The Art of Leadership
Much of what is written about leadership focuses on the theoretical approach that contemplates how to become an effective leader, sort of a “do’s and don’ts of leadership.” Although this theoretical perspective holds merit, we believe that successful leadership is more of an art than a perfect science. Our research reveals that the art of leadership can be crafted and honed if one pays particular attention to the following set of core values: honesty, integrity, efficient decision-making, passion for one’s work, cultural awareness, openness to learning, the ability to focus, and the willingness to trust others and share credit.
In this blog series, we will present summaries from four recent interviews with successful leaders. The interviews were designed to explore Goleman’s “The Focused Leader” (Harvard Business Review, December, 2013). We hope that in reading them, you learn something new about the art of leadership.
Dr. Casey Sacks, Colorado Community College System, Project Director
FOCUS ON STRUCTURE
Dr. Sacks was able to leverage the existing state governance process and the organization’s structure to enhance leadership on the Colorado project. Colorado has a state community college board, and the colleges were used to complying with board directions. Dr. Sacks recognized this situation and took advantage of the existing structure.
PICK ONE THING
The Colorado project not only leveraged existing state structure, it also focused on just ONE thing: redefining development education. From a grant writing perspective, this appears to be somewhat unique. Numerous grants have tried to address multiple issues and innovations, with the hope of demonstrating a commitment to innovation by widening the scope of activities and strategies. Although both approaches (addressing many innovations vs. addressing one innovation) seem to work, we have observed that the potential for a disconnect between grant writers and grant implementers appears to increase in grants with multiple activities and strategies.
Dr. Sacks also noted the value of “picking one thing” from a leadership perspective. The focus of the grant was clear, and the colleges recognized the sense of urgency in regard to redefining developmental education. Because of this clear focus, Dr. Sacks could direct her leadership efforts toward recognizing the best practices and focus on what needed to be accomplished.
CLEAR COMMUNICATION
Dr. Sacks views clear and consistent communication as a key ingredient for effective leadership. She employs this approach across all grant phases—programmatic, budget, DOL reporting, and compliance. By consistently providing information and guidance in a clear manner, she is able to help the individual college’s link activities and objectives to budget and expenditures. This linkage helped respond to DOL questions and avoid “bottlenecks” in responding to DOL information requests.
FOCUS ON OTHERS AND SHARE YOUR CREDIT AND SUCCESS
Dr. Sacks’ leadership approach is grounded in being humble and sharing success and credit. By focusing her attention on the needs of others, she is able to recognize multiple support and success points and provide customized levels of support, encouraging different partners at different times. Using this method of focusing on others, she has been able to help all partners effectively make progress toward their common goal.