Runninghead:UNDERSTANDINGLEADERSHIP,SYSTEMS,ANDCHANGE

Understanding leadership, systems, and change

Jesus Romero
Western Michigan University

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

Understanding leadership, systems, and change

Perhaps the best way to understand something is to actively be participating in that
activity. However, sometimes observing someone and asking questions about what they do can
be just as beneficial. I chose to observe and interview Sarah Hurd, the Assistant Director of
Campus Programming and Registered Student Organizations (RSO) Development in the Student
Activities & Leadership Programs (SALP) office at Western Michigan University (WMU). She
graduated from Western Michigan University (WMU) with a degree in Public Relations, which
she put to use in the corporate world planning large sports events. After four years, she decided
to go back to school and work on a masters degree. She started her masters degree in Higher
Education Student Affairs at the University of Iowa but finished it at WMU. She was the
graduate assistant for campus programming in the SALP office and served in the assistant
director role for a few months when her supervisor left for another position. By the time she was
officially offered the role, she has already turned down four other job offers because she knew
this was the position she really wanted. In her current position she has gone from working
exclusively with campus programming to also taking on RSO development. Through my
observations and interview with Sarah, I was able to better comprehend the concepts of
leadership, systems, and change in an educational setting.
Leadership
One important aspect of being a leader is knowing yourself and your personal values. As
Kouzes & Posner (2011b) state: When values are clear, you know what to doyou dont have
to rely upon direction from someone in authority. In talking with Sarah, she mentioned that in
her first job after college she noticed that shady things were happening with the tickets for the
events that she planned. She confronted her boss about the situation and was told that that was

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

just the way things were. Her personal credo is to put more good into the world than you take
from it, which conflicted with what was happening in the organization (S. Hurd, personal
communication, August 11, 2014). Ultimately, she left this job to return to school for her masters
and the fact that some of the organization activity went against her values helped make that
decision easier. Part of knowing yourself is recognizing what you still need to learn to become
great at what you do. Sarah mentioned that she engages in conferences, online discussion groups,
reading, and committees as professional development. She also talked about identifying her
weaknesses as a leader and making sure that the people on her team possess that which she lacks
(S. Hurd, personal communication, August 11, 2014). It is evident that Sarah is confident in her
abilities because she knows what she can do well and how to collaborate with others in areas
where she might not be as strong. Along with her personal values and competence, this
confidence speaks to her good character.
A leader should strive to earn and maintain credibility if they are to be successful. After
asking Sarah what gives her credibility, she responded with: I do what I say I will and produce
good quality work (S. Hurd, personal communication, August 11, 2014). This is very important
since credibility is mostly about the consistency between words and deeds (Kouzes & Posner,
2011a). However, credibility is not only about following-through on tasks. Sarah has lots of
experience with planning large events both as a student and a professional. And she also has
planned the same events for several years now, which makes it easier for others to trust her. I
believe Sarah is doing a great job with credibility because she appreciates constituents, affirms
shared values, and develops capacity. I observed her in a meeting with the Bronco Bash &
Homecoming coordinators where she created a fun, welcoming, and productive environment.
The coordinators were encouraged to ask questions, kept accountable, and Sarah was very

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

transparent with them. At one point the group had a discussion about what the purpose of Bronco
Bash was so that they were better able to make decisions regarding the event. Sarah also made
sure to create learning moments for the students by making them really think through decisions,
problem solve, and offered advice on meeting with important people.
Badaracco (2002) introduces the concept of quiet leadership referring to the everyday
leaders who are making the tough decisions behind the scenes. In her position, Sarah is
responsible for quite a few things. She advises the Campus Activities Board that does weekly
programming, leads a team to plan both Bronco Bash and Homecoming, and oversees all 400
registered student organizations (RSOs) along with RSO Designs. There are two graduate
assistants that Sarah supervises whom she works closely to accomplish all of this. I see her and
each of the graduate assistants as separate teams both with their own problems to deal with. On
the RSO Development side the problem might be that RSO Designs is short on projects and thus
is costing more to run instead of being a source of income. With Campus Programming there
might be an issue with finding enough volunteers to make the biggest event on campus happen.
Situations such as these happen all the time and it is up to Sarah to make those decisions taking
into account the effects that they may have not only on the office and university but the greater
campus community as well. As Bodaracco states, It is a way of thinking about people,
organizations, and effective action (p. 10). When faced with the decisions, leaders must be able
to think through the consequences of a decision for both their organization and the people they
work with in order to make the best decision. I would classify Sarah as a quiet leader because she
does a lot of decision-making that might not change the university but does help it run.
Systems
In learning organizations, metanoia is the process by which learning occurs since it

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

describes a fundamental shift or movement of mind (Senge, 2013). Learning is not simply taking
in information it is also about being able to do something new that was not possible before. Sarah
shared with me how the restructuring of the Bronco Bash and Homecoming Coordinators made
her change the way she thought about how the two events would be planned. Originally, there
were three coordinators for Bronco Bash and another three for Homecoming. Each team started
at different times and was done soon after their corresponding event. This year, Sarah decided to
hire six coordinators that would together plan both Bronco Bash and Homecoming. They all
started at the same time and have different responsibilities for each event. The point of this is to
give students more experience with planning large campus events so if one student is responsible
for marketing Bronco Bash they might be in charge of logistics for Homecoming. She said that
the biggest challenge was dividing what three people did amongst six people (S. Hurd, personal
communication, August 11, 2014). It forced her to think about planning the events differently
and this shift has proven successful. This situation shows how Sarah is able to think outside of
the box and not just linearly.
A great leader learns to use systems thinking in order to understand the world around
them. Systems thinking describes the complexity of how things function and the ways in which
some decisions affect others based on the system they operate within. During her 1-on-1 with her
supervisor, Sarah discussed her concern that the number of non-affiliate booths for Bronco Bash
was low. Compared to the numbers from that time last year, there were less non-affiliate booths
registered to participate in Bronco Bash. These non-affiliate booths are what provide the funds to
finance such a large event. It is not only important for Bronco Bash to break even but also that it
makes the office money in order to help sustain what SALP programming. Sarah explained how
she thought that it was related to a better economy. While Bronco Bash is an on-campus event, it

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

is open to the public. Not only are there registered student organizations, campus departments
and offices at Bronco Bash but also many local businesses and community organizations. The
goal of the event is to offer the opportunity for students to connect with different resources both
on and off campus. Therefore, many businesses choose to participate in order to market their
services or provide information to students. If business is thriving then it would make sense for
non-affiliate numbers to be low since they might not see the investment as necessary for success.
According to Senge (2006), Seeing the major interrelationships underlying a problem leads to
new insight into what might be done (p. 72). In order to address this problem, Sarah and her
team devised a plan to reach out to those businesses that had participated in the past. The goal is
to get them to register again and if they are choosing not to participate then to take note of why
that is so that any problems could be addressed. Through this example, it is evident that Sarah is
able to see the big picture and consider the possible connections between different systems to
find a possible solution.
Change
In leadership roles, we often have to deal with change whether that is mandated from
those in higher positions or change that we ourselves create. One major change that Sarah has
had to deal with recently is the control of the display cases in the Bernhard Center. Originally the
display cases were controlled by the Student Activities & Leadership Programs office, but now
they only control some of them. SALP had an effective system in place for both registered
student organizations and campus departments to reserve the display cases in order to advertise
their events or services. However, last fall another campus department came in to take ownership
claiming that they own the display cases and should have priority access to them. Rather than go
through the same process as everyone else, they use a different avenue to ensure that their

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

requests are granted. They are able to reserve more than one case at a time and have priority over
the four largest display cases. What it means for student organizations and other campus
departments is that there are less display cases available for them to reserve. The purpose of the
display cases is to offer an opportunity for registered student organizations to advertise
themselves and their events or services at no cost. Sarah remarked that she hasnt given up on
fighting to regain control of all of the display cases but she does recognize that it is above her (S.
Hurd, personal communication, August 11, 2014). She has had to learn to work with the change
and help both her graduate assistant and the students that work in RSO Designs, where the
display cases are handled, understand it too. I do like that she has the students best interest in
mind because she believes that the student organizations should be the ones with priority access
to the display cases. It demonstrates that she is a leader that is not only concerned with her own
interests but those of the people she works with.
I asked Sarah what has been most challenging in attempting to make change and she
responded with the following: The bureaucracy of a large public institution and finding large
grassroots changes that trickle up (S. Hurd, personal communication, August 11, 2014). This
speaks to what Fullan (2007) refers to as reculturing or changing the way we do things around
here. In this situation with the display cases, Sarah needs to realize that the purpose of the
display cases needs to be re-visited. The question that needs to be explored is whether they are
primarily for use by student organizations or campus departments. It also requires thinking about
whether the Bernhard Center is a student center or a place for the greater WMU community. If it
is a true student center then the display cases should be solely for student organizations but if it
serves a dual purpose then both student organizations and campus departments should have equal
access. Although not an easy task, creating a culture of change is necessary and includes

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

collaborative work that respects differences in opinion. Sarah also mentioned that she has to find
value in what she does for the higher-ups. In other words, she has to speak their language and
show that the work she does is important. Part of this is using assessment data to highlight the
learning and experiences that are provided for students. Specifically, in student activities we
have to constantly show that we dont just play with students but that we actually engage them in
intentional experiences. Change is not an easy thing and thus it takes a dedicated and passionate
leader that understands how to work within systems so that even the smallest change can prove
effective.
Conclusion
Leadership is not about possessing certain abilities to lead, rather it requires a leader who
can navigate systems, create change, and understands themselves as a leader. A leader needs to
have values by which they lead so that in times of conflict and crisis they can make the right
decision. They must also be able to think about situations in a complex sense and identify the
systems through which they are operating. While a problem might seem to be only related to the
school, it may actually be connected to the local community and state government. The concept
of change is perhaps the most difficult to accomplish because it requires the most time and effort.
To bring about change a leader needs to work collaboratively with those who resist it and to be
patient in allowing for the change to take effect. Educational leadership is a complicated system
to work within because there are many stakeholders but if we learn to lead effectively by
knowing ourselves as leaders and finding ways to make small changes that can have a big impact
then we can look forward to a better future.

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS, AND CHANGE

References
Badaracco, J. L. (2002). Leading: An unorthodox guide to doing the right thing. Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Press.
Fullan, M. (2007). Understanding change. In M. Grogan (ed.), Jossey-Bass Educational
Leadership 2nd ed. (pp.169181). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley & Sons.
Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2011a). Credibility makes a difference. In Credibility: How
leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it 2nd Edition (pp. 2757). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2011b). Discovering your self. In Credibility: How leaders gain
and lose it, why people demand it 2nd Edition (pp. 5887). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Senge. P. M. (2006). A shift of the mind. In The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the
learning organization (pp. 5767). New York, NY: Doubleday.
Senge, P. M. (2013). Give me a lever long enoughand single-handed I can move the world. In
M. Grogan (ed.), Jossey-Bass Educational Leadership 2nd ed. (pp.169181). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley & Sons.