Ownership & Initiative: Nurturing a Culture of Innovation
Ken\u2019s conversation with Mark Frison, president of Assiniboine Community College in Brandon Manitoba, continues this week as they explore ways that higher ed leaders can empower and inspire their people to take ownership and take initiative, to propel innovation on campus.\xa0 (If you missed the first part of this interview, about encouraging PSE participation on the prairies, see https://youtu.be/-vksdjuMt2k).
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Mark suggests 3 concrete ways to nurture a culture of innovation on campus:
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1)\xa0 Make Initiative an Explicit Value
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ACC has adopted organizational values that encourage all staff and faculty to \u201cBe Passionate. Take Initiative. Deliver Results.\u201d Specifically, the college values urge people to \u201cchallenge the status quo and take calculated risks without fear of failure.\u201d Mark believes it is critical to state explicitly to the campus community that risk is inevitable when you innovate.
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2)\xa0 Invest in Talent through PD
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ACC\u2019s talent management action plan, instituted in 2011, has worked to increase its investment in professional development from 1.25% of payroll to almost 3%.\xa0 Given the fiscal environment, colleges need to maximize the capabilities and training of all staff.
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Ken observes that on most higher ed campuses, there is a disconnect between senior administrators who embrace innovation and seek transformative change, and front-line staff who are anxious about making mistakes, and focused on meeting the short-term objectives of their immediate supervisors.\xa0 The further down the organizational hierarchy you go, Ken argues, \u201cthe more doing nothing is the safest course of action,\u201d and he wonders how best to transmit the entrepreneurial mindset throughout the organization.\xa0 But Mark also observes that front-line staff and faculty are actually the ones most likely to have innovative ideas about serving the student, and thinks the more immediate issue is how to translate ideas UP through the organization.\xa0
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3) Formalize the Idea Generation Process
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That's why ACC implemented a system of written \u201cdecision notes\u201d for middle managers, encouraging them to describe new ideas in detail, and make their business case. Training middle managers to write these briefing notes has been \u201cincredibly helpful at dislodging these ideas,\u201d getting ideas onto the table and either moving them forward, or setting them aside.
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Mark and Ken agree that there is a \u201cdouble whammy\u201d of risk aversion in a public-sector, academic institution.\xa0 Committees tend to preserve the status quo, and often aren\u2019t even empowered to make decisions. Ultimately, Mark emphasizes, \u201cyou do need individuals to feel that they can take risks.\u201d\xa0 In many colleges, Ken argues, there is a \u201clearned helplessness\u201d that discourages a sense of personal ownership of decisions or processes.\xa0Mark recalls a board member once asking him, \u201cif you owned this thing, what would we be doing differently?\u201d\xa0Thinking about your institution with a sense of ownership, and a willingness to take informed risk, engages everyone\u2019s ideas and passions, and encourages an entrepreneurial campus culture.
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Mark Frison was appointed President of Assiniboine Community College in August 2010, after serving 5 years as president of Great Plains College and Cypress Hills College in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.\xa0 He holds a Masters of Industrial Relations from Queen\u2019s University, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Business from Cape Breton University (UCCB at the time).\xa0 He has served as Executive Director of the Association of Saskatchewan Regional Colleges, and on the board of Colleges & Institutes Canada.
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Every week, 10K explores a world of higher ed innovation and bright ideas. So you don\u2019t miss a thing, please be sure to subscribe! \xa0http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
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Special thanks to Shaun Cameron for coordinating the onsite recording at ACC.\xa0If you would like to host an onsite episode of Ten with Ken, please see http://eduvation.ca/twk/site-visits/for more information.
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