As we move into the month of October, I reflect upon my first three months back in WashU IT. In a recent article in the Enterprise Applications newsletter, 411, I shared a glimpse into my leadership approach and philosophy. A former manager of mine encouraged all of those on his team to develop them. Upon first developing and writing about my leadership approach and philosophy several years ago, I considered how my values and experiences served as inspiration. Today, I still take time to analyze how well they have held up, and I hold myself accountable.
Leadership philosophies are deeply personal and vary widely from person to person. I always appreciate hearing feedback from others about my approach, and I encourage others to do the same. My philosophy involves building trust, which is essential to become a trusted strategic partner. The cornerstones of my philosophy are people, integrity, humility, joy and fun, and gratitude, and I will offer my perspective on each.
- People: All individuals should be treated with dignity and respect; I treat others as I want to be treated. As a leader, I believe people are our biggest strength. People are what differentiates WashU. You are important and the work you do matters. Your contributions are meaningful.
- Integrity: Do the right thing and do it well – even when other people aren’t watching. I want to be able to look at myself at the end of the day and feel good about my actions. It is an honor to work with people who share this belief.
- Humility: I remind myself that the world is a big place, and I have learned that I can’t know all the answers and that it’s important to ask for help. Often, the earlier I ask for help, the better the outcome. This has served me well throughout my career.
- Joy and fun: There is joy all around – and while it’s easy to see the bad, I choose to look for the good in things. I also incorporate fun into as much as I can – work, home, other. It makes everything better and easier.
- Gratitude: There are many things to be grateful for, and the more I practice gratitude, the more it changes my brain and perception of the world.
More pieces to my philosophy are specific to the work I do, and the work we do at WashU. Overall, I have found approaching my work with these elements at the forefront has guided many of the decisions I have made over the past several years, especially when faced with tough choices or in sticky situations. I am sharing this with you because I hope it helps you start to get to know me as we work together to support and enable the many projects and programs through Washington University Information Technology.