What are 2 leadership traits that you would like in a leader of an academic institution and why?
Two leadership traits I believe are important in an academic leader include compassion and proactivity. While being highly competent and knowledgeable in the specific field of the academe one is heading along with an extensive repertoire of experience in leadership roles is required in the dean or head of an academic institution, having empathy for the needs of the people under one’s care would drive a leader to reach greater heights regardless of personal challenges or external circumstances in order to meet those needs. Compassion ensures that a leader is sensitive to the experiences and concerns of the constituents and aims to recognize these problems through observation, open communication, and active listening and subsequently address them. This goes hand-in-hand with proactivity, ensuring that initiative is taken to resolve issues that arise, knowing that action speaks louder than words. Moreover, proactive leaders are not merely idle and satisfied with the current state of things; rather, they spend their time anticipating potential problems and planning ahead while also seeking ways to better the lives and experiences of their constituents even when they have not been asked to do so. In this manner, leaders acknowledge that they are not perfect and are always motivated to improve not only the environment but themselves as well.
Name one leadership skill that will be beneficial for an academic institution and give a short explanation how and why it will be beneficial.
Self-awareness is a beneficial skill for the leader of an academic institution to possess. After all, everything starts with the self, because one cannot give what one does not have in the first place; thus, it is crucial for leaders to be the best version of themselves they can be for their constituents. Self-awareness begins with acknowledging one’s strengths and weaknesses – from there, a leader must maximize his or her strong points to the fullest for the betterment of the people. On the other hand, in areas that are not of his/her expertise but must not be neglected, selecting the right people to delegate specific tasks to would be an effective strategy. Nevertheless, one must not forget to focus on these areas that require improvement instead of simply relying on others to do it for him. I believe self-awareness is a primary leadership skill that, only when achieved, can lead to self-management, social awareness, and relationship management – all of which contribute to the holistic skill development of a good leader.
From the consultation with students, name one key point/idea/strategy that struck you or felt close to you. Give a short explanation how/why this issue or strategy is relevant to you.
The issue raised by the students on the poor transition from virtual class to face-to-face learning struck me greatly as I resonated with their experience, having had online classes for nearly the entirety of my first two years in the college. Given that the BS Nursing is a highly skill-based course, I struggled with the absence of any in-person laboratories or practicals where a professor would grade if I was actually performing my physical assessment in the correct places and with the right process. There was often little to no feedback from my respective FICs on the videos of my return demonstrations which made me feel ill-equipped as a student nurse when it was time for me to actually do it in an actual patient in the hospital. Not to mention that even when classes have returned to a face-to-face delivery system, particularly with interventions courses, there was often too little time for us to actually perform our return demonstrations with FICs guiding us. Given the importance of practice-based and performance-based competencies in nursing education, as proven by evidence-based research, I believe it’s important for student to collaborate with the academic institutions leaders to find effective solutions (e.g. a bridging program for fundamental skills and competencies) to address this concern to ensure that graduates of the UP College of Nursing’s BS Nursing program are well-equipped to serve as registered nurses and provide optimal quality of care to each patient they serve. At the same time, I believe that this consultation was an effective strategy by the institution to ensure that this concern was heard and hopefully, addressed.