Collegiality

My Oxford Shorter has collegiality as [emphas is my own]:

n. the relationship of, or appropriate to, colleagues; spec joint responsibility....

We cannot hope to defend the idea of the University if we're not prepared to defend the notion of collegiality — the only alternative to bureaucracy and managerialism.

When a faculty or department culture isn't collegial it's likely that some responsibility rests with the (nominal) leaders. But before we start patting ourselves on our backs for our incisive diagnosis, remember that the degradation of workplace culture requires widespread acquiesce.

Any list of the typical symptoms of the process of decline would be too long for this essay; but they are, largely, the practices of exclusion, isolation and managerialism — practices antithetical to openness, cooperation and common purpose.

What to do? Act in a collegial way in your own dealings, even when it's not reciprocated. And notwithstanding the benefits of setting a good example, voice the expectation of a collegial culture. For example, "This is a university, I/we/they need to be involved in this discussion/decision."

Collegiality isn't always (or even usually) convenient; but as with academic and intellectual freedom, the questions are: Where are we and who are we without them?

'Would you tell me, please, which way
I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,'
said the Cat.
'I don't much care where—' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,'
said the Cat.'
—so long as I get somewhere,'
Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat,
'if you only walk long enough.'
—Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson 1832-1898)

To the readers of these essays, once again,
Thank you for your interest over this year
and all my best wishes for the Holiday Season
and the New Year.

Blame

There's almost no leadership required in attributing blame. No inspiration. No innovation. And blame ties in nicely with the popular idea of "accountability." Little wonder, then, that blame seems to be so popular with mediocre academic heads.

The late Peter Drucker (writer and management consultant) enjoined us to, "Accept the fact that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer." From that perspective, inspiration (the carrot) always takes priority over blame (the stick). It seems to me that whenever we encounter an emphasis on blame we need to shift that focus.

So, what can the "led" do when the "leader" prefers blame?

I'm afraid that you have to find your inspiration and innovation where you can. But a part of the vacuum can and must be filled: Make your own plans and put them forward with the expectation that they will apply.

Each exercise in blame needs to be met with the (probably) rhetorical question, "Fine, but where now?" And then, "I propose this."

I don't reject the idea of responsibility, but blame and review are very different things. (And, if needed, there are processes to address inability or a disregard of responsibility. Then the question is, simply, "Is that really where we are?")

[Innovation isn't] about money.
It's about the people you have,
how you're led, and how much you get it.
—Steve Jobs (b. 1955)