May 25, 2006
Leadership, Community & Values Initiative moves into action phase
The formal launch of the “action phase” of the Leadership, Community and Values Initiative occurred May 17 — although in reality the implementation of the findings is well under way.
The first phase of the initiative, which began a little over a year ago, was focused around gathering University-wide information about the UW as a place to work. Results are at http://www.uwnews.org/Uwnews/Sites/oop/index.asp?sm=192.
After the information was analyzed, a steering committee met to develop an implementation strategy. “We’re starting with many positive things,” said Joanne Suffis, interim vice president for human resources. “People are committed to the UW. They are engaged and are proud of our mission. But they would like to see improvements. They would like our decision-making to be more transparent. They would like to be recognized for their accomplishments. They’d like leadership that is uniformly excellent. And they’d like to feel more of a sense of community.”
So the next phase of the initiative begins with the creation of four teams to address the most important issues identified in University-wide surveys: Faculty leadership, recognition, staff professional and career development, and community. About 60 individuals have been recruited to participate in these teams, with results expected in Autumn Quarter.
Both Provost Phyllis Wise and President Mark Emmert underscored the importance of the initiative.
“When I was interviewing for the position of Provost in spring of 2005, one of the first things I noticed on the UW Web site was the leadership initiative,” Provost Wise said. “I wondered what would come of this, because I hadn’t seen this attempted elsewhere, a very intentional effort to build the sense of community and to develop stronger leadership. I now believe that this will be a defining framework for the University.”
“This initiative is crucial for what we want to accomplish as an organization,” said President Emmert. “Imagine we had broad agreement on our common purposes and on our most important values. Imagine we were skilled in communications, in leadership and in ‘follower-ship,’ and we could conduct a debate about important issues in an open, free and respectful manner. If all these things were true, there would not be anything that we couldn’t achieve.
“What’s more typical in the academy is the inverse: increasing levels of specialization leading to people interpreting every decision or proposal through the focus of their particular ‘silo.’ If we are able to move beyond this view, if we are able to engage with one another based on overarching principles and values, we will undoubtedly be more successful than any other university at what we do.”
The groundwork for the second phase has been laid by actions that have already occurred which coincide with issues raised by the surveys:
- Vision statements have been drafted (about 2,000 people commented on early drafts posted on the Web), shared with the University community and many University friends. The final version, according to Provost Wise, will contain a succinct statement of the UW’s mission, followed by perhaps 10 sentences describing what makes the UW “uniquely Washington.” From these statements, goals and objectives will emerge, including short-term strategies.
- Changes within the Provost’s Office have been geared to enable quicker response to requests and greater transparency in decision-making. “We have guidelines, but we try not to let the rules get in the way of doing the right thing,” said Executive Vice Provost Ana Mari Cauce. “We face a formidable challenge in trying to keep everyone informed. This place is so big that ultimately we must rely on others to pass along information, which means leaders at all levels must be willing to share what they have heard.”
- Wise said recent and pending appointments in the Provost’s Office – Mary Lidstrom as vice provost for research, Susan Jeffords as vice provost for international education, Cheryl Cameron as vice provost for academic personnel, and positions yet to be filled in undergraduate academic affairs and student life – are taking into account the concerns over communications and decision-making. Plus, Wise has pledged to continue town hall gatherings twice a year.
- Issues about the training of leaders are beginning to be addressed by taking the model developed by ADVANCE — originally designed for emerging women leaders in science and engineering — and extending it gradually to leaders in all parts of the University, as needed. “We should acknowledge that UW Medical Center and Harborview are substantially ahead of the rest of the University in the training and development of leaders,” Suffis said.
- Career and professional development is receiving increased attention. “Career development doesn’t only mean moving up,” Suffis said, “it includes horizontal movement through acquiring a broader set of skills. We are delighted that SEIU/925 has become interested in issues of professional development and is now participating in a career development committee for classified staff.”
- Diversity continues to be an important topic “that will be built into everything we do,” said Suffis. “We have learned to think about it differently, so that it is part of every other objective within the initiative.” At the same time, recognizing the needs for recruiting and retaining people of color, two new positions have been created: an associate vice provost for faculty advancement and a diversity staffing specialist. Finalists for both positions will be interviewed over the next few weeks.
The UW administration is committed to following through on the expectations that have been raised by the initiative, Wise said. “The worst thing that could happen would be, after gathering all this information, that we do nothing. On the other hand, I don’t think we’ll ever by able to sit back and say we’re done, that we’ve met all our goals.”
