The challenges facing our world are increasingly more complex with a global pandemic and other health care issues, political divides, environmental challenges, issues of social justice, long wars and, as we write this leader’s guide, an economy with world-wide inflation. While some may wonder what kind of world we are leaving to our next generation, we wonder about the next generation we are leaving to face the challenges we leave behind.
We created the President’s Academy for Life-Long Leaders to deliberately and intentionally develop our next generation within the Ram Family to be prepared to lead through these challenges. As we progress through our careers, we assume roles with more responsibility and increasingly greater challenges.
Our Academy programs will offer students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to be well-prepared to assume positions of great responsibility. The Academy is aligned with our university mission and vision.
We use a compass to symbolize we are on a journey. As leaders, our journey is a life-long pursuit to hone our skills and develop our talents.
As we progress through our careers, we assume roles with more responsibility and increasingly greater challenges. This guide introduces our approach to preparing all members of the Ram Family for the challenges we will face as individuals and teams.
“Each of us possesses a moral compass programmed by parents, teachers, coaches, grandparents, clergy, friends, and peers. The compass is an integral part of our being. It continues to differentiate between proper and improper behavior until the day we die.”
- John Huntsman, former Utah Governor
In her book, “Built on Values,” Ann Rhoades tells us that leaders drive values by making the commitment to a values-based culture where they lead by example. Many organizations make the mistake of having a very small group of senior leaders name the values for others to live by.
We believe leaders create the environments that allow team members to live their personal core values that drive their behaviors. Our collective behaviors – how we choose to act – determines our organizational culture.
Unhealthy cultures put people and the goals of the organization at risk. We choose to build healthy, sustainable cultures based on the values of the people in our universities and system teams.
Our journey to create a sustainable, values-based culture began in February 2021, when a team of 85 summit participants identified the core values shared amongst the group. We then held town hall meetings across the campus to give the opportunity to all students, faculty, staff, and administrators to give input and make improvements to the original document.
Our academy programs will remind participants of the values and desired behaviors to which we committed during our values summit.
The Means Matter
Leaders, all leaders, are hired or promoted with an expectation to perform—and achieve results.
In some organizations, how leaders get the results matters little as long as they meet their performance goals. For them, the end justifies the means.
At Angelo State University, how we get the results is as crucial as the bottom line. It all begins with leaders who create the environment that inspires all team members to be the best version of themselves.
“Character without capacity usually means weakness in a leader, but capacity without character means danger.”
- David Gergen, former presidential advisor
President Thomas Jefferson founded the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, as the nation’s first academy focused on developing lifelong leaders of character. Character development is the primary mission of West Point.
Character is the pattern of behavior and decisions in a person’s life that is influenced by the virtues they have developed. Dr. Scott Parsons is the Character Development Integrator at USMA. He writes about different types of virtues:
Moral Virtues - Character traits that respect the humanity of ourselves and others.
Phronesis - The virtue that enables us to perceive, understand, and act admirably, in complex situations.
This includes discerning what to do and how to do it in situations where there is no good option and our other virtues conflict with one another.
In the academy, we will integrate the specific character virtues one must posses to be successful while leading others. Participants will discuss these virtues and identify the traits that will make them effective leaders within the Ram Family.
“Ethics is knowing the difference between knowing what we have a right to do and what is right to do.”
- Potter Stewart, former Associate Supreme Court Justice
Ethics is the application of the moral principles of our character to the daily decisions we make in our lives.
Michael Beer, Harvard Business School professor, and author of “Fit to Compete” says, “The road to your higher ethical ambition starts with personal reflection about your values and purpose in life. Take the time to have an honest conversation with yourself to help figure out what matters to you, and where your ethics lie.”
In their book, The Power of Ethical Management, authors Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, describe five traits of ethical leaders:
Purpose - Be driven by your purpose and use it to guide your actions.
Pride - Show a sense of healthy pride. Unlike false pride, which stems from a distorted sense of self-importance, healthy pride springs from a positive self-image and confidence in one’s abilities.
Patience - Have faith that things will work out well as long as you adhere to your values and principles.
Persistence - Stay the course and remain true to your purpose and values.
Perspective - Keep the big picture in mind, and understand what’s truly important.
Marianne Jennings, a professor of applied ethics at Arizona State University and author of “Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse,” consults with senior leaders on how to avoid unethical decisions in their organizations.
Participants in the academy will participate in case-study discussions about ethical decisions they are likely to face in their organizations and at their level of responsibility in the university and beyond.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening my axe.”
- Abraham Lincoln
In Stephen R. Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” the seventh habit is Sharpen the Saw – Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal. He tells the story of walking upon someone in the woods feverishly trying to saw down a tree. The person inquires of the tree cutter, “You look exhausted. Why don’t you take a break and sharpen your saw? I am sure the saw will cut much faster if you do.” The tree cutter responds, “I don’t have time to do that. I am too busy sawing the tree.”
We all need time for self-renewal. Time to recharge and reinvigorate ourselves for the work to come. We need to acquire new tools and sharpen the ones we use regularly.
According to Covey, there are four dimensions of self-renewal:
Mental – Gaining knowledge and visualizing how to use it.
Social/Emotional – Building relationships and service to others.
Spiritual – Realigning with our values, personal meditation or prayer and individual study.
Physical – Focusing on nutrition, exercise and stress management.
Effective leaders build endurance for the long journey of their careers. This includes building positive habits in each of the four dimensions of self-renewal.
Our academy programs will allow participants to create personal development plans in each of the dimensions of renewal and select accountability partners to help each other progress through their plan.
“Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”
- Warren Bennis, Leadership Scholar
There are two common schools of thought on the differences between management and leadership:
All leaders are managers, but not all managers make good leaders.
All managers are good leaders, but all leaders are not good managers.
Both Warren Bennis and Peter Drucker, two of the most prolific authors on this topic, have similar versions of the opening quote. The point they make is not about trying to label individuals as managers or leaders, but rather understanding that both leadership and management are critical functions needed for the effective organization.
We need people who can create a vision, inspire, galvanize and get results (leading); and we need people who can plan, staff, organize, prepare, implement, control and measure results (managing). Sometimes, and in some organizations, one person may be able to fill both roles. Often the roles are filled by separate individuals.
Leaders must ensure the functions of management are in place for the organization to run effectively. Ken Blanchard says in his seminal book, “Leadership and The One Minute Manager,” “Managers need to use different strokes (leadership styles) for different folks, depending on their competence and commitment in their present job.”
This compass point focuses on the functions of a manager. How do we manage ourselves? How do we manage projects? How do we standardize and improve processes? What systems do we put in place to ensure consistent, predictable, positive results? How do we measure those results?
We will scale our academy programs for management challenges faced in different levels of leadership and tailor the curriculum to fit specific challenges in the university.
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”
- John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President of the U.S.
Decision-making is a learned competence. We can learn to make good decisions from others – trusted mentors, friends, and colleagues. We can learn through our own experiences of successes and failures. We can also learn the processes of decision-making.
This compass point focuses on decision-making processes for individuals and those in a collaborative team environment. In the academy, we will discuss:
how our values inform us during difficult decisions,
how to make decisions with limited resources,
how to make timely decisions, and
how to make decisions when leading through a crisis.
We will study and understand the practice of bringing together highly believable people who are willing to engage in thoughtful disagreement to enhance the quality of decision-making and increase the chance of success.
We will use case studies and historical examples to learn from others and discuss what we will do when faced with similar challenges. Then, applying lessons learned, we will develop algorithms based on values and principles to speed the decision-making process and tailor the methodology to fit the university.
Our academy programs will be scaled for the decisions typically made at that leader level and tailored for unique challenges being faced in the university.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
- George Bernhard Shaw, Irish Playwright
When Stephen R. Covey was writing his most famous book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” in the 1980s most organizations’ people-development programs centered on individual growth and independence. His first three habits acknowledged this and focused on the principles of Personal Vision, Personal Leadership, and Personal Management.
Covey’s next three habits helped lead the transformation from independence to interdependence—collaboration and breaking through silos. These habits focused on the principles of Interpersonal Leadership, Empathetic Communication, and Creative Cooperation.
This new focus on interdependence meant that the one-way, directive communication that had been so much of organizational development history would no longer work effectively as we transitioned to new generations in the work place. It became increasingly important to develop the next generation of leaders by listening to them and empowering them to learn, lead and communicate effectively.
In 2004 Covey published “The 8th Habit: Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.” This new emphasis on empowerment has led us to focus on behaviors like listen to understand, assume good intentions, and respond rather than react.
Our academy programs will remind participants of the importance of collaborative communication to develop a positive working environment that leads to better solutions for complex challenges.
“People who have mastered organizational acumen exhibit an understanding of how their organizations work and how different elements influence or interact with one another. Organizational acumen includes knowledge of systems, people, structures, and processes that work together to make the enterprise healthy or unhealthy. In a leading-edge workforce, organizationally masterful individuals talk matter-of-factly about the value chain including people, processes, inputs, suppliers, outputs, customers, and outcomes.”
- Henrik Ekelund, President & CEO of BTS Group
Effective individuals master their required competencies, build strong relationships, and get results in their part of the organization. For many, the pace of our daily work causes us to keep our heads down, focus on the tasks in front of us, and work closely with those in our own silos.
According to Robert Kaplan, Harvard professor and author of “The Balanced Score Card,” “A mere 7% of employees today fully understand their organization’s strategies and what is expected of them in order to help achieve organizational goals.”
Our faculty and staff programs will introduce participants to the organizational structure of each entity within the Angelo State University. We will review the purpose, vision, and mission for the university. We will review the budget process, funding sources, and the grant proposal procedures. We will get an overview of relevant State Laws, Regents’ Rules, System Regulations, and Operating Policies.
Students will learn how to study organizations and match their skills and education to connect with potential career opportunities.
Leader Development Programs for Faculty, Staff and Students
Each of our programs is designed to build a solid foundation and enhance a leader’s skill set along the way. Ideally, a participant will complete these programs in order, but we also understand each leader has different leadership experiences and needs. We ask you to reflect on your leadership journey to see which of these programs will add value for you.
Our Values Initiative
Student Leader Development Program
Leadership Foundations
Emerging Leaders Program
Next-Level Leader Program
One Team Fellow Program
Thought Leaders
Many of the organizations we observed use leadertainment as a major focus for developing leaders. They engage authors or nationally recognized speakers to deliver presentations and then leave it to individuals to determine how to use the information, or not.
We took a different path. We have partnered with thought leaders on topics relevant to developing leaders of character. We have chosen to work with them over time and integrate their lessons into our programs. These are some of those with whom we are working:
Ann Rhoades
The driving force behind the culture at Southwest Airlines. She taught us how to build a cultural foundation on shared core values.
Stan McChrystal
Retired Army four-star general and founder of the McChrystal Group. He taught us the power of collaborative communication and empowerment.
Pat Lencioni
Author of multiple books on building organizational health. He taught us the how to create vulnerability-based trust and to utilize the Working Genius model to get the right people in the right seats on the bus.
Randy Conley
Together with Ken Blanchard is helping us develop emotionally intelligent servant leaders who fundamentally know how to build trust.
Carla Harris
Former Vice-Chair of Morgan Stanley. She taught us her Pearls of Wisdom and the importance of helping young leaders find coaches, mentors, and sponsors to assist in their career development.
From Steve Sosland, Vice Chancellor, Leader and Culture Development, Texas Tech University System
I want to acknowledge the following team members who collaborated on this project. They are experts in their related areas and contributed greatly to this leader guide.
Ronnie D. Hawkins, Jr., Lt Gen (ret), USAF gave us the vision of his legacy. This inspired us to work energetically and collaboratively to develop sustainable and relevant programs that all participants will want to own.
The ASU Leader Development Council – Andy Tiger, Don Topliff, Twyla Tasker, Derek McIntyre, Christabel Romine, Britany Hernandez, Jessica Gooch, Chuck Waddington and Jason Weber - who are giving guidance and ensuring the ASU programs are tailored for the needs of all stakeholders.
Barry Helms, the Owen Group in Lubbock; and Jordan Pape and Whitney Green of TTUHSC, who collaborated and used their creative design competencies to develop a highly readable and useable guide.
Scott Parsons, Character Development Integrator in The Character Integration Advisory Group at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, who shared his work on virtues and character development.
Ryan Brown, Managing Director for Measurement, Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University in Houston, who consulted with us on how to establish an effective system to measure growth in leader development competencies.
Colonel Kurt Wendt, John Abbatiello, Tom Torkelson, and Senior Master Sgt. Pat Hunt at the Center for Character and Leadership Development at the United States Air Force Academy who generously shared information and lessons learned in developing leaders of character.
Values
Ann Rhoades, “Built on Values” (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011)
Bill George, “True North” (San Francisco: Josse-Bass, 2007)
Character
Keith Hamel and Scott Parsons, “The System Meets the Framework: Character Education at USMA” (West Point, New York: West Point Magazine, Winter 2022)
Ryan Holiday, “Courage is Calling” (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2021)
Ethics
Marianne M. Jennings, “The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse” (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005)
Michael Beer, “How to Be a Leader Who Stays True to Their Ethics” (Boston: Harvard Business Review, September 2021)
Self-Development
Stephen R. Covey, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989)
Management
Peter Drucker, “The Effective Executive” (New York: Harper Books, 1966)
Warren Bennis, “On Becoming a Leader” (New York: Basic Books, 1989)
Decision-making
Ray Dalio, “Principles” (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017)
Communication
Geoffrey Tumlin, “Stop Talking Start Communicating” (New York: McGraw Hill, 2013)
Stephen R. Covey, “The 8th Habit” (New York: Free Press, 2004)
Organizational Acumen
Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage – “Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business” (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012)
We have plenty of physical copies of the Leader Guide, and we would be happy to give you some.
