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Investing in new leaders reflects well on a company

Columnists

I spend time with organizations that are investing in people. At each session, I ask, “How many have been in a supervisory role (manager, leader) for less than four years?” The percentage of hands that go up ranges from 30 to 60 percent.  Next, I ask the group to reflect on their personal journey to a supervisory role. Did they get a degree in how to lead people before they were put in a leadership role? Did the company send them to a preparation program? The overwhelming response is no.  I then ask people what role they had prior to their manager role. Let’s say someone ...

Caring and making choices

Columnists

Too often, I have been described as someone who does not care about students, as if my only concern is dollars and cents. I understand why people might think this way. My short tenure as superintendent in Randolph County has been defined almost entirely by a financial crisis that I did not create but that I must confront. When the story of a district becomes one of spreadsheets and deficits, it is easy to assume the leader is cold and unfeeling. But I would challenge anyone to consider what genuine caring looks like. Caring is not telling people what they want to hear. Caring does not ...

Opportunity

Editorials

As the U.S. Senate considers codifying the reestablishment of the National Coal Council, lawmakers have an opportunity. U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli’s bill drew support from enough Democrats in the House of Representatives that it is now moving to the Senate, which will consider whether it is necessary to back up the executive order that, among other things, called for reinstating the group that provides guidance on the future of coal technologies and markets. And Rulli, R-Ohio, is right. It is important for those making decisions about our energy future to have information and guidance ...

Political pettinesss

Columnists

If Donald Trump is not careful, he will be politically drowned in a sea of pettiness. Given that he has suffered taunts and has been twice impeached by Democrats, his brusqueness can be understood. But he should be careful of the admonition that “whom the gods would destroy, they would first make angry.” In the last weeks, he has enticed the gods and the furies. First, he expressed his views on Jimmy Kimmel. His chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, announced the policy concerning what he perceived as anti-conservative bias by the networks. ABC allegedly ...

Free Speech

Editorials

Freedom of speech is on a lot of minds these days — even Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who spoke at the state Department of Higher Education’s Trustees Conference recently. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, DeWine felt it important to remind policymakers on college campuses that an environment in which people are comfortable speaking freely is essential. His remarks were inspired, of course, by the killing of Charlie Kirk and its aftermath, though he noted the notion of whether Kirk’s death could have been prevented was a security issue, not a speech issue. “I’m ...

Road to a Healthier West Virginia

Columnists

“Take the backroads, not the highway.” — Minnie Pearl On Sept. 4, we cut the ribbon on something I believe will change lives: a new, $37 million, state-of-the-art outpatient clinic in Elkins, West Virginia, a part of a broader, nearly $1 billion initiative that WVU Medicine is taking to expand healthcare access across our state. The WVU Medicine Elkins Corridor Medical Center represents more than bricks, mortar, and medical equipment. It’s a physical expression of our mission to change the trajectory of healthcare in West Virginia by bringing world-class care to places where ...