Collaboration

… Hunting, Fishing, Trawling Every organization has hidden leaders.  They’re everywhere.  They consistently step up to deal with client problems, with intractable issues, with extra effort to meet an unusual request from a key client, etc.  We often don’t think of such individuals as leaders, after all they don’t have a positional title that would […]

Sue Workman, Vice President of University Technology, at Case Western Reserve University, keynote video at the 2017 MOR Leaders Conference.  Video of 2017 MOR Leaders Conference keynote, Sue Workman, Case Western Reserve University 2017 MOR Leaders Conference keynote, Sue Workman, Case Western Reserve University

Anne Margulies, Vice President and University CIO, at Harvard University, keynote video at the 2017 MOR Leaders Conference.  Video of 2017 MOR Leaders Conference keynote, Anne Margulies, Harvard University 2017 MOR Leaders Conference keynote, Anne Margulies, Harvard University

Mark Askren, Vice President for IT and CIO, at the University of Nebraska, keynote video at the 2017 MOR Leaders Conference.  Video of 2017 MOR Leaders Conference keynote, Mark Askren, University of Nebraska Mark Askren 2017 MOR Leaders Conference

Almost every time I travel from Cambridge to Boston, I cross the Longfellow Bridge.  The central piers of the bridge feature four carved, ornamental stone towers, which give rise to another name for the bridge, the “Salt and Pepper Bridge,” which many of us still use.  Originally opening in 1906, the bridge replaced previous bridges and […]

As young children, one of the first things we began to do after we had learned to talk is to ask questions.  Our brains thirst for information, for knowledge, to understand.  Paul Sloane, author of the Innovative Leader, tells us that asking questions is the simplest and most effective way of learning.  So, if as […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading, The Measurement of a Leader, is an essay by Jeff Sherrill, Assistant Director for Information Technology, College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.  The essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year. Last year, I read the memoirs of Union General and later President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant.  I was really […]

Once MOR begins a leadership journey with someone, we never leave their side.  Or, put another way, they keep us with them.  Perhaps that’s why our organizational client retention rate this year was 100%.  Video of MOR minute with John Gohsman MOR minute with John Gohsman Our clients’ trust is incredibly important to us.  We […]

Before the winter break, I spent some time considering who would make a great example of leadership for my reflection. I kept coming back to the idea of describing my friend David, who was once a colleague of mine at another university. Over the years, we’ve kept in touch on a regular basis, and kept […]

Last week’s Tuesday Reading, Toxic Staff Members, provided a set of steps a leader might take if she or he has a toxic staff member.  In outline form the advice was: Face, not ignore, the situation. Collect specifics about the behavior. Be direct in your feedback. Develop, with him or her, an improvement plan. Be extremely […]

Leaders in Higher Education walk a tightrope every day.  Financial pressures have sustained while expectations and demands for return on investment have continued to increase. The pace of change has accelerated and will not stop.  Market conditions have spurred new innovation and competition at the edges, some of which might be considered unwelcome. Meanwhile, as […]

On April 1 we reached out to the MOR Leaders alumni on behalf of Ed Clark, fellow program alum and current CIO of University of St Thomas, with a survey on “IT Centralization and the Innovation Value Chain in Higher Education”.  This was part of his PhD dissertation work, in which I am happy to […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading, “Plusing Up” and the Princess Doll, is an essay by Jerry Wood, Director of Information Technology, for Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Michigan.  The essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year.   One of my biggest professional passions is providing great customer service.  I think it’s an art […]

Yesterday was the 240th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This document announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule, and instead in a […]

On June 14, the MOR Virtual Conference brought together over 1,200 leaders from over 25 universities to jump-start the discussion on “Reimagining IT.” From MOR’s vantage point the rate of change in the external environment is accelerating. We believe universities need to respond to this by exploring how their IT communities can work collaboratively to […]

Video Library from the 2016 MOR Leaders Conference: 1. Conference Opening Video 2. The Essence of Leadership – General Colin Powell 3. Digital Transformation — We Havent Seen Anything Yet – Andrew McAfee 4. Bruce Maas, University of Wisconsin-Madison 5. Len Peters, Yale University 6. Sue Workman, Case Western Reserve University 7. John Gohsman, Washington University in St. Louis […]

Bruce Maas, Vice Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, at the University of Wisconsin, keynote video at the 2016 MOR Leaders Conference. Forces and Trends Part I and II. Video of Bruce Maas, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MOR Leaders Conference – Part 1 Video of Bruce Maas, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MOR Leaders Conference – […]

Sue Workman, Vice President Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer, Case Western Reserve University, keynote video for the 2016 MOR Leaders Conference.  Video of Sue Workman, Case Western Reserve University, MOR Leaders Conference

Every one of us has, at one time or another, disappointed a colleague or friend.  No matter how hard you try, sometimes a deadline will be missed or a commitment not met.  Many of these misses don’t carry huge consequences – almost always some disappointment, sometimes inconvenience, and perhaps some loss of credibility.  And, some […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading – Use the 4Is, or expect our history to repeat itself – is an essay by Richard Knepper, Manager, Campus Bridging and Research Infrastructure, Research Technologies, University Information Technology, Indiana University.  His original essay first appeared as a program reflection last year.   At the beginning of this year I was coming off […]