In a message dated 12/10/99 2:18:26 PM Mountain Standard Time,
alicemac@KWANTLEN.BC.CA writes:
<< On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Michael Cook wrote many reasonable things:
>>
I agree. As a new member of the list, this issue has not reflected favorably
on the list as a whole. I subscribe to several professional lists and have
never seen quite the likes of this lengthy and fairly low relevance string of
interactions. However, I found it an interesting contrast to your thread on
the difference between management and leadership. Management is about
command and control. It is often about power and politics. Leadership can
also be about those things but, at its best, I find leadership to be the edge
of management that builds trust, mutual respect, and common goals. It
inspires participation, collaboration and sacrifice - when needed. As
educators we are only human, but we also have great potential and, I think,
obligation to be leaders with a goal of making organizations more functional,
more able to meet individual and social needs, and more civil. That requires
self reflection and a willingness to model those traits our ivory tower
research and contemplation associate with genuine leadership. In the midst
of an increasingly complex and time constrained world, it also demands that
we focus our energies, dialogue and problem solving on essential wisdom,
common sense and practical priorities. I will give the list a few weeks
longer because it would seem that such a group would have much to offer me as
a colleague.
Deb Bennett-Woods
Regis University