New President Interview part 43
Leadership in the Organization
Question> The late
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote many articles and a
book on leadership in the Bible. Many of the concepts of leadership and human
behavior directly apply to people today. How does leadership fit into the College
both as an organization and as an educational institution trying to nurture
leaders.
Answer>One of the most difficult types of questions to answer is one that has unclear expectations. Recently I heard mathematician, Harold Gans, try to describe a proof. Before one can prove something, one needs to define both “proof” and “fact.” He can give us the standard mathematical proofs for geometry or algebra, but there is one classification of math theorems that he knows is correct and can’t prove it. That is given any even number there is a set of two prime numbers that can be added together to give that number. One can define prime and even numbers and the addition operation, but there is no proof possible. Kurt Gödel creates paradoxical statements that are correct but if you offer proof they can not be correct. .
Another
example of an impossible paradox is illustrated by this story. There is a class consisting of students who
are always trying to find a question the teacher can’t answer or look up. One student comes up with a “perfect”
plan. He tells his fellow students that
he will capture and hold a butterfly in his hands and ask the teacher, “Is the
butterfly alive or dead?” If the teacher
says, “alive” the student will crush the life out. If the teacher says, “dead” the student will
open his hand and let the butterfly fly away.
The students thought this was a foolproof way to catch the teacher in a
mistake. The teacher, who had been
teaching leadership qualities all semester was ready for this question. The teacher praised the initiative and
ingenuity of the student. The teacher
shared the vision of the class includes students learning how to act in new
situations. Finally, after praising and
mentoring, the teacher said, “You have succeeded in creating a question that
the answer is in your hands, not mine.”
I
can tell you some of the qualities of leadership, but I can’t precisely define
or prove it exists. The search for leadership
is a paradox; before you find it, .it will change. One person’s view of the description of righteous leadership may be
another’s description of tyrannical leadership. Kindness, respect, and
mentorship are the aspects of positive leadership. Bullying, force, and disrespect are negatives and should not be examples of leadership.
The
basic goal of leadership is to accomplish a long term goal. However, “long term” may be relative to what we
call “short term.” Management is the
application of rules and procedures to complete a job. These jobs may last a few seconds or be indefinite
(such as maintaining a building). A leader makes the rules; a managers enforces the
rules. Sometimes one person is both a
leader and a manager. The president of a
college must be a visionary and understand the systems so that the rules
can be created. The president also needs
to enforce the decisions to make sure they are accomplished. Very few people have a job that is pure
leadership. Leadership could be rotating such as a small committee where a
leader must move the group toward the goal. Leadership could be part of the
daily routine. Leaders have to take
chances, not be afraid to fail, learn constantly, listen, and access the routine
or changing situations.
Here
are two leadership situations 1) In Perke Avot 2:6 (Sayings of the
Fathers) “In a place where there are no men... be a man!” This applies
to small groups and to large organizations. When the situation warrants, someone needs to take leadership and perform the mission. The need for leadership also applies when people are acting improperly, someone needs to act maturely and change the situation. This is what I call situational leadership. 2) A second situation is when a responsible person is elected, selected, or appointed to be a leader. Leadership is a constant part of that person’s job.
Leadership
concerns the use and distribution of power and getting people to perform a
task, job or mission.
Q> What! I thought power was a negative. How does a
leader use power?
A>
Every person, group and organization
has power. The power could be time,
energy, finance, or physical resources. The
allocation of power is both a leadership and management activity. Leaders set
the goals and mission. That is the big picture.
Managers must apply and enforce the policies and rules. At the end of
the day, the faculty, students, and administration need the same goals. (Sometimes
these goals are mirror images. The faculty
teach; the students learn; the goal is to educate.) There are several ways to
motivate and all are needed.
1) Reward and punishment – we give financial and psychological rewards for performance. We correct mistakes and sometimes punish
offenders. For example, the organization pays people a salary and may give bonuses or
prizes. The organization may give awards
such as “employee of the month.” We
evaluate actions and performance. Words of praise and recognition are powerful
motivators.
2)
Setting examples – leaders do what they say.
A teacher will set an example of good behavior. A leader or manager will
exhibit behaviors that the group should emulate. The work ethic should be demonstrated. A manager cannot expect people to come on
time when they don’t. It is a way of teaching without words.
3) Training and information
sharing – organizations are complex.
Technology changes quickly, situations develop. All are examples of what members need to
know. For instance, if a new piece of
equipment is installed or software program purchased, make sure to train the
people how to use it. People need to understand the power and features of the systems
so that their time and company time is well spent. Don’t let the complex system waste their
time. People should be cross trained in many systems
so that they can understand how others work and can step in when needed.
Information
should flow freely. Keeping information
in silos can lead to duplication of efforts and people working against each
other. The leader sets up communication
channels so that operational and systems information is shared. The information must also be archived for
future generations to learn from. In the
college we have accreditation reports every few years. Some of the information requested for the
accreditation agencies is the same with minor variations. The older reports are both part of the
intuitional history and a guide for a new report.
We
also need to watch out for information overload. The president does not need to know when a
particular copier does not work but does need to know when there is a pattern
to be addressed with the vendors. Each person needs to know or how to find the
information they require to perform their jobs. Sometimes this information may be
found in a directory, internal documents or within web pages. With this information
the person can feel empowered. For the organization to act as a team, members
learn what is important to other units and departments. In the college we have academic departments
(faculty), student support (counselors, tutors, financial aid, and others
involved in helping students succeed), physical plant support (maintenance, cleaning,
security, etc.), administrative (deans, directors, managers, human resources, marketing,
accounting, etc.) and people working on long term concepts such as long term
planning and building projects. Each department has people with special
training and foci. A professor is the
one responsible for instruction, but they depend on the physical plant to have
a classroom ready for use. (When we go back to classroom.) Leaders make sure
the mission and task of each department is knowable.
When
people understand the systems and the information is flowing, the highest level
of leadership can exist, self-actualization.
4) Self-actualization -- The last one is the most
desirable and most important of all. That is when the leadership is
internalized as part of the corporate culture. When the people have the tools
and when the situation requires, they will take up leadership. The leadership could be control of the self
or control of the group. The college president who has trained the organization
well, has a team that express the leadership goals in ways that people work by habit.
The “habits” are the behaviors the self-actualization. An effective leader
habituates his organization to perform positively and kindly and fill the needs
of the people in the organization and the organization itself.
Q> Your power statements are very
similar to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He lists five areas—physiological,
safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. Are your power statements
connected?
A> I can’t get away from my
psychology background. People need to
feel good in order to be happy. Just like Maslow’s ideas concerning individual
needs are part of the mature psyche, the organization has needs. The need for the
building to work is like the physiological and safety needs. If the building needs repair, is not cleaned
and not a welcoming place, the work and learning will suffer. If the people are
not friendly, caring, or able to work together, that is similar to Maslow’s
lack of love on the personal level. If the systems don’t work and there is a
lack of esteem, that is an indication the workers are missing key aspects of
institutional information.
The
challenge of “power” is how to use to motivate and not corrupt. Rabbi Sacks
talks of two examples of leaders, one shows leadership qualities from an early age
as if his/her entire upbringing and education leads to leadership. The second
is a frailer personality who makes mistakes, learns from the mistake, learns how
to repent, and then assumes a leadership role. Rabbi Sacks brings up the
example of a president who commits sexual misconduct. Do we want or can we ever trust a president
who mistreats people even when it has nothing to do with the organization? The
answer is, “no,” because if he lied to some people about the misconduct, then
how can we trust him with the organization.
Another person over 20 years ago made a poor business decision. Now the organization is desperately trying to
survive. He is in a similar situation
now. He learned from his mistake and now does not repeat his sin. He steps up to a leadership role. He exhibits a complete repentance that we believe.
Is he forgiven? “Yes,” because he learned
from his mistake. His actions and words of repentance match.
Q> How does one nurture leadership
in the College?
A>
The short answer is to share
power, offer opportunities to take responsibility for one’s actions, give
people to knowledge they require to succeed, learn constantly, and create a caring
and respectful atmosphere. The long
answer would take a yearlong graduate seminar.
Just
because you follow all my advice does not mean you will have a successful and
prosperous company or organization. First,
the organization has to have the right people with the best talent. If they can
be motivated to work toward success, then there is a great chance of
prospering. Second, some conditions are
just beyond the leader’s control. One
can’t control the weather or the whims of the public. If no one is buying the product or service,
the organization will not prosper.
However, long-term planning and marketing can overcome some of the market
fluctuations and natural phenomena. A year ago, no one could predict the
disruption in our society due to the pandemic.
Some companies were able to change focus and succeed. To change the organization,
people need to act as a team with a common mission.
Q>As always you have given me much
to think about. We are out of time. Thank you.
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Part forty-three of imaginary interviews with the president of the
College. After more than 40 interviews the president is no longer “new,” but
since we are all works in progress, I am continuing the series as if s/he were
a “new president.” Please feel free to suggest new ideas for interviews and
presidential comments. This article is for your information, amusement, and
edification. Everything is true, but some details have not yet happened. Any
connection to a real college or president is strictly coincidental.
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