Thoughts on Leadership
By Harold Whitis, TASFAA Times Editor

It is unquestionable that the majority of those reading this article are leaders in some capacity. Each of you makes a valuable contribution to your organization even though it may not be recognized by those you lead or by those who lead you. The fact that I am writing this article has nothing to do with my qualifications to do so but I have learned a lot about leadership and read a great number of books as I pursue my doctorate in higher education administration.

One of the glaring things you learn is that most people who are leaders never started out with that intent. Most of our college presidents never set out with the goal of leading an institution of higher education. It is one of those positions that you achieve when you are recognized by your peers to be competent and are willing to take the necessary risks, and there are many risks associated with being a leader. The other reason is that you were just in the wrong place at the right time.

When Harry Truman became the vice president of the United States in 1945, he never aspired to be. He was the vice president for a total of eighty-two days and had only met with President Roosevelt twice before assuming the presidency after Roosevelt’s death.

Most of us did not start in financial aid as a director. We watched, listened, and persevered before being handed the torch of responsibility. We reached a point where we felt that we had something worthwhile to offer to our university and decided to take the risk. I was fortunate enough to work at institutions with two TASFAA presidents, Earl Hudgins and Robert Haines, and count several others as very good friends. I learned something about leadership from all of them and from that I developed my own style just as you have.

As you lead your office and help to shape the future leaders in higher education be cognizant of those who will follow you. When you find yourself being cast into greater roles of responsibility and you must turn over your current responsibilities to another, will you have taught them well? In its finest form, leadership is a moral act because it requires the ethical actions that are most likely to serve the long-term interests of the college and its constituencies. Being a leader in a college or university is a privilege extended to very few in our society.

We are privileged to serve the colleges and universities that we do and ultimately to participate in assisting countless students in the attainment of their educational dreams. Maybe that is really your dream; to be a servant leader. Robert K. Greenleaf was the man who coined the phrase “servant-leadership”. You may have heard it from the writings of Steven Covey and Kenneth Blanchard who were greatly influenced by Greenleaf. He defined servant-leadership as the natural feeling that one wants to serve and serve first. The idea of putting the well-being of those you are leading first is a lesson that I hope we all have learned. The following quote from Greenleaf is one of my favorites.

“The rewards of living a full life may be measured in joyous moments rather than in days or years. These are the treasures that return to the mind in the quiet hours of the declining years. The moments nobly lived, challenges met, the truth spoken, the slur turned aside, the tumult quelled, the helping hand extended, and the simple expression of gratitude, the burden borne; meeting life and feeling the response of living – taking responsibility, prudently, if possible, but taking it and leaving it joyfully once taken. Setting one’s course on a star and steering toward it, minding not the reefs that waylay”.

I hope that all of you will measure up to the tasks that you are given. If you do, then someday, someone will look back and remember you as a good leader. I think the advice that Harry Truman’s mother gave him was sound advice. She told Harry “to do the right thing for the right reasons”. Isn’t that what great leaders do?