TITLE: Courage and the Path to Greatness
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: January 08, 2010  4:34 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
Last spring, a colleague commented that he didn't
think our department spent enough time trying to
be great.  This made me sad, but it struck me as
true.  At the time, I wasn't sure how to respond.

All groups have their internal politics.  Some
political situations are short-lived; others are
persistent, endemic.  We are no different, and
maybe even above average.  (Someone has to be!)
Political struggles take time and energy.  They
steal focus.

I think everyone in our group desires to be great.
Unfortunately, that's the easy part.  For a group
to achieve greatness, individuals must work
together in a common direction.  In our group, it
is hard to build consensus on a shared vision.  I
don't pretend that once we share a vision that
greatness will come easily, but it's hard to get
anywhere unless everyone is trying to go to the
same place -- or at least is using the same criteria
for progress.

As for me, in my role as department head, I have
not always found -- or created -- the will, the
energy, or the tools I need to help us move
confidently in the direction of greatness.  So,
at times, we seem to settle, working locally but
not globally.

This train of thought reminds me of a couple of
comments James Shore made about
<A HREF="http://jamesshore.com/Blog/Stumbling-Through-Mediocrity.html">
   stumbling through mediocrity</A>
in the context of agile software development:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
The emphasis [in the software world] has shifted
from "be great" to "be Agile."  And that's too bad.
As much as I like it, there's really no point in
Agile for the sake of Agile.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

The point is to be great, or perhaps more accurately,
to
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2009-05.html#e2009-05-30T23_15_20.htm">
   do great things</A>.
Agile approaches are a path, not a destination.

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
I want to work with people who want to be great.
People who aren't satisfied just fitting in.
People who are willing to take risks, rock the
boat, and change their environment to maximize
their productivity, throughput, and value.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

One of the things that has surprised me so much
about group dynamics since I joined a faculty and
perhaps more so since I've been in the position
of head is the enormous role that fear plays in
how individuals work and interact with one another.
It takes <STRONG>courage</STRONG> to take risks,
to rock the boat, and to change the environment
in which we live and work.  It takes courage to
be honest.  It takes courage to take an action
that may make a colleague or supervisor unhappy.

Without courage, especially at key moments,
opportunities pass, sometimes before they are
even recognized.

I have experienced this in how I interact with
others, and occasionally I observe it how
colleagues interact with me and others.  I never
thought that this would be a major obstacle on
my path to greatness, or my department's.

(For what it's worth, Shore's second passage also
describes the kind of students I like to work with,
too.  If it is hard for experienced adults to have
this sort of gumption, imagine how much tougher
an expectation it is to have of young people who
are just learning how to step out into the world.
Fortunately, as teachers, we have an opportunity
to help students grow in this way.)
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