Here is something I hear all the time from career services leaders:
🔹 The president doesn’t get it. 🔹 The provost doesn’t understand. 🔹 The deans don’t care. 🔹 The faculty are too busy. 🔹 The employers aren’t showing up.
I hear it from my clients. I hear it in LinkedIn DMs. I hear it at conferences...
So many people should be paying attention to career services, but… they’re not.
Unbelievable but true: I had a supervisor who would text through all of our meetings.
How do we turn this around?
Recently, someone on LinkedIn asked me:
"What do you think is one of the biggest challenges in career services?"
(Holy heck—where do I even start?)
But if I had to choose, here’s one: The constant need to make the case—for students to engage, for leadership to invest, for faculty to collaborate, and for employers to recruit.
And too often, our best arguments don’t land.
Why? Because we’re not creating the right kind of urgency.
Urgency vs. panic: why fear sabotages change
Studies show:
✅ Kotter (1995, 2008)—Urgency gets things moving. But too much? Paralysis. ✅ Lewin (1947)—Emotional stir-ups can unfreeze a stale status quo—but also cause panic. ✅ Rock (2008)—Fear literally limits creativity and problem-solving. ✅ Amabile & Kramer (2011)—People do their best work when they feel progress, not pressure.
🔹 Urgency sparks action. 🔹 Fear sparks bad decisions.
🎯 Translation? People need a push—but they also need to believe they can succeed.
Let's not try this one at home.
4 ways to get leadership moving—without the meltdown (or concussion)
1️⃣ Be specific about the consequences
What actually happens if nothing changes?
Instead of vague doom: 🚫 “We’ll fall behind in employer engagement.”
Try: ✅ “If we don’t secure funding for additional staff, we risk losing employer partnerships to competitor schools. That means fewer jobs for students and a drop in career outcomes.”
Show the real stakes. Not just bad things might happen, but here’s what we stand to lose.
2️⃣ Highlight missed opportunities (not just risks)
Instead of only pointing out what’s at risk, emphasize what leadership could gain by taking action.
🚫 “If we don’t upgrade career services, we’ll struggle to keep up.”
✅ “Investing in a career services revamp would make us the top choice for recruiters looking for diverse, career-ready grads.”
People fear loss—but they love a win even more.
3️⃣ Pair risk with a clear next step
Ever heard someone lay out a HUGE problem… and then just stop?
🚫 “We’re at risk of losing funding and employer relationships.”
✅ “We can change this by realigning our employer engagement strategy. Here’s how.”
Don’t just tell them why it matters—show them what to do next.
4️⃣ Keep the stakes high—but the stress low
Pressure makes people defensive. Urgency gets them moving. The trick? Make them care without making them panic.
Try: 💬 “Waiting another fiscal year means losing a full recruiting cycle—leading to fewer placements next year.”
Versus: 🚨 “If we don’t act now, the career center will implode and we’ll all be unemployed by the end of the fiscal year!”
Balance is key. The goal is momentum, not meltdown.
Real-life win: Turning “no” into action
One of my coaching clients struggled to get leadership to invest in a third employee.
All of their time was spent delivering advising and running events, so there was virtually no time to conduct outreach to employers, devise strategies to increase student engagement, and collaborate with faculty.
Their original pitch? Too vague. Leadership nodded politely—and did nothing.
When they reframed the problem—focusing on lost employer relationships, fewer student job offers, and declining rankings—everything changed.
✅ Funding was approved. ✅ Their own role was to be redefined. ✅ Their provost even offered to advocate for faculty participation.
Why? They created urgency without panic.
Create urgency that moves the needle
Urgency works—when it’s framed the right way.
1️⃣ Be specific about the consequences (What happens if we do nothing?) 2️⃣ Highlight missed opportunities (What could we gain?) 3️⃣ Pair risk with a clear action (What should we do now?) 4️⃣ Keep the stakes high—but the stress low (Urgency, not panic.)
Try this approach in your next leadership conversation. See how it changes the response.
It makes your meetings more productive—and keeps your boss focused on what matters.
Final word: Don’t fall for the wrong kind of urgency
Everything we’ve talked about—framing risk, creating urgency, making a compelling case for change—is powerful. When used well, it moves important work forward.
But look around, and you’ll see this same strategy weaponized in other ways.
The federal administration is a case study in this. Their chaotic messaging and rapid policy changes aren’t designed to help institutions adapt—they’re designed to keep them off balance. Rapid shifts, vague directives, and endless uncertainty create fear and reaction, not thoughtful, strategic action.
And when people are overwhelmed, they struggle to push back, plan ahead, or even articulate the case for what’s needed.
The takeaway? Don’t let this happen to you.
Use your skills to create urgency for real progress. Stay clear on your mission. Focus on what you can control. Align with the people who are working toward something better.
You already have a community behind you.
The Career Services Accelerator exists because so many of us believe in a better way forward. And this newsletter? It’s part of a growing network of career services leaders who are pushing for real, meaningful change.
So keep going, Reader. Keep making the case. And if you need a place to connect, strategize, and refuel, this community is here for you.
