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In The Presence of Grace
Interview with Grace E.
Harris, Ph.D.,
Distinguished Professor and former Provost,
Virginia Commonwealth University
By Susan B. Wilkes
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes,
Into your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
-- Maya Angelou, The Rock Cries Out to Us Today
. . . . .
The phrase, "Who you are is the best
tool you have," has been applied to leadership
a number of times. It is one of those deceptively simply
phrases; it sounds easy but is amazingly complex. The
effective use of self as an instrument of change requires
a high level of self-awareness, a keen insight into
other people and situations, and the flexibility to
use oneself in the right way at the right time. Most
of us are able to pull all of these together in an occasional
moment, a bright glimmer in our otherwise fumbling attempts
to lead. When you are in the presence of someone who
is able to lead through her own self-expression on a
consistent basis, you know it immediately. Such is the
case with Grace E. Harris.
THE
TASK OF BRINGING OUT THE BEST
Leading and managing university faculty,
with their independent natures and strong egos, has
often been compared to "herding cats." Given
the highly successful tenure and remarkable reputation
among faculty of Dr. Grace E. Harris, I had a great
deal of curiosity about her leadership. As I settled
into Grace Harris' office, I noticed a number of pieces
of striking pottery. Each piece was displayed to show
its fineness of color and form and texture, yet each
also blended into the color and design of a well thought
out and decorated room. One could shift from figure
to ground easily, first appreciating the exquisiteness
of one piece, then seeing with new eyes how it fit beautifully
into the pattern of the whole. As I was soon to learn,
Dr. Harris' leadership was much the same. It involves
her appreciation for the masterful artistry in each
person, as well as her ability to bring people together
into a cohesive whole with a skilled and gentle touch.
Dr. Harris is almost surprised by the
simplicity of my question about bringing out the best
in others, though she would never let on that such was
the case. "Well, Susan" she replied, "Recognizing
strengths in others just comes out of who I am."
Clearly, she thinks of people as individual human beings
first. She described her role as Provost as often being
people's "last resort" for the resolution
of problems and difficult issues. Listening and trying
to understand the other person's position are basic
principles for Harris. As she described, "I try
not to take a position right away, but to allow the
person to share time and feel that they are the most
important person in the world at that point." I
notice that Dr. Harris indeed offers her full presence
for the time I am with her; she uses my name frequently
as we talk, holds my eyes continually, and graciously
dodges many other demands for her attention. She notes
with compassion how just hearing someone fully can be
so reassuring. One of her hopes is that, by her example,
she might inspire others to treat their colleagues in
the same way she treats them, with dignity and respect
for their time and contribution.
When I noted that she seems to lead through
a sense of connection with others, Dr. Harris indicated
that this is a very natural process for her, with individuals
or with groups. "You can tell when a leader doesn't
want to be there and it leads to a stressful situation,"
she says. "I truly enjoy being with people, listening
to new ideas, trying to learn things myself, and pulling
people together. I talk with people, not at them. "
Starting with "attitude and feeling," Dr.
Harris puts forth the notion of a team approach and
collaboration when working with others. When asked what
she'd like to be remembered for, her response was that
she hopes people will say that she was always there,
always available to them. Altogether, Grace Harris brings
out the best in others through using her own gentle
and compelling presence to draw out what is good in
them.
One of her high point stories is about
the very trying and difficult closing of a long-standing
school within the university. Her approach was to engage
people in the process and take the time to meet individually,
in small groups, and in large groups. She described
the "agony" of trying to get folks to come
together on what was the most reasonable plan. She allowed
the process to continue until she felt clear herself
on what must be done and sure that she "had done
all I needed to do for these folks." Harris then
moved with decisive action. Interestingly, Harris stressed
that it would be a mistake to assume she is a soft leader
who can easily be swayed. She chuckled as she showed
me the cover of a news magazine which dubbed her the
"Forceful Grace." In the instance described
above, her final decision was one that many were not
happy with, yet the discontent was remarkably low. "I
think people recognized what was right when I met with
them and reviewed the facts clearly-the process we had
undertaken, the information gathered, the numbers, and
the dollars. I would say that for leaders to get results,
they need to be able to communicate well and to be very
intentional about the manner of communication in these
types of situations." It seemed to me that the
dialogue between Dr. Harris and all of the involved
parties went a long way toward enabling people to accept
the new direction.
. . . . .
We must sit down
and reason together
We must sit down
men standing want to hold forth
They rain down upon faces lifted.
-- Marge Piercy, Councils
. . . . .
APPRECIATIVE
RELATIONSHIPS
Grace Harris is considered a mentor to
many, and she talks easily and with enthusiasm about
developing people and helping prepare them for new roles.
She notes that people are not always good at every role
they are forced to play. She said, "One of the
roles of the leader is to position people in a place
where they can make a contribution, where their strengths
are best suited while at the same time the leader helps
them expand their capacity. "
She is quick to credit those relationships
in her own life that built her up and helped her to
achieve. Her own mentors include her aunt, a former
Dean of Social Work, and the President of the university.
The admirable combination of gentility and strength
she saw in her aunt, for whom she is named, seems to
live on in Grace. Through seeing her capacity and pushing
her to do things she might not have done otherwise,
her former mentors helped Dr. Harris reach her current
level of success. She also praises the university president's
ability to give her leeway to do what she thought was
best. She suggests that that learning has been something
she has tried to incorporate into her own leadership
style: "The mentoring and role model concepts are
things which have a lot of meaning for me in terms of
outcomes."
For Harris, collaboration in work is critical
and requires that the leader deal with his or her own
ego first. In genuine collaboration, the leader has
to be willing to let go of control of the outcome and
this involves a degree of risk taking and inner strength.
Harris' gift of collaboration also comes from her fundamental
belief in freedom, as demonstrated by her comment that
"people need the freedom to contribute to our work
and sometimes we have to allow them to make their own
mistakes."
POSITIVE
IMAGE AND POSITIVE ACTION
How we make the concepts of vision and
mission come alive for people is something Dr. Harris
thinks about frequently in her current role with the
Harris Leadership Institute. For Harris, the key to
energizing people about the future comes back to the
sense of purpose and meaning that each individual has.
She runs through a series of provocative questions such
as, "Why do you do what you do? Why do you work
here at this university rather than elsewhere? Why did
you want to do this work in the first place? What does
this organization mean to you?" She wants to reinforce
for people that they don't just have a job, but are
part of, and are connected to, a larger community.
Beyond bolstering the individual's sense
of meaning and contribution, Harris also strives to
enrich this process by building connections with other
people. She is well aware of how individuals' backgrounds
and experiences can continue to narrow the lens through
which they see the world. Through learning from diverse
people and exposure to inspiring figures, her hope is
that others might come to have a broader view of the
world and this particular institution. In describing
the institute founded in her honor, Dr. Harris talks
about mentors as people who are able to "challenge
people by exposing them to new ideas and experiences
across the system. "
One concrete way in which Harris has done
this at this university is through her career long commitment
to increasing minority and female representation on
the faculty. Dr. Harris has done this through exerting
her quiet and forceful influence on the university,
one person at a time. She can recite a long list of
people to whom she was able to reach out and intervene,
to either bring them to Virginia Commonwealth University,
or convince them to stay at the institution. A number
of times, she had to break tradition, come up with creative
ways of recruiting and retaining faculty, and fight
for her deep commitment to social responsibility. As
she notes, "I continue to feel very proud that
I did what I did because it opened up the minds of people.
Sometimes you have to do things a bit unusually. "
She speaks with quiet confidence about knowing that
one of her major contributions has been in making the
university a more diverse place.
. . . . .
Hope is an orientation of the spirit,
an orientation of the heart.
It is not the conviction that something will turn out
well, but the certainty that something makes sense,
regardless of how it turns out.
- Vaclev Havel
. . . . .
THE
ROLE OF POSITIVE AFFECT IN BRINGING OUT THE BEST
As in other areas, the positive example of Dr. Harris,
through her own optimism and sense of joy, is a powerful
catalyst for bringing out the best in other people.
" I believe in goodness, in humaneness, joy, and
having some fun!, " she declares. When asked about
what sustains her positive outlook, Harris stresses
the importance of balance in our lives and having a
full life outside of the work environment. She personally
has found the love of family and friends, travel, cultural
life, and sports to be enriching, and feels they help
her bring more of herself to the job. Full of laughter
and a sense of enjoyment, Dr. Harris likes the notion
of reinvigorating people to find joy and fun in what
they do. "My style is to say that we can do things,
that people need to feel a sense of dignity, that we
should allow people to feel their own strengths. "
The last thing Grace Harris said to me as we concluded
our conversation was that she really wanted to be remembered
not so much for her accomplishments but more for who
she was as a person. I'm quite confident that her magnetic
and uplifting leadership and demeanor are indeed how
the many people she has positively influenced will remember
her.
. . . . .
We convince by our presence.
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
. . . . .
GRACE
E. HARRIS |
Grace Harris, Ph.D. is currently a Distinguished Professor
and leader of the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute
at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before retiring
in 1999, Dr. Harris was the highest-ranking female and
African-American in the University's history, holding
positions as Provost, Acting President, Vice Provost,
Dean, and Professor.
SUSAN WILKES
| Susan Wilkes, Ph.D. is the manager of Workplace Initiatives,
a consulting and training unit at Virginia Commonwealth
University. She is an organizational psychologist with
expertise in leadership, team development and work styles,
and the author of a popular 360-degree feedback tool.
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