168 Strategic Leadership
in a larger process of leadership and responsibility. As the work of strategy
moves from description to action, it implicates motivation, which is achieved
through interactive leadership.
Strategic Assets
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses performed in a leadership context
also sets the tone for the assessment of the fixed characteristics and given assets
of an institution that may seem impermeable to change. An uncertain mission,
poor location, and lack of resources typically represent serious weaknesses for the
members of a campus community. If strategic self-analysis makes the weaknesses
seem insurmountable, or if assets and characteristics are only portrayed negatively,
then the results are likely to be counterproductive and dispiriting. As a facet of
leadership, the aim of the analysis should be to create a sense of urgency and pos-
sibility by mapping assets rather than just listing weaknesses. To do so the first
step is to create a clear sense of the positive assets that the organization possesses,
including the talent and commitment of its people and the possibilities that flow
from its identity, mission, and circumstances.
Suzanne Morse (2004) describes this orientation to strategic thinking in Smart
Communities, her study of successful community development programs in a
variety of cities. Typically the process of seeking improvements in hard-pressed
cities has started with making a list of the deficiencies and problems obvious to
any observer, from empty storefronts to high crime rates. Although the analysis
of the negatives cannot be ignored, it is not the place to begin or to focus the
inquiry. To dwell on the negative is to create an attitude of dependence and
defeatism. If the process begins with a mapping of assets—with an analysis of the
relationships, organizations, people, programs, and resources that are available
to foster improvement—a sense of possibility and empowerment can take hold.
“The fundamental payoff of this approach comes when people see that they and
their neighbors are capable of taking charge of their lives and the future of their
community” (Morse 2004, 90).
Although the particulars are different, there are parallels between strategic
thinking in colleges and universities and communities. If institutions of higher
learning become preoccupied with what they are not, they often enter a down-
ward spiral of self-doubt and self-judgment that drains off energy and initiative.
They tend to compare themselves with an unarticulated model of prestige that
displays their deficiencies and blocks an appreciation of what they are and might
be. If, however, the process of self-analysis is oriented by strategic leadership, it
uses the logic of self-affirmation and possibility. It begins by defining its assets
and distinctive characteristics, and by seeking the potential that may be hidden
in its identity and aspirations. The success stories of the “new American colleges”
charted by Berberet (2007) and described in the preceding chapter provide evi-
dence for this claim.