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Leadership lessons from George H.W. Bush

President George H.W. Bush is an intriguing political figure. He was a popular wartime president and foreign policy expert. Yet, his presidency was only one term due to failings in communication and domestic policy. I recently read Jon Meacham’s excellent biography, Destiny and Power:  The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. As an old history major, I find biographies fascinating. Meacham’s account was quite well done and left me thinking about leadership lessons from George H.W. Bush.

Photo courtesy: PBS

George H.W. Bush was as well prepared to assume the presidency as anyone in modern history. He was a decorated pilot in World War II.  He served in Congress, as Ambassador to the United Nations, Republican National Committee chair, and eight years as Vice President.

Bush lead during a time of tremendous change with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, and the first Gulf War.

However, President Bush also struggled with communicating his vision for the country as well as his domestic policy priorities.

In addition, he was distrusted by movement conservatives within his own party which confronted him through much of his political career.

After reading Meacham’s book, three leadership lessons seem relevant for higher education leaders and more generally.

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Mount St. Mary’s president should be fired

Another day, another crisis in shared governance. This time the crisis has roiled Mount St. Mary’s University, a small private, liberal arts, Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Mount St. Mary’s hired Simon Newman, a former private equity director, as president in December, 2014. He had no experience in higher education but at the time of his hiring said his career gave him experience in fundraising, marketing, and strategic planning. In recent days, the campus has erupted in controversy with a plan to weed out likely to fail students, firing faculty critics, and forcing the resignation of the provost. There is only one appropriate conclusion to this episode, Mount St. Mary’s president should be fired.

Photo credit: Mount St. Mary’s

It is attractive to small universities that struggle financially to recruit a powerful business executive with a history of raising money. After all, the institution desperately needs fiscal stability. However, especially at small universities, presidents must be able to successfully navigate the faculty and academic responsibilities of the institution.

Clearly, Mr. Newman has failed on this front.

If I served as one of the university’s trustees, I would immediately move to fire Simon Newman and for cause.

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A lack of faculty voice

Faculty are under enormous pressure today. Most professions are probably being asked to do more with less. Yet, I contend the working environment for faculty has changed dramatically—and not for the better—in recent years. The 3rd annual Times Higher Education (THE) University Workplace Survey includes troubling data that faculty complaints aren’t just a U.S. problem. There is substantial concern about a lack of faculty voice in decision making. Faculty don’t feel like they are heard or have a say in setting institutional strategy and priorities. This is a failure of university leadership.

The THE survey asked 3,000 faculty and staff from 150 U.K. Universities about the status of their work.  They found a troubling pattern of faculty concerns regarding job security, workload, academic standards, accountability measures, and faculty input on decisions.

Clearly, many of these issues are significant and warrant attention by institutional leaders.

However, I am most troubled by the finding of a lack of faculty voice in decision making.

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How to prepare for an on campus faculty interview

The faculty job market today is tougher than it has been in a generation. Fewer positions and more doctoral graduates in nearly every discipline have ratcheted up the difficulty in successfully landing a faculty position. Just securing a campus interview is a often a reason for celebration as it means you’ve made it through rounds of reviews and Skype or phone interviews. But how to prepare for an on campus faculty interview? In today’s post, I will provide tips and suggestions to successfully navigate the grueling on campus interview.

Photo credit: Flickr Matse A

My first on campus interview was taxing. I can’t think of a time where I have been more exhausted. Two days of talking, networking, and selling myself took a toll.

Fortunately, I got good advice from advisers and mentors and was able to land an offer.

Over the years, I’ve seen candidates doom their chances while others hit a home run securing the job.

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Implementing Cal Newport’s Deep Work

Deep work should be the goal of all of us in higher education. As Cal Newport convincingly argues in his book of the same name, deep work is focused work in a distraction-free environment that brings value. The challenge, of course, is how to implement deep work into our daily routines. In addition to discussing the broader concepts, Newport also suggests ways to achieve deep work in our daily lives. In today’s post, I want to share some key takeaways that I believe will help when implementing Cal Newport’s deep work.

Photo credit: Datamerge LLC

As I discussed in my last post, shallow work takes over in the absence of clear feedback and immediate rewards for deep work. Shallow work is easier and the appearance of busyness makes us feel more productive.

Although he offers far more suggestions than I outline below from the simple to the more controversial (quit all social media), I believe these six ideas will get you well on the way to implementing the deep work philosophy.