Linfield
president tells City Club about leadership
By Starla Pointer, McMinnville News-Register, April 12, 2019
Linfield College President Miles Davis talked
about “leadership in times of change” when he addressed the McMinnville City
Club Tuesday.
“Decisions have to be made,” he said. “Leaders
must take responsibility.”
Davis, a Navy veteran, framed the presentation
around a term used in the military, VUCA. The acronym refers to volatility,
uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity -- all factors with which leaders must
deal.
“Often you don’t know what you don’t know,” he
said. “That’s challenging to people who want perfect information.”
He said he would love to have perfect
information on which to base his decisions, but he doesn’t expect that to ever
happen. Still, he said, a leader cannot put off making decisions because he or
she doesn’t have enough information — and research shows waiting wouldn’t make
the decisions better, anyway.
He went over the four factors in VUCA.
Volatility refers to continual, often unexpected
change — he compared it to a turbulent river on which people go whitewater
rafting.
To deal with volatility, Davis said, it helps to
have an experienced leader who is continually assessing the situation; who’s
willing to keep asking questions and to take a step back and follow, when it’s
appropriate.
Relationships are key to dealing with a volatile
environment and in times of change, he said. People can find comfort in the
familiar and the known, he said, noting, “relationships make change bearable.”
The second factor in VUCA is uncertainty. “We
always live in uncertain times,” he said, naming some well-known periods: World
War I, the Great Depression, subsequent wars. “And 2019,” he said,
acknowledging recent unrest throughout the country.
But we can’t let uncertainty lead to indecision,
he reiterated. “None of us have crystal balls,” he said.
Leaders need to depend on their enduring values
to make the best decision possible at any time. “Have a clear vision and the
courage to pursue it,” he said.
Complexity is the third factor.
“Complexity is just part of the job when you’re
dealing with people,” said the Linfield president, who joined the college last
July. “Every other human has his own needs, wants and desires.”
A leader must point out the “true north,” he
said, the values that hold people and institutions together.
“Leadership is understanding the right thing to
do at the core,” he said
Those who stand firm in their values will
attract like-minded people, Davis said. Or, as his mother reminds him in their
daily phone calls, he said, “look at who your friends are” to see a reflection
of yourself.
The final part of the acronym is ambiguity.
“My favorite,” Davis said. “Our culture is full
of mysteries to inspire and animate us.”
Again referring to the derth of “perfect
information,” he said leaders must accept that there’s often not a definitive
answer. “Leaders have to live with uncertainties and doubt,” he said.
During a question-and-answer period, attendees
asked Davis about his efforts to increase enrollment at Linfield. The college,
like other institutions across the country, has fewer students than it did a
few years ago, resulting in a budget deficit.
The president described efforts to attract
students by offering programs they want while maintaining Linfield’s core
values. For instance, Linfield has capitalized on its location in Oregon’s wine
country to create the leading wine studies program in the U.S., he said.
Davis also responded to a question about
educating students for careers versus educating them to be good citizens.
That’s a key role of the liberal arts, he said, adding that the Latin
translation of “liberal arts” means “skills for free people” -- it has nothing
to do with the political terms “liberal” or “conservative.”
“We have to educate people to protect our
democracy,” he said.
Davis also said it would be a mistake to focus
solely on vocational skills. Linfield students may major in wine studies or
business or other career areas, but they also receive a broad education in
cultural, logic, writing, compassion and other subjects to make them
well-rounded.
He said that’s important, especially today when
the world is evolving so quickly.
“We need to produce people who can think,” he
said. “What the world needs are problem solvers.”
He added, responding to a question about people
who attack facts, “we must always have those who seek the truth, no matter what
the cost.”
