Leadership Reflections: Inspiration through Aspiration and Admiration!
Kevin G Smith
Experienced Leader! Creative Problem Solver. Project Manager. Maverick Team Player. Mentor. #diversityinstem #scholarship #deileader
You don't inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are.??– Robyn Benincasa
Welcome to Community College Month! I am a massive proponent of Community Colleges. They were a key strategy in helping me achieve my undergraduate degree. And working there, indeed, was one of the featured highlights of my professional career. I cherish all the experiences and professional friendships made there. Most importantly, I took pride in helping to both lead and support my faculty in producing the next generation of leaders, engineers, scientists, teachers, doctors, and more!
My Community College experience will be today's focus for my leadership reflection: Inspiration via Admiration! I had several fantastic leadership and growth opportunities as Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty during my tenure at community colleges. When I reflect on the gift of mentoring colleagues while in that role, I will reflect on two key moments: one colleague was matched with me via an official mentor program, and one colleague sought my guidance while new to their leadership role.
With the first colleague, I kept saying, "I don't have enough experience to offer guidance." However, I quickly learned that this future college president was a gifted thought leader. With the second colleague, the circumstance of the leadership position came about differently because it was unexpectedly thrust upon them. In each instance, their insecurities were high. My goal became how I can guide them to be comfortable in the abilities that I and others saw within them.?
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I decided to inspire my colleagues by showing them how amazing they were and how much I admired them. I took the time to listen to their stories, backgrounds, journeys, and future interests that led them to their respective leadership moments. Then, each time they came upon a 'hurdle,' I reminded them of their past performances and success and shared my hurdles and success with them. Using the art of storytelling made sharing very palatable.
The strategy was simple: Not to inspire them by quoting how amazing I was at solving a problem, but instead to remind them of what we each had in common and use our everyday experiences to motivate them through the hurdles—reminding them that they would learn from each experience and become more comfortable with the role, just like I did. After all, I was genuinely a fan of each of them. Hence aspiration and admiration!
I am forever grateful for meeting with them and working with them indirectly. I share these lessons with you in hopes that you, too, can mentor the next generation of administrators. Simply care and lead from the heart with intentional strategy, and you'll be off to a damn good start. What are your thoughts? Reflect and share with us!
Trustee of the Village of Flossmoor / Each of us has a responsibility to make where we live better for all
1 年Thank you, Kevin, for including me among those you'd like to share. I am honored. Working with you was uplifting, positive and always enjoyable. I have found that creating a 'safe space' where mistakes as well as successes can be discussed helps both the leader and those we mentor and guide. There are no stupid questions or perfect people; we all learn what to do differently or better especially when we fail. Assure colleagues and staff that we will work together to resolve problems and applaud the problem solving process. It's also important, in my opinion, not to sugar coat responses. Be as compassionate and kind as possible, but don't mislead by being vague or reluctant to give difficult feedback. Step back. Allow mistakes. Roll up your sleeves, and work together to solve problems. And always give credit for the effort as well as the achievement. And last, always believe that our youth and young adults are destined for greatness. It is up to us to help pave the path to that destiny.
Empowering transformation with Salesforce expertise, project management, and clear communication
1 年You rock Kevin!! Congratulations ??
Higher Education Leader/Change Agent/Organizational Strategist
1 年Well alright now, let’s go!! #soexcitedforyou
Former CIS Adjunct Instructor, City Colleges of Chicago
1 年Hey Kevin. Are you a college president yet?
President at Four Mile Music LLC of Louisburg
1 年While director of the graduate program in technical communication as well as the campus-wide writing program before my retirement, I certainly appreciated your work at Illinois Institute of Technology. I look forward to hearing you share your perspectives on leadership.