Columns:: Worth repeating

since 12/15/98

Columns::September 22, 2003

Worth repeating

Karen Holbrook, president of Ohio State University and former senior vice president for academic affairs at UGA, returned to campus to deliver the annual Louise McBee Lecture for the Institute of Higher Education. Some excerpts:
“It’s been said that we live in a time that’s characterized as chaotic, creative, uncertain and dangerous, a time when the ground seems to shift beneath your feet, when issues that demand resolution are so complex that many of them are simply not resolvable. But nonetheless it must be managed. Under such circumstances, one might believe that leadership would be more difficult today than ever, and in fact articles about leadership have been written . . . suggesting that there really must be something different needed for effective leadership today, just because it is today. . . . But if our goal is to develop sustainable organizations, then the leader must also accept and adopt the values of the past and a vision of the future of the organization for which he or she has responsibility. And then pause to think for a few moments and quickly ask yourself: When have times ever been certain? When were times not unique?. . .
“Today’s call is for leaders who hold themselves to consistently high standards based on values and behavior; leaders who practice skills and reveal strengths that emphasize character, empathy, compassion, humility; who demonstrate ethics, moral standards, trust and integrity; who have intellectual vigor and believe in diversity, openness and communication; are willing to learn, able to motivate and to orchestrate relationships, to focus and develop a sense of timing, knowing when to make a critical decision and finally to demonstrate courage.”

--Beth Roberts

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