In my early months as chancellor of the Board of Regents, I had spent a great deal of time meeting with campus constituents and developing a long-range plan for our system. The result was a bold document entitled “Agenda 2000 – The Board of Regents’ Plan to Serve Tennessee.” By coincidence, the plan was completed…
Month: November 2019
Your Words are Your Bond
Early in my career as an administrator, I was exposed to the power of words and the impact they may have on people’s reputations. As a leader, you have the podium. What you say can make someone’s day or destroy a reputation. An example of this principle was clearly shown in one of the leadership…
Timing is Everything
In my first year as commissioner of education I spent a full day in every one of the state’s 139 school districts, starting with a breakfast and ending with an evening town hall meeting. In that time frame, I met at two-hour intervals with representative groups of students, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and…
Communicate Early and Often
Over the years, I have had opportunity to observe, up close and personal, literally hundreds of chief executive officers. Almost all of them have had intellect. Almost all have had basic ability. Almost all have had desire. However, intelligence, experience, and personality are no guarantees of success as a leader. Many chief executive officers I…