Rebuilding with Values-Based Governance: Lessons from a Glass Cliff Leadership Role

A department in crisis rebuilt its culture through values‑based governance. My department was in crisis and the world was locked down due to COVID restrictions, when I stepped into a Glass Cliff leadership role. Our faculty, staff, postdocs, and students worked together to articulate our shared values. These values became the foundation for three transformative practices: a Gap Analysis to align procedures with principles, adopting Formal Consensus Decision Making to ensure inclusive and values‑rooted decisions, and cultivating Compassionate Accountability grounded in covenantal relationships rather than punishment. Together, these practices created transparency, trust, and shared ownership of departmental life. Explicit values can stabilize a community in turmoil, strengthen relationships, and enable collaborative leadership—even in the most precarious circumstances.