Top Dogs Inspire Leadership Lessons: An Asset-Based Approach to Human Resource Development

As a long-standing department chair, director of a complex school of education, and associate dean of a large college comprised of many differing disciplinary departments, I have learned over time that keen observation plays an important role in many aspects of leadership, including faculty development and personnel management. Ultimately, effective leaders in higher education need to be close observers of human behavior. They must be able to identify the interests, aspirations, and potential talents—or bright spots—of individuals within an organization and then leverage that knowledge to elevate both the individual and the organization. I have known few leaders to adopt a proactive and positive approach when dealing with personnel issues, but I believe strongly that doing so, at least in many cases, can yield positive results.