“The price of doing the same old thing is higher than the price of change” – Bill Clinton
Leadership in the conference room or classroom can be difficult especially considering some of the previous topics discussed in this series. Selfish ambition and abuse of power are two great evils in academia, but they pale in comparison to what I consider the most atrocious which is complacency.
Complacency
[ kuhm-pley-suhn-see ]
a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.
I attribute my disdain for it to the fact that it tends to encourage so many other negative attributes such as selfishness, laziness, cynicism and hypocrisy. Those who succumb to it almost always have a reason or excuse and feel wholly justified for it. This can make it far more difficult to manage or lead because the students or faculty suffering from it can be genuinely good individuals. The usual reasons for complacency lie in comfortability and safety.
Discomfort and danger are surely things to be concerned with, but they are not things that should necessarily be avoided. As the old adage goes “great gains do not come without great risks,” meaning in order to attain anything of value some danger must be present. We also know that we grow the most through discomfort and to add yet another adage “if you’re not growing, you’re dying.” However, there are some who do not wish to gain or wish to grow, having attained what they feel is adequate and/or having grown to a level they find suitable. Here in lies the crux to many of those negative attributes.
Education and academia is a service industry (Professors are classified as public servants). Because educators are public servants that means that the notion of attaining adequacy or growing to a suitable level cannot be applied because our service to others is a moving target. Due to the everchanging student (see pedagogy for generational traits) an educator must constantly grow and attain new goals in order to best provide for that student. In the arts this might mean new equipment, new spaces, new techniques, new curriculum, etc. Thus, here in lies selfishness.
Hypocrisy, cynicism, and laziness in regard to complacency are typically displayed by those who want more and/or complain about issues but are unwilling to actually make an effort. Again, this can be due to a need for comfortability and safety, but often times have deeper causes such as misplaced priorities, poor experiences, disenfranchisement, or entitlement. Because of this, leadership through complacency is an uphill battle through the verbal bombardments of “idealistic” and “naïve” (which by the way are my favorite insults to receive).
Often times complacency is attributed to the older or more experienced but, it is important to note that complacency has many causes and thus can be found in any age group. In my experience it can usually be found in the classroom among some of my better students, especially those that suffer from hubris or an exaggerated sense of self-confidence. In these instances it typically manifests the same negative attributes mentioned above: hypocrisy, cynicism, and laziness. Like in the conference room environment the leadership through complacency in the classroom can be very difficult. Fortunately in the classroom you have the ability to grade and thus are able to use consequences as a possible motivator.
At the heart of it the dangers of complacency can be best surmised by the quote from Edmond Burke:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”
And though it is rare for something in the conference room or classroom to equate to what society calls “evil” the gist should be evident.
