University School of Music  partnered with Baylor University - College of Arts & Sciences  to bring Wynton Marsalis to campus as the guest speaker for their distinguished lecture series—followed by a performance with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

What made the night special wasn’t just who was on stage.
It was watching our students experience world-class artistry and insight up close—something neither of our units could have created alone.

A great lecture.
An unforgettable performance.
And a collaboration that made both possible.

Grateful to our colleagues in A&S for making this happen.

No alternative text description for this image

Unfortunately, the things that make you a strong academic leader rarely show up in an annual review.

Here are a few things you'll never regret doing:

🔹 Protect your people. When a faculty member is drowning in service requests, you say no on their behalf. They won't forget it.
🔹 Build real relationships. Not transactional check-ins. Actual conversations where you listen without an agenda.
🔹 Invest in your own development. You can't lead a department through change if you're running on outdated playbooks.
🔹 Set clear expectations early. Ambiguity creates anxiety. Clarity creates trust.
🔹 Address conflict. Often, the longer you wait, the worse it gets.
🔹 Acknowledge excellent work publicly. Recognition costs nothing and means everything.
🔹 Be honest about hard truths. Your faculty can handle bad news. They can't handle being kept in the dark.
🔹 Model work-life balance. If you're sending emails at midnight, you're teaching them burnout is the standard.

None of these actions are flashy.

But they demonstrate leaders who want to show up as human beings first, administrators second.

What's one leadership practice you won't regret implementing in your unit?

----
And if you're leading (or aspiring to lead) in higher ed and want more insights like this—subscribe to my weekly newsletter, 📩 The Academic Leader's Playbook. It's where I share the hard-won lessons, frameworks, and real-world strategies that help leaders show up in the chaos of academic leadership.

Your best staff hire might have never worked in higher ed.
Here's why: 
Experience with your systems is easy to teach. 
Curiosity, collaboration, and emotional steadiness? Not so much.

I learned this the hard way when I hired an advisor who knew our platforms inside and out—but struggled with everything else that actually mattered.

Saturday's newsletter was about this hard lesson learned and what 100+ hires taught me since:
🔹 The hidden cost of hiring for familiarity
🔹 Why 89% of failed hires struggle with soft skills
🔹 How to interview for character, not just credentials

It went out to 400+ campuses on Saturday.

Want insights like this every Saturday?
You can subscribe to the link in the comments.

---------------------------------
♻️ Repost this to help other academic leaders.

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Most faculty won't remember your strategic plan.
But they'll never forget the month you didn't reimburse their conference travel.

I've seen more conflict over:
👉 Reimbursement delays
👉 Course scheduling confusion
👉 Research funding application processes

Than I ever have over strategic plans or institutional vision.
The boring work matters more than we admit.

It's tempting to focus on the big, shiny initiatives. 
Strategy sessions feel important. 
Vision statements sound impressive at board meetings.
But leadership credibility isn't built on vision alone.
It's built on whether people can teach their classes without fighting the system.

Three mundane things that build trust faster than any strategic plan:
🔹 Make your handbook actually easy to reference
🔹 Define clear goalposts for annual review
🔹 Remove friction from everyday processes
A leader's real job isn't just casting vision.
It's removing the friction that stops people from doing their best work.

The faculty member who doesn't have to chase down a reimbursement for a month?
They have energy left to contribute to your strategic initiatives.

The professor who understands expectations for promotion?
They're not spending emotional capital worrying—they're focused on students.

👉 Get the fundamentals right first. The transformation follows.

💡 What's one "boring" process in your department that creates the most friction?


p.s....If posts like this resonate, you'll love my weekly newsletter, The Academic Leader's Playbook—it's a 4 minute read. Trusted by leaders on hundreds of campuses. (Subscribe to the link in profile)

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"We hire people for what they know, but we often fire them for who they are."
~Unknown

This week's newsletter is about a staff hiring mistake I made early in my leadership—one that changed how I build teams.

After 100+ hires, here's what I know:
→ 89% of failed hires struggle with soft skills, not technical ability 
→ You can teach someone Banner. You can't teach someone to care. 
→ The right staff hire becomes a tide that lifts all boats

Inside this issue:
🔹 3 high-value qualities for staff hires
🔹 Position-specific interview questions that reveal behavior, not charm
🔹 How to know if you're hiring for the wrong things

Whether you're hiring an admin assistant, academic advisor, or business officer—read this before you post that job.

📩 To subscribe, visit the featured section of my profile, or see the link in the comments.

------------------------
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"Do y'all like cake?"
That was a candidate's answer to our interview question: 
"How would you describe your leadership style?"

The room went silent. 
Then a few nervous laughs.
We all raised our hands.

Then he went on to explain:
"Leadership is like baking a cake. 
You don't taste the butter or the flour individually—you taste something better. Good leaders know how to combine different strengths into something none of them could create alone."

He didn't get the job.
But five years later, I'm still thinking about that answer—because he was right.

The best teams I've served on weren't full of people who all thought like me.
They had:
🔹 Optimists.
🔹 Mediators.
🔹 Cheerleaders.
🔹 Innovators.
🔹 Analysts.
🔹 Listeners.
🔹 Givers.
🔹 Motivators.
🔹 Connectors.

And together, they made something exceptional.

👉 What's one "ingredient" on your team that you initially overlooked but now can't imagine working without?


P.S. I write about topics like this weekly in The Academic Leader's Playbook.  One actionable tip that you can read in 4 minutes or less  (📩 link in profile)

-----------------------------------
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Who on your team needs to hear “thank you” from you today?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the invisible work that holds our institutions together.

The people who show up early, say little, and quietly make everyone else’s job possible.

They don’t often make the highlight reel.
But they make the culture.

In my latest newsletter that went this past weekend, I wrote about how gratitude can steady your leadership — especially when you’re tired.

One small act of thanks can shift the energy of an entire week.

So here’s a challenge for Monday:
➡️ Write, say, or send two thank-yous before the day ends.

One inside your team. One outside it.
It’ll take less than five minutes.

But it might change someone’s whole week.

📬 To subscribe, find the link in the Featured section of my profile.

Who will get your two thank-yous this week?

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How important is it that your academic leader is:
🔹 Visionary
🔹 Charismatic
🔹 Highly organized
🔹 Resourceful
🔹 Master delegator
🔹 Technologically savvy
🔹 Strategic thinker
🔹 Public speaker
🔹 Effective fundraiser
🔹 Award-winning researcher
🔹 Prestigious alum

If they are NOT:
👉 A consensus-builder
👉 Trustworthy and transparent
👉 An active listener
👉 Respectful and empathetic

When we search and interview candidates for leadership positions, we often focus too much on an individual’s achievements.

And not on their process for achieving.

The process impacts your workplace culture, your motivation, and whether you feel valued.
Search committees should ensure candidates possess the second set of skills before prioritizing the first.

p.s. I write about topics like this weekly in The Academic Leader's Playbook -  you can subscribe to the link in my profile. 


--------------------
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You can’t tell people what to think, but

You CAN impact where people focus their attention.


And here’s how you can do that for faculty and staff:

👉 Invite them to meetings on the subject.

Even if they don’t have decision-making authority, they’ll understand why things are happening.

👉 Make time for them to think.

We expect people to innovate, but most faculty and staff are buried under urgent tasks. If you want solutions, help create space for them to strategize. i.e. Fund a retreat for program faculty, a lunch and learn, a course release connected to a specific outcome.

👉 Invest in their expertise.

Support their attendance at conferences and professional development events.

👉 Share the data.

When people have access to the same numbers and trends that you do, they stop assuming the worst and start working toward solutions.

Knowledge shouldn’t be held at the top—

it should flow through the department.

When everyone understands the bigger picture,

they don’t just respond to decisions—they contribute to them.

-----------------------------
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This Guardian article about Jacinda Ardern's new documentary landed in my feed last week. 
She was New Zealand's youngest prime minister in 150 years, who gave birth while in office and led her country through a mosque shooting, a volcanic eruption, and a pandemic.

But the article's author has an interesting message for leaders:
In everyday moments, we love when leaders show their humanity. But in real crises, their "fallibility can be terrifying."

Think about that for a second.

We say we want authentic, vulnerable leaders. 
We celebrate the ones who are "real" with us.

But when the building's on fire? 
When budgets are cut? 
When a crisis hits campus?

We don't want someone who's figuring it out with us. 
We want someone who knows what to do.

Whatever your opinion on Ardern's leadership, this article nails something we all face: 
the paradox of wanting leaders who are like us, 
but also stronger than us when it counts.

Worth the read. 

What's your take? 
Where do you draw the line between being authentically human and being the steady presence your team needs?

Open article: An uncomfortable truth for our leaders: there’s a limit to how ‘human’ we want you to be | Gaby Hinsliff by theguardian.com

An uncomfortable truth for our leaders: there’s a limit to how ‘human’ we want you to be | Gaby Hinsliff

Showing gratitude isn’t just about being nice — 
it’s about where you direct your attention.

When everything feels overwhelming, 
gratitude can quietly train you to notice what’s working and who’s showing up.

That shift alone can change the culture around you.

In this week’s issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook, I share:

✅ The two-note habit that keeps me grounded each week
✅ Why gratitude changes how teams perform (with data to back it up)
✅ 4 ways to show appreciation when you’re running on fumes

It went out to 400+ campuses this morning.

If the semester’s wearing you down, this one’s for you:
👉 https://lnkd.in/eggrBBsf

How do you make gratitude a habit in your leadership?

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Open article: Newsletters for Higher Ed Leaders by kevinsanders.me

Leaders routinely receive wildly contradictory feedback about the same decision.

If you’ve ever felt discouraged by criticism—or wondered whether you should internalize it—today’s issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook will help you breathe again:

🔹 Four Anchor Questions for sorting valid feedback from noise
🔹 The "listening-agreeing gap" that can protect your sanity 
🔹 How to search for the "feedback opposite" you're probably missing 
🔹 Why weighing the source matters more than the volume

If you're an academic leader tired of letting the loudest voices control your direction, this one's for you. 

Read + subscribe through link in the comments 👇 

#AcademicLeadership #HigherEducation #LeadershipDevelopment

A few weeks back, I received a handwritten note from a former student — someone I taught over a decade ago.

He thanked me for lessons I barely remembered teaching, 
but... it made my week.

Leadership can be a grind, especially this time of year.
But that letter reminded me that our impact often lives in the unseen places — the small moments that echo years later.

This week’s Academic Leader's Playbook newsletter dives into something I think every leader needs right now:

How gratitude can keep you grounded when the work feels heavy.

If you could use a little reset before the end of the semester, 
subscribe here 👇
📬 https://lnkd.in/eggrBBsf

It goes out to 400+ campuses this Saturday.

When was the last time you received (or sent) a note like that?

-------------------------
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When you made your last big decision, which feedback stuck with you longer: The criticism? Or the gratitude? 

If you're like most leaders, the criticism stuck with you for weeks while the thank-you disappeared by morning.

Higher ed is a feedback-intense environments 
where everyone has expertise and opinions. 
The more inclusive we are, 
the more criticism we often attract.

Most leaders absorb criticism as if it all carries equal weight. 
We've internalized the idea that good leaders 
should listen to everything, 
respond to everything, 
and fix everything. 

But listening is not the same as agreeing.

And that criticism often reflects someone's expectations more so than your leadership.

This past Saturday’s Academic Leader's Playbook was about discernment—knowing which criticism deserves your energy and which is just noise.

If you missed it over the weekend, you can read and subscribe with the link in the comments. 👇 

----------
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”Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” 
~ Anne Lamott

What happens when we never interrupt the rhythm of constant responsiveness?

When we fill our days with reacting instead of creating space to think?

I work on this with many leaders and I’ve worked on it myself:

Rest isn’t the opposite of responsibility.
Rest is what makes responsibility sustainable.

This week’s issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook looks at one of the most important (and most overlooked) parts of leadership:

👉 Stepping away.
👉 Unplugging.
👉 Letting yourself rest.

Many leaders are surprised by how much clarity and steadiness returns when they disconnect…even briefly.

Inside today’s newsletter:
	•	A short personal story
	•	A helpful reframe
	•	A four-step practice for unplugging without guilt
	•	A Bottom Line that might offer a needed reminder

If you’re hoping for more spacious leadership — this one might be worth your time.

Read it here or subscribe for future issues:

➡️

Think about the best team you’ve ever been part of.
What made it special?

- One mission.
- Shared language.
- Everyone leading boldly in their lane—
- All pulling in the same direction.

✅ When it clicks — it’s magic.

Athletic teams have it easy.
That shared understanding is built in:

- You know your role.
- You know how it helps the team.
- You speak the same language.
- The goal is clear.

In higher ed (and any workplace),
Clarity doesn’t happen by accident.

You have to build it:

👉 Define success.
👉 Connect every role to the mission.
👉 Create shared language around goals.

✅ Make the invisible—visible.

Leading a team?
Ask yourself:

👉 Is the goal crystal clear?
👉 Does everyone know how they fit?
👉 Do we speak the same language?

Great teams are built.
Be the architect.

----------------------------------

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Have you said this to yourself?
“I’ll rest over the break.”
Then the break comes… and you don’t.

We stay plugged in.
We “catch up.”
We promise ourselves we’ll slow down once things calm down — but things rarely do.

That’s why I wrote this week’s issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook.

It’s about what happens when we never interrupt the rhythm of constant responsiveness — and why rest isn’t a luxury, but a leadership discipline.

Inside the issue:
	•	The real cost of always being “on”
	•	Why constant responsiveness shrinks your perspective
	•	A simple 4-step practice for unplugging without guilt
	•	A challenge most leaders struggle with (and what it reveals)

If you didn’t get a chance to read it this weekend — or if you want leadership that feels a little more spacious this week — you can find it here:

➡️ https://lnkd.in/eggrBBsf

And if you want next week’s issue delivered straight to your inbox, you can subscribe at the same link.

Start your week with a little more room to breathe.

Years ago, I hired someone for a staff role who looked perfect on paper. 
Strong interview. Relevant experience. Already knew our systems. 

I was genuinely confident. 
But, 3 months later, I realized I'd made a costly mistake. 

Not because they weren't smart or capable—but because I'd been looking at the wrong things entirely. 

Tomorrow's issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook is about what that taught me about staff hiring in higher ed—and an important shift that changed how I build teams.

📩 Not subscribed yet?
Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eggrBBsf

Every Saturday, I send one practical insight for academic leaders. It goes out to 400+ campuses—and it could be in your inbox too.

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