Take a glimpse of how a leader spends money, both professionally and personally, and you will learn a lot about their values. It’s easy to espouse the expected virtues, but how a leader spends money reflects their true priorities. What a leader purchases, invests in, and acquires displays what matters most to them and how they see themselves.
Yes, indeed. We spend our money on the things that we value, don't we?
I think we know far less about our colleagues and leaders than we did before covid, in this sense though. When we went to the office all of the time, we'd see more of someone's wardrobe, their cars, their lunch, their handbags etc etc. We miss some of that now, being that we're not always in close physical proximity.
Unless people volunteer or drop into conversation what they have and what they own, I guess we often don't know...
Interested how your office's typical 2-days in office rotation works with this, Dr. Thomas. Is there an organizational rotation set up so you aren't silo'd from the people who are a different standard 2 days than you are?
No. We generally have team days so teams are together for one day out of two but the other days are flexible. And when people can’t join meetings face to face we make them virtual or hybrid. People often move their days to accommodate meetings or life events. It’s not an issue because we connect via informal online chats or impromptu video calls.
True. Very true. I worked for a university president who would submit individual receipts for small items, such as gum that he purchased while traveling. Another one demanded a new car when he was hired because the one driven by his predecessor was not luxurious enough. A third would spend extra days at her destinations while traveling so that she did not have to take morning flights, which she hated.
In contrast, I worked for a president who refused to spent university money on renovations to the president’s house so that it would be available for other priorities.
Guess which one of these was a wonderful president.
Yes, indeed. We spend our money on the things that we value, don't we?
I think we know far less about our colleagues and leaders than we did before covid, in this sense though. When we went to the office all of the time, we'd see more of someone's wardrobe, their cars, their lunch, their handbags etc etc. We miss some of that now, being that we're not always in close physical proximity.
Unless people volunteer or drop into conversation what they have and what they own, I guess we often don't know...
Interested how your office's typical 2-days in office rotation works with this, Dr. Thomas. Is there an organizational rotation set up so you aren't silo'd from the people who are a different standard 2 days than you are?
No. We generally have team days so teams are together for one day out of two but the other days are flexible. And when people can’t join meetings face to face we make them virtual or hybrid. People often move their days to accommodate meetings or life events. It’s not an issue because we connect via informal online chats or impromptu video calls.
True. Very true. I worked for a university president who would submit individual receipts for small items, such as gum that he purchased while traveling. Another one demanded a new car when he was hired because the one driven by his predecessor was not luxurious enough. A third would spend extra days at her destinations while traveling so that she did not have to take morning flights, which she hated.
In contrast, I worked for a president who refused to spent university money on renovations to the president’s house so that it would be available for other priorities.
Guess which one of these was a wonderful president.
Would guess the judgements about each of them and their spending habits were all talked about frequently, eh?
Not so much. In the dysfunction they fostered, expectations were low, and these presidents consistently almost met them. Few were ever surprised.