Outlook: Where Leadership Meets Fundraising
Defining the qualities that make some presidents succeed at both
Strong presidents who are also successful fundraisers tend to have the following five qualities: vision, the ability to use their own story in relation to the school, listening skills, institutional ego, and a propensity to take risks.
By William D. Nicholson II
There is no single definition of leadership. There are different styles, settings, and contexts. Strong presidents of educational institutions require courage, a willingness to take risks, an ability to dream about alternatives while weighing their consequences, and the capacity to engage colleagues toward common goals.
In light of the constantly growing demands on academic leadership, I conducted a study in 2006 for my dissertation at the University of South Carolina on leadership and fundraising based on extensive interviews with John Casteen, president of the University of Virginia; Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Gordon Gee, chancellor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee during the study (now president of Ohio State University); and Rita Bornstein, president emeritus of Rollins College in Florida.
In a previous study conducted by Bornstein, presidents were asked whether they were transformational (bold, visionary, inspirational) or transactional (collegial, interactive, collaborative). Fifty percent of the survey respondents considered themselves transformational, but of these, 71 percent said most presidents are transactional. In fact, only 28 percent of the respondents saw themselves as transactional. Interestingly enough, even though the question was not asked, 23 percent considered themselves both transformational and transactional.
Based on these findings, Bornstein proposes the term transformative leadership as a more salutary concept that suggests the full continuum of behaviors available to all presidents and used by all four of the presidents interviewed. The following findings provide an inside look at how each of these presidents exercises his or her leadership behaviors and characteristics in the context of fundraising. Here are five characteristics that emerged during the study and were shared among these successful fundraising presidents.
Vision
Bornstein emphasizes the need to understand the history and culture of an institution and develop a vision based on its past traditions. A president should be cautious about bringing a preconceived vision to an institution without regard for the past, she says. During the interviews, Rollins's Vice President Anne Kerr and major donor David Odahowski provided examples that show how Bornstein did this for Rollins College and connected her fundraising success to this leadership pattern.
Similarly, Casteen suggests that the University of Virginia's rich history is an important factor that drives his vision of U.Va.'s future. Observers have noted Casteen's deep understanding of Thomas Jefferson's founding vision of U.Va. In this way, Bornstein and Casteen develop an inspiring vision that looks back as much as it looks forward.
Story
The use of story emerged as one of the distinguishing factors in a president's ability to be a highly successful fundraiser. The leader's story inspires individuals to find the nexus of meaning between the institution's mission and their personal interests. It is at this nexus that the donor's response is at its highest potential.
According to Rollins donor David Odahowski, "Rita [Bornstein] connects these wonderful threads, weaves them into a fabric, and then creates a garment for people to wear."
In a different way, Freeman Hrabowski embodies the story. An African-American educational leader, Hrabowski heads an urban university hailed for both its diversity and its academic rigor. Hrabowski's story taps persuasively into the experience, values, and aspirations of donors.
Gordon Gee frames the use of story in the following way: "It's the role of the president to tell the institution's story, and, by doing so, not make it an institution, but to make it a living, breathing, soulful being."
Listening
On the flip side of the storytelling skill is the necessity of listening. Gee refers to donors as partners. Bornstein says that it is the role of the university president "to know what a donor is interested in, what they remember, what they hope for, and what their children are doing. To understand an individual donor in this capacity ... a president must listen." Casteen identifies a "continuous feedback and linking" as an "extended conversation."
This extended conversation was how he discussed the single largest gift in the University of Virginia's last fundraising campaign.
"If the donor were alive today, he would say his legacy came out of this conversation," Casteen said at the time, "an extended conversation with a lot of listening and shared ideas and concepts."
Gee started his tenure as president at Vanderbilt University with a "listening tour." He underlines the importance of listening for ensuring that an institution's history and culture are aligned with strategic goals. If they are not aligned with strategic goals, history and traditions can act as impediments.
Institutional Ego
Casteen uses the term institutional ego to identify those leaders who are interested in truly understanding the needs of the donor and institution and are less driven by a personal agenda. Bornstein concurs: "Some leaders don't listen because of their arrogance, self-importance, or a lack of appreciation of other people. ... People give from their soul, their heart, or their brain, and you have to know if it‘s going to be something spiritual that moves them, something personal that touches their heart, or something intellectual that stimulates their mind, and only then can you truly connect with them."
Risk Taking
Bornstein was recognized as a risk taker, and her colleagues suggest that she works better with individuals who have some capacity for taking risk. Casteen was characterized as a leader who was not operating at his full potential unless he was taking risks. Bob Sweeney, Casteen's vice president, went so far as to portray Casteen as a leader who doesn't like calm water. If it is going too smoothly, he starts rattling the cage. He is at his best when there is a level of creative tension, Sweeney says.
During his interview, Casteen said, "If I have been successful at fundraising, it is my willingness to take the risk of asserting a larger purpose and stake our survival on getting it done."
Vanderbilt University major donor John Ingram says that Gee demonstrated risk taking at its highest level when he reorganized Vanderbilt's intercollegiate sports and recreational activities for students into a single department.
Hrabowski's risk-taking nature was discussed in relation to his ability to take the University of Maryland, Baltimore County from the brink of being closed by the state legislature to being one of the best producers of scientists and engineers in the United States.
Preparing for the Presidency
These ideas can be used to train aspiring and current college and university presidents about those behaviors and characteristics that result in successful fundraising. According to Bornstein, a systematic program of continuing education, training, and mentorships should be developed to assist sitting presidents and potential candidates in order to define the type and range of skills that presidents need to be successful fundraisers.
Speaking Dates include:
CASE District III Conference, Tampa, Florida February 2010
Vanderbilt Leadership Institute, Nashville, Tenessee
June 2010
