leadership

Willie Niegro was the shipping supervisor at the warehouse where I worked summers during high school. He'd been there over 20 years, overseeing the shipping of crates and pallets out the truck bays at the rear of the warehouse. He was a cheerful character and took pride in his work. I ...

Deans sometimes have a tough time saying "No." Many just need to be liked too much and few want to be seen as the resident Scrooge who is miserly with resources. Yet, there is no end of requests that come across the dean's desk. It's not uncommon for a dean ...

Theological school deans wear many hats, and, depending on the context, some more than others: administrator, supervisor, assessor, policies and accreditation compliance officer, faculty cat-herder, student advisor, pastoral counselor and resident chaplain. One key role for the theological school dean is that of educational leader. Often, that means being the ...

I find a lot of natural connection between the functioning of effective theological school deans and August Turak's list of "11 Leadership Secrets You've Never Heard About." Credit given for a catchy title, but these are more proven common-sense realities than "secrets." Most experienced and effective leaders know these, and, effective ...

Two years into my deanship a friend asked how the job was going: "Is it between '10. The best job ever;' or, '6. I’d rather shoot my eye out with a nail gun;' and '1. I’m recommending my worst enemy for this job.'?” I responded ...