Academic Leadership

As a young, eager music student in 1980, I was fascinated by the sound of our college choir. After one particular and spectacular performance, I approached the director and asked him how he achieved such musical excellence from his choirs. He said he imagines the goal in his head and then works relentless to achieve that goal. He then admitted he had never attained the vision in his head but he would not give up until he reached it. Such is my practice and philosophy of academic leadership.

Obviously accreditation and legal compliance guide much of our decision making process and we must constantly be alert to how our actions fit the requirements of our respondent agencies. This makes leadership about benchmarking and compliance, aiming for targets and satisfying the core requirements. Such becomes the trappings of academic leadership--seeking and accomplishing accreditation requirements. But somehow in spite of the necessity of meeting all requirements, leadership that is solely about accreditation is not really high quality leadership. For leadership to be meaningful, it must involve people, communication, and purpose.

As we examine the myriad of activities and responsibilities expected in academic leadership, it often becomes beneficial to reduce out the peripheral and innocuous while prolonging and prioritizing the substantive. It is in the analysis of the substantive that we find the people and make decisions that serve the most constituents. This requires a great deal of listening to others and facilitating broad communication through team-building, shared governance, and consensus development. This is a process of inspiration about the vision and motivation to accomplish the purpose. When we set forth the vision, academic leaders must then consider how to use teams to inspire and motivate.

Among the theories of leadership to which I subscribe, including practical, transactional, behavioral, participatory, and influence, I propose that the best leaders use the system that serves the greatest good and the vision. My approach to leadership is to practice Total Quality Management as much as possible in a structured and comprehensive style that embraces data, perception, and specific goals. Application of TQM style encompasses an eclectic mix of styles with the idea of prolonging excellence in all areas and reducing out the problems not serving the vision.

In a Christian context, and we desire this context in our lives and in our workplace, leaders must lead with integrity, honesty, transparency, and inspiration in all matters, serving as a model example of excellence in both lifestyle and profession. Retaining faith and discipline in both vision and in practice are essential qualities for success in academic leadership. As Christian Leaders in academia we have a responsibility to lead positively with compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and strength.