Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships, assistant deanships, or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, Jana L. Pressler, PhD, RN, and Carole A. Kenner, PhD, RNC-NIC, FAAN, the editors of this department, address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract; obtaining faculty lines; building effective work teams; managing difficult employees; and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. In this article, the editors asked guest author, Dr Judy Wright Lott, to discuss the important role advisory boards have for deans.