Another University President committed to Servant-Leadership
The new president of Hancock College, a community college of over 17,000 students in Santa Barbara County, California is described by the president of the classified employees union as a servant-leader. But Dr. Jose Ortiz is not just being called a servant-leader, he is living it as well.
Not only did he spend the first day of school visiting classes and chatting with students waiting in line to buy textbooks and adjust their schedules, during welcome-back activities for the employees he asked them to send him, via e-mail, their input on what they like about Hancock, what they'd change, what they want to see him do as president and any advice they have for him.
It is obvious from the article that this way of doing thing is quite new to Hancock. I would suspect that most colleges and universities across the country are not used to a servant-leadership approach from their administration. Many of the staff are hoping people don't get cold feet and shy away from the prospect of change. The employee union president sums it up by saying: "I just hope the public and the board will stay the course with his ideas for change."
Most of the time change is resisted, sometimes at all costs. And introducing a servant-leadership model into an organization is no different. But I wish all the best to Dr. Ortiz as he begins his tenure as president of Hancock.
Not only did he spend the first day of school visiting classes and chatting with students waiting in line to buy textbooks and adjust their schedules, during welcome-back activities for the employees he asked them to send him, via e-mail, their input on what they like about Hancock, what they'd change, what they want to see him do as president and any advice they have for him.
It is obvious from the article that this way of doing thing is quite new to Hancock. I would suspect that most colleges and universities across the country are not used to a servant-leadership approach from their administration. Many of the staff are hoping people don't get cold feet and shy away from the prospect of change. The employee union president sums it up by saying: "I just hope the public and the board will stay the course with his ideas for change."
Most of the time change is resisted, sometimes at all costs. And introducing a servant-leadership model into an organization is no different. But I wish all the best to Dr. Ortiz as he begins his tenure as president of Hancock.
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