LeaderSavers Weblog

RULE NUMBER SIX

Rule Number Six.  It works every time.  It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, how young you are, where you live, or how much money you have.  If we all learn to apply Rule Number Six to all situations in our lives, we would all be happier, treat one another much better, and the world will be a better place.  Want to know about Rule Number Six?  Read on . . .

The Care and Feeding of Administrators

by Karen A. DeMol, Dordt College

I’m to address the topic of “Managing Your Administration” from the point of view of a department chair.  I think I could call my segment “The Care and Feeding of Administrators.”  I’d like you to know that I come a small private mid-Western college;  my examples come out of my experience there.  The specific examples might not connect with situations at your school, but I am hoping that the ideas these examples illustrate will connect with people from schools of any size.

Teaching the Pigs to Sing?

Observations on “How to Manage Your Administrators”

by Anne L. Patterson, Provost and VPAA,

Fairmont State University

As one who went over to the “dark side” for the noblest of reasons, I have to say I was a bit stung by the title that Richard Greene suggested—himself a dark-sider.  But since I see both the irony and the logic in it, I thought I’d give it a go.

            Having become an “upper level” administrator—I’m not prideful about it; it’s just a fact of life—I can see some of the issues the plague Departments of Music in another light to a certain extent.  I never really believed that administrators just didn’t “get it” that music and nursing are usually at the top of the per student cost chart.  Now I appreciate the pressures that are being brought to bear on those administrators, of whom I am now one.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR ADMINISTRATION

The Music Executive’s principal function is to advocate for his/her program, and educate others about the unique nature of music teaching and learning and the special needs that must be met – faculty resources, one-on-one instruction, facilities, equipment – and the critical mass and critical mix of students that make a music program thrive.

Working with your administration is NOT about a “WE” against “THEY” mindset.  If you find yourself in that lose-lose situation, run as fast as you can.

Six Common Strengths of Elite Performers

by Dr. Ray Metcalfe  (reprinted with permission of the author)

Between 1987 and 1996 my team conducted an analysis of over 15,000 elite performers throughout North America.  Over 200 professional groups and vocations were analyzed. (Elite performers were defined as those in the top 5% of their group.)

As our research data came in, and we did the proverbial “number crunching”, a distinct pattern began to develop. No matter where we tested our elite performers, no matter what industry they were in, or what profession they represented, there was a consistent, and common cluster of 6 common performance strengths that emerged. Of the 15,000 elite performers that we assessed, we did not find one exception!

Furthermore, there was a specific and predictable range of strength possessed in each area. For instance, one area was Self-Control. All elite performers, on a scale of 1-10, fell within a predictable range of 6-8.

Leadership's Job Description

by Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.  (reprinted with permission)

Every one of us is a leader.  You may be the leaders of a business, corporation, a nation, your children, an organization or your own life.  Regardless of who or what you lead, you have a job to do as a leader.  Almost every job comes with a job description ... except being a leader.  I know there are dozens of books available describing "leadership" usually in some kind of organization.  there are few, if any books describing how to successfully lead your own life.  To partially fill that void, below are a few suggestions.

EIGHT YEARS AND COUNTING

It’s been eight years since I heard the words nobody wants to hear:  YOU HAVE CANCER.  Not the sort of call anyone wants to get from your doctor, especially in the middle of a busy day at the office.

But there IT was – and IT didn’t care whether I had time to deal with IT or not.  IT arrived quietly and without warning.  IT was prostate cancer, and I had IT.

LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Your Leadership Or Your Life: A Leadership Lesson

by Brent Filson

A classic radio skit by comedian Jack Benny involved Benny being held up on the street by a man with a gun. "Your money or your life," the gunman said to Benny, who portrayed himself in character as an inveterate tightwad. There was a long pause. The gunman repeated, "Your money or your life."

"I'm thinking!" said Benny. "I'm thinking!"

Where's the Band?

Nearly all the halftime shows during the flurry of recent bowl games featured everything EXCEPT the college bands.  We were subjected to first half reruns and gabby, helium-handed announcers who must be paid by the word, telling us of every imaginable statistic about every play and player.

KUDOS to the ABC Network and the Rose Bowl officials for showing the halftime performances of two excellent bands - the University of Southern California and the University of Texas.  Here's hoping we'll see more halftime telecasts of excellent college/university bands next bowl season.