There is no question that university and college presidents serve as role models for the entire campus community. Their actions, decisions, and communication style set a precedent for how individuals within the institution interact with one another and the institutional culture. By demonstrating empathy, active listening, and a willingness to consider diverse perspectives, presidents can inspire others to embrace these values in their own interactions and embrace organizational compassion and humility.
University and college presidents are accomplished individuals serving as leaders within their academic disciplines or communities. Undoubtedly, when they assume the presidency, they have honed their communication skills, fostered successful collaborations, and gained an acute awareness of their leadership strengths and limitations. However, as Aristotle aptly reminds us: “We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Similarly, embracing organizational compassion and humility necessitates regular reminders of the practices that cultivate habits and how these habits shape both individuals and the organizations they lead.
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) offer valuable insights into the cultivation of organizational compassion and humility. As institutions that serve Latinx students and communities, HSIs often embody a culture that values empathy, cultural awareness, and meaningful community engagement. By examining the practices and experiences of HSIs, we can uncover valuable lessons that can be applied across various types of organizations. Over a three-year span, in collaboration with colleagues, I investigated leadership practices across diverse sectors during times of crisis. The following highlights recurring themes articulated by a subset of (4) HSI presidents in a southwestern state.
Intellectual Humility and Leadership
Presidents can create a forward-looking environment that fosters collaboration, empathy, and respect by centering compassion and humility in their leadership approach. How did we observe HSIs presidents doing this? Intellectual humility. Their willingness to be vulnerable and say, “I don’t know” or “I’m unsure” communicates a sense of fallibility and the recognition of the limitations of one’s own knowledge. More importantly, they expressed openness to revising their beliefs in light of new information and perspectives, and a willingness to consider alternative viewpoints with genuine curiosity and respect. Intellectual humility acknowledges that no individual possesses all the answers and that intellectual growth requires humility, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from others.
Intellectual humility can lead to the practice of empathy. Empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings and perspectives of others. In an organizational context, it means taking the time to listen to and consider the needs, concerns, and experiences of students, staff, and faculty. Presidents who demonstrate empathy create a supportive and compassionate workplace where individuals feel heard and valued. Whether through encouraging intentions at the outset of a president’s cabinet meeting or reflecting on gratitude at its conclusion, the HSI presidents consistently used formal settings to actively listen, allow others to express emotions, and bridge the gap between the administrative duties of campus management and the individuals who contribute to its functioning.
Listening to understand is fundamental to fostering a culture of compassion and humility. It involves treating others with dignity, fairness, and courtesy, regardless of their position or status. Presidents who prioritize genuine listening can cultivate an environment of empathy that can lead to a better understanding of experiences and perspectives, even when they disagree. In this way, the HSI presidents were committed to truth-seeking and integrity in their pursuit of leadership; they were willing to acknowledge when they were wrong, or when their beliefs were based on flawed reasoning or information. Authentic communication to articulate and reinforce organizational values and beliefs is equally fundamental to leading complex organizations.
Authentic Communication
As the highest-ranking officials in a university, presidents have the authority and influence to set the tone for the entire institution. And they do this by using their most important medium: communication. The HSI presidents agreed that authentic communication was central to improving internal and public trust. They understood that trust could improve by communicating with transparency, truthfulness, genuineness, and consistency. One of the HSI presidents identified authentic communication as a core competency, especially during crises: “where you saw the strongest institutions were those who understood what highly-effective communication looked like.” In examples where HSIs were clear, concise, and truthful, they aimed to internally and externally increase trust. Moreover, they would ask: Is this communication truthful, genuine, and consistent with the values of our organization?
Collaboration
Collaboration emphasizes working together toward shared objectives and leveraging the strengths of individuals and organizations. In a compassionate and humble organization, collaboration is encouraged. Leaders who promote collaboration create opportunities for synergy, creativity, and collective problem-solving.
The HSI presidents embraced their HSI status, thereby adopting the principles of serving predominantly Latinx students, many of whom are first-generation and come from low-income backgrounds. They recognized the significance of collaboration even before the pandemic, particularly in relation to the contributions of their graduates to the state’s workforce and economic development agendas. However, the pandemic ushered in a new era of collaboration, reshaping the paradigm in which they operated.
Interviewees, including the HSI presidents, described how they leaned into their vulnerabilities to genuinely connect with people and new organizations. They expressed how the pandemic made them see their interconnectedness and mutual vulnerability. It drew attention to their mortality and made them evaluate their actions in new ways. This newfound reality spurred collaborations across sectors and individuals who had not traditionally collaborated. For instance, HSIs transformed into social service hubs, engaging in activities such as vaccine testing and distribution and the provision of food , transcending their usual public roles to address the crisis at hand. Some noted that the crisis facilitated partnerships with organizations previously resistant to collaboration. However, there was also apprehension that once the pandemic officially ended, people might revert to siloed modes of collaboration.
By analyzing their leadership styles, communication methods, and collaborative efforts, I aimed to highlight how HSI presidents cultivated organizational compassion and humility. By embracing these principles, higher education can not only uphold its core values of fostering spaces for reflection, learning, and service but also serve as a guiding light for society amidst profound social, economic, and political transformations and discord - challenges that pose risks to our democratic ideals. Finally, as of the drafting of this piece, colleges and universities nationwide were contending with student and external activism. Any individual in a leadership position should anticipate encountering a crisis during their tenure. While embracing organizational compassion and humility cannot ensure the absence of crises or criticism, it does provide a framework for how individuals and organizations can progress and evolve in the face of such challenges.
About the author
Magdalena Martinez is an associate professor at Rowan University in New Jersey. Prior to her academic position, she served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the state of Nevada, where she worked closely with college and university presidents on policy, equity, and access issues.
