The role of leadership legacy
What is the role of leadership legacy in addressing critical issues in higher education?
It is the responsibilty of leaders to establish thier legacy to set a positive example in the organization. The leaders must proactively find solutions to all the challenges facing education so that all students have the ability to start and finish a degree that will enhance his or her life. The leaders must encourage their teams to do what they can for the students that they can; and overcome challenges one at a time.
There always have and always will be challenges in Financial aid, graduation rates and enrollments rates, etc; the leaders in any organization must learn new skills and trends to overcome whatever obstacle is presented.
You're right, Christina, leaders will face a myriad of challenges with the organization. It sounds like you believe it's important that leaders within the organization are aware of solutions that have worked as well as watch trends in education to determine what might apply to the organization. What might you do to increase your solutions to challenges for your institution?
A leader must embrace the fact that one has an enormous impact on the customers we serve. Helping students from "modest backgrounds" to learn to do their best in every situation; including studies, personal life, managing finances, and being accountable will improve outcomes and create a better image for the sector.
Leadership in education must address not just educational issues, but the framework that the student base come from. The better we understand who, why, and how students come to us, and what they hope to gain, (besides just a degree or diploma) the the better we can serve our community and reform our curricula. This hopefully will create better prepared professionals within a system that facilitates their financial as well as educational needs.
The role of legacy for leaders is to stay in tune with industry trends and changes in regulation. Today's students are not the same as yesterday's students and therefore today's curriculum design and facilitation cannot be the same as it was yesterday.
With so many institutions competing for students, leaders must stay ahead of the curve and create/modify programs based on student need and employer demand.
Kathaleen, I like your post a lot because it describes why I love working in career college education. Often when one thinks about his or her leadership legacy, it is how he or she wants to be remembered by those he or she has led. In career college education, this expands to the students. Our leadership affects not only those we directly supervise (our constituents) but also our customers (the students).
One of the ways I believe leadership most affects students is through the modeling of successful and professional behaviors. When I was working on my master's degree, it was beneficial for the students who complained about how hard life was dealing with family, work and school, for me to be able to say that I understood - and I really did! I could model to them the importance of receiving an education, and that although it is hard to manage one's time and finances while working full-time and going to school full-time, it can be accomplished through hard work, determination, and dedication.
Heather, great suggestions. What are some ways they can stay ahead of the curve?
Dr. Jean Norris
You make an excellent point about modeling successful and professional behaviors, Traci. Thank you for sharing your story!
Dr. Jean Norris
Leaders can stay ahead of the curve by getting involved in community leadership groups so they are exposed to other leaders who can identify their training and employment needs.
Leaders also need to stay close to state education programs and get involved in discussions that may have a direct impact on your students.
A very grass roots approach is to just have periodic roundtable discussions with local employers or advisor boards and ask them what they are looking for in their employees and work together to address those needs.
Great suggestions, Heather. Have you had experience with this type of leadership? It sounds close to home for you.
Dr. Jean Norris
Traci, I appreciate and agree with your statement on modeling professional behaviors. I believe that it is a critical aspect of our leadership legacy to do just that. We have actually started a new award program where each program director nominates a student in their program each term for a professionalism award. At the beginning of each block the students receive brief instruction as it relates to professionalism in the classroom and the work place. We discuss academic integrity, attendance, dress, language and other personal habits and relate it to their chosen careers. The students gain an understanding that the way they perform in the classroom is a reflection of how they will perform in the workplace. Hopefully they gain one more tool to help ensure their success!
Traci, I agree with your post. Not only does a leadership legacy show how he or she wants to be lead, but it gives a stretch goal to the person writing it, which holds them accountable to a higher standard both now and going forward.
I agree with the course content and discussion about the biggest challenge in higher education being completion rates; it starts at the beginning! Being an Admissions Director, sometimes making the tough call on a students' ability to begin a program is very hard as it conflicts with our motivators and job description. If positioned and presented correctly, that 'tough call' student can complete a few things to ensure his/her initial and long term success (e.g. sitting in on a class two or three times a session or completing assignments that will indicate their success (e.g. writing an essay, revamping their resume, complete market research on their chosen field of study). My Leadership Legacy contains being transparent and trustworthy from department to department. Not often does a 'tough call' student enter our department, but when they do, we do our due diligence to ensure they are ready and that we are the right 'fit' for them.
Dave, This is such an interesting idea, thank you for sharing! What has the feedback been from the students?
Dr. Jean Norris
Lacei, What great awareness when you say, "making the tough call on a students' ability to begin a program is very hard as it conflicts with our motivators and job description." Helping a student graduate starts will measuring their ability to succeed, and it's clear that is your motivation. Thank you for sharing this in the forum.
Dr. Jean Norris
I think the role of leadership legacy is to work with their teams to find solutions. The difference here is that we should not expect that the leaders themselves are able to find the solutions on their own. It will have to be a team effort, that the leaders should direct.
Simply put, ones leadership legacy will provide direction and focus in many areas where ever applied. In this case, higher education issues can be addressed by determining the personal impact and effect of what you do has on others within the industry. I'm reminded of the fact that I have had to "defend" our industry several times because of the poor, very poor, job that another institution did when trying to serve a student. The results of that student's experience with the other school resulted in their having an opinion of the industry as a whole. What we do impacts the greater good or bad of the industry as a whole.
John, Excellent awareness. As they say, there is no "I" in team, and even leaders needs support! Thank you for sharing.
Dr. Jean Norris
David, That is great awareness. A lot of the scrutiny today has to do with a generalization. What, do you think, will be your leadership legacy?
Dr. Jean Norris
Actually, a good question that depends upon the context in which you apply it! The role will change depending upon the maturity and stability of an institution. For example, a legacy in a young/developing institution need not match those found in mature institutions. Younger institutions may have a need for legacies oriented around program creation, service implementation, and compliance efforts. Mature intuitions can afford the luxury of building upon such legacies as to build a legacy of research and service. Thus, the role may change from place to place.
Nonetheless, I would guess that the theme common to all of higher education would be that the building of a legacy should result in some kind of continuous or stepwise improvement. Somehow, someway, as people build legacies and mesh them into the goals of the school, the meshing should improve the quality and experience of education for all involved.
As for how it manifests, that depends upon the skill sets, mission statements, goals, and all the attributes of those involved. No matter, the end result of legacy creation and reflection should yield a better, more efficient, and measurable change benefiting students, faculty, staff, and supporting environment.
