"My current Dean comes to mind. He encourages his entire team to be innovative and open-minded. We are given a lot of room to explore to come up with new ways of solving academic problems and other problems in the classrooms on our campus. He will conduct brainstorming events with staff to help drive the philosophy that we should be initiators instead of executors. While I make it sound like he's a creative person, he is data-driven and analytical. This resonates with me. I've adopted the same philosophy with the educators on my team. I always encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and learn what they can from outside forces. I like to foster an environment in which everyone feels like a leader and that they have a stake in the outcome."
