Monday, November 4, 2013

From the Halls of Austin Peay



Recently, I listened to a talk about "principled leadership." My understanding is this leadership style is doing what is right even if it doesn't feel good. The speaker went on to describe examples of individual profiles of courage. The stories talked of courage as the ability to fight natural tendencies - to run or fight vs stop and doing the principled action.

These powerful stories chronicled individual profiles in courage are revealing. They describe telling a person difficult facts while expressing concern for them. It’s the process of caring even when you are telling someone what they really do not want to hear. Principled leadership, the kind you own not just show, is the essence of the profile in courage. She talked about the single parent raising children, a profile in courage. The student taking care of an alcohol dependent mom or dad or a husband taking care of their Alzheimer afflicted spouse praying for one more lucid moment, or the solder’s spouse holding it together while they defend us all. These profiles in courage expose the principled leader. They are ordinary people striving to take care of those around them. They are leaders that see things as they could be and ought to be. They are optimistic, persistently optimistic leaders that choose to give of themselves, over and over. I see these profiles in courage, these leaders everyday walking the halls of the College of Business. Optimistic and principled, weary yet encouraged. What a privilege to be among them.

One last thing, I'm writing this to articulate the tough decision that leaders make every day... quietly, gently, and firmly. I'm convinced that some of the greatest leadership is never observed just done. In the home, in school, or in the workplace, I stand in awe of what I have seen.

Dean Bill Rupp