Randy Pausch Leadership Capacities

The leadership behavior which best describes Randy Pausch is that of promoter. The characteristics of being warm, friendly, flexible, persuasive, imaginative, creative, and enthusiastic were clearly evident in his lecture, book, and his life. A secondary behavior which describes his leadership style would be that of supporter. His demeanor seemed to be strong-willed and he was competitive and eagerly ambitious in reaching some of his dreams.

Randy Pausch had all of the capacities of leadership needed to be an effective leader. He had the moral purpose of being a positive role model to his students and after his lecture to the many people who read his book and watched the video of his presentation. He spoke of using a head fake in learning. This is when an individual teaches others something, but they don’t realize they are learning until well into the process (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008).

Change was another leadership capacity Randy exhibited. He wanted to share his life journey and how he reached some of his childhood dreams through his lecture. He also gave insight in how he developed both his personal and professional relationships. He discussed the initial obstacles he had in dating his future wife which he called “romancing the brick wall” (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008).

Dr. Pausch was displaying coherence making as he presented his lecture and in discussing his life. He identified his childhood dreams and what actions he took to achieve many of them. The educator in him was very aware of the importance of knowledge building and sharing. One of the objectives of his lecture was to show others how to achieve their childhood dreams. He has left this lasting life lesson for his children as well as anyone who wants to attain their dreams.

References

Pausch, R., & Zaslow, J. (2008). The Last Lecture. New York: Hyperion.

Randy Pausch: Qualities of Leadership

The qualities of leadership of Randy Pausch were clearly displayed in his presentation. Fullan (2001) identified leaders having the characteristics of hope, enthusiasm, and energy. In watching the YouTube video of his talk, Randy’s enthusiasm and energy were clearly evident. His words and actions also displayed the hope he had for beating his cancer.

The turning points in his life were described in his book. He noted his marriage and the subsequent births of his three children as examples. One of his dreams was to work as a Disney Imagineer. He applied for a position after completing his doctorate and was turned down. He discussed how brick walls were there, not to keep individuals out, but to show how badly a person wanted to achieve something (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008). Randy’s perseverance and drive eventually paid off and he worked as an Imagineer while taking a sabbatical from the university he was working at.

Obstacles were not something which prevented him from obtaining a goal or a dream. He learned to work around them or to overcome them. While not always successful, he used that experience for learning and to go at the hurdle from a different direction.

Dr. Pausch’s ideal leader was Captain James T. Kirk from the television show Star Trek. Randy described him as having the spirit of a dynamic leader who knew how to inspire others and how to delegate. In using him as a role model, he felt he became a better educator and person (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008). Catalano (2006) identified a number of leadership traits which included self-motivation, initiative, self-confidence, creativity, persistence, stress tolerance, risk taking, and ability to accept criticism. These qualities were applied to nursing leaders but are important for leaders in many fields. Randy Pausch saw all of these in Captain Kirk. I identified these traits in him.

References

Catalano, J. T. (2006). Nursing Now: Today’s Issues, Tomorrow’s Trends (4^th ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.

Fullan, M. (2001). Leadership and Sustainability. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from Center for Development and Learning Web Site: http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/ldr_sustainability.php

Pausch, R., & Zaslow, J. (2008). The Last Lecture. New York: Hyperion.

Overview of Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was an educator at Carnegie Mellon University and taught in the computer science department. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in July, 2008 at the age of 47. He was also the co-founder of the university’s Entertainment Technology Center (Young, 2007).

Dr. Pausch gave a last lecture presentation in September 2007 and it became an Internet sensation when the video of the address was posted on YouTube (Gibbs, 2008). The last lecture is a common exercise on college campuses. The university’s tradition was for a popular professor to present a lecture about things that mattered most to them, as though they had only this one opportunity left to present it to their students (Pausch & Zaslow, 2009). Randy’s easy going manner, high energy and simple instructions for life were presented with a complete lack of self-pity about his terminal illness (Gibbs, 2008). The lecture was also put into a book of the same name.

I choose him as an educational leader because of his easy to understand address on how to achieve one’s dreams. Randy titled the lecture “Really achieving your childhood dreams”. The points he discussed are applicable to many of life’s challenges.

References

Gibbs, N. (2008, July 25). Randy Pausch - Life Teacher. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1826574,00

Pausch, R., & Zaslow, J. (2008). The Last Lecture. New York: Hyperion.

Young, J. R. (2007). After His Last Lecture, a Computer Scientist Contemplates His Final Months. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(7), A11. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com