Les Ollila in conference at Colonial Hills Baptist Church: "Our schedule also includes what will no doubt be a very interesting Q&A. "
Am locking the thread. Mods will sort out later
We’ll most likely leave this discussion closed and, for a while, not open NIU news posts for discussion for a little while.
Reasons why…
- It’s pretty clear that the strong feelings many have on changes at NIU is, in many cases, preventing clear thought on the matter
- Though there are some good points and questions here and there, the discussion is mostly quarreling
- The matter is not in any of our hands anymore. There is a duly constituted board with the legal and ethical right to chart the school’s course, and that work is in progress. I’m pretty sure shoutin’ matches here are not going to influence them… (to their credit).
Just about everybody, including Matt Olson, agrees that commuication of the changes at NIU were less than optimal. To some, to change that much that seemingly quickly is an integrity issue. Others see the change as being gradual and careful and only suddenly noticed—and these tend to see the communication process as simply flawed, not dishonest.
For my part, I can’t see how I have either the right or the ability to judge that either way. It goes in the “I don’t know” file.
But we do all know, don’t we, that managing change and the information related to change is difficult and that you have to shape how it reaches costituencies. The line is often fine between shaping and spinning and then between spinning and distorting. For my part, I’m inclined to give leaders of all sorts the benefit of the doubt on that score, and assume that any crossing of the lines was due to the difficulty involved and not to a desire to be deceptive. Integrity breeches can seem to exist when they really don’t, or they can truly exist but not be intended (Or they can truly exist and be intended—but how often do we really know that has happened?).
Can anyone really dispute that Doran’s “stewardship” reflections are true and that there are attitudes and methods that flow from that?
But leading is art, not science, and since it’s a job for humans, most leaders tend to either be overly cautious or overly reckless. It falls on all of us to be charitable about we judge them—especially those of use who have no personal experience with the challenges of leadership (I coun’t myself among those who have very little experience of that sort. That tells me my attitude toward perceived leadership mistakes and offenses needs to be a meek one.)
In any case, what we all think of the NIU changes is pretty moot at this point. NIU is going to be different. We should get used to that. There will probably be plenty of time for more thoughtful and less heated reflection—and lessons learned—for years to come.
We’ll continue to post news on NIU, but will probably pretty severely limit discussion for a while.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Discussion