Last week I received a Christmas card from a man who used to be my boss. But he was more than my boss; in a way, he was one of my mentors. Many years ago, he gave me an important piece of advice that changed my life.
At the time, I was working as a full-time faculty member at another community college. After years of hard work and dedication, I had just been promoted to full professor. I was tenured, my salary had gone up with the promotion, and I loved my job. Life was good.
My boss was the Vice President of the college. He walked into my office one day and explained that there was a reorganization going on and that the college needed a new dean -- one with some institutional history. He asked me if I was interested in the job. I surely was, but I also had lots of reasons to think about the offer before I said yes.
The dean's job was a 12-month job with a fixed salary, and the professor's job was a 10-month job that allowed me to earn additional compensation by teaching summers and evenings. I did the math, and I realized that I would actually have to take a slight pay cut, work harder and probably give up a lot of my free time if I said yes. Being an open and direct guy, I pointed this out to my boss. It was then that he gave me this life-changing piece of advice.
Based on his many years in higher education administration, my boss said, "Don't do this job for the money; your hourly rate of pay will surely disappoint you. Don't do it for thanks and praise; there will be as many people who hate you as love you, and sometimes there will be more." He went on to say, "Do this job if, at the end of a long hard day, you can get into your car, all by yourself, drive home, and take satisfaction knowing that you did something good, made somebody's life better, or helped to advance the mission of the college. If you find that type of satisfaction rewarding, this is the job for you."
By now, you probably have guessed the end of the story. I took the pay cut, and became the Dean of Business and Technology. I worked harder and longer, I had shorter vacations, but I drove home on many evenings with the satisfaction of knowing that I made a difference on a fairly big scale. Eventually, I became a vice president and a president. My satisfaction with my career in higher education administration has lasted for many years.
It was great to hear from my old boss, my mentor, and it was great to be reminded why I became a dean. I sometimes wonder if he ever thinks back on the private conversation that he had with me that day, and if he has that quiet feeling of satisfaction when he sits down to write his Christmas cards. I bet he does.
That's what I think. Please let me know what you think by sending me an e-mail at presidentsblog@clinton.edu.
Posts
