In sum, our findings from this year's leadership workforce survey paint a picture of a workforce that is, at least by some measures, finding its footing again after the long, uncertain years of the pandemic. Budgets may be stabilizing. Fears of being laid off are low. Work travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels. And, overall, most IT and technology leaders are satisfied with most aspects of their work.

By other measures, though, the workforce faces notable headwinds. Workloads are excessive for most leaders, and many report experiencing work-related burnout. Few leaders report being able to create new positions for their department or unit, and salaries and mobility and growth opportunities are lagging behind other dimensions of work and threaten to send some looking for jobs elsewhere.

These post-pandemic challenges appear to be distributed unevenly across institutions and across different groups of leaders. Leaders at smaller institutions are still experiencing the pains of budget constraints, staffing shortages, and organizational downsizing. They continue to toil under the burden of "having to do more with less" that so many of us experienced ourselves to some degree or another over the past several years.

Women are still underrepresented in senior positions of IT and technology leadership at the institution. They are also more likely to experience work-related burnout and—though most leaders have flexible work location options—are more likely to favor being able to work remotely.

In light of both the promising and the concerning aspects of this report, we recommend several areas of focus as we all continue collectively to discuss, pool resources, and develop solutions for our future leaders:

• Doing less with less. The reality for many leaders is that their institution, or at least their department or unit, won't be returning to pre-pandemic budget and staffing levels anytime soon. Operating effectively with fewer resources and less capacity will require honest conversations and realistic planning to fit work to capabilities. The pandemic-era "more with less" operational model simply isn't sustainable, and it's time for kinder, more feasible workloads that can be managed over the long term.
• Prioritizing self-care. Relatedly, but important enough on its own merit, too many of us are still overworked and stressed and on the verge of burning out. Many of us may be able to relate all too well to these respondents' laments:

  "The implementation of a new ERP has significantly increased my workload. I lack the time during the work week to dig into matters and guide my team in a strategic manner. I end up working on the weekend to try to have uninterrupted time to solve matters, but sometimes by then, my brain just needs a rest."

  "I work 9–10 hour days to keep up, sometimes weekends. Things don't get completed as timely as they should. Constantly switching gears, which creates inefficiency."

  "Stretched very thin, making more mistakes, not responding to users in a timely manner. Feel exhausted and very unmotivated."

  Few of us learn "self-care" or "well-being" as a formal part of our professional education or training, and yet these skills have been and will continue to be critically important to our thriving and success in our work.

• Building flexible environments and roles. Flexibility can offer much to institutional and IT leaders, as an approach to offering themselves and their teams options in the locations and schedules within which they do their work and as an approach to growing and challenging their teams. Many of us still desire and prefer remote or hybrid work location models, particularly where those models help accommodate personal needs or challenges. And a desire among some leaders and staff for more mobility and growth may at least partly be satisfied by more flexibility in the tasks and responsibilities they can take on within their role, especially when budgets can't support promotions or new positions.

None of the above will be easy for us to address, either individually within our own institutions or collectively across our larger higher education community. But, at least in some small ways and as a place to begin, EDUCAUSE may offer a few resources worth exploring:

EDUCAUSE Professional Pathways. For more information on navigating the teaching and learning career pathway, check out EDUCAUSE's Professional Pathways: The Information Technology Pathway. Professional Pathways can help individuals identify knowledge and skills needed across various career stages. Through this site, you can also access toolkits that will help guide professional development needs and goals.

EDUCAUSE Senior Directors Institute. The EDUCAUSE Senior Directors Institute is a professional development program for senior leaders in higher education, such as deans, directors, and program chairs. The program is designed to address high-level campus-wide and leadership issues, while focusing on developing skills to effectively communicate, motivate and engage employees, spearhead strategies for institutional change, exercise strategic decision making, and lead the way in overcoming enterprise-level challenges.

EDUCAUSE Executive Leaders Academy. The newly designed EDUCAUSE Executive Leaders Academy is a hybrid, cohort-based, immersive and applied learning experience for higher education executive leaders or those actively seeking executive positions.

Strategies for Advancing Women's Leadership. The Strategies for Advancing Women's Leadership event is part of the EDUCAUSE Leadership Series. This event will take place over four weeks, with various opportunities to engage in synchronous, asynchronous, and collaborative learning. During the event, participants will explore the following topics: positioning for your next level, how women can elevate influence and maximize their leadership impact, and how to leverage the five superpowers of successful women leaders. Throughout, participants will meet, share with, and learn from a cohort of higher education professionals and leaders for networking and conversation.