Sunday night after the Super Bowl, CBS aired a new show titled Undercover Boss. The concept is a high level executive goes undercover to experience the day to day jobs in their company. I would not consider myself an avid tv watcher, but I was intrigued by the concept and I could not find the remote, so I watched.
The first episode featured President and CEO of Waste Management Corp, Larry O’Donnell, where he spent time working in a recycling center, cleaning port-a-potties, picking up trash in a dump, and several other positions that changed his view of corporate policies. Where I was most impressed with Mr. O’Donnell was not the fact he did these jobs, but he learned from them. Equipped with these experiences, Larry brought them back to the headquarters and made changes that will affect the lives and families of those individuals in the Waste Management Corporation.
I could not help but think, what if universities did this? Imagine your president spending a few days as a Hall Director, Greek Life coordinator, or Academic Advisor. And there are those positions we all tend to ignore in the food service or cleaning areas. If the president of your campus had your job for a week, what would they discover?
{ 6 comments }
Many mid-level and upper level student affairs administrators were once a Hall Director or coordinator. To see that some may have forgotten where they came from leads me to question who and what really influences them in their administrative decisions.
Cleda good point. I assume with a broader focus it can cloud your decision making if you are not careful. I was also thinking of maybe the university president or provost who probably never worked on the student affairs side of campus.
You make a good point Jeff. Most University Presidents come up through the ranks on the academic (faculty) side of the University. In student affairs we find ourselves having to prove over and over that we are a valid and needed part of the student experience. How different might that be if our Presidents could spend a week in our shoes?
It's an interesting concept; however, might be difficult to pull off at a smaller university. I think the anonymity of the CEO plays a huge factor into the success of the show.
Although it wouldn't surprise me to learn that most students don't know who their presidents and/or chancellors are.
You are right it could not be as secretive as the tv show; however it would be great to see them work bid night, or as a hall dir for the weekend with the duty phone.
Going into a new position, I think it's important to spend a day shadowing each person who reports to me. When I have an understanding of their duties and routine, I'm better able to help them be successful in their jobs.
Comments on this entry are closed.