Building Your Leadership Team _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Becoming A Provost Academy – Thursday, July 23, 2015

Harvey Kesselman, Ed.D., Acting President Stockton University – Galloway, NJ

Loading the Bus

“If you have the right people on the bus, you don’t need to worry about motivating them. The right people are self-motivated: nothing beats being part of a team that is excited to produce great results.”

- Jim Collins (2001), Good to Great

Who Gets on the Bus?

Next Stop: Provost’s Office!

Work With The Willing

Absolute integrity & intrinsic motivation to “do the right thing”

Committed to working together to succeed, regardless of obstacles or challenges

Self-motivated, resourceful, & no drama

Willingness to address conflict quickly and constructively to get to the “right solution”

- Cy Wakeman (2010), Reality-based Leadership

Work With The Willing

“If you look for employees who have these competencies, regardless of their functional expertise, you will benefit from their ability to turn their talent into productivity.” - Cy Wakeman (2010), Reality-based Leadership, p. 94

These employees are your rock stars! By giving them your trust and attention, you send a clear message to the entire organization

Mix it Up

But: don’t let your rock stars be exact clones

(You don’t need five Eric Claptons!)

Diversity of Talent

You must nurture a diversity of talent

Find people who share the same core values but who have different:

- Personalities - Functional capabilities - Creative energies - Decision-making traits - Communication skills - Problem-solving methods

Leader as Alchemist

As a leader, part of your job is “alchemy” -- bringing together highly-capable individuals and transforming them into a successful team

- Introverts & Extroverts - Dreamers & Realists - Planners & Doers - Diplomats & Daredevils

This transformation process is easier and faster when everyone shares the same core values – this is the foundation of teamwork

The Key Ingredient

The key ingredient to this transformation process is a leader’s willingness and ability to maintain a culture of accountability

“People want to be part of something bigger than themselves; they want to feel a sense of belonging.” - Jim Haudan (2014), Motivating People

Leaders who create a culture of accountability facilitate this sense of belonging (teamwork!)

Tools & Techniques

Ways to “build” a culture of accountability

1) Build alignment / eliminate ambiguity: establish clearly-defined roles, expectations, and results

2) Build personal responsibility: hold close-the-loop meetings (with next-action steps, timelines, etc.)

3) Build confidence & loyalty: provide “soft landings” – Even the best plans involve risk –

give your team the freedom to experiment, fail, learn & grow

Key Teams

Office Staff

Senior Staff

Faculty Leadership

Provost’s Council

Office Staff

The “face” of the Provost’s Office

Handle internal and external guests, phone calls, correspondence, emails, etc.

Highly capable regarding key functions: • Personnel • Finances • Scheduling • Data

Senior Staff

Work together to solve problems

Discuss and develop alternative solutions; turn ideas into action

Serve as speechwriters, budget analysts, data specialists, internal negotiators, external public relations liaisons, etc.

Who do I want representing me or my office in a particular situation?

Faculty Leadership

Faculty who understand and accept the institution’s goals and objectives

Have the necessary gravitas to deal with all faculty strata – full-time, part-time, adjunct, tenured, non-tenured, etc.

Politically astute; appreciate the need for diplomacy, negotiation, coalition-building

Provost’s Council

Bi-weekly meeting with deans, directors, senior staff, and faculty leadership

Helps maintain a culture of transparency and accountability: regular communication of both information & expectations

Don’t be parsimonious with your knowledge; share openly and often as the situation allows; when you can’t share information, be honest and say so

Leading Your Team

Every member of your team deserves fair treatment

• Respect

• Honesty

• Clear performance measures

• Transparent evaluation system

Leading Your Team

But: “fair” does not mean “equal”

You must evaluate team members individually based on two fundamental questions

(1) Are they performing their job duties to your satisfaction?

(2) Are they supporting the team culture you’ve established -- are they committed to the team’s core values?

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Strong Culture

Supporter

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

? ? ?

Strong Culture

Supporter

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

? ? ?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Rehabilitate?

Can you help them improve their attitude

and/or loyalty?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Rehabilitate?

Can you help them improve their attitude

and/or loyalty?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

? ? ?

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Rehabilitate?

Can you help them improve their attitude

and/or loyalty?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

Re-Deploy?

Can a new opportunity help

them become successful?

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Rehabilitate?

Can you help them improve their attitude

and/or loyalty?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

? ? ?

Re-Deploy?

Can a new opportunity help

them become successful?

Weak Job Performer

Strong Job Performer

Weak Culture

Supporter

Rehabilitate?

Can you help them improve their attitude

and/or loyalty?

Retain

Deserves opportunity for growth & advancement

Strong Culture

Supporter

Remove

Negatively impacts your

team and your authority

Re-Deploy?

Can a new opportunity help

them become successful?

Weak Job Performer

Leadership Shifts You Will Face

As a leader, you must begin to shift from:

- “Me” focus to “contribution through others”

- Daily operations (tactics) to broader, complex perspectives (strategy)

- Managing oneself to managing others

- Possessive to open communication

- Self-development to development of others

- Jan Austin (2006), Leading For Results

Thank You & Questions

Works Cited

Austin, J. (2006). Leading for Results. (interview with Barbara Healy, VP Learning and Development at People’s Bank.) Chicago, IL: Kaplan Publishing. Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great. Web-exclusive interview: good questions, great answers. A version of this article appeared in the October 2001 issue of Fast Company. Retrieved 10 July 2014 from: http://www.fastcompany.com/43811/good-great Haudan, J. (29 September 2014). Motivating People: It takes the four roots of engagement. Retrieved 10 October 2014 from: www.tlnt.com/2014/09/29/movitvating-people-it-takes-the-four-roots Wakeman, C. (2010). Reality-Based Leadership. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.