Midyear Update

I have not posted here lately. It has been a crazy semester for me, full of added responsibility, change and experimentation. Leading assessment of general education, implementing two grant projects, writing several articles and training and supervising 40-plus staff are just some of the projects that have filled my fall semester. Still, I have already accomplished many of my leadership goals for the year. I have also been very active in my leadership "action learning" group project. I created the group's first interactive website, led the initial discussion and have contributed at length regarding our project. While I have not been able to participate in the group's "Web Ex" meetings since they have been held during my teaching times, I have commented on every development in the project. Below is just one example of my email posts on the project. Despite my hectic schedule, I still believe that the year to date has greatly enhanced my understanding of leadership and expanded my leadership role at my institution and beyond.

From: McClure, Randall W
Sent: Mon 11/27/2006 9:49 AM
To: Sue Field; k.nelson@lsc.edu; choate@mnstate.eduCc: JOlson@bemidjistate.edu; todd.jagerson@dctc.mnscu.edu; b.dahl@lsc.edu; rshand@sctc.edu; deborah.proctor@so.mnscu.edu;
Subject: RE: URGENT: FOR THE Project

Sue--

Thanks for your note here and, yes, you've got it. I have not seen any MnSCU data/research on the problems of virtual faculty. While I realize (and as Ed points out) that there are likely some problems, we are building this project on a dicey set of assumptions in my opinion. Therefore, I support the earlier suggestion of developing a list of suggested practices for employers and virtual faculty to help them excel in their professional development. I would then argue that we pair this with a call for further research to get a more complete picture of the problem(s).A similar issue arose several years ago in my field--writing program administration (wpa). Most WPAs are in faculty positions but really have administrative jobs (For example, I only teach 1 graduate course a year). When some of these folks were going up for tenure, they were shot down because the deans/vps at their schools did not see the value of their administrative work. In many cases, the tenure committees wanted to view WPAs only through the "faculty" lens. This might be the case with virtual faculty, but I am not sure. For more discussion on this, please feel free to visit http://wpacouncil.org/positions/intellectualwork.html. This document "Evaluating the Intellectual Work of Writing Administration" has helped many WPAs and their employers better define their work.Perhaps, we could develop a similar statement for "Promoting the Intellectual Work of Virtual Faculty." Such a statement steers away from assumptions and moves toward mutual understanding. In the end, I just want to stay away from work that is not adequately supported by research and could easily be misinterpreted. Are you still with me?
Thanks again.
Randall

Organizational Capacity--Musings on the Writing of Jean Haar

What kinds of understanding my leadership must have:

purpose--an understanding of mission, clear goals and vision
structure--an understanding of the different ways that work gets done
governance--an understanding of how decisions are made
policies--an understanding of rules (and how they are sometimes different from practices)
processes--an understanding of how to get things done
information--an understanding that informs and supports decision-making
infrastructure--an understanding of human, physical, technological and financial assets
culture--an understanding of organizational character (norms, beliefs and assumptions)

"Leadership, The Seeds of Change & Friends"

Only 17% of respondents in a recent Gallup poll claim that their supervisors invest in their relationships. I find this to be true looking up too, and I hope that I will always be mindful of this in my own leadership. I must build trust, work to maintain relationships and avoid gossip at all costs. People want real leaders, and I believe that I am an emerging one.

My list of "vital friends": Mike P, Will H, Michael D, Donna NB, Lynda M, Julie S, Mary D, John B, Anne O, Lee T, Don L, Kathy H, Pat L, Kevin B, Amy M, Gael M, Lisa B, Justine M, TA mentors, TAs and most importantly students

The seeds of change can grow without sunshine and I am glad that I planted so many of them. I really don't need the sunshine, but I do miss it. I guess it is better than the alternative; I do a good job at avoiding the flood.

Update on Action Learning Project

My group met via WebEx last Friday, but I could not attend as I was presenting at the Great Plains Alliance for Computers and Writing. However, here is my recent email to group:

I want to reiterate that I have serious reservations about the direction of this project. I hope that you will all work this week to hone the direction because I am worried that we are working under the assumption that "virtual" faculty members are not doing their jobs. I think that we first need to define such faculty and survey them about their current work experiences. If we are indeed talking about full-time faculty who teach all of their courses online, then I don't know why the expectations of them would be any different from other full-time faculty. I worry that we will come to suggest that full-time virtual faculty should be treated differently when the institutions that hire such teachers should create opportunities or an environment for them to complete their work. For this reason, I would like to see us draft a statement for MnSCU's consideration on the roles of INSTITUTIONS that hire virtual faculty to create a suitable work environment for them and not focus on the faculty. Just my two cents.

"Leading from the Middle"

reactions to the above discussion from the following webtext: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/community/chair/membership/July2006TipsandTools.pdf.

"Joseph Badaracco, author of Leading Quietly, distilled 150 case studies into simple guidelines for leaders. Badaracco’s descriptive strategies like, “Buy a Little Time,” “Bend the Rules,” and
“Nudge, Test, Escalate Gradually” are the daily mantra of post-secondary leaders. These leadership practices are quiet, modest, behind-the-scenes—persuasive and effective. Badaracco’s research points out that quiet leaders practice restraint, modesty, and tenacity."

As a Composition Director, I lead from the middle. I nudge, test, escalate gradually toward change, toward improvement, toward consistency, toward excellence. I do not lead my department, but I lead its most important course. The course that comes into contact with more students. The course at the heart, at the middle of the institution. I am not behind-the-scenes, but underneath them, leading up and out. I am tenacious but quiet, active but restrained, visionary but modest.

"Pull the Weeds Before You Plant the Flowers"

comments on the this article by Douglas Reeves in the September 2006 issue of Educational Leadership from the DISC perspective:

Ds--> "Forget the weeds. We don't have time to pull them. Plant the flowers NOW!"
Is--> "But what about the weeds? Yes, we need to plant the flowers, but what can we learn from the weeds first? Weeds have feelings too, you know."
Ss--> "What is the best process for pulling the weeds and planting the flowers? Let's be consistent in our treatment of both, ok? Slow and steady."
Cs--> "We will only plant the flowers when we fully understand why we have weeds!"

Update

I had my first meeting with my mentor last week. We reviewed my IPDP and set up monthly meetings for the Fall 2006 term. I have already accomplished and assessed many of my leadership objectives for this year. Wow. I now just need to spend more time writing and reflecting in this blog. I have some topics that I want to discuss; now, I just need to find the time.

On My Mentor

I feel quite fortunate to have the opportunity to work not only with my dean and chair, but also with my leadership mentor, Dr. Pat Lipetzky. From the first time we met, we have had a nice connection. I think that we are both conscientious in our approaches to leadership, work hard, value the input and expertise of others, and have vision for the future of our units and our institution. I look forward to my work with her over the coming year.

Reflection on Action Learning Project

I am in the process of serving my "action learning" group as team leader. My responsibilities include keeping folks connected and on task as we transition from the week of leadership academy training to our "regular" jobs. To facilitate this transition and communication, I created a "backpack" meeting site on the internet complete with "writeboards", messageboards, and milestones. I am also in the process of trying to arrange a meeting with our project sponsors for our work over the coming year on virtual faculty service. More to follow.

Reflection on Leadership Training Week 1 (Summer 2006)

I have returned from a wonderful week of leadership training. Not only did I learn a lot about leadership strategies in general, such as strategic planning, conflict resolution, and leadership styles, but I also learned about my own leadership qualities and styles. I learned that I tend to be a conscientious rather than a dominating leader, act as a transformational leader, and often serve others as a mentor and creative spirit. I was shocked time and time again at how much of what I read about leadership behaviors are indeed qualities that I possess and try to emulate. I look forward to working with my mentor, supervisor, and staff in the coming year to improve my role as a departmental and disicpline leader.

You can learn more about my faculty and administrative work, including my leadership development plan, on my electronic portfolio at http://randallmcclure1.efoliomn2.com/index.asp.