Department of Statistics
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Advice, issues and ideas for recently
appointed chairs and administrators
Professor Simon Sheather
August 1, 2008
AGENDA
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Background Information
Leadership without control: influencing and building consensus
The importance of the first 6 months
Striking a balance between being a “producer” and a
“manager/leader”
Building a team rather than relying on “If it’s going to be, it’s up to
me”
Managing up
Communicating with faculty, students and alumni
Focus on developing the next generation
Focus on recognizing & rewarding “loyal high performers” as well as
those in demand externally
Focus on what is most important
Resolving disputes
Mission and vision
Suggested further reading
Background Information: TAMU Statistics
Department
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36 tenured/tenure track faculty
7 lecturers/senior lecturers
11 full-time staff
6641 course enrollments in 2007/08
comprised of 1826 graduate and 4815
undergraduate enrolments
• Distance based Masters and Certificate
Programs in Statistics began in August 2007
with 279 course enrollments in 2007/2008
• Stat Help Desk with over 100 consulting
projects per year run by Master’s students
Background Information: Administrative
Career History
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1994–1997 Program Director, Full-time MBA Program,
Australian Graduate School of Management, UNSW
1998–2003 Program Director, Senior Manager Development
Program, Australian Graduate School of Management, UNSW
1999–2001 Program Director, Hong Kong Administrative
Development Program, Australian Graduate School of
Management, UNSW
2003–2005 Program Director, Consortium Program, Australian
Graduate School of Management, UNSW
2003–2005 Head of Statistics and Operations Group, Australian
Graduate School of Management, UNSW
2004–2005 Associate Dean (Research), Consortium Program,
Australian Graduate School of Management, UNSW
2005–
Department Head, Department of Statistics, Texas
A&M University
Leadership without control
• Department Head vs Department Chair
• Faculty members inherently believe in the
right to question, debate, and even oppose
initiatives with which they disagree
• Faculty members feel it is their duty to
provide feedback and/or suggestions
• Formal feedback is often sought about a
Department Head mid-term and at the end
of the first term
Influencing and building consensus
• It is not possible to undertake any new
initiatives without the buy-in of faculty
(especially senior faculty)
• It is important to build a consensus among
faculty that any new initiative is a “good”
idea
• Faculty retreats and working groups (rather
than formal committees) are mechanisms for
building consensus and minimizing “self
interest”
2007 Faculty Retreat Agenda
• Large group exercise: Human Scrabble
• Department Head Two-year Review: Results and
comments from the survey of faculty
• Report on teaching and online learning
• Report from the hiring working group & hiring
priorities for the coming year
• Small group exercise: The Quest
• Small group exercise: Turning the vision for the
department into reality
• Center for Statistical Bioinformatics
• Bayesian Bioinformatics Lab
Small Group Exercise: The Quest
1.
The most exotic place of birth is:
Attribute of:
2.
The most interesting collection of middle names is:
Attribute of:
3
The most obscure credential or qualification is:
Attribute of:
4.
The greatest sporting achievement is:
Attribute of:
5.
The most amazing place to have spent the night is:
Attribute of:
6.
The most boring task or job ever to have been assigned to was:
Attribute of:
7.
The greatest act of civil disobedience was:
Attribute of:
8.
The biggest lie ever told was:
Attribute of:
9.
The most number of residential addresses in the last five years:
Attribute of:
10.
Who has the car with the most personality and what is it?
Attribute of:
Influencing tactics
• Reason – The use of facts and data to support the
development of a logical argument
• Coalition – The mobilization of allies to support and
therefore strengthen a request
• Friendliness – The creation of goodwill and favorable
impressions
• Bargaining – The exchange of benefits and favors
• Symbol management – Personal role modeling to
communicate and encourage desired behavior
• Higher Authority – The gaining of support from higher
levels to back up requests
Source: Delong, T & Nanda, A (2002) Career strategies and tactics in
professional service firms. Harvard Business School Case Study 9-800375.
Influencing through the use of personal
power
Sources of Personal Power:
• Expertise – Relevant knowledge and skills
• Track record – Relevant experience
• Attractiveness – Attributes that others find
appealing and identify with
• Effort – Expenditure of time and effort
Source: Delong, T & Nanda, A (2002) Career strategies and tactics in
professional service firms. Harvard Business School Case Study 9-800375.
Improve your ability to understand others in
order to have more influence
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Beware of the three main social needs or motives: achievement, power and
affiliation. The stronger the motive the more predictable a person’s behavior
is likely to be:
Achievement – A person with a strong sense of achievement is emotionally
tuned to setting and meeting goals. Achieving unique results, and reaching
self-initiated standards, are major sources of reward for people with a high
need for achievement
Power – A person with a high need for power has a strong drive to influence
others. In some people, the need for power manifests itself as a strong desire
to teach, coach, or inspire others. It is safe to say that many people who have
a high need for power actively enjoy the process of leading others.
Affiliation – A person with a high need for affiliation is concerned with
establishing, maintaining or restoring positive emotional relationships with
others. Liking others, and being liked by others are especially important to a
person with a strong affiliation need, as is gaining the approval of others .
Source: Delong, T & Nanda, A (2002) Career strategies and tactics in professional
service firms. Harvard Business School Case Study 9-800-375.
Appealing to Achievement, Power & Affiliation Needs/Motives
Build trust and credibility to increase
influence
The more trust and credibility you have, the
more others will be willingly influenced by you.
Trust is a function of how an individual views a
leader’s competence and character:
• Competence – Task-specific knowledge and
skills, interpersonal skills and judgment
• Character – Integrity, motives, consistency of
behavior, openness, discretion
Source: Delong, T & Nanda, A (2002) Career strategies and tactics in
professional service firms. Harvard Business School Case Study 9-800375.
The importance of the first 6 months
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Early impressions count a lot
Make yourself known immediately for commitment, energy and
enthusiasm
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You can demonstrate commitment by being really rigorous about how you’re spending your time
Deliver the goods and word will spread
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Don’t stand out for knowledge initially
Be a net energy contributor, not a net energy detractor
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No cynicism. Find ways to enjoy your job. Share your enthusiasm and not complaints. Spend time talking
about positive new ideas and opportunities
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Be inclusive in your relationships
Praise others
Control information about yourself
Be known for being ethical (Front page of the newspaper test)
Build your network (a strong network greatly enhances your
influence)
Source: Delong, T & Nanda, A (2002) Career strategies and tactics in professional
service firms. Harvard Business School Case Study 9-800-375.
Honoring the staff
Celebrating success
Striking a balance between being a
“producer” and a “manager/leader”
• This is the key issue every week – “Do you have a
minute?”
• What balance does the Dean expect from you?
• Explicitly think about and manage how you spend
your time – Does the way you spend your time
match your priorities?
• Block out time for being a “producer”
• Evaluate on an ongoing basis how you are spending
your time
• Leverage your own strengths and accept the
limitations of your own weaknesses
• The most important personal relationship is the one
you have with yourself
Building a team rather than relying on “If
it’s going to be, it’s up to me”
• Delegation, delegation, delegation
• Get help with the key aspects of your
managerial role
• The importance of having very highly
effective people in the roles of Assistant,
Associate Head, Business Manager,
Graduate Director etc.,
• Access to your email
Managing up
• When presenting ideas to upper
management (e.g., the dean), remember that
it’s your responsibility to sell, not their
responsibility to buy
• Focus on contributing to the larger good, not
just achieving your objectives
• Present a realistic “cost-benefit analysis” of
your ideas – don’t sell just the benefits
Source: Goldsmith, M. (2008) How Can I Do a Better Job of
Managing Up? Harvard Management Update.
Communicating with faculty, students and
alumni
• Formal communication mechanisms: faculty
meetings, committee meetings, faculty
retreats, emails, newsletters, magazines
• Informal communication mechanisms:
corridor chats, chats over lunch, emails,
behavior
How do I behave have under pressure?
What signals is my behavior sending?
• What are you most comfortable doing?
Presenting an idea to a meeting or Writing a
document explaining the idea
The 10 commandments of e-mail
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Thou doest have several choices
Thou shalt never print thy e-mail
Thou shalt never send e-mail when furious or exhausted
Thou shalt never substitute e-mail for a necessary face-to-face
meeting
Thou shalt never delete names from thy address book
Thou shalt never forward chain e-mail
Never shalt thou pass on rumor or innuendo about real people
Never shalt thou do so about companies thou workest for or may
workest for one day
Thou shall remember the hierarchy and keep it sancrosnat: First
the meeting, then the phone call, then the voice mail, then the
email.
Thou shalt send nothing over e-mail that must be error free
Source: Harvard Management Communication Letter (1999)
Focus on developing the next generation
• More rewarding than doing “unimportant
things for important people”
• Communication/Feedback is crucial
• Mentoring usually works best when there is
some quid pro quo for the mentor (i.e., the
mentor feels that they also benefit from the
relationship)
• Teaching mentors / research mentors /
service mentors
• Mentors can encourage “unhelpful” behavior
Focus on developing the next generation
• Each year we provide written feedback to
assistant professors on where they stand in
terms of performance/progress towards
tenure
• We make clear what we will do and what
they are expected to do in the next 12
months
Focus on recognizing & rewarding “loyal high
performers” as well as those in demand externally
• “Loyal high performers” are absolute gems
• Those in demand externally can provide
evidence that “loyal high performers” are
paid below market rates and hence can
provide an opportunity for you to argue for
equity raises for the former
• At every opportunity it is important to
recognize “loyal high performers”
• Outside offers – react quickly & ask many
questions to find out what is most important
Focusing on what is important: TAMU
Climate Survey
• Seeking predictors of
 Department Head X “is an effective administrator”
Aim is to predict Y “is an effective administrator” from
p3q4_1_1
maintains high academic standards.
p3q4_2_1
is open to constructive criticism.
p3q4_4_1
shows interest in faculty.
p3q4_5_1
encourages and empowers faculty.
p3q4_6_1
treats faculty in an even-handed way.
p3q4_7_1
helps me obtain resources I need.
p3q4_8_1
gives me useful feedback about my performance.
p3q4_9_1
articulates a clear vision for the department.
p3q4_10_1
articulates clear criteria for promotion/tenure.
p3q4_11_1
honors agreements.
p3q4_12_1
handles disputes/problems effectively.
p3q4_13_1
communicates consistently with faculty.
p3q4_14_1
creates a cooperative and supportive environment.
p3q4_15_1
works to create a climate that is respectful of all faculty members.
Note: College of Science removed from the data
Exercise: Choose up to 5 predictors of Y “is an effective administrator”
from
p3q4_1_1
maintains high academic standards.
p3q4_2_1
is open to constructive criticism.
p3q4_4_1
shows interest in faculty.
p3q4_5_1
encourages and empowers faculty.
p3q4_6_1
treats faculty in an even-handed way.
p3q4_7_1
helps me obtain resources I need.
p3q4_8_1
gives me useful feedback about my performance.
p3q4_9_1
articulates a clear vision for the department.
p3q4_10_1
articulates clear criteria for promotion/tenure.
p3q4_11_1
honors agreements.
p3q4_12_1
handles disputes/problems effectively.
p3q4_13_1
communicates consistently with faculty.
p3q4_14_1
creates a cooperative and supportive environment.
p3q4_15_1
works to create a climate that is respectful of all faculty members.
Exercise Results
Predictor
Times chosen
p3q4_6_1
18
p3q4_11_1
13
p3q4_5_1
12
p3q4_4_1
10
p3q4_7_1
10
p3q4_10_1
10
p3q4_13_1
10
p3q4_15_1
9
p3q4_9_1
7
p3q4_14_1
7
p3q4_8_1
5
p3q4_12_1
4
p3q4_1_1
3
p3q4_2_1
3
Five statistically significant predictors of Y “is an effective
administrator” are
p3q4_9_1
articulates a clear vision for the department.
p3q4_12_1
handles disputes/problems effectively.
p3q4_5_1
encourages and empowers faculty.
p3q4_1_1
maintains high academic standards.
p3q4_4_1
shows interest in faculty.
How do these five match with your list?
Resolving disputes
• Leadership is not a “popularity contest”
• Leadership is not an “unpopularity contest”
• It is unwise to publicly demonstrate that X
was “right” and Y was “wrong”
• Rapid responses (especially by email) can
escalate rather than help resolve disputes
• Early intervention is important as it is often
more difficult to resolve disputes after things
have been escalated
Mission and vision
• Mission - Why we exist
• Vision - A picture of the future consisting of
 Core purposes
 Core Values
 Long term goals
Suggested further reading
Source: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/
Suggested further reading