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.