George Ferguson

Comment on Davina Jones's post: 

Really good point. The goal itself often dictates the best modality — deep conversation builds understanding in ways that a chart simply cannot, no matter how visual someone considers themselves. I think the real sweet spot is when leaders hold both in tension: know the learner's preferences AND know what the task actually requires. Defaulting to preference alone can actually limit growth, while ignoring preference can create unnecessary friction. Thanks for the thoughtful push back — this is the kind of nuance that makes leadership conversations better.

With Benevolence, Shannon

This module was a practical reminder that the way I communicate and teach has to meet people where they learn best — not just where I prefer to teach. Learning that 40% of people are kinesthetic, 35% are visual, and 25% are auditory was eye-opening. It means that traditional lecture-heavy teaching actually misses the majority of learners, and even well-designed slide decks only reach about a third of the room. Going forward, I want to be more intentional about blending all three styles into how I lead meetings, train faculty, and support students at the Early College Center — showing,… >>>

Comment on Monica Gonzalez's post: 

Well said. Empathy really does start with the willingness to step outside our own frame of reference and truly see someone else's. In education, especially, that openness changes everything — it turns routine interactions into moments of real connection. Thanks for sharing this perspective.

With Benevolence, Shannon

Comment on Fernando Martinez's post: 

Absolutely — self-awareness is the foundation that makes everything else in leadership work. You cannot read your team accurately if you cannot first read yourself. When a leader knows their own triggers, patterns, and blind spots, they stop projecting their reactions onto the team and start actually seeing the people in front of them. That is when real understanding begins. I've found that the leaders I respect most are the ones who pause before reacting and ask, "Is this about them, or is this about me?" That single question has saved me from more… >>>

This module reframed emotional intelligence from a soft skill to a core leadership discipline for me. Goleman's argument that mental intelligence, determination, and toughness are necessary but not sufficient for leadership hit home — I have seen plenty of talented people unravel under pressure because they could not manage their own emotions or read the emotions of others. His five components — self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills — give me a clear map for diagnosing my own growth edges. The empathy section especially resonated. Listening with my eyes, my ears, and my heart is a posture I want… >>>

This module challenged me to move from thinking about leadership in the abstract to actually claiming a legacy I want to leave behind. What struck me most was the reminder that I will leave a legacy either way — the only real question is whether I shape it intentionally or let it form by default. That reframed the work for me. Every interaction I have with students, faculty, and staff at the Amherst Early College Center is already writing the story of how I will be remembered as a leader. The three-step process of reflecting on my career, finding the… >>>

This module challenged me to move from thinking about leadership in the abstract to actually claiming a legacy I want to leave behind. What struck me most was the reminder that I will leave a legacy either way — the only real question is whether I shape it intentionally or let it form by default. That reframed the work for me. Every interaction I have with students, faculty, and staff at the Amherst Early College Center is already writing the story of how I will be remembered as a leader. The three-step process of reflecting on my career, finding the… >>>

This module brought the leadership series full circle for me by placing it squarely inside the world I work in every day. Professor Bowen's research named what many of us in higher education already feel in our bones — that completion, not access, is the defining challenge of our industry. Students are getting through the door, but too many never make it to the finish line, and the ones most at risk are those from modest and middle-income circumstances.

The research on financial aid was especially powerful. Low-income students are deeply price-sensitive to completion — not just enrollment — while… >>>

This final section of the course pulled everything together in a way that turned theory into something I can actually use. The interactional framework — leader, followers, situation — gave me a structured way to think about my own growth, and what struck me most is how interconnected each piece really is. When one element shifts, the others feel it. The SWOT exercise for personal leadership development was particularly valuable because turning that lens inward revealed both strengths I've underestimated and blind spots I need to take seriously. The research reinforces why this matters: 61% of leaders experience smoother transitions… >>>

This module reshaped how I think about leadership in the most practical way possible. Before this course, I mostly thought about leadership as something I did — a set of behaviors, decisions, and communications I was responsible for delivering. What the interactional framework showed me is that leadership is actually something that happens between people, in a context — and no single piece of that equation operates in isolation.

The three components — leader, followers, and situation — each carry real weight, but the magic is in the overlap. That's where leadership actually lives. A great leader with disengaged followers… >>>