Harvard in Indiana

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Comment by Andy Fraizer on September 11, 2008 at 11:33am

One of the most fulfilling educational experiences in my life was the 3.5 weeks I spent at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government's executive education program. My particular program was the senior executives in state and local government. I was privileged to be selected for a rigorous examination of leadership in the public sector. Public here is not synonymous with government (although closely associated) but rather those organizations which are in the "business" of creating public value.

The program provides experiences to ensure participants are equipped on a daily basis to manage and lead results-driven government agencies and non-profit organizations. In particular, the program provides an opportunity to:

* Develop new conceptual frameworks for addressing program and policy issues
* Explore the relationship between citizens and their government
* Examine the ethical and professional responsibilities of leadership
* Exchange ideas with experienced faculty as well as a extremely diverse group of participants

The program provided a safe forum for spirited debate on such basic questions as:
* When does the end justify the means?
* What is the role of the elected representative: delegate or trustee? The elementary distinction is should a representative vote according to what constituents want, or what the representatives believes is the best course of action?
* What is public value?
* Who determines public value?

These questions are laden with fundamental values and lasting consequences for the practice of governance in our democratic republic. Leading this program were top flight instructors. Among many renowned scholars were Marty Linsky and Dan Fenn. Marty required nothing less of us as students than self reflection and grappling with the values which matter most to us. Marty made tangible the ideas of adaptive leadership. His style, meant to invoke reaction, heightened the learning senses and made sure the ideas were absorbed into our core understanding.

Adaptive leadership frames human interactions and the ability to lead not as authority relationships, but the ability to deal with change: disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb.
Another definition of leadership is mobilizing people to narrow the gap between their aspirations and their current experience. Among the key skills of adaptive leadership are distinguishing the precious from the expendable, distinguishing technical from adaptive challenges, and finding perspective in the midst of action.

Dan Fenn embodies his Cherokee Indian name, Yak-ta-nuh E'yuh - The Wisest One. Still teaching at Harvard well into his senior years (80-plus), Dan helped design the senior executives program 26 years ago, drawing on his wide experience in government administration. He was the founding director of the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, as well as a staff assistant to President Kennedy. His government experience also included a stint as commissioner and vice-chairman of the U.S. Tariff Commission. I will never forget Dan's stories about the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. History come to life. Dan offered our class this the “first law of public management: When your horse is dead, dismount.” Dan's final speech to our class and every class is renowned for the honesty and perspective he provides to exercising leadership to create public value. To offer a glimpse of the wisdom, which is meant to stimulate informed debate and dialogue, bedrocks of our civil society, let me quote Dan Fenn.

"So beware of the seductive mantra you can run government like a business. Government is not business. Business is into efficiency, returning a profit to management, employees, shareholders. It is a critical sector of our society to be sure. But a different sector. We [government] are into equity, participation, fairness, public support, the public service, the search for the common good...."

Dan provided real life examples for the ideas of adaptive leadership, which were fundamental to the content of the courses.

Thanks David, for creating this forum and the opportunity to reflect.

Comment by David 'GuruConnector' Hall on September 10, 2008 at 1:38pm

http://www.thecrimson.com/