CULTIVATING WISE AND COMPASSIONATE ACTION UNDER PRESSURE: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO ACADEMIC

Leadership, ” America needs leaders in nearly every aspect of our society. All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in government, in education, or as a nonprofit volunteer. The challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others. According to Bill George, “the only valid test of a leader is his or her ability to bring people together to achieve sustainable results over time. ” Authentic leaders know who they are. They are “good in their skin, ” so good they don’t feel a need to impress or please others. They not only inspire those around them, they bring people together around a shared purpose and a common set of values and motivate them to create value for everyone involved.” Academic institutions have been classified as loosely coupled, political, and bureaucratic institutions (Seagren, Wheeler, Cresswell and Miller, 6). Pressures exist to avoid litigation at all costs, and do more with fewer administrative assistants. Within this framework, there has been a growing need to re-cast the academic leader as a business operations officer first, which also understands and encourages faculty development and growth (Ibid, 6). The need for excellence in dealing with this complexity has bee