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Archive for the ‘Lessons Learned’ Category

Lesson 244 New Leadership for Global Education

Posted in Higher Education, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on November 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Governments are changing their roles in higher education. Some are cutting back overall support, and others are investing selectively. Technology is dramatically changing how we teach, as well as how we explain our institutions to the world. And at the same time, globalization is turning academia into a truly global industry.

Now one of education’s most international associations, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is about to become even more global by announcing the appointment of Sue Cunningham, vice-principal for advancement at the University of Melbourne, as its new president.

Cunningham will follow one of the most successful presidents in CASE history, John Lippincott. For the last eleven years Lippincott built on the association’s US and European operations by adding major offices and initiatives in Asia and Latin America. And what’s more, he will also be leaving the association on a strong financial foundation…well positioned for industry leadership.

Cunningham brings a stunning background to CASE just at the right time. Beginning her career at St Andrews University, she then led advancement for Oxford University’s best known college, Christ Church, and eventually opened Oxford’s first China office. She has had a truly international career. With 17 years of global experience she is perfectly suited to lead CASE into a very challenging and exciting future.

I have described “advancement” to include all those managers, administrators and academics in colleges, universities and schools responsible for leading the advancement of institutions into a complicated future. This would include presidents, chancellors, head masters, provost’s, deans, student affairs professionals and more. And front and center with them will be the CASE member institutions and professionals in fund-raising, marketing, communication, alumni relations, and government affairs.

As the industry adjusts to dramatic changes in government support, technology, and economic forces, these dedicated professionals will be front and center solving the problems, seizing the opportunities, and leading the way. CASE is the place where everyone can come together to take advantage of education’s incredible potential.

For some time, I have been  imagining a future where institutions will gradually focus their research, teaching, and consulting expertise on solving the world’s problems, helping nations rebuild, and educating a generation of leaders with truly global perspectives and sensitivities.

The good news for CASE members is that those with experience and exceptional expertise in all areas of institutional advancement will have renewed and exciting career opportunities. And president-elect Sue Cunningham has the broad international experience necessary to integrate and mobilize this talent. CASE is now perfectly positioned  to play a leading role in helping to shape this global education industry that has so much international potential.

 

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Lesson 243 Rebuilding US Credibility

Posted in Higher Education, International, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on November 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This week I attended a forum on national security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). One of the sessions that impressed me most touched on the question of who is responsible for rebuilding societies torn apart by war and revolution?

It seems obvious to me that the decision to participate in war raises the basic question: “If you break it, do you own it?”  In the past, this question was rarely considered.  But it’s clear today that many uprooted nations desperately need rebuilding…physically, economically, culturally, and institutionally. But who should be responsible?

Should it be the responsibility of the damaged nation to rebuild itself? Or should it be the responsibility of the attacking country? Or can some kind of public-private partnership be formed to do the job? Or could an internationally funded NGO take on this enormous task?

This CSIS session got me thinking about the feasibility of creating a quasi-governmental organization to take on the task. Such an organization would combine legislature allocated funds with additional international and private funds to do the job. Globally engaged universities could also make significant contributions to the effort.

Regular readers of my blog are aware that I have been pointing out for a long time that the entire higher education industry is quickly becoming a global one. Over time more university talent and resources will inevitably get focused on helping solve many of the world’s problems. And this talent literally ranges all the way from public health to city management, and everything in between.

Further more, helping to launch such an initiative might be just the opportunity the US needs to rebuild much of its international credibility. If the US coordinated the planning, and the unique cultural and historical heritage of the devastated society would be preserved, all those charges over the years of American imperialism might finally begin to get put to rest.

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Lesson 242 Actions vs. Words

Posted in International, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on November 7, 2014| 1 Comment »

How was the US midterm election viewed abroad?  If actions speak louder than words it’s clear that it will be difficult for the US to lead the way in the Middle East, or anywhere else.  How can countries have confidence in a nation where its Congress is polarized and gridlocked, where its president is attacked every day as ineffective by both parties, and where an election is characterized more by vicious attacks than by positive ideas.

Gridlock, polarization and a president under siege: Analysts often argue that only American leadership and power can rally the support of concerned countries to seriously address the most troubling international issues.

But for the last six years the world has seen daily attacks on the US president from a polarized, do-nothing congress. This situation hardly builds credibility. It’s no wonder allies hesitate to rally behind US initiatives. How can we expect other countries to have confidence in a mean-spirited and fragmented nation. It’s no wonder allies hesitate to commit troops to the current Iraq and Syria initiatives when it looks like the US does not have confidence in itself.

An election without platforms:  There is no doubt that thoughtful Americans find this dysfunction embarrassing. If so many people are dissatisfied you would think that an election would produce at least a few constructive ideas and practical plans. But the recent midterm election largely degenerated into battles where billions of dollars were spent solely to discredit the opposition.

Making a commitment to focus on creating jobs and supporting quality education was as positive as most races got. But there were few if any ideas about how to accomplish these things. And, of course, attacks on the president continued.

From a strategic communication vantage point every aspect of perceived dysfunction spells breakdown. If actions speak louder than words, then what we have here is a communication mess. Handling crises requires strong day-to-day leadership which is not under constant and relentless attack.

Political campaigns are legitimate times for alternative ideas. But focusing mostly on putting forth positive ideas and not viciously discrediting leaders would be the more responsible approach… especially during international crises.

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Lesson 241 More on Public Diplomacy & Global Education

Posted in Higher Education, International, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In trying to sort out how the US can do a better job of international communication, I have been thinking once again about the potential power of public diplomacy.

In a recent speech to the South Texas World Affairs Council I concluded that daily statements from the White House about strategy (or the lack of it) in dealing with ISIS seem to accomplish very little, and often actually contribute to more confusion and misunderstanding. This is so, I asserted, because people at home and abroad tend to hear only what they want to hear, have different meanings for words such as democracy and freedom, and interpret every action as an effort of a liberal or conservative leaning  administration to impose its partisan views on everyone. Messages coming from a biased source will always lack credibility with many audiences, and therefore be immediately rejected.

As I developed this presentation I was reminded again of hearing Fareed Zakaria at the Chautauqua Institution last August argue that the thousand years of tribal warfare in the Middle East has created a situation where nothing that can be said or done now will make any short-term difference. And while I am now convinced that Fareed is right, I still see people all over the world wearing “made in America” jeans, listening to US music from country to jazz, loving Hollywood movies, and sipping Starbucks coffee. They still tend to love their “idea of America,” but only when they discover it on their own. It’s when we try to sell ourselves as “exceptional” that we are rejected as those “ugly Americans” behaving  arrogantly!

So I once again conclude that we have a long-term chance of being successful if we more aggressively “model” our “idea of America.” And this will be best accomplished by people-to-people communication and exchanges carried out by motive-credible non-governmental organizations such as Sister Cities, international NGO’s, relief organizations… and, yes, the most globally engaged colleges and universities.

The promotional flyer for my World Affairs Council speech stated: “Professor Lauer sees global higher education as the ultimate form of public diplomacy, with the potential not only to educate global leaders and accelerate world peace, but also to focus research and expertise on solving the world’s most serious problems and rebuilding nations torn apart by revolution.”

Yes indeed, I now think that more than ever!

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Lesson 240 24/7 News and Ebola

Posted in Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In a recent post I wrote about leadership communication and the differences between crisis and normal times. This week I am suggesting that some of this same kind of thinking applies to the news media and politicians during a crisis. This is when widespread misunderstanding is most likely to occur, and  widespread panic can easily result. My concern right now is Ebola.

The 24/7 news world produces similar headlines over and over again all day long. The more you hear them the more urgent they sound. The same questions are asked over and over, even when they have been well answered in previous reports. And each time they are asked, they are asked with a tone that makes them sound more like urgent warnings than questions.

It too often is assumed that getting and keeping attention requires headlines that increase in urgency every hour, even when there are no genuinely new developments. Claims of new developments are often made anyway, even when these reports usually offer very little that is new. And intense competition between news organizations can actually accelerate this relentless search for another “breaking news” item.

As people who have concerns about how things are being handled are found, they tend to be interviewed  over and over again. Often they are politicians who are quite willing to be dramatic about their viewpoints. Then other politicians seeing partisan opportunities for themselves line up to provide “the other side.” They also are looking for a news angle from which they can become a headline. Now the news media and  the political opportunists end up advancing each other’s self interests. This may be unintended, but it often happens in a crisis.

But a crisis is a time to provide information with calm and clarity. Updates should add to our knowledge  about the issue. Public education should be the news media’s only objective. Interviewers should prefer established experts.

Canadians provided a great example during the recent shooting in parliament. Law enforcement officials handled their press conferences transparently and calmly. Elected government officials behaved like adults. And the news media behaved responsibly… even while asking the difficult questions.

I urge that anchors, reporters, politicians, and all officials should save the competition and the drama for more normal times when the stakes are not so high.

 

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Lesson 239 Leadership and Teaching

Posted in Higher Education, Leadership, Lessons Learned on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Over the years I have come to think that effective leadership, like teaching, involves enabling others to experience the personal fulfillment of developing and using their special talents. You give them challenging assignments and then share your “lessons learned” to help them develop. You then channel that talent toward achieving more focused personal, career, and institutional goals.

In the years I served as vice-chancellor at TCU I had periodic thoughts that this is what I was actually doing… conducting staff meeting as if my staff members were students in a class. But when I had these thoughts I also thought: What could they be thinking? Should coming to weekly staff meetings be so much like coming to class?

A typical staff meeting would begin with planning and implementation reports from staff members, all of whom were hired for their special talents and potential to develop them. I and others would follow with suggestions based on our current professional reading, past experiences, and lessons learned. Most suggestions would focus on enhancing the effectiveness of these already impressive and creative people. Then periodically we would review our overall institutional goals and discuss how each person’s creative initiatives were helping to advance those goals. Interestingly enough, the format of the graduate class I was teaching was surprisingly similar.

I look back now and find that I feel perfectly comfortable with this analogy. However, I do admit that  when I finally described this thinking to my staff, the surprised look on their faces clearly said back to me: “What the hell are you talking about ?

So I guess they didn’t get it. But even so, I must say I still like the analogy!

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Lesson 238 Meanings are in People

Posted in International, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

“Meanings are in people” is a lesson learned early in Communication 101.

When we use a word like “conservative” we are only making a “noise” or sending a “sign.” The “meaning” that will be understood is already in the mind of the receiver. For some, the word may mean practical and thoughtful, and carries a very positive connotation. For others, it may mean something closer to self-serving or lack of social compassion, and may carry a really negative connotation.

The meaning of a term such as “dictator” these days seems to be determined by how each individual or social group is fairing under each one. For some the word may simply mean “tyrant.” For others, however, it may mean little more than a military-style leader. In fact, many individuals and businesses will prosper under some dictatorships, and they may think this is far better than the chaos that follows revolutions.

The demonstrations this week in Hong Kong also give us a glimpse of how the word “communism” can be understood differently by different groups of Chinese citizens. For some the word may simply mean a government administered society. And for others it may mean oppression of the masses. Today many young people see the current system as offering few opportunities. But a growing number of business people in cities such as Peking, Shanghai and Hong Kong seem to simply see a strong government that is enabling successful enterprise.

In this digital 24/7 news media world many words are losing commonly understood meanings. Politicians and pundits use words such as freedom, democracy, and justice to serve their own purposes.  As a consequence these words, as well as many others, now have various meanings.

Only when sender and receiver “experiences overlap” can common understanding be reached. Communication between nations and cultures especially requires patience, persistence and interactive  dialogue over time. This is the ultimate challenge of international relationship building, and vastly more people-to-people exchanges would be a major step toward meeting that challenge.

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Lesson 237 The Charismatic Leader Conundrum

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Modi has been taking the US by storm this week. He is coming off as sincere, competent and refreshing. He is making a positive impression on most everyone, from corporate CEOs to politicians to the many people from India now living in the US. His appearances often include the music and dance of the culture, all of which suggests that there is a whole new day unfolding for India. He makes the possibility of cooperation and attractive partnerships seem endless. He is demonstrating what one highly visible, articulate, and colorful person can do to establish a whole new “image” for an entire nation.

But is this initial impact sustainable? If it is, this week will have been an incredible testimony of the potential of charismatic leadership. But if it is not, the inevitable backlash will likely produce serious and widespread disappointments.

Last year I traveled to India. The group I was with had to travel more than an hour to move out of the most devastating poverty I have ever experienced. And even then the city streets and countryside were extremely difficult to navigate. Very quickly I also learned that India is a country of very independent states, each of which has its own seemingly endless bureaucratic barriers to overcome. I could not imagine how long it would take to understand all this, let alone to establish mutually rewarding partnerships. I was there to visit universities, and right up front their representatives made aggressive sales pitches to sign partnership intention agreements. Yet it soon became very clear that the benefits would be all theirs, and the cost to us very high.

My clear impression was that many partnerships in India are one-sided, and positive opportunities are very difficult to find. The proof will be if Modi’s central administration can actually deliver on his promises in a country that has been run by highly independent and entrenched state bureaucrats.

Businesses and countries built mostly on one charismatic leader’s personality often do not thrive. But when that leader is the colorful spokesperson for a group of highly talented managers ready and able to deliver on the promises, wonderful things can happen. For Modi, the verdict is still out. But if he pulls it off, he could be just what the great nation of India desperately needs.

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Lesson 236 Actions speak louder…

Posted in Higher Education, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on September 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

President Obama’s speech to the United Nations was an impressive, far-reaching and complex statement that ranged from Ukraine to extremism in every corner of the Middle East. He challenged governments to act, and young Muslims to resist extremist recruiters.

Words can influence, but actions often speak much louder.

My long-standing fear has been that even when warfare eliminates an extremely ruthless group, fighting violence with more violence will only inspire the appearance of still another group that is just as violent, or even worse.

Many in the Middle East think that well-intentioned past initiatives of Western countries to export their cultural values seriously backfired. Referred to now as imperialism and colonialism, they argue that there has been a naive belief that one country’s democracy can be transferred to another. And while it may be true that there is widespread desire for freedom, justice and opportunity, many around the world believe there is more than one way to achieve it. They argue it must grow more naturally out of local traditions and ways of doing things. The process can only be supported by the West, not imposed.  Apparently, selling American democracy as “exceptional” all along has been perceived by Islamic cultures as arrogant and naive.

When Western imperialism and colonialism failed there was no democratic system relevant to the culture  ready to fill the void. When dictators also failed, the resulting chaos paved the way for the strongest extreme group to develop and flourish. And when it became a real threat, the warfare necessary to eliminate it began a never-ending cycle of violence. When one extremist group fails, another takes its place.

If all this is correct, what now can break this cycle of violence?  Educating globally savvy leaders, getting people together to experience and enjoy each other’s culture, and focusing research and expertise on solving the world’s problems, may be the only hope we have. Thankfully, all this is both the short and long-term potential of the expansion and globalization of higher education.

So we better get on with it. Given current realities, the airstrikes that began this week might be necessary.  But the cycle of violence will also likely continue. And we may be running out of time!

 

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Lesson 235 What Obama shouldn’t say…

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on September 19, 2014| 1 Comment »

I continue to be asked about the wisdom of Obama’s communication approach. Last week I offered much of my thinking about leadership communication in general, both in “normal” and crisis times. But a question came up this week about the president’s reaffirming over and over that there will never be American “boots on the ground” in Iraq.

My experience suggests that at times of crisis it is rarely helpful to announce what you are not going to do. This limits future options, introduces a negative tone, invites your critics to respond with all kinds of opinions, and gives adversaries valuable information for their tactical planning.

It usually is best to simply say, “Here are my objectives, and this is what we intend to do.” When questioned about more details, it also usually works just fine to repeat your objectives and add that you are fully prepared with action options when the situation calls for them. But it is premature to talk about alternatives now, and you will not do so.

It’s also fine, and sometimes essential, to explain why this approach is necessary in this situation. Explanation of “why” is often pecisely what’s missing. And when issues of legislative participation are involved, it’s helpful to add that those “needing to know” have, and will continue to be briefed in a classified and confidential manner. And here again, an explanation of  “why” is often missing. The media already knows why, to be sure, But they won’t report it unless the wording is in a newsmaker’s statement.

With respect to Obama, the phrase “boots on the ground” is another one that has different meanings for different people. Special forces, advisors, trainers, etc. are already on the ground, and they could get drawn into actual fighting at any moment. Military advisors get nervous about their credibility in situations like this. Disagreements surface, and the administration publicly appears in turmoil. This should never happen.

It seems that Obama may be trying to rationalize his current actions in light of his campaign promises. But in a crisis situation, all bets are off. The need to act decisively trumps the need to justify past statements. That was then, this is now. Once again, explaining this is important. Most people will understand.

He may also be thinking that if he lets countries with reasons to have boots on the ground believe that he is actually willing do it, they will just wait for him to act. But the US deals with those counties privately, and so White House public statements could be a bit more ambiguous.

No doubt, managing all this every day is extremely difficult in a 24/7 news environment. But telling an enemy specifically what he is not going to do, and giving critics at home daily opportunities to generate obstructive noise, is something Obama and his staff should be working harder to avoid.

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