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.

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.

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.

Three Great Leaders

It is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and it's also Inauguration Day for Barack Obama.  Not long ago, I saw the movie, "Lincoln."  What a convergence of three great leaders to contemplate.

I don't mean for this to be a political statement, so I send particular apologies to my Republican friends who may not agree with my belief that Obama is a great leader.  I guess only time will tell.

One thing I like about all three of them is their ability to inspire with their words.  I reread Martin Luther King Jr.'s, "I Have a Dream" speech, which was reprinted in our local paper this week.  Not only are his words inspiring to read, but they are even better spoken.  I've seen video of him giving this particular speech enough times now that I can still hear is voice in my head.  It is inspiring and appeals to our common humanity and belief that we can rise above our conflicts and be better people.  We'll never be perfect, but we can always strive to be better.   Have we arrived at this place he described yet?

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I found Obama's inauguration speech to be similarly compelling today.  Here is a segment that harkens back to Martin Luther King Jr. and other important events:

"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."

 And finally, I encourage you to see the movie Lincoln if you have not yet done so.   And take a minute to reread the Gettysburg Address.  It is so short, and yet it has had such a lasting impact.  Here are the final words:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 Let those of us who aspire to lead continue to think about how our words, both written and verbal, can inspire and move us forward.

Fostering Shared Leadership

Recently I took one of those inventories where you answer a set of questions about yourself, and then you get an analysis of your personal characteristics.  I am still processing the results I got, because I'm not totally comfortable with them.  Here's one result I feel conflicted about, "She likes to have control of most situations and can speak out clearly and forcibly when she sees the need to do so."

While I like the idea of being a strong leader, I don't much like the idea that I have to be in control of most situations.  This conflicts with my belief that a solution is best when it is the result of broad and thoughtful input from a diverse set of sources.  This is why I believe in the importance of leadership coming from all levels of an organization.

The article, "Leading from Every Chair," by Roger Schwarz brings out the importance of leadership at all levels.  For those who report to me, I encourage you to take that leadership role and stand up to me if I'm too controlling.  For my part, I promise to keep working on listening and learning from you all.

Celebrating Years of Leadership

Today I attended two retirement parties, both for long-time leaders at the UMD campus.  I am reflecting on the many years of leadership provided by these fine people.  

Steve Patterson has been an IT leader at UMD for forty years.  I have had the great pleasure of working with Steve for the past twenty years.  Steve has been a manager in ITSS for longer than I have been director.  Part of his leadership has been in mentoring me to be the best director I can be.  At his party, I offered this quote from Amy Rees Anderson:  "Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity is Forever." 

Judith Karon has been the UMD Director of Human Resources for the past twenty-four years.  She has been a tireless leader as well as a good friend.  Judith has also been a great mentor to me as I have worked through a number of personnel issues.  Most administrators, when asked what is the most difficult part of their job, will respond, "personnel issues."  Having Judith on my side has made this part of my job very much easier.

Please join me in celebrating the legacy of these two fine leaders.  And Happy Holidays to you all. 

The Value of Diplomacy

Do you remember the old adage, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?"  As an administrator, I get lots of vinegar.  So I loved this article by Allison M. Vaillancourt, "Nastiness Does Not Inspire Me to Action."  I have found that some people use rants instead of requests for assistance because they are naive or just don't know that diplomacy works better.  It's only a relative few who are just downright nasty people.

When I receive a rant, I usually wait a day or two to respond, so that I can be sure I am past my initial response of raised hackles.  Usually I respond calmly, and with an apology when it's called for.  With students in particular, I put on my educator's hat and try to teach them something about being more constructive in their attempts to get what they want.  One time I used the word "cyberspace" in a communication to students, and I got back a long rant telling what an old fogy I must be to use such an outdated word.  I responded in a way that tried to make clear that he was addressing a real person and not just a faceless administrator.  But I don't use "cyberspace" anymore.

The value of diplomacy goes the other way, too.  I have to keep my own impatience and certitude in check in order to get what I want from others.  I also love this article from Robert I. Sutton, "12 Things Good Bosses Believe."  Although I like all twelve of Sutton's points, here is my favorite, "Because I wield power over others, I am at great risk of acting like an insensitive jerk — and not realizing it."  So, if you work for me, practice your own diplomacy and find a way to tell me diplomatically if I have acted like an insensitive jerk.  I will thank you for it.