Student Login
While leadership is a topic that we all have strong opinions about, the diversity of followers these days and scarcity of leadership talent presents a unique challenge for us all.
On March 25, 2013, business leaders from multiple disciplines and backgrounds gathered in the first “Leadership Crisis” forum sponsored and hosted by City University of Seattle.
City University of Seattle’s president, Lee Gorsuch opened the event highlighting the importance of clarifying the things that matter most and the importance of using feedback from others to sharpen our focus. This event provided an opportunity to discuss both.
The leaders who participated in this event (from left to right) were:
- Jack Showalter, CEO of Entirenet, LLC, a training company in Bellevue
- Louise Lahore, Doctoral Student Administrator at City University of Seattle
- Tim Sprake, Director of Human Resources at City University of Seattle
- Christine Moloney, Director of Instructional Leadership for Puyallup School District
- Mack Strong, President of Strong Alliances, LLC (also former Seattle Seahawks fullback)
- Carla Santorno, Superintendent for Tacoma Public Schools
- Lee Gorsuch, President of City University of Seattle
- Kelly Flores, Doctoral Program Director at City University of Seattle
- Bruce Pflaumer, President and CEO of Michael Bruce Image Consulting
- Scott Green, Marriage and Family Therapist
- Ron Smith, Founder and Managing Director of Array Acquisitions (and former Bellevue Mayor)
- Ashley May, a Naturopathic Doctor
- Kurt Kirstein, Dean of School of Management at City University of Seattle
- Greg Price, Vice President of Price Media, Inc.
- Mark Cron, International Consultant for Pinpoint Marketing Japan
- Greg Tacher, President and Managing Director of the Tacher Company
- Mike Luckenbaugh, Co-founder and Principal of Chameleon Technologies, a technical consulting and staffing company
It is clear to see the diversity in experience that came together for this discussion and although that was the case, there were clear shared leadership ideals and similar leadership struggles.
As leaders, most of us struggle, to some degree, with how to:
- Clarify the roles and expectations of leaders and select, evaluate, and train leaders accordingly
- Develop ourselves and others through coaching, teaching, and mentoring
- Lead through generational and cultural differences in communication, knowledge-sharing and expectations
- Balance societal and personal values in leading future generations
- Balance political and stakeholder pressures with informed decision-making (including future implications)
- Mobilize resources and execute towards a common strategic intent
- Challenge the singular focus on economic growth that that fails to consider environmental stewardship or social justice
With these challenges in mind, one of the key goals for our “Leadership Crisis” forum was to identify the experiences needed to develop our leaders (who are willing and able) and equip them with the competencies necessary to address these challenges.
Much of the discussion centered on three basic questions: What advice do you have? What lessons have you learned? What will it take for a leader to transition from one leadership stage to the next? The answers to these questions, however, were anything but basic.
Plans are already in the works for the next “Leadership Crisis” event. If you are a leader or know of someone interested in joining this discussion, please contact Kelly Flores at [email protected].
