Leading with positivity to encourage change: Opinion

Postsecondary leaders should lead groups with positivity to encourage change, write Michael Paul Nelson and Thomas H DeLuca. Nelson and DeLuca describe how responding with “Yes, and…” to new ideas and proposals encourages people to share with their leadership. The authors recommend responding positively, even to ideas that may be redundant or undeveloped, but to recommend resources the individual can use to develop their idea. Nelson and DeLuca say that as the individual goes through the process of honing their idea, the flaws will likely become obvious or they will find the suitable niche for their project. “Going forward, the academy must avoid appointing negative, dismissive leaders; the rippling impacts and the squandered opportunities will be too significant a loss,” write Nelson and DeLuca. Inside Higher Ed Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.