Participate in the leadership of your organization

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Fall 2000 by Fincham, Jack E

As I write this last of my columns as Chair of the Council of Deans, I feel most fortunate to have been elected to the position of Chair. It is indeed a privilege to have served in this capacity. Furthermore, it is humbling when considering the marvelous leaders who have served this Association so capably over the years in the Council of Faculties, Council of Deans, and as elected officers. I am certain that if I had this opportunity again, I would jump at the chance to serve. You know what, you should too!

The true strength of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) lies in many attributes. In my mind, the most significant of these are the volunteers who serve in any number of volunteer, appointed, or elected positions. We as an association are no stronger than the volunteers who work on our behalf. We do not always agree with what our leaders think, voice praise for their actions, or aid in their efforts. However, we should emulate their behaviors when they agreed to run, said yes to a plea for assistance, and followed through on appointed tasks. Many in our midst say AACP is a deans' club, others say it is too democratic because of extensive faculty involvement; frustratingly many others do not join at all for various reasons. We as a group are only enabled to the fullest extent by the hundreds among us who join AACP and help when asked.

Many of us have sought office and faced defeat in the elections, others among us have not been asked to help, or volunteered to aid in varying capacities. Others have volunteered in the past and have not been selected for committees. We must muster the leadership again and again that is necessary to propel our association forward. We can do this by offering to serve again, even if slighted in the past. If we were defeated in an election, keep trying either as a volunteer or advocate. O'Toole notes that for leadership to be effective it must be exercised over and over again, once is not enough (1). Each of us has so much to contribute, it is difficult to do so along with so many other competing demands, but we have to continue to try to find our niche within AACP. It should probably be easier to find our place, but it is not. The dangers of not trying at all far outweigh the personal trauma of possibly trying and failing.

The bottom line is that our organization, whether you feel it is perfect or imperfect, will suffer from apathy and a sense that it is not your job to participate. We cannot let someone else volunteer, run for office, or serve in other capacities because we are too busy with other, more important tasks. We collectively are facing some unbelievable challenges, and I am certain that we have not seen the end of threats, opportunities, and dilemmas. We must strive to continue to move the agenda of AACP forward; it is after all our agenda. Christiansen (2) has noted: "Good managers are driven to keep their organizations growing for many reasons." We must be good stewards and managers and continue to push for the positive growth of the association. Because of leadership changes, AACP will undergo a dramatic shift in the near future, thus we all need to ensure that we will be a positive force in the changes coming.

The mission of AACP is too important to leave the work, the challenges, and the planning necessary for the future to someone else. The AACP professional staff, no matter how efficient or productive or full of foresight, cannot carry the load of the association without your help. Volunteerism you see is the key to our collective future. Apathy and avoidance are the tools of our collective failure as an academy. AACP is not just for faculty, nor is it just for deans, but it is our best bet to allow future academicians to have the same opportunities that you and I have had to be productive faculty members, teachers, researchers, scholars, and contributors to the academy. When asked to help our Association and our colleagues (and thereby our future), please do not hesitate in saying yes to running for office, serving on a committee, or participating in other AACP activities. Encourage your colleagues to join the association. Simply stated, AACP needs all of us to be members, contributors, and players. We all have other things to do, but none of us has anything better to do.

References

(1) O'Toole, J., Leadership A to Z, A Guide for the Appropriately Ambitious, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco CA (1999) p. 321.

(2) Christiansen, C.M., The Innovator @ Dilemma, Harvard Business School Press, Boston MA (1997, 2000) p. 144.

Jack E. Fincham

School of Pharmacy, The University of Kansas, 2056 Malou Hall, Lawrence KS 66045