Thursday, February 21, 2013

Integrity

Here is a great article from Forbes by Amy Rees Anderson, "Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity Is Forever."  It is not difficult to find multiple examples of dishonesty every day in the news.  Less often, but more striking, are the examples of individuals who self-destruct very publicly through some lapse in integrity.  Many of these are sex scandals, but even worse are those whose behavior is rooted in greed and have resulted in the downfall of some of the largest corporations in the world.

Granted, we are all human, and as such, we can be very tempted by things we want badly.  Part of integrity is to develop a straight moral compass and the strength to stick to the course.  When you find yourself tempted, think about the possible outcomes.  It can take years to build a fine reputation and only a few minutes to destroy it.  Your integrity and reputation are much more important than a few extra dollars or a few minutes of self-gratification.

If you want to be a leader, build your reputation and maintain your integrity, or you may find your followers unwilling to trust you and follow your lead.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Perseverance

On Friday, rather than spending time writing this blog, I attended a program on campus titled, "Profiles in Courage."  That explains why I am writing this on Sunday, but it also led me to my thoughts for today.

The program featured two African-American military officers who are part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.  Both spoke of their struggles, and those of their peers, to break the color barrier in the U.S. military, and to be allowed to become pilots.  I enjoyed listening to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Hiram Mann and COL (Ret.) Nathan Thomas, Jr. speak about their experiences. One thing that struck me about both of them is how they had to persevere in the face of the many obstacles put in their way due to racism.

Lt. Col. Mann had to apply three times before he was accepted for flight training, and he was finally accepted because the military had established a flight school for African-Americans at Tuskegee Air Force Base by this time.  The first two times, he was denied access simply for being black.  COL Thomas told the story of a colleague who was the first African-American accepted at the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.  This man endured four years of training during which no one spoke to him except when absolutely necessary.  Think of the perseverance and strength of spirit it must have taken to succeed in such rigorous training with no support from friends and peers.

Sometimes leaders need to make hard choices and to stand up for what they believe is right, even when faced with tremendous opposition.  Please join me in honoring the sacrifices made by the Tuskegee Airmen.  These sacrifices include both the risks they took in military combat and the efforts they made to change the attitudes toward race in this country.


Friday, February 8, 2013

Good Leaders Are Inspiring

This week I encountered a very interesting article, "The #1 Fatal Flaw of Uninspiring Leaders," by Joe Folkman of the Zenger | Folkman Blog.  According to the author, this #1 flaw is "lack of energy and enthusiasm."  I recommend you read this article for some very interesting details.

What seemed particularly interesting to me is that people tend to cluster according to their happiness level;  happy people cluster together and unhappy people cluster together.  There is an interesting graph in this article that demonstrates this phenomenon.

I think I am basically pretty happy, and I find that optimism is one of my traits that helps me the most.  Sure, I have my grumpy days, and I have people that I don't like that much.  But mostly I find that if I can hold onto the idea that things will turn out okay, it helps me keep my energy and enthusiasm up.

I am lucky to work with a group of people who have many talents and skills.  I have a lot of faith in them.  Collectively we can do things that no one of us is able to do.  I am enthusiastic about technology, but I am even more enthusiastic about the staff in ITSS.

So take a minute to think about the cluster of people you spend the most time with.  Are they happy or unhappy?  Are you happy or unhappy?  If the answer is unhappy, take a crack at ratcheting up your energy and enthusiasm.  Does it have a positive impact on your group?  Does it make work more fun as well as productive?  I'll be interested to know.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Looking for New IT Leaders

We have just finished a difficult but fulfilling task, finding two new leaders for UMD Information Technology Systems and Services.  Here are some things I learned along the way.

University search processes are very helpful.  Sometimes it can feel onerous to follow all the steps down to the detail.  But those steps are in place to make sure we do a good job.  Most importantly, we need to be scrupulously fair and inclusive.

Find a great search team and listen to them.  We were very lucky to have a great search team, including three members from outside our department.  Our outside members gave us perspectives that we would not otherwise have heard.  They provided the voice of the customer.  Taken together, the members of the search team provided a collective wisdom that would not have been there if I had been operating solo.  Yes, I made the final decision, but that final decision was well informed, thanks to our search team.

Appoint a great search chair and rely on that chair.  Initially I wanted to chair this search team myself, but I am the appointing authority, and at our university, those roles must be separate.  So I asked Jason Davis to take the role of search chair, and he did a spectacular job.  He made sure we followed all the rules, he made all the arrangements, and he led the team spectacularly.  He also helped me think through some strategies for making and negotiating offers.  Thanks so much, Jason!

Learn from the experience.  Interviewing takes a great deal of time, especially when you have nine candidates, as we did.  Listening to these upcoming leaders gave me multiple opportunities to reflect on my own leadership and to think about how to mentor others to develop their leadership.  I learned something from every candidate.