Never Settle for the Best

As I ponder the three questions from the Evans chapter, I'm drawn back to Jim Collins description of Level 5 leaders. These leaders, like authentic leaders, are driven by an innate quality that is impervious to outside forces. Their sense of integrity and commitment to their values overpowers the influences of family, higher level administrators, and naysayers. These two ideas, of the humble, yet willful Level 5 leaders and the authentic, savvy leaders, seem to overlap in an interesting way.

Dr. K asked us to think about the 3 questions on page 146. I'm going to answer these based on how I see myself and how I see leaders whom I admire.

1. How do I define my role as a leader? Well, right now, my leadership role is mostly as an instructor and occasionally in a departmental setting. This describes my duties, but not necessarily my role. I think of myself as mostly a facilitator. I tell my students that the only reason I'm at the front of the classroom instead of sitting down with them is because I've already been the one sitting, so now I have an opportunity to share with and learn from them.

The leaders I have found to be most effective in my work were often ones that I considered to be caring leaders; they cared about the people around them, the students we serve, and themselves (perhaps an important but sometimes overlooked link ?).

2. What inspires the best in staff? Again, I'll speak from an instructor's point of view. My students respond best when I emphasize, clearly, that they are capable of achieving what I have set out for them and that I will help them achieve their goals, if possible.

When I am in the position of a staff member, I respond best when leaders meet and try to help with actual needs. What do I mean by this phrase, actual needs? Well, I've been in situations where the leadership designed a "learning opportunity" for faculty that was basically a motivational speech ("students are gifts."). This activity did nothing to inspire me; in fact, I was almost resentful of the time spent in the workshop (papers to grade, emails to answer, etc...). However, similar but different workshops devoted to really understanding the institution and our role in the goal of the institution were very much appreciated and inspirational.

3. What are my strengths? Ahh, the 10 million (inflation) dollar question. I just don't know the answer to this question right now. I can make some guesses: determination, caring, interest in achievement. But, when it comes down to it, I'm just not sure what my major strengths are and how I would rely upon those strengths as a leader.

As to the leaders' strengths that I admire, one is charisma. A man that I know exudes from his pores a commitment to excellence. One day with him inspires you to consider running, not just a few miles, but a marathon. That's what I'd like my strength to be.

I keep thinking of Google's motto: Never settle for the best. I wonder how this would play out in the classroom if we could convince every single student to believe in that principle.