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. Dale Allen, Vice President, Community Engagement, Quinsigamond Community College
The Massachusetts grant is designed around a series of innovations aimed at changing how community colleges respond to the education and training needs of adults and target audiences. The initiative is designed to assist workers impacted by trade as well as other eligible residents of the commonwealth and help them attain degrees, certificates, and industry-recognized credentials in two years or less. The colleges are fundamentally changing how they work with each other and with agencies of the workforce development system, government leaders, and private sector employers. Together, they hope to transform education and training programs to build greater economic opportunities for residents of the commonwealth.
FOCUSED LEADERSHIP
Massachusetts does not have a central community college. Although the state’s community colleges are loosely aligned, they seem to have limited experience working together on common goals. Dr. Allen recognized the situation and focused his leadership approach on the following key concepts: clear and open communication, individual partner flexibility, the value of local choice, development of trust, and no heavy-handed statewide management. This approach helped nurture a statewide team method, and it encouraged individuals at each college to become leaders.
PASSION FOR THE PRODUCT AND THE OUTCOME
Rather than attempt to micromanage individual college grants, Dr. Allen developed a clear set of expectations that demonstrated his passion for serving un-employed and under-employed adults and helping them secure meaningful employment. By merging the focused leadership approach with the passion for this product, individual colleges developed their own sets of leaders and new strategies and approaches began to “innovate-up.” Dr. Allen encouraged and supported this process by creating meaningful opportunities for individual colleges to share success approaches and lessons learned.
WILLINGNESS TO LEARN FROM AND TRUST OTHERS
After taking on this leadership assignment, Dr. Allen recognized that in order to effectively lead this statewide effort, he needed to learn from others. Areas such as existing political structures (formal and informal), individual college practices/policies, and client needs were especially fertile ground for learning. This concept has been mentioned by other successful TAA leaders and reinforces the old adage “you got to know the territory.”
USING DATA APPROPRIATELY
Due to its call for innovation and change, the grant has created an excellent opportunity to use data to help lead and cultivate emerging models. When linked to key public policy questions and used as a tool to evaluate and modify, data is incredibly powerful. It can help us determine what strategies are working, why are they working, and if effective strategies can be sustained.