PART II. 7: Leadership and Organizational Development Competencies---Competency Seven (7): Resource Development: Human and Financial

Competency Seven (7)

Resource Development: human and financial

Introduction

In any given organization or institution, the management of the resources (human, liquid, fix, kind, etc.) has often been a source of serious concern. This reminds me of the crisis during the early Church, when the Hellenistic Jews felt mistreated because their widows were given the same quantity of the distribution of goods. This led to the institution of deacons (Ac. 6).

Not long ago, on this very campus, there was a big crisis between the Vice President Academics and the Vice President finance that led to the Andrews University “March 2006 madness.”

This shows that the wise management of the resources has often been an issue to be attended to with high standard. How then can an institution manage the resources for promoting significant change and fostering healthy and strategic outcomes in this competitive academic environment without provoking any unnecessary misunderstanding among the key players?

Definitions

Human resources

The human capital (the personnel in charge of doing the work and producing results) in a given in

a given institution or organization.

Financial (liquid) resources

Also called liquid resources, it’s the monetary funds available for business transactions.

Outcomes

The final results that have gone through some administrative, business/transaction process.

Change

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines change as “the act, process, or result of changing:

such as alteration, transformation, substitution,” etc.

Some key competency components

Some of the resource management elements regarding my competency can be listed as follows:

Human resources

This area too, is very sensitive. The leadership needs to be very intentional so as to live above the waters (no leadership by complacency or a club of friends). The mission of the Master comes first. Therefore, the deployment of the human resources needs to be done based on competency (not on friendship even though that aspect may be considered second) and fairness. Mercy is also very important and will need to apply whenever there is mistake according to the gospel of Christ Jesus (Matt. 18:15) but it should apply as a rescue principle not as the first principle for running the institution or organization. Otherwise, there will be an atmosphere of “laissez-faire” leadership. When people feel treated fairly well and that the leadership is in place for all (not for some few), they will be happy, and the work will move forward mightily.

Financial resources

The financial (liquid) resources also need to be disbursed fairly (no favoritism; no preference of one aspect of the mission against another except when there is a very strong argument in that favor which will become not preference but priority or necessary).

Considering the case of the Andrews University “2006 March Madness,” the Vice President Academics felt that he needed more funds to develop the academic sector while the Vice President Finance felt that there was a need for prudent management because the financial situation of the institution needed so. The situation became so hot that both ended up being replaced. Even the President then was terminated for a while before being reinstated again. As I pointed it out in my dissertation, the president failed to take up his leadership charge which was his duty to do and settle the matter before it became so troublesome. The question in this case: Were the resources available? We know in an academic environment, the development of a strong academic system in an institution is always a priority. However, was there enough funding to move some money around without being hurt financially? The leadership had to answer that question and then take a bold decision and stand together (not everyone defending his/her own sector). The principle of the teamwork was paramount here.

Change promotion

The change, to be healthy, needs promoted by the leadership as a team (I am aware of some people who often take the opposite direction when the majority is going a certain way). Sometimes, it can be originated by the leader himself/herself who, as in the case of president Donald Quixote (see Bolman & Gallos, 2011, pp. 69-71). His zeal pushed him so fast that he broke all legitimate administrative protocols. Therefore, he was kicked out of the institution. When the change promotion is done by the leadership as a team, the faculty and the staff will know (those are not fools). And they will follow.

It is very true that change is very difficult to bring about. I learned that from two sources (1) from the field as leader (Mission, Conference, Union Departmental Director, Division, etc.), (2) when I took the class LEAD 644 Leadership and organizational dynamics with Dr. Jay Brand in Spring 2017, a fantastic class (see materials below). You don’t always see the underlying current that easily challenges leadership, and one needs to be very mindful of that unseen current, yet it is very present, very real, and very strong. Therefore, there needs to be proper strength and wisdom in place for the adequate navigation thereof.

Healthy & strategic outcomes

The healthy strategic outcomes are dependent on the above (fair and prudent resource management, proper change planning, promotion, etc.), and the outcomes will just take place as a consequence of the previous management principles. If I may refer to my leadership, once again, whether mission president or conference president or division president, it was the same thing. The outcomes came as a result of proper system put in place. Talking of the WAD, within the 2010-2015 quinquennium, the 39 local fields became 76 through restructuring, and from six unions, we moved to 10. We were able to go to the 2015 General Conference Session happy, rejoicing for the Lord had extended His mercy to us in a special way.

Acquisition of competency

My competency in the area of financial management was due to many factors: (1) I was often posted in organizations or institutions that were basically in financial crisis. Therefore, I had to either navigate the entity in such a way that I would successfully swim. Otherwise, we would sink which was the aim of some leaders so that I may have my credential revoked. So, I learned to make sure management was done very prudently, following the accounting principle spelt out in the frame below even though the budgeting was built rather by faith: MAXIMIZING THE INCOME; MINIMIZING THE EXPENSES.

In addition, I made sure that some saving was secured, no matter what, in anticipation of difficult times following the resource leadership management of Joseph in Egypt (no waste of resources—Gen. 40:33-49 ). I applied the above principles at the mission level, the conference level, and the division level, and they always worked very well to my great satisfaction because, I believe, the hand of the Lord of the vineyard Himself was in it.

That is how, when I took the leadership of the West-Central Africa Division (WAD) with approximately 40% self-support in 2008, we were able to grow, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and reach 115% in 2015 when I presented our report to the world Church at session in San Antonio, TX.

In addition, when I took the course LEAD 789 Higher Education Finance with Bordes Henry-Saturné, I was able to add some very important lessons (see paper below).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the management of the resources (fix, human, liquid, kind, etc.) can be a source of many blessings if well carried out with prudence. However, it can also become a big source of many issues and of real concern if not properly handled. It is therefore the responsibility of the leadership to watch and make sure the first thing to be in place is the rule (not the latter) because if the resources are not well distributed or seem not to be fairly shared, it can become a real source of concern, trouble, and real headache. This is one of the key sources of success or failure of many leaders: fairness that leaves everybody with a sense of satisfaction in the end when everything is dueling distributed/shared.

Reference

Bolman L. G. & Gallos, J. V. (2011). Reframing academic leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Osland, J. S. O. & Turner, M. E. 2011. The organizational behavior reader. (9^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Reflection Papers:

EDAL 667: Leadership in Higher Education (Academic Freedom)

EDAL 667: Leadership in Higher Education (Eliticism Vs. Massification)

EDAL 675: College Student Development Theory (Personal Reflection)

EDAL 675: College Student Development Theory ( Spiritual Development)

EDAL 675: College Student Development Theory (Cross cultural interview)

LEAD 789: Higher Education Finance