Lessons in Leadership

Betz Kerley

“May you live in interesting times.”

This is not a wish for peace and tranquility but, instead, a curse referencing upheaval and trouble.

With more and more businesses failing and many business models floundering, the curse seems to have been effective. (Given that it is said to be an ancient Chinese curse, perhaps that is not surprising.) The people running the show have never been in a more precarious position. Why? Some analysts blame shareholder pressure. Others point to a lack of effective leadership in corporations.

The same holds true in higher education. It, too, is under the microscope. Dissatisfaction is driven by various stakeholders, including government demands, student needs and satisfying local communities.

Today’s world has become tougher, more competitive and less forgiving of wasted resources and squandered opportunities. Even traditionally sheltered universities are now forced to conduct their activities in a more business-like manner.

Whether it is in the corporate world or in the world of academia, the search for effective leadership has never been more important. The economic climate demands that things be done differently. Leadership has become less hierarchical and more fragmented. Disparate groups of people must be guided to deliver goals. Technology is ever changing and more complex. Making the tough decisions to cut unnecessary overheads today, while setting attainable goals for tomorrow, may be the most challenging task of all. That’s why it is more important than ever before to understand what makes a good leader, whether it is on Wall Street or running a university.

Dr. Charles B. Knapp (interim director, Executive Ed.D. Program in Higher Education and president emeritus of the University of Georgia) has been hosting a series of guest lecturers in an on-going discussion about leadership. The speakers represent a vast range of experience and include a university president, the lieutenant governor of Georgia, a nationally recognized football coach and athletic director, and the president of Coca-Cola North America.

“I asked each of the speakers to come in and talk about the challenge that they faced, and then go through how they approached that challenge,” explains Knapp. “The people who came in to speak have different leadership styles — some were laid back and some were effervescent. Part of the lesson is that it’s not cookie cutter. These people have different leadership styles; they have different personalities.”

“All the people who came, though, had a sense of what they wanted to accomplish within the complicated organizations they were in,” Dr. Knapp continued. “They were smart about tactics, but they drove it all out of an overarching understanding of what they wanted to accomplish and why — why that was a good thing, and why you could get people to follow you. Vision to implementation was a common theme among all the speakers.”

The ability to change the way people look at issues is key to good leadership. Dr. Knapp stressed that all good leaders understand the need of gradual changes within an organization. “You have to affect change at a pace the environment can stand,” says Knapp. “Leadership should be about creating a vision, communicating a policy and implementing a strategy.”

Knapp concludes with this thought: “The students (in the Executive Ed.D. program) have to not only have the wealth of information that has been part of this program, but they also need to understand how to use it, and how to use it wisely.” Whether the job is branding and marketing a soft drink or taking the helm at a major university, the challenge is still the same.

“The commonality with leaders is they have an ability to see around corners,” says Knapp. “What you have to do is think about the way things are going to be five years out and hit that target.”

Invited Leadership Speakers:

Mike Cassidy, President and CEO, Georgia Research Alliance (GRA)

Dan Pap, President, Kennesaw State University

Tom Lewis, Special Assistant to the President, Georgia State University

Susan Herbst, President, University of Connecticut, Former Executive Vice Chancellor, University System of Georgia

Casey Cagel, Lieutenant Governor, State of Georgia

Holly Robinson, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

J. Alexander M. Douglas, Jr., President, Coco-Cola North America

Nancy McDuff, Associate Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Management, University of Georgia

Mark D. Musick, President, Southern Regional Education Board (retired)

Vince Dooley, Former Coach and Athletic Director, University of Georgia