I had a recent conversation with a faculty member who is encouraging me to apply for the associate dean position. His thought is that I would be a good candidate because I would be able to speak ‘truth to power’. He went so far to tell me that I would be willing to tell the emperor (i.e. Dean) when he forgot to put his clothes on in the morning.
How does one speak ‘truth to power’ in an academic environment? Here are my thoughts:
1) ‘Truth to power’ moments are best handled in a one-on-one, closed door environment. In my 20+ years of working in an academic environment, I have yet to encounter a leader who wants to be ‘challenged’ in a group environment. The typical response to a “group challenge” is to isolate and marginalize the offending party.
2) It must be made 100% clear to the leader, that you will support and follow their decision – once it has been made. Once the decision has been made, you’ve either got to get on board or get off the ship.
3) When problems are presented to the academic leader, it is important to take a data oriented, process oriented approach. What data suggests a problem? Is the current process for dealing with such an issue broken? How can the process be improved? What will the data show when the problem has been fixed?
These are just a few thoughts – yours?
– from the pen of Dr. Percy Trappe
The Academic Anchor 
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