With the number of directors who are leaving the profession and young directors who leave after only a few years, is it time we change?

What are the root causes and can we do something to help alleviate that?

Are we too competition focused?

I know some people say if you don't want to focus on competition than don't, but it's not that simple when admin says they also want that because they see it happening down the street.

Do we not advocate enough for work/life balance?

I've seen plenty of head directors demand their assistants stay because they are still working. The assistants feel trapped. Or staying late on a Friday night because we need to update the music library.

Do we allow the few to make decisions for the majority?

Not everyone has the same resources and it seems the same directors make the decisions based on their needs and programs and everyone goes with it because they are successful so they must know what they are doing. But it doesn't always work for everyone and people don't get a chance to be heard. There are directors out there who get their way at region meetings.

Do we get enough support from FAD's and campus admin or just demands on our time and energy?

I get it, it's a job and we have bosses but at what point can we say "that's not possible" without getting reprimanded. At what point is it ok to say, please give me more notice or time to work on that. Last minute emails demanding things by the end of the day isn't possible when you have a full class load.

I may just be venting but it seems some small changes or awareness would benefit a lot of people.