News and Record publishes new column by David Noer

David Noer

DavidNoer, the Frank S.Holt Jr. Professor of Business Leadership at Elon, had a columnpublished Sept. 7, 2008, in the (Greensboro, N.C.) News &Record. The column, “The Mo Green Question,” examines the selection of new Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green, and what sort of expectations the Board of Education may have for him.

From the column:

“The lesson for the boards and commissions that appoint our publicservants is to understand the difference between leadership andmanagement and select accordingly. If they want a leader, they need toget out of the way, expect the status quo to be challenged and bepatient with the ‘messiness’ of change. If they seek consistency,efficient administration and a high tolerance for their ownmicro-management, they will only promote mutual frustration if theyselect a person with a strong leadership orientation. Too often theyare not really clear on what they want and engage in a form of bait andswitch, asking for a leader but not really willing to tolerate trueleadership behavior.”

To read the full article, click on the link to the right of this page.