|
Blog ArchiveNot in the Leadership Manual
Graham Spanier
Unconventional university presidents welcome.November 6, 2008 If you listened to all of the analysis, discussions, debates, rumors, Internet legends, and late-night jokes, one would believe that leadership was the key to this election victory. But of the many government, business and academic leaders I know, the path to leadership is decidedly unpredictable, even unexpected. I’ve never met a university president who will admit to starting out his or her career with the goal of becoming a university president. The majority of us started out as academics, as professors who wanted to teach, do research, and publish our work. We wanted to excite our students and contribute to knowledge. Somewhere along the way we were lured into administration. Usually, with the first couple of administrative posts, we retained our professorial identity, fooling ourselves into believing that the administrative assignment was a short-term endeavor and that we would before long return to our first love, or at least never give it up full-time. We tried valiantly, sometimes successfully, to continue our scholarly work. But along the way many of the best administrators were tapped for more senior positions, and before we knew it we had gone over to the dark side. The problem for some is that there is no leadership manual for the presidency, or for deanships and provostships for that matter. Sure, there are lots of books, leadership seminars, and conferences where the elders share their stories. Maybe I’d be a better president if I had gone to more of these, but the ones I did go to didn’t turn on the light for me. In fact, I’ve learned more from watching what has gone wrong with presidencies than from listening to presentations on what went right. Thus, many of us invent our own approaches. Some of mine are admittedly unconventional, but they help me stay in touch, and they work for me. Among them: • Moving into the residence halls for the first weekend of each year to keep my finger on the pulse. • Each year I get a summary (with names removed, of course) of the most frequently prescribed medications being given to our students. One can learn a lot about health trends this way. • Visiting the bookstore to learn what Penn State gear is popular, what students are reading, and what they are buying for fun. • Performing with students whenever I’m asked (magic, music, theatre, and even baton twirling). • Eating with students in the residence halls, fraternities, and the union. I always ask them who their favorite professor is and what they would change about the university if they were president. • Dropping in on the practices of our sports teams, playing in intramurals, and meeting with recruits when asked. I learn a bundle from these and other activities, but equally important for me is that they provide opportunities to inject some fun into the job — a concept you don’t always find in the leadership manuals. |
