323.829.3789
Continuity through
Disruption
Pivoting through disruption involves the collective ability to determine what is possible now, what must wait and exactly how to proceed to achieve student, research and service priorities.
Pivot. Adapt. Evolve.
Crucial Shift Consulting
helps colleges and universities
navigate the complexities of continuous change
by focusing on realignment to the mission.
A college is not just academics, administration or operations—it is human beings with different expertise, perspectives and experiences, coming together to achieve a mission bigger than themselves. That mission is likely compromised since virtually every part of each college and university has been disrupted by continuous change.
The institutions—and the people who make them work—carry the weight of many pressures and competing priorities. They carry unfinished initiatives alongside new demands on the same people, systems and resources that are already stretched thin. They cannot absorb one more initiative or shift in direction until everyone understands the impact of what is being carried.
Nothing Works in Isolation
An unprecedented level of shared governance is required to help decision-makers at all levels move forward together to renew the people, systems, resources, organizational culture and relationships that make achieving the mission possible through continuous disruption. PIVOT. ADAPT. EVOLVE. - That is our charge!
You're Not Alone!
72% of administrators identified managing change as one of their toughest challenges, according to a 2022 survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Watermark.
Systematic change management has to be incorporated into daily practice because how problems are understood and how solutions are developed and implemented shape outcomes as much as the solutions themselves. Everything is interrelated. Resource decisions affect people. Systems influence processes. Data inform decisions, but people carry them out. Leaders impact the entire organization.
Crucial Shift Consulting works side by side at every organizational level to navigate the common barriers that interfere. IT'S ALL ABOUT CAPACITY. Together, we'll sort out and strengthen the relationships among people, systems, processes, resources and evidence—because that's where interventions either take hold or unravel.
The Crucial Shift
Difference?
We start from the beginning.
The outcome? Not just a completed project but a stronger institution.
Engagement
Strategies and projects to enhance stakeholder communication and engagement, along with training and support for internal cross-campus teams that continually assess capacity and support organizational goals.
Decision-Making
Frameworks and facilitation that expand campus-wide capacity to make decisions faster and more sustainably while moving forward more deliberately, transparently and effectively.
Implementation
Tools for cross-campus project planning and implementation that surface the hidden dynamics unique to higher education and provide support to navigate complexity, align priorities and drive progress.
When things change
we often seek comfort in the familiar.
Yet, this moment demands we do something different—
starting with crucial shifts in mindset and action
to navigate a new normal.
College President
"Thank you for seeing what we didn't see.
Our trust in your process paid off."
Helping turn complexity
into shared understanding.
Perspectives
A faculty member, an administrator and an operations manager may all be responding to the same situation, but they often begin from different understandings of what is happening and what solution is needed.
Understanding
Our work is not about convincing faculty to think like administrators or administrators to think like operations professionals. We build a common frame for each to recognize realities that others are experiencing.
Action
Context shapes what works and no two colleges or universities are alike. Every step of the way, Crucial Shift Consulting tailors tools and practices to each institution’s unique culture, challenges, priorities and resources, strengthening alignment where it is needed most.
Past Projects
We respect the confidentiality of every client relationship. While identifying clients is common practice, Crucial Shift Consulting does not ask our clients to publicly disclose their identities. Change management depends on trust, candor and confidentiality, and our work often involves complex organizational dynamics and sensitive challenges. We do however, provide references to potential clients upon request.
The projects below were completed as an employee or consultant.
Division
Reorganization
Led a student-facing division in planning a reorganization, including programs, staffing, structures, administrative processes and resources, with change and transition management protocols incorporated throughout the process.
Strategic
Planning
Led strategic planning, continuous improvement initiatives and professional development for a facilities division with 400 staff. The organization achieved 90% of objectives on time across multiple planning cycles.
Project
Management
Planned and successfully implemented a university-wide compliance program spanning more than 200 departments across multiple campuses and serving academic, research and medical faculty and staff.
Stakeholder
Engagement
Upgraded a division’s internal and external communication protocols, channels and content, strengthening stakeholder engagement and improving organizational effectiveness.
Planned and Implemented town hall meetings, retreats and other inteventions related to major projects and conflict mediation.
Change
Management
Led two critical process reengineering initiatives that transformed facilities operations by improving workflow efficiency, cross-functional coordination and service delivery. Directed the transition strategy for an industry award - winning process reengineering initiative.
"Every inefficient process forces people and organizations to carry unnecessary weight."
Performance
Improvement
Utilized a range of methodologies to assess gaps in human performance and designed practical, measurable blended-learning solutions, including executive coaching, webinars, workshops, classes and online learning content.
Implemented change management for enterprise-wide technology initiatives such as eLearning and ePerformance Management.
Donna M. Buchanan, Ed.D., President
Dr. Donna M. Buchanan understands how operations, people, governance, resources and leadership interact because she has over 25 years of experience working alongside professionals at every level across higher education institutions to systematically achieve mission-driven goals.
As a higher education administrator and internal and external consultant, she has personally led complex projects across academic, administrative, medical and research units. Dr. Buchanan has also designed and facilitated leadership development courses for staff and faculty, as well as industry workshops and presentations. Her work is informed by scholarship on how people and institutions adapt and evolve.
Higher Education
Experience
As adjunct faculty, visiting faculty and a guest lecturer, Dr. Buchanan taught leadership, business management, strategic planning and change management, human development and higher education administration to students and professionals from a wide range of backgrounds and ages across a variety of colleges and leadership programs.
For a decade at the University of Southern California, she led organizational and leadership development, change management, strategic planning, process reengineering, stakeholder engagement, succession planning, conflict mediation and systemwide project implementation across multiple campuses.
As an internal and external consultant, Dr. Buchanan has supported leaders in solving problems, implementing programs and expanding capacity to achieve their goals.
Broad Professional
Experience
Previously, Dr. Buchanan also worked in sales, marketing, management and training for Bullock's Department Stores, Procter & Gamble and KCPQ-13 TV. She has served as a founding board member of organizations and programs and in other volunteer capacities.
Dr. Buchanan holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern California, a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Human Development and Teaching Adults (andragogy) from Pacific Oaks College and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from Loyola Marymount University.
Dr. Buchanan's unique combination of experiences provides her with a distinctive vantage point and expertise for navigating the human and organizational dynamics that shape change in colleges and universities.
Let's Connect!
Are you responsible for holding things together while everything around you is changing too fast?
I understand what that is like.
Bring your questions, your ideas or simply the situation you're trying to make sense of. We'll spend 45 minutes exploring it together.
No pressure. No promises. No sales pitch. No charge.
Donna M. Buchanan, Ed.D.
DrB@Crucialshiftconsulting.com
323.829-3789