The Leadership and Management Group had a lively first meeting in September with a number of useful takeaways. Three ideas stood out: first, that “tours” — getting out, walking around, and even finding excuses to do so — are one of the best ways to understand who does the work and where. Second, that leverage is often overlooked: people don’t always recognize that they can work with their stakeholders in ways that simplify their own jobs while delivering more effectively on everyone’s goals. Third, that in higher education we often assume everyone knows what the “output” is, when in fact this can be unclear — and naming it explicitly can be an important and useful conversation.
The group’s next book will be David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around, the story of a submarine captain who had to decentralize command to make his crew succeed. Some say it’s one of President Larson’s favorite leadership books. We’ll meet in late January from 12:15–1:15 p.m. on Zoom. The book is available on Kindle and audiobook.
All are welcome — staff, faculty, and students.
Organizers: Laura Perry, Ali Kocho-Williams, and Stephen Casper