The MA in Leadership from Wartburg College has accelerated my learning and understanding of effective resource management and leadership. Still, I must admit: This valuable graduate program is more responsible for turbocharging a personal practice already in motion. For an explanation, allow me to adapt the title of a bestselling book and say that all I really needed to know about effective resource management in relation to leadership I learned in living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for 25 years. This in no way undermines my formal academic education; however, it provides the foundation for my deep appreciation for why and how leaders need to be exceptional stewards of all their resources—everything from materials to financial and human resources.
Throughout this program, I have openly shared my perspectives and experiences living with MS, a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. I was diagnosed at 27 and live with the relapsing-remitting form of this unpredictable illness. My wife, Jennifer, also has MS and lives with its secondary-progressive form. We met at an MS event in 2005, and we will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this September. I could go on and on about our love story and how incredible I think Jennifer is, but the point of all this is to set the stage to briefly address what MS has taught me about resource management.
Of the myriad symptoms associated with MS, the ones that affect me the most are numbness in my limbs and excessive fatigue. I have to be strategic in everything I do, meaning I have to be cognizant of my current energy levels while also looking ahead to what else I need to accomplish the rest of the day. If I push myself too far, I struggle with walking and need to stop and give my body some time to recharge. Most times, I return to 100 percent, but there are occasions when I’m essentially shut down for the rest of the day.
The challenge is that I need to make sure I have as much energy as possible because I am Jennifer’s primary caregiver, and I am the one who’s responsible for helping her stand and make transfers in and out of her power wheelchair because she no longer is able to walk. This provides the most high-level look into my daily life with MS and why effectively managing limited energy, physical, and emotional resources is so pre-elementary, or dare I say Kindergarten, to me.
Given my experiences over the past two and a half decades, it makes perfect sense that I would adopt the same direction and philosophy regarding effective resource management as a leader, especially when it comes to developing and implementing my Adaptive Change Project. My project—“Improving Campaign Production Processes at Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL)”—is intended to improve the overall production time and cost efficiencies among the Creative Team, Client Success Consultants (CSCs), and Campus Partners at RNL.
I serve as the Copywriting Lead on the Creative Team at this major nationwide higher education marketing company where I have worked for the past seven years. RNL is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but it is set up entirely remote and has nearly 400 employees who live in cities across the United States. Because of this, the bulk of resource management I need to focus on with my project is human resources. Nothing additional will be needed to manage any facilities, materials/software, or funding to make my project a reality.
To achieve this, it is essential for me to utilize my leadership skills to guide and communicate with members of my immediate Creative Team, which includes other writers and graphic designers, as well as CSCs and Campus Partners. Everything starts with me developing a well-thought-out vision and plan that specifies every step of the process to realize the ultimate goal of improving production efficiencies. This isn’t to say that it has to be perfect when I introduce, describe, and start to implement this plan. If anything, I will need to clearly communicate that everything is open for discussion; however, I will engage in many of these discussions as I develop the final vision and plan.
This concise and clearly communicated project will require a lot from me as a leader, but I will also rely on others to ensure I am not carrying the full load of responsibilities. Having something firmed up and in place before unveiling and implementing it will help to effectively manage the human resources for my adaptive change project. As my experience with MS has taught me, I need to ensure that what I am presenting will not confuse, overburden, or burn out any team members responsible for implementing my plan.
In addition, my professional experiences have shown me the downsides of being part of processes and projects that leadership did not fully think through or commit to their directives before implementing them. Lack of planning and commitment to a vision that wasn’t communicated led to members of the team having to redo tasks multiple times because leadership was essentially moving the goalposts with every step we took. This collectively led to confusion, frustration, and burnout among all team members involved. Hence, this wishy-washy method did not exemplify effective human resource management of leadership.
As I have noted before, I believe that communication is the foundation of effective leadership. It should come as no surprise that communication will be central to how I implement my Adaptive Change Project. One strategy I will utilize in my communications is the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) introduced by Dainton and Zelley. They stated, “… central route, also referred to as the elaborative route. Centrally routed messages include a wealth of information, rational arguments, and evidence to support a particular conclusion” (2019, p. 122). I also realize that adjustments will be needed as the process is implemented. This means maintaining continued and clear communication to set expectations, keep people informed, and provide ample opportunities for their input and feedback. Such clear communication will help ensure I am effectively managing my resources as a leader.
Resources Dainton, M., & Zelley, E. D. (2019). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction. SAGE Publications Ltd. (4th Ed.).