I can't help myself. I've been watching the beginning of the Democratic National Convention from afar. I always turn on CNN while I'm getting ready for work which allows me to see the 11 p.m. eastern U.S.A. news. This morning, following on yesterday morning (26 August), gave me great hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Michelle Obama's and Hillary Clinton's speeches were some of the most powerful I've seen on TV. Michelle's was particularly authentic, deep, and inspirational. Hillary followed with a clear and unequivocal message - how could those who supported her even consider not voting for Obama? It's not about Hillary! It's about the issues and the future of the U.S.A. and its role in the global community.
I will be voting absentee as we hope the nine million ex-patriots living abroad will do. I haven't traveled around the globe, although over the last year I've traveled to Canada, central Europe, and the Middle East. Hope is swelling throughout the rest of the world that the U.S.A. will return to its place as a democratic model rather than a military force. Citizens of other countries, even in places where they don't have the rights and privileges that Americans enjoy, are hoping for a return to a course of modeling the way and diplomacy that will improve the conditions of people throughout the world. I have not encountered anyone abroad who hasn't embraced the hope that Barack Obama brings.
Lest the world's enthusiasm be used against Obama in the upcoming campaigning by McCain, it is absolutely critical than citizens of the U.S.A. realize that globalization is about the shared needs and interdependence of all, rather than the "us against them" rhetoric of the "war on terrorism." Naive - I don't think so. When you live abroad, you see the needs, the struggles, and you see the disappointment when the U.S.A. falls short of its values. The fact that other nations are cheering for Obama is not cause for pause or suspicion, as I anticipate the Republican party will assert. The cheering from abroad is from a heart-felt yearning to see the U.S.A. return to the role of a guide for change in the knowledge-based society of the 21st century. With the rise of the economic dominance of Asia, South America, and the Middle East, it is clear that the U.S.A. is not the preeminent economy of the world - there's no way to reverse that flow. The U.S.A. has to find another way to influence the world other than its economic and military power.
The spontaneous cheering at last night's Democratic National Convention, "Four more months," and Hillary's introductory statement combine to say it all...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Big dreams will always outlive you...
Tuesday was a very profound day for me. I had routine stuff in the morning but I was able to have lunch with one of our Qatari colleagues who is leaving for the U.S.A. for English and graduate school study. I thought I was only going for lunch but he took me to his private tailor to have two thobes made for me. He absolutely refused to allow me to pay for them and I am not quite sure how to respond - other than be grateful. The result will be that soon I'll have two full Qatari national dress outfits. I can hardly wait to wear them. Another aspect of the parting lunch ritual was to ask him about his experience and what we might do to improve our effectiveness with students. It was a great conversation and bodes well for the work he will do in the U.S.A. I can only pray that he will be treated with respect...
The other thing that happened was that I spent 1.5 hours on the phone and computer with a webinar on Deeper Learning in Leadership. I'm not sure that webinars are my favorite form of communication but at least the webinar provided the opportunity to talk about the importance of deeper leadership across many miles and with a wide spectrum of participants. I assume I'll find out over the next several days if the webinar was satisfactory.
As I prepared for bed tonight, I went for a walk and listened to Dr. Craig Barnes' sermon on Joseph, son of Jacob, who was sold into servitude in Egypt when his brothers became so irritated with his dream stories and "favored son" mindset that they couldn't stand it any more. Dr. Barnes had, as usual, a very different twist on the story. He likened being taken into Egyptian exile to the isolation and separation that results in adolescence when our children begin to rebel against the precious, perfect, optimistic images we generally hold of them. Dr. Barnes said that all children have to break free of the confining, idealized roles to which we confine our children, even if it takes doing outrageous things to escape our grasp - a very interesting interpretation of adolescence. The bottom line was that Joseph's exile from his family was very critical and, indeed, it saved his family and his family's families during the famine that would follow many years later. Joseph's own brothers didn't even recognize him when they saw him in Egypt, perhaps because Joseph had grown out of his adolescent pride and narcissism. After growing up, he was able to serve his brothers who came to beg for wheat, even though they were the very ones who were responsible for his exile. He had become a different person because of the humility he acquired during his separation from family and loved ones. Kind of speaks to the collegiate experience, doesn't it.
The parting reflection by Dr. Barnes was that Joseph had many dreams, dreams that he literally had no idea what they meant. However, his dreams became so great that they outlived his egotism and his youthful bravado. He had great dreams that helped Egypt, his family, and ultimately perhaps saved an entire generation of his people. Big dreams will always outlive you.
I go to bed tonight knowing that somehow maturity has blessed me with an understanding that my big dreams will, and have, outlived me. A colleague off to study English and student affairs to return to the Arabian Gulf to make higher education work here. A webinar that I never imagined 30 years ago in terms of technology, reach, or interest of others. What we started at Maryland in 1976 has far outlived my time there and has become so much more than anything we had imagined. Amazing how big, big dreams can become.
The other thing that happened was that I spent 1.5 hours on the phone and computer with a webinar on Deeper Learning in Leadership. I'm not sure that webinars are my favorite form of communication but at least the webinar provided the opportunity to talk about the importance of deeper leadership across many miles and with a wide spectrum of participants. I assume I'll find out over the next several days if the webinar was satisfactory.
As I prepared for bed tonight, I went for a walk and listened to Dr. Craig Barnes' sermon on Joseph, son of Jacob, who was sold into servitude in Egypt when his brothers became so irritated with his dream stories and "favored son" mindset that they couldn't stand it any more. Dr. Barnes had, as usual, a very different twist on the story. He likened being taken into Egyptian exile to the isolation and separation that results in adolescence when our children begin to rebel against the precious, perfect, optimistic images we generally hold of them. Dr. Barnes said that all children have to break free of the confining, idealized roles to which we confine our children, even if it takes doing outrageous things to escape our grasp - a very interesting interpretation of adolescence. The bottom line was that Joseph's exile from his family was very critical and, indeed, it saved his family and his family's families during the famine that would follow many years later. Joseph's own brothers didn't even recognize him when they saw him in Egypt, perhaps because Joseph had grown out of his adolescent pride and narcissism. After growing up, he was able to serve his brothers who came to beg for wheat, even though they were the very ones who were responsible for his exile. He had become a different person because of the humility he acquired during his separation from family and loved ones. Kind of speaks to the collegiate experience, doesn't it.
The parting reflection by Dr. Barnes was that Joseph had many dreams, dreams that he literally had no idea what they meant. However, his dreams became so great that they outlived his egotism and his youthful bravado. He had great dreams that helped Egypt, his family, and ultimately perhaps saved an entire generation of his people. Big dreams will always outlive you.
I go to bed tonight knowing that somehow maturity has blessed me with an understanding that my big dreams will, and have, outlived me. A colleague off to study English and student affairs to return to the Arabian Gulf to make higher education work here. A webinar that I never imagined 30 years ago in terms of technology, reach, or interest of others. What we started at Maryland in 1976 has far outlived my time there and has become so much more than anything we had imagined. Amazing how big, big dreams can become.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
ILA webinar on Deeper Learning in Leadership - August 19
I'm excited to welcome potential readers to my blog who are considering, or have signed up for, the August 19 ILA webinar, "Deeper Learning in Leadership." I thought it might help to provide this introductory post to explain the purpose of this blog over the last 2+ years I've maintained it.
I originally began the blog in preparation for a two-month teaching, research, and writing opportunity I had in November and December of 2005. I served as a Visiting Scholar at the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Luxembourg during which I 1) taught an undergraduate seminar on global leadership, 2) researched the European Union's emerging approach to higher education, and 3) completed a substantial portion of the draft text for what would become Deeper Learning in Leadership. I had never blogged before but friends and family encouraged me to start the "Pursuing Leadership" blog in order to keep them informed about my work, travels, and emerging thoughts about leadership. If you go all the way back to the beginning of the blog in October 2005, you will see that I charted the anticipation and anxiety associated with the MUDEC time and then I reflected throughout the experience on my travels and what the travels and other encounters had to do, if anything, with questions of leadership.
Once I returned from Luxembourg in January 2006, I maintained "Pursuing Leadership" as more or less a public journal of my reflections on leadership, higher education, and general life questions. You will see that I post periodically on reading that I have found influential, I reflect on philosophical questions, and I even get into a bit of political commentary as well. You won't agree with all I post and that is only fair and right. The bottom line is that I am a life-long student of leadership and, even after studying it through reading and experience, I have lots of questions left. Sometimes I think I should "get over" these questions but the deeper I explore leadership, the more questions I have. I can find no other personally acceptable way to resolve the internal dialogue than to be honest about it and to share my own journey as I seek to understand leadership. I hope that, as a reader of the blog, and potential participant in the August 19 webinar, you will engage with me as a fellow traveler in this journey. It might be more comfortable to passively receive the wisdom of someone who has "figured it all out" but that just isn't authentic for me. If you're looking for an authority who has all the answers for you, you should probably seek another expert. On the other hand, if you're up for some exploration, we could have some fun.
A little bit about why Deeper Learning in Leadership... The book is a combination of a tribute to one of the greatest minds of higher education and student affairs in the 20th century - Esther Lloyd Jones (pictured at age 90 in 1991) and a commitment that I had avoided for almost a decade - updating and publishing a sequel to Student Leadership Programs in Higher Education (1981). I was blessed in my early career by the confidence of two colleagues, Dr. William L. Thomas and Dr. Drury Bagwell, who in 1976 decided that the University of Maryland should do something explicit about student leadership. Being young and ambitious, I took the challenge with literally no background or academic preparation. In a panic, I turned to the American College Personnel Association where I found a number of colleagues equally interested in student leadership. This group formed the base of what would become the beginning of the formal study and development of student leadership through primarily cocurricular means. And, the work of the ACPA team, as well as the shared work with my Maryland colleagues resulted in the publication of Student Leadership Programs...
I won't go into all the details of the early days of exploring leadership learning for that is in Deeper Learning in Leadership and other articles that have emerged in the literature in the last several years. Deeper Learning in Leadership celebrates the fact that the focus on leadership has grown to amazing proportions. However, what I do put candidly on the table is a concern that I presently have - that the explosion of interest in leadership in higher education (and in many other areas as well) has become so popular and trendy that its credibility is at risk. It is at risk because I fear that our work is sometimes not as substantial and deep as it needs to be. I do not criticize anyone (including myself) in this statement; I propose it as a perspective of my reality that pushes me to ask more questions. Deeper Learning in Leadership raises questions about how we understand leadership, models that have emerged to help us, and new theories or frameworks that might stimulate more effective work in this very important endeavor.
The combination of tribute to Esther Lloyd-Jones and the purpose of pushing the boundaries in understanding leadership learning is no accident, although my understanding of their symmetry continues to emerge. Esther Lloyd-Jones was deeply influenced by John Dewey's ideas of democratic education and she brought this perspective into the formation of student personnel work in the early 20th century. Many student affairs staff are unaware of these origins and therefore miss the critical and essential link of cocurricular and experiential learning with the purposes of individual development, the importance of community, and cultivating democratic capacity. Scott London summarizes as well as any piece I've ever read the philosophy of John Dewey and its relevance to higher education today. Organic Democracy: The Political Philosophy of John Dewey is essential reading that will help you see the connection between Esther Lloyd-Jones' contribution to education and the opportunities we face in leadership learning.
The most recent twist in my journey to understand leadership is that immediately after publishing Deeper Learning in Leadership through Jossey-Bass I left the U.S.A. I joined the Qatar Foundation in November 2007 and my world has changed again as a result of so many amazing encounters in this new work. My more recent posts reflect my struggles as I've sought to understand higher education and leadership in an international context. The experience thus far has been profound and my journey is far from over. In fact, my guess is that I'm no more than 10% down the path that I will eventually travel while in the Arabian Gulf. I hope you will see that I am struggling again and I hope you will embrace that with me.
Please browse some of my previous posts on this blog and pick up a copy of Deeper Learning in Leadership. Consider what I've written in the book and on the blog as my "take" which is intentionally designed to provoke your reflection. Then come back with your perspectives and questions so that we can push deeper leadership to a new level of understanding and practice.
I originally began the blog in preparation for a two-month teaching, research, and writing opportunity I had in November and December of 2005. I served as a Visiting Scholar at the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Luxembourg during which I 1) taught an undergraduate seminar on global leadership, 2) researched the European Union's emerging approach to higher education, and 3) completed a substantial portion of the draft text for what would become Deeper Learning in Leadership. I had never blogged before but friends and family encouraged me to start the "Pursuing Leadership" blog in order to keep them informed about my work, travels, and emerging thoughts about leadership. If you go all the way back to the beginning of the blog in October 2005, you will see that I charted the anticipation and anxiety associated with the MUDEC time and then I reflected throughout the experience on my travels and what the travels and other encounters had to do, if anything, with questions of leadership.
Once I returned from Luxembourg in January 2006, I maintained "Pursuing Leadership" as more or less a public journal of my reflections on leadership, higher education, and general life questions. You will see that I post periodically on reading that I have found influential, I reflect on philosophical questions, and I even get into a bit of political commentary as well. You won't agree with all I post and that is only fair and right. The bottom line is that I am a life-long student of leadership and, even after studying it through reading and experience, I have lots of questions left. Sometimes I think I should "get over" these questions but the deeper I explore leadership, the more questions I have. I can find no other personally acceptable way to resolve the internal dialogue than to be honest about it and to share my own journey as I seek to understand leadership. I hope that, as a reader of the blog, and potential participant in the August 19 webinar, you will engage with me as a fellow traveler in this journey. It might be more comfortable to passively receive the wisdom of someone who has "figured it all out" but that just isn't authentic for me. If you're looking for an authority who has all the answers for you, you should probably seek another expert. On the other hand, if you're up for some exploration, we could have some fun.
A little bit about why Deeper Learning in Leadership... The book is a combination of a tribute to one of the greatest minds of higher education and student affairs in the 20th century - Esther Lloyd Jones (pictured at age 90 in 1991) and a commitment that I had avoided for almost a decade - updating and publishing a sequel to Student Leadership Programs in Higher Education (1981). I was blessed in my early career by the confidence of two colleagues, Dr. William L. Thomas and Dr. Drury Bagwell, who in 1976 decided that the University of Maryland should do something explicit about student leadership. Being young and ambitious, I took the challenge with literally no background or academic preparation. In a panic, I turned to the American College Personnel Association where I found a number of colleagues equally interested in student leadership. This group formed the base of what would become the beginning of the formal study and development of student leadership through primarily cocurricular means. And, the work of the ACPA team, as well as the shared work with my Maryland colleagues resulted in the publication of Student Leadership Programs...I won't go into all the details of the early days of exploring leadership learning for that is in Deeper Learning in Leadership and other articles that have emerged in the literature in the last several years. Deeper Learning in Leadership celebrates the fact that the focus on leadership has grown to amazing proportions. However, what I do put candidly on the table is a concern that I presently have - that the explosion of interest in leadership in higher education (and in many other areas as well) has become so popular and trendy that its credibility is at risk. It is at risk because I fear that our work is sometimes not as substantial and deep as it needs to be. I do not criticize anyone (including myself) in this statement; I propose it as a perspective of my reality that pushes me to ask more questions. Deeper Learning in Leadership raises questions about how we understand leadership, models that have emerged to help us, and new theories or frameworks that might stimulate more effective work in this very important endeavor.
The combination of tribute to Esther Lloyd-Jones and the purpose of pushing the boundaries in understanding leadership learning is no accident, although my understanding of their symmetry continues to emerge. Esther Lloyd-Jones was deeply influenced by John Dewey's ideas of democratic education and she brought this perspective into the formation of student personnel work in the early 20th century. Many student affairs staff are unaware of these origins and therefore miss the critical and essential link of cocurricular and experiential learning with the purposes of individual development, the importance of community, and cultivating democratic capacity. Scott London summarizes as well as any piece I've ever read the philosophy of John Dewey and its relevance to higher education today. Organic Democracy: The Political Philosophy of John Dewey is essential reading that will help you see the connection between Esther Lloyd-Jones' contribution to education and the opportunities we face in leadership learning.
The most recent twist in my journey to understand leadership is that immediately after publishing Deeper Learning in Leadership through Jossey-Bass I left the U.S.A. I joined the Qatar Foundation in November 2007 and my world has changed again as a result of so many amazing encounters in this new work. My more recent posts reflect my struggles as I've sought to understand higher education and leadership in an international context. The experience thus far has been profound and my journey is far from over. In fact, my guess is that I'm no more than 10% down the path that I will eventually travel while in the Arabian Gulf. I hope you will see that I am struggling again and I hope you will embrace that with me.
Please browse some of my previous posts on this blog and pick up a copy of Deeper Learning in Leadership. Consider what I've written in the book and on the blog as my "take" which is intentionally designed to provoke your reflection. Then come back with your perspectives and questions so that we can push deeper leadership to a new level of understanding and practice.
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