In September 2006, Provost Roy Koch stated “Setting academic priorities is critical to advancing our mission in both the short and long term…” as he supported the launch of strategic engagement priorities and goals for PSU. University leaders since then have been working to develop strategies for the execution of the priorities. These priorities are listed here:

• Improve student success – increase the rate of completion for undergraduate students and identify specific and measurable undergraduate learning objectives;
  
• Expand innovative scholarship/creative activities – Implement a process for advancing/nurturing high quality academic and scholarship programs; and
• Enhance educational opportunity in the Region – Develop and support pathway programs.

Clearly, the success of PSU in achieving these priorities involves the contributions and talents of all University faculty and staff. As a large and decentralized organization, successfully focusing all employees on the priorities can be a significant challenge. Questions that come to mind may include: How do we “manage” employees who are likely to be self-motivated and self-directed? How much coaching and guidance from a manager can begin to create a perception of “micro-managing”? Who among us should consider ourselves a manager of people? The following discussion provides references from several thought leaders about the relevance of leadership and some methods for successfully achieving organizational priorities through a talented workforce.

“In 1982, it was reported that 38% of value in organizations consisted of intangible assets and 62%--of tangible assets. In 2002, 80% of value in organizations consisted of intangible assets compared with 20% of the value from tangible assets. Because an organization’s output is often measured in the services and ideas that employees bring to customers and clients and not by tangible products, performance management at the individual level is essential.” (Why Performance Management Improves Human Capital ROI, Jon Kirchhoff, June 2006, Society for Human Resource Management).

Assuming that at PSU, like most organizations, our value is derived 80% from our intangible assets, such as our human talent, how do we, in our culture, make the most of this value? According to Bruce Tulgan, founder of RainmakerThinking, Inc., superstars need managers. In his article of the same name, Superstars Need Managers (June 2007, HRMagazine), Tulgan begins by stating “Never make the mistake of thinking that some employees are so talented, skilled and motivated that you don’t need to manage them. Like everyone else, superstars have bad days, sometimes go in the wrong direction, and have lapses in judgment or integrity. Even superstars need guidance, direction, support and encouragement. They need to be challenged and developed. What’s more, superstars often want to know that someone is keeping track of their great work and looking for ways to reward them.”

Knowing that PSU relies heavily on staff to achieve organizational priorities and that our managers of people talent are limited in the use of traditional monetary rewards to engage staff fully in achieving priorities and goals, it may be useful to examine other ways to build commitment, momentum, and performance in our employees.

According to an October 2006 Workspan article by Brad Hill and Christine Tande, “Total Rewards – The Employment Value Proposition,” “Pay should provide employees with a fair return on their investment of time, skills, energy, but ideally, it should not provide them with the fundamental reason they come to work each day.” The article challenges leaders to ask the question, “What would we say or do to attract and retain people if we had to pay 20 percent below market?” I will not pretend to be knowledgeable about compensation of staff at PSU, however, let’s assume hypothetically, that this statement may have some relevance to our organization. In response, the article lists the following thoughts:

• Connect employees to the success of the organization – getting employees personally connected to the mission can make an enormous difference in how they view their work and how they approach their day-to-day activity.
  
• Define expected performance – According to a 20-year study by the Gallup organization, “knowing what is expected of one” is the top factor identified in motivating employees enough to make their employer successful (Motivate with a Carrot, Not a Stick, October 15, 2005, Business and Legal Report).

Linking these two concepts, the leader serves in the role of connecting employees and setting individual performance expectations to not only achieve our organizational priorities but to aid in our retention efforts. For example, when an employee encounters a student who appears to be lost on campus and/or confused do we connect with the academic priorities -- to improve student success and retention? Do we know that behind that priority is the expectation that regardless of our position in the University, we should stop to assist the student in locating their destination or attempting to clarify the confusion? Finally, who is in the best position to make that connection and set that expectation?

And, what do we know about the needs of our top performers? Again, in Tulgan’s work around managing superstars, he offers the following thoughts:

• Top performers want a boss who is strong and highly engaged…providing strong leadership through steady guidance, direction and support.
• Regular check-ins that are “super high leverage” time help to improve quality and output and remove obstacles.
• Getting input from a top performer is an important activity – strategize together, offer positive feedback.
  
• Treat your top performers like a special case – tune into them, adjust your approach.
• Set them up for success every step of the way.

Today’s leadership research supports a consistent message that leaders are important to organizational success. In fact, according to research reported in the “Leadership Forecast 2005/2006, Best Practice for Tomorrow’s Global Leaders” by Development Dimensions International (DDI), a leading firm in identifying and developing exceptional leadership talent: “Strong leadership can increase successful execution of business strategies by at least 22%.” In the same report, DDI identifies six leadership qualities that are especially predictive of overall execution success including:

• Brings Out the Best in People – optimizes talent; inspires performance; unites others toward common goals.
• Passion for Results – gets things done; overcomes problems; refuses to give up.
• Conceptual Thinking – thinks broadly, sees many perspectives; understands connections.
• Learning Agility – learns from mistakes; learns new information; is curious.
• Motivation (Propensity) to Lead – has upward ambition; actively pursues leadership opportunities.
• Receptivity to Feedback – seeks and uses feedback; accepts criticism; is humble.

Leaders today have higher expectations placed upon them while being forced to do more with fewer resources. The business landscape is complex and changing, and leaders are required to be more adaptive, connected, and informed than ever before. As PSU launches further into the achievement of established academic priorities and goals, the leaders of the University at all levels will be important to our success.

In another article in this issue of The Source, titled “2007 Artful Leadership Conference Feedback,” we share the results of participant feedback about the conference. In addition, we ask you to share your thoughts on the kinds of training opportunities that you believe would be helpful to you going forward as leaders at PSU. Please take a brief moment to review this article and send us your feedback for future topics.