H. Martin Lancaster, President
North Carolina Community College System
Peace College, Raleigh
June 12, 2002
Good morning. I am delighted to start my day with some of the finest student leaders in North Carolina.
You have probably figured out that the topic I wish to speak about this morning is leadership. In my many lives I have been blessed with opportunities and responsibilities that have provided me with many wonderful leadership experiences. However, my current position as president of the North Carolina Community College System has provided me with the most rewards; and I can truly say that thus far, I have enjoyed more this challenging assignment more than any other.
You have the interesting opportunity to be in Raleigh when this capital city presents an unusually rich array of historic lessons on what leadership is…and why it matters.
You have the elected leadership of our state two blocks away. The Governor and the men and women of the General Assembly wake up every day to struggle with the toughest crisis of budgeting and public policy since the Great Depression. I'll talk more about what that means to you later.
You also have the first example EVER in North Carolina of a major league professional team, locked in battle for the championship that quantifies an explicit kind of leadership…the kind that says you're the best, because you did you your job the best, when you had to.
And oddly enough, if you walk around the Capitol, you'll see how we're trying to combine the two, with our statues of Governors and Presidents draped in Canes jerseys!
Those kinds of leadership fit together, to illustrate three important truths about leadership. Because you are students, I can't resist calling these truths the "Three Rs." You've already heard from Peggy Beach at the System Office about making lists and using acronym, and you know that good preachers always make three points. So here are mine!
- Leadership brings REWARDS.
- Leadership carries with it RESPONSIBILITIES.
- And leadership generates RISKS.
As you polish your leadership skills, you need to know how to handle all THREE of them.
Let's look at rewards first. What that "R" represents to me, is the answer to the question, why be a leader? What's in it for me? Each of you has a unique set of answers…but here's a list that might help you understand why the person sitting next to you chooses the path of leadership.
Attention is one reward of leadership. The person in charge gets to cut the ribbon and make the speech. The person in charge gets to see his or her name on the letterhead, or the plaque, or on the Stanley Cup! A leader's name is in the paper, and a leader's face is on TV. In American culture, with our preference for extroverts and high achievers, attention definitely counts as a reward.
Another reward of leadership is the "attaboy" or the "attagirl" -- the positive strokes, the tangible evidence that someone else puts a value on your efforts as a leader. Proof of your talents for leadership makes a difference when you're applying for a scholarship, looking for a job or hoping for promotion. Those are very important rewards, and perfectly good reasons for choosing the course of leadership.
But I know that attention and prizes are not the only rewards for true leadership -- indeed, I believe that for the best leaders, they are not the most important ones. I am going to hazard a guess that each of you has chosen to be a leader, because you seek the power to make a difference in this world -- to leave it a better place for your children and grandchildren. You have chosen to be a leader, because you recognize that good ideas require people willing to make them happen. If you stand back and wait for someone else to step forward to lead the effort, then there is a strong chance that no one will, and it won't get done.
Rewards, then, are the fun stuff of leadership. Take time to enjoy them. Don't be shy about accepting them. Do remember, though, that despite the fact that I put them first on my list, they come last…after you've shouldered the responsibilities and taken on the risks.
The second "R" is responsibility. The primary responsibility of leadership is…to lead. That seems obvious, but you would be amazed at how many people who want the rewards of leadership just don't get that part. The late president Harry Truman captured part of that responsibility when he said, "Leadership is that quality that can make other people do what they do not want to do, and like it." You'll recall that Truman kept a sign on his desk that said, "The buck stops here," as succinct a statement of responsibility as you'll ever find.
In your experience as leaders, have you found that it's easy, to get other people to do what they don't want to do, and like it? Just because your mom could get away with, "Do it because I say so," doesn't mean that YOU can. As a leader, you have the responsibility to learn and practice good leadership skills. You have the responsibility to set high standards of competence, diligence and honesty for yourself and for those you lead.
You have the responsibility to set a good example.
You have the responsibility to share the credit…and the spotlight…and upon occasion, to shoulder the blame.
Something that is often forgotten is that you have the responsibility to encourage the next leader, because eventually you will step aside. The late Daryll Mitchell, who represented you so well on the State Board of Community Colleges, made sure good training was available for his successor, Sharon Wright-Watson; and Sharon has paid attention to grooming hers.
The Hurricanes have good examples of that. I read in one of the local news stories that team captain Ron Francis makes a point to room with a rookie every training camp. Sure, Francis scores clutch goals, but he's the captain because he knows how to lead in the locker room as well as on the ice.
What about the risks of leadership? For a certain kind of leader, risks and rewards are synonymous. Taking chances is part of the fun, and the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.
Fortunately for many of us, not everybody is that kind of leader, and not everybody needs to be.
However, every leader must understand the truth that leadership always …repeat, always…means risk, and many of those risks are big ones.
Leaders are targets…for envy, for criticism, for gossip…and in certain times and places, for violence.
True leaders are sometimes so far in front of their times that they take all the risks and shoulder all the responsibilities…and the rewards don't come until years later, to somebody else. Women who blazed the trail for new educational and job opportunities 30 years ago know about that. The four North Carolina A and T State University students who sat down at Woolworth's in Greensboro in the 1960s know about that, too.
The flip side of making the world a better place is making a big mistake. Leaders run the risk of making a mistake that will do a lot of damage…and of course, leaders run the risk of failure.
Our state's leaders are facing those kinds of risks right now. In difficult times like these, real leadership demands the willingness to make hard decisions and the ability to turn those decision into actions that might make everybody unhappy.
We don't need to feel sorry for our elected officials. After all, they wanted the job, and now it's time for them to DO the job. I think it's important for you to know, however, that leadership can be a TOUGH job.
Elected leaders these days face a lot of scorn and cynicism. Sure, they get their names in the paper a lot…but they see their faces in political cartoons, too, and that isn't always very flattering! And some of them lose. Believe me, I have personal, specific knowledge of what that feels like, from my last campaign for Congress.
This afternoon, you will have a chance to meet some of North Carolina's leaders when you visit the General Assembly. Karen Yerby, one of your organizers, has asked me to give you some hints about how to talk to them, and what to say.
One thing I ask you to do is approach them with the respect that is due to any public servant who carries out his or her job with diligence and honesty. In our state, legislators are citizen-legislators, not full-time employees of the state. Yes, their expenses are paid and they receive a daily stipend when they're on duty. But many of them spend weeks away from their jobs and families and give up all their free time so they can help govern and guide our state. While they're here, they have very little time to talk, and hundreds of people who want a piece of that!
So be courteous, be brief and BE PREPARED to demonstrate to them how valuable community colleges are. Dress well. You're adults, studying in the state's top workforce preparation system, participating in a business meeting. Even in these business-casual days, government offices are rather formal places. And by all means, be nice to the administrative assistants and other staff members who keep the General Assembly running!
As student leaders, the best topic to talk about is your own story. Legislators will want to know who you are, what college you attend, and what you are studying. That may be all you have time to say, but if you're lucky to have a few minutes, make sure they also find out WHY community college is the best choice for you and how much more you will be able to contribute to your community, thanks to your community college experience.
Will legislators expect you to know the details of budget cuts and possible impacts? Probably not. They will expect you to know about your own campus, in your own community. I urge you to emphasize to legislators that you represent thousands of people who deserve the same kind of opportunity that you have. If great teachers leave, that door to opportunity swings shut. If tuition goes up dramatically, that door to opportunity swings shut. If libraries cut their hours drastically and can't keep up with books and materials, that door to opportunity swings shut.
We're basing most of our work this year on a phrase taped to the door in the system office: "It's about economic recovery!" Actually, the sign to which I'm referring says, "It’s about economic recovery, STUPID," but you know better than to say that!
Here's what we're saying. Community colleges prepare North Carolinians for good jobs with great futures. Community colleges help attract and keep industries. Community colleges are the best hope for people who need new job skills in an uncertain economy. Community colleges offer quality education at an affordable price, close to home. Community college are more important than ever before.
Take the time to read over these points. Then think about which ones connect most specifically with your experience, on your campus, and try to weave examples into your conversation. Put the face of a real student -- preferably, your own -- onto an issue that may be hard to understand otherwise.
It's also important to stay POSITIVE and to stay focused on your case. Don't talk about other schools or agencies or programs and offer an opinion as to whether they should be funded. That's not why you're there. Talk about what you know, tell the truth, say thank you…and be proud of yourself for exercising your own leadership in such an important way.
By the time you finish your week in Raleigh, you'll have lots of tools that will help you handle the "Three Rs" of leadership.
By the time you complete your careers, I'll bet that some of you will be sitting on the other side of the desks, in the legislative offices on Jones Street, listening to testimonials about the value of community colleges. That's because you will have used the tools you have acquired here and elsewhere to win seats in the General Assembly.
What will you find there?
- Rewards.
- Responsibilities.
- Risks.
That's what leadership is…and I congratulate you for embracing its challenge with such enthusiasm. Thank you, and I'll be glad to take questions.
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