Olin O. Oedekoven, Ph.D. & Günther Singer, Ph.D....Dr. Olin O. Oedekoven has over 30 years of leadership experience at all organizational levels from first-line leader through strategic

Olin O. Oedekoven, Ph.D. & Günther Singer, Ph.D.

Peregrine Leadership Institute, LLC


Beyond just being statements of belief and operational

principles that characterize our institutions, what is the role of

organizational values in shaping the day-to-day problem-

solving, communications, and decision-making for leaders in

higher education?

Dr. Olin O. Oedekoven has over 30 years of leadership experience at all organizational levels from first-line leader through strategic leadership. Olin has extensive work experience in both the public and private sectors with a comprehensive background in management, business administration, and organizational leadership.

Olin graduated from South Dakota State University with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. He received a Master’s degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Wyoming and an MBA and Doctorate in Business Administration with specializations in Management and Public Administration from Northcentral University. Olin also completed a post-doctoral program in human resource management.

Olin is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College where he received a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies. His military experience includes senior staff, battalion command, and brigade command assignments. Olin retired from the National Guard in 2011 as a Brigadier General after nearly 33 years of military service. In his last assignment, he was the Deputy Adjutant General for the Wyoming National Guard, an organization with nearly 3,500 members.


Dr. Günther Singer, is specialized in the areas of human

resource management, change and performance management

as well as the accreditation of institutions in higher education.

In his career he held various positions: CEO, Provost, Academic

Director, Dean, Senior Researcher, Sales Manager, Regional

Director Europe for an US Accreditation Organization.

He has been working internationally as a consultant to

companies for 25 years. He designs and implements corporate

change processes and supports them as a coach and

management developer. As a lecturer he focuses on graduate

and post-graduate courses. He has been involved in

accreditation processes of higher education institutions for

various accreditation bodies as chief academic officer and self-

study coordinator.



Understanding the Organizational

Mission, Vision, and Values (Olin)

Developing a Values-based Culture (Olin)

Modeling the Way in Higher Education

(Günther)

Values-based Leadership in Higher Education


Organizational Mission, Vision, & Values

Statements


Mission – what you

do

Vision – why you do

what you do

Values – how you do

what you do

Mission, Values, and Vision

are the glue that holds an

organization together.

They describe:

What you're trying to do

How you want to go about

it

Where you're headed

Knowing these things

helps to keep your

organization on track.

It gives you a yardstick you

can always use to measure

your present performance

and plans against your

aspirations.


How do your existing

M/V/V statements

and apply to your

areas of

responsibility?

Organizational Mission, Vision, & Values

Statements


Compass Led leaders have a

clear vision and set of values

that keep them on course during

the difficult and stormy times.

This unwavering focus and

sense of mission provides

direction that others can

understand and follow.


Weather Vane leaders, however,

change direction according to

pressure from the “winds” of

others’ changing opinions.

Weather Vane leaders do not

demonstrate the clear sense of

purpose that results from focusing

on the compass of vision, values,

and mission.




How do you build

a culture around

your M/V/V

principles?

Assessing, Shaping, and Maintaining a Values-Based

Climate for the Organization


Assessing, Shaping, and Maintaining a Values-Based

Climate for the Organization


Take one value a month and discuss both the

definition of the value and its application in the

workplace.

Do this at the start of every staff or team

meeting.

Focus on application, not the theory.


Require your team members to share their

stories of where he or she saw the core value

exemplified by others in the workplace.

The greater the specificity, the more meaning

and relevance are generated.

“Last week, I saw Jane do _______ and this is

an example of ______ (value) exemplified.”


If you have an employee recognition system (e. g.

employee of the month, quarter, year), shape the

recognition around your core values.

Explain what the employee did for the recognition in the

content of your values.

Openly state that what the employee did to deserve the

recognition is an exemplification of the value through

his or her actions in the workplace.


Incorporate your core values into the decision-

making process.

As the leader of the process, ask the question

of your team: “Is what we are deciding or

recommending faithful to our core values?”

Build this values’ check into your deliberate

planning and decision-making processes.


Hold employees accountable to the values of

the organization.

If you see something that is not right, Act!

Frame the discussion around your values so

that it is not just an “I believe …”, but rather it

is “This is what we believe ….”.





Characteristics (some elements)

• Complex stakeholder expectations (society, organizational,

individual,…) with high demands on governance for the institutions

• Vision – Mission – Values are key for the design and delivery of HE

• Long production cycles (2-4 years)

• Increasing costs of production that are increasingly difficult to

finance

• Continuous drive for bigger and better

Surprise?

• This was as true in the 19th century as it is up to now in the 21st

century


The historic roots of the values of the current Higher Education System in

Europe and the United States are in the Age of Enlightenment

Europe – Germany/Prussia: In the Post-French Revolution spirit of liberty

Wilhelm von Humboldt: Foundation of the Berlin University in Prussia in 1807

Key Values:

• Freedom of science

• Autonomy of the teaching staff (tenure system)

• Unity of teaching and research

• Student as a researcher directed by the professor

United States of America: In the Post-Civil War spirit of liberty

Charles W. Eliot: Harvard University President 1869-1909

Key Values:

• Freedom of science

• Freedom of academic inquiry and speech

• Academic freedom for scholars (tenure system)

• Academic freedom for students (e.g. no required courses; elective system)


Freedom of science and speech in Europe/USA/Democratic countries: ✔

Autonomy of researchers and teaching staff: ?

• Many HEI do not have a tenure system

• Rising proportion of contingent faculty (part time and temporary faculty)

with limited commitment to long term cooperation

• Prescriptive culture of some regional accreditors for curricula and didactics

• Evaluation based on "customer satisfaction" not "learning outcomes"

Academic freedom for students: ?

• Increased tendency to curricula with few choices (electives)

• Standardized testing at many institutions does not support "criticality" or

"innovation"

• "Student as a researcher" typically not before doctoral level


The "historic values are outdated" trap

• Cuts the roots and clips the wings

• Reduces quality

• Long term threat to civility of the democratic society

The "Bigger and better" trap

• is a cost driver

• increases complexity

• undermines institutional focus

The "greed trap" for for-profit institutions

• Takes necessary resources for staying in business (successfully) out of the

institution

The "short-term over long-term perspective" trap

• Not in tune with the production cycle and amortization period of HE


1. Be humble and focus (anti-dote for the "bigger and better" trap)

2. Ensure "wise" governance with a long term perspective for the

institution (anti-dote for the "greed" and "short term orientation"

traps)

3. Ensure the integrity of vision, mission and values as a coherent

system with the use of accreditation (e.g. the ACBSP Baldrige based

system)

4. Put the knowledge and methods presented in part 1 and 2 of this

presentation into action


Olin O. Oedekoven, Ph.D. & Günther Singer, Ph.D.

Thank

You!

Documents

Olin O. Oedekoven, Ph.D. & Günther Singer, Ph.D....Dr. Olin O. Oedekoven has over 30 years of leadership experience at all organizational levels from first-line leader through strategic