Beyond the Western Wall
By Dr. Henry N. Tisdale
(cost includes shipping and handling)
The Synopsis
In Beyond the Western Wall, Tisdale provides a detailed guide as to how to apply the transformational visioning process as a key institutional change strategy. Hence, it is a true guide to understanding visionary leadership, and how to bring about transformational change. Chapter by chapter, he digs deeply into the launching of a presidency, academic excellence by design, Student Success, Innovations, Fundraising, and Succession Planning. Throughout the book, the author emphasizes the importance of knowing how to launch an effective and sustainable presidency, how to deploy transformational vision as a key change strategy, how to lead effective dynamic strategic planning, team building, and teamwork, and he also accentuates the importance of the partnership between the president and the board of trustees. It begins by knowing how to engage in a substantive discussion about roles and responsibilities and
BEYOND THE WESTERN WALL
Audacious Transformation of a Small Liberal Arts College
_edited.jpg)
continuously having the board revisit their partnership with the president and their roles as institutional leaders, fundraisers, fiduciaries, and strategic planners. In fact, he shows throughout the book how the president can work effectively to establish and sustain a valuable partnership with the board always being clear on roles and responsibilities. By including examples and speeches throughout the work, he demonstrates the vital role of presidents leading from the front in communicating, visioning, strategic planning, and setting the tone for campus civility.
He also goes to great lengths to discuss the president’s role in team building which begins with assessing the current strengths and always keeping the team informed as to the status of the team building progress while showing appreciation for what has been done. Also, in the book he emphasizes his experience as a tenured faculty and a faculty champion as it relates to expectations, recognition, and rewards. His attention to and focus on student success is extraordinary and results in phenomenal success in retention and graduation rates.
Ultimately, Beyond the Western Wall is as much a case study of the author’s work as it is a how-to-do-it manual for transformational change. It takes the reader from the launching of a presidency to succession planning for his predecessor. Throughout the book, the author has developed a powerful guide for higher education leaders and others who want to use transformational visioning to reposition an organization for sustained success.
Purchase Your Copy
An Excerpt from
"Beyond the Western Wall"
" At this point and time in Claflin’s history, I was convinced that the university needed a well-qualified leader who understood transformational leadership. A transformational leader must first understand and help others to understand what transformation is and what transformation is not. Transformation is a special type of change. Some types of changes such as incremental change can be easily reversed. Some changes just make things a little better or more efficient by fixing the past. In contrast, transformational change creates the future and a vision of something new and is organization wide. It is about bringing about major changes that permeate the entire organization and are enduring. Being transformative means designing the future and inventing ways to bring it about. It means envisioning the future and making specific and bold promises with full integrity about how things will be. Consider this simple example of transformation. A butterfly is a transformation, not just a better caterpillar. A butterfly is not just a caterpillar with wings, it is an entirely different kind of creature. For an institution to become the butterfly means putting the old circumstances behind and strategically focusing resources on creating new priorities with timelines. This can be risky and scary. One must be a risk taker. It means having the courage to leave the comfort and security of the old cocoon and accepting the challenges and uncertainties based on some level of comfort. Being transformational means being always all in. It is natural to leave the path open for a return to the old ways if the new ones do not work. But if you leave the path open, you are likely to retrace it. At the first sign of adversity, you will give up the adventure and return to the cocoon—the life you are trying to put behind. When Alice and I came to Claflin we were all in. There was no looking back. Many have heard us tell the story of being all-in even before knowing that I would be selected. We put our house on the market, moved out into a townhouse and began making plans to transition to South Carolina. With God leading and guiding us, there was no looking back or turning back. My vision for Claflin, shared during the interview process, was not just about incremental change but audacious transformational change. "
​
From Chapter 3: "The Launching of a Presidency"
55
Purchase Your Copy