Taking Control

There will be occasions when you will simply have to take the helm from the team and steer the ship.  When this happens it is good if there is a protocol that lets everyone understand what is happening and why.  Otherwise, the team will feel disenfranchised, and perhaps even untrusted and undermined.  Early on in my presidency, my team and I worked out an agreement as to how we would operate as a group.  In general we would work by consensus.  Our disagreements stayed in our meeting room, and once we left the room we spoke as one.  That was rough, especially for me.  It meant that sometimes my own opinion needed to be subjugated.  Ugh.

Additionally, each team member had designated areas of responsibility where they made decisions and reported back.  We expected that they would keep us looped in, but they were empowered to act for the team.

We all agreed on one major item.  If we could not reach consensus, or if the decision that we needed to reach was critical to the point of self-destruction, I made the call.  This was a good protocol for a number of reasons.  First, it avoided significant dissention within the team.  Strong members often have strong opinions. My taking charge focused the attention on me and away from the team.  Second, it absolved the team from any negative repercussions, in that when push came to shove I could say with veracity that I had made the decision.

One other area where it was agreed that I would have final say was in areas of accreditation and government regulation.  These calls were often live or die, and they were the areas where I maintained institutional relationships, usually with specific parties.  Team input was crucial here, but final decisions needed to be negotiated by me personally.


Having this kind of framework was empowering and reassuring for all of us.  Specifically, it helped us avoid unpleasant surprises and assured that we all understood who was accountable for what.

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