On Leading with Greatness

Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I am reposting this revised version of the first essay in my series, from October 1st, 2020. It articulates the essence of what I see as the only hope for improved leadership and healthy workplaces: human decency.

How, she wondered, could she appraise her own performance and be assured that she was not just fooling herself? After all, by definition, a delusion is an inability to process the world as it is. It is a deceit. How could she know that she was not deceiving herself? How could anyone in a position of authority be truly self-aware?

Her friend thought for a few long minutes before replying, “By asking that question.”

It’s not the most satisfying answer — I’ll grant you that — but it is a good answer. Someone who is self-deluding would be unlikely to sincerely question, well, anything for fear of bursting the bubble of delusion.

She resolved then to continue to check in with herself by regularly wondering, “are you fooling yourself?”

We are hearing a good deal about the Great Resignation, the phenomenon of a surprising number people dropping out of the workforce since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Many pundits and employers have claimed that people have stayed away from work because of pandemic unemployment benefits expansion. Others have noted fears of Covid in the workplace and childcare needs complicated by Covid. Still others have figured that Covid has given some folks the opportunity to dream big, to stretch themselves, to become more entrepreneurial, and to light out on their own. A vocal handful say that people have just enjoyed being out of work during pandemic shutdowns and don’t want to go back.

The culture of any organization can seem immutable to those within it. That is certainly the case in higher education. Many colleges, like many organizations of all stripes, tend to view their cultures as almost sacrosanct, as though they can never, will never, and should never change. I know I lost out on several university dean jobs when, during my interview, I offered observations of culture and the need to innovate. I even had a slideshow on the subject to support my presentations to faculty and staff. People would nod along with my ideas, but I was told more than once that my so-much-as-mentioning change or innovation was too “scary” for people.

What is the point of regret?

To make heads or tails of regret, we will have to differentiate regret from guilt. Guilt has to do with past action or inaction we had some choice or informed agency over whereas regret refers to past action or inaction that we could neither predict nor control.

So, properly understood, regret has to do with consequences from past action or inaction that we had no control over and cannot correct. In this way it has much in common with its counterpart, worry.

Who is the best boss you ever had? What made that person such a good boss?

I am lucky in that the best boss I ever had was actually quite a good boss. I am unlucky in that — even taking into account my teenaged years — the contest for the best boss I ever had was not particularly competitive.

Death is the mother of beauty.

Wallace Stevens

Steven’s observation is in line with the Stoic concept of momento mori, a practice in which the contemplation of mortality leads to greater appreciation of that and those which we value.

Cocks everywhere, the little dictators of our lives. We wear them on our wrists, consult them on our phones, and squint up at them as they tower over our towns. Think about it. A clock of all things, Big Ben, is one of the most potent symbols of Great Britain. And don’t get me going about Prague.

I want to differentiate critical thinking from what I call “thinking hard.” Both critical thinking and thinking hard require a degree of smarts and effort, but only critical thinking is rigorous in the truest sense of that word.

This one is on effective oral and written communication, but what I offer are not rules. They are more like guides, mere suggestions, helpful hints, noodgy nudges, and the like. After all, rules just beg to be broken. For instance, consider my personal rule that I don’t write listicles. So take that, rules!