Seeking a Different Sort of Leader; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/14/13

Dennis M. Barden, Chronicle of Higher Education; Seeking a Different Sort of Leader: "So what leadership qualities did each group find compelling? The candidates chosen as finalists certainly shared common attributes: One attribute was a level of energy and intensity that outpaced their competitors. Another was the sort of winning personality that portends happy and enjoyable relationships, some of which would presumably lead to philanthropic support. In my view, however, the most important quality was an expressed willingness—backed up by evidence of performance—to make the tough decisions and to live with the consequences. From my close-hand perspective, there was another striking commonality in the decisions of the two committees. In both cases, sitting provosts generally did not fare well in the preliminary round of interviews. While there were many reasons for that, there was, in my view, one reason in common: The provosts did not portray themselves as visionary leaders."