Historian Who the Made

S S E L I P S H E R LE AD THE HISTORIAN WHO MADE History

BY MICHAEL DISTEFANO JOEL KURTZMAN HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT DREW GILPIN FAUST CORBIS S THE 28TH PRESIDENT OF HARVARD, Drew Gilpin Faust made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to lead this Ivy League university, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. A noted scholar, history professor and author of six books on the American Civil War and the South, Faust had come to Harvard six years earlier to be the first dean of its Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. At the time, ascending to the presidency of Harvard was the furthest thing from her mind. “No way!” she said. When she arrived, Lawrence Summers was president. Faust assumed he would hold that position for most of her career. When Summers resigned in 2006 (he later became one of President Obama’s economic advisers), Harvard installed an interim leader while searching for a permanent replacement. In February 2007, Faust was chosen. i’ve learned from history that so much of leadership is helping people deal with change —AND— understand how change happens. history is about the nature of change.

At the time of the interview, Faust was three years into her presidency and had become known as a catalyst of organizational change: breaking down barriers and silos between aca- demic disciplines and increasing collaboration among the schools at Harvard. These changes have been in response, at least in part, to the effect of the global financial crisis, which delivered a major blow to the Harvard Endowment, reducing it by 27 percent. In business, government or academics, times of crisis are what ultimately define one’s leadership. Although Faust is a scholar by trade, she clearly learned lessons of leadership from history and rose to the challenges. She pulled together a team of the great minds in business and finance at Harvard, to whom she gives much credit for contributing expertise and sup- port during the recession. Faust also decided to consider the deeper, more fundamental issues regarding how Harvard operates. “The crisis has given us some opportunities to confront the needed changes and ask the big questions that maybe wouldn’t have been on the agenda. Those questions range from how do we do things at Harvard, how are we organized and how do we operate the university to what is the role of higher education in the world at large.” Faust acknowledged the effect that outside forces and unforeseen events have had on her leadership. Responding to an unprecedented financial crisis was certainly not what anyone envisioned when Faust was selected as president of the university. Yet she drew inspiration and perspective from the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said, “Events have made me.” Although some scholars interpret that quote as a di- minishment of Lincoln, that he believed he was a passive recipient of circumstances rather than a great leader, she interpreted his words differently. “Any life is an intersection of events and character and capacity, and of course events make all of us,” she said. “But you also make events. And there is this intersection between who you are and what the world offers you.” Faust also found lessons from the Civil War, which she described as a compressed period of change that brought about dramatic shifts in several dimensions in Ameri- i’ve learned from history that so much of leadership is helping people deal with change —AND— understand how change happens. history is about the nature of change. DREW GILPIN FAUST, scholar, historian and president of Harvard University

can life, such as the role of women and attitudes toward death. Likewise, the financial crisis has been a period of upheaval that sparked fundamental change, prompting organizations and companies alike to consider how to do more with fewer resources. “When you have a period of urgency, there are inherent in that period pressures for change and opportunities for change. One of the lessons for me about this time of great urgency that we’ve been through is what kind of opportunities for important change do we get delivered by that time? How do we take advantage of those opportunities?” she said. Faust’s thirst for learning and her background as a historian have contributed to her ability to tackle the most pressing issues at the university. “I think history can give you a tremendous amount of perspective,” she said. “I’ve learned from history that so much of leadership is helping people deal with change and understand how change happens. History is about the nature of change.”

2013 : Q3 korn/ferry INTERNATIONAL 47 “something hit me as a child that the society i lived in was unjust. i was just 9 years old, but i needed to do something about it.” riding a wave of change aust is no stranger to challenging the status quo. women in society. For Faust, who was always called by her As a child in Virginia in the early 1950s, attending middle name of Drew instead of her first name of Catha- an all-white school and belonging to an all-white rine, that view was unacceptable. She became compelled to church congregation, Faust was troubled by segre- understand the world around her by exploring its historic gation.F She wrote a letter to a man she thought could make roots. In the process, she would achieve more than she ever things right: President Dwight Eisenhower. “I am 9 years old thought possible. and I am white but I have many feelings about segregation,” “It would have been unimaginable for me as a child to she told him. think I would end up here, especially when [women at the In an essay published in 2003 in Harvard Magazine, Faust time] would not have been allowed in the undergraduate reflected on what could have triggered her determination to library at Harvard,” Faust said. “I was supposed to get married, let the president know how deeply she felt about the injus- have children and probably not even work.” (She is married to tice of segregation. “What I remember,” she wrote, “is that Charles Rosenberg, a leading historian of medicine and sci- I heard something on the radio as I was being driven home ence and a professor at Harvard; they have two daughters.) from school by Raphael Johnson – a black man who worked Faust acknowledged that she benefited from societal for my family doing everything from mowing the lawn, change that began to open doors to women of her genera- shining shoes and washing floors and windows to trans- tion – another example of the events that have made her. porting my brothers and me around the county, entertain- “I have been on a crest of a wave of change in American soci- ing us all the while with quizzes on state and world capitals ety that has opened up possibilities that I could not have or the order of the presidents. I was in the car with Raphael expected or envisioned as a child or a young person. And when I heard something that made me realize that black that has been a source of wonder and satisfaction and ful- children did not go to my school because they were not al- fillment and amazement to me.” lowed to, because I was white and they were not.” Faust contrasted her experience as a young woman with What is perhaps most extraordinary about the letter is not the array of possibilities for the Harvard students in 2010, just the fact that Faust wrote it without her parents’ knowl- male and female, for whom there is also pressure to per- edge (they probably would not have encouraged her): She form, excel and succeed. “Students now have so many clear fully expected a reply from President Eisenhower himself. ideas about, ‘I must win this prize. I must get this job. I must The perfunctory acknowledgment from the White House get into this school. I must have these things.’ On the one was hardly satisfying for a young girl who wanted change. hand, it probably drives them toward achievement, but it “Something hit me as a child that the society I lived in also gives them measures for failure that I never had for my- was unjust. I was just 9 years old, but I needed to do some- self,” she said. “Yes, I have failed in many things, but I never thing about it,” Faust said. “I had been taught that Ameri- said I failed because I am not the president of the United can history was a parade of unfolding justice, and I thought States or I don’t make X amount of money.” that was true. I was sent to Sunday school and I am sure I She shared the story of a freshman who wanted to be- learned values there.” come president of Harvard one day. He asked if he could Some five decades later, Faust learned that her letter was speak with her about how to pursue that goal. Faust told the among the documents in the Eisenhower Library in Kansas. student she would be happy to meet with him but her advice Having often relied on letters, journals and other primary was not to pin himself down so specifically. “Maybe he will sources for research, Faust appreciated being part of history. become president of Harvard and maybe he won’t. Probably Outside of its historic context, Faust’s letter also revealed there will be paths that will open for him that will be very something deeper: her conviction to question the status quo. fulfilling, and yet he will have it in his mind [that he’s going The only daughter in a household with three brothers, to be Harvard president]. The great statistical likelihood is Faust rejected her mother’s traditional view of the role of he will not reach that goal.” COURTESY HARVARD UNIVERSITY HARVARD COURTESY

2013 : Q3 korn/ferry INTERNATIONAL 49 “my approach to the situation when i took over was just to try to hear from people what was on their minds and to assure constituencies ... that i cared about what they were doing and that i wanted to know more about it.”

Given her own experiences of capitalizing on opportu- listen, learn nity and creating change, Faust takes seriously being a role model for the students at Harvard, thus extending the reach and lead of her leadership. Whenever possible, she seizes a moment eated in her office with its imposing fireplace and to tell them that, plans and long-term goals aside, to some plank floors, Faust was surrounded by the mystique degree one’s life must unfold. As she observed in her bacca- and tradition that is Harvard, which dates back to laureate address to the class of 2008, the key to success and the days when Massachusetts was a Puritan colony. happiness is to pursue what one is most passionate about, AlthoughS she has a deep respect for the traditions at Har- take some risks and see how life turns out. “The answer is vard, she has been willing to question everything, particu- you don’t know until you try,” Faust said her in speech. “But larly how the university operates. The time has come, she if you don’t try to do what you love – whether it is painting said, “to change in order to sustain what matters most.” or biology or finance – if you don’t pursue what you think Before becoming president, Faust was an insider at Har- will be most meaningful, you will regret it. Life is long. vard, which she joined in 2001 as the first dean of the Rad- There is always time for Plan B. But don’t begin with it.” cliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She had come to Har- Coming from a history professor who never intended to vard after 25 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where become a college president, let alone to run Harvard, it is she taught history and directed the women’s studies pro- excellent advice. Leaders, too, must find a balance between grams. Because the Radcliffe Institute did not have any fac- the long-term plan and handling the opportunities and ob- ulty of its own, as the dean Faust had to recruit professors stacles that arise in the short term. from other departments. That enabled her to get to know

50 Briefings on talent + LEADERSHIP sciences, and design. Unlike other institutions where the president essentially approves the recommendations of a search panel, at Harvard the president runs the dean search, working closely with an advisory committee. For Faust, the searches became “forums of outreach” within the university and to alumni and leaders in the field. “These searches were really key for me in defining relationships within three major schools at Harvard and enabling me to speak with a lot of faculty and hear what was on people’s minds,” she said.

leadership and communication ow a leader communicates during a crisis di- rectly affects perceptions of the severity of the problem, confidence in the leader’s ability to colleagues outside the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, find the way forward and assessments of how of which she was part as a professor of history. Her ability to the organizationH is equipped to respond. For Faust, respond- seek out others, listen to diverse opinions and build consen- ing to the financial downturn and the losses of the Harvard sus became leadership strengths and tools for dealing with Endowment meant getting a handle on its effect on the uni- crisis and change. versity portfolio and communicating quickly to the Harvard Faust extended her outreach beyond those who knew her community. In a departure from past practice, Harvard is- as the dean of Radcliffe to every school and department at sued a public statement about its anticipated losses even be- the university. “My approach to the situation when I took fore the fiscal year had ended. “I needed the community to over was just to try to hear from people what was on their understand how serious this was,” Faust said. “People had minds and to assure constituencies who didn’t know me in always thought, ‘Oh, our endowment is so well managed, the university that I cared about what they were doing and nothing will ever happen to it.’ This was a different mo- that I wanted to know more about it,” Faust said. ment. We had to get ready and adjust.” Faust’s approach was first to listen and learn and then Because Faust did not have financial expertise, she lead. Listening and learning are not only essential to build- sought out the advice of some of the best Harvard minds ing a leader’s knowledge, but also to forging bonds and cre- in the field. “Harvard is filled with talented people,” she ating unity around common goals and purpose. For Faust, said. As a member of the Harvard Management Company this meant getting to know every part of the university. board, she received a crash course in the university’s invest- Her outreach efforts attracted a stream of colleagues to her ments, which helped her speak credibly of the challenges. “I office. Faculty stopped by and sent long letters to discuss wouldn’t say that you would want to use me as your finan- what they saw as critical to the future of the university. cial adviser, it hasn’t gotten to that,” she said. “But I did get “People had their eyes on the future and not the past and a pretty good sense of what needed to be done and how to wanted to discuss how I could help them move to that fu- think about the problems we faced.” ture in the most effective and collaborative way. That was Faust went to deans and faculty to explain the severity very helpful,” Faust said. of the problem. “I thought it was very important that I talk Deep alliances between Faust and the faculty were cre- about the finances and not just bring in a financial person. ated through three dean searches undertaken between Feb- They needed to know that I understood the problem ... ruary and July 2007 in the schools of medicine, arts and that I got it and I was dealing with it,” she said. CORBIS

2013 : Q3 korn/ferry INTERNATIONAL 51 Her experience confirmed what Faust had always be- lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Intrigued by lieved: that leadership is closely tied to communication. “In the imaging, Faust asked a researcher whether the idea had a time of crisis, what people want from their leaders is to un- originated from physics or biology. His reply was telling of derstand what on earth is going on,” she said. “It’s the leader the state of cutting-edge research. “He said all the fields are who has to help individuals understand by defining the situ- merging,” Faust said excitedly. “Life sciences and physical ation and the path through it. And that’s what I tried to do.” sciences are breaking down the distinctions.” Her response to the financial crisis revealed her leader- She sees the same merging of disciplines between social ship style: collaborative and with a preference for address- science and humanities as well as social science and natu- ing issues early on. “I like to be ahead of things,” she said. ral sciences. Interdependence allows multiple disciplines “I’m not a procrastinator because that just means I am go- to tackle issues such as health care delivery in the United ing to suffer through it longer: first, to worry it to death and States, which involves Harvard’s schools of business, pub- then I’m going to have to deal with it anyway. I would much lic health and medicine, as well as the sociology and eco- rather try to figure out what’s the right path and take it early nomics faculty. These developments speak to the essence on. I would prefer to have some [influence over] a problem of Faust’s mission of determining “how we, as an institu- rather than be a victim of the problem.” tion that has so many strengths, really take advantage of Harvard’s response to the Great Recession encompassed our knowledge.” the immediate steps of reducing expenses and budgets and The answer to that question could result in increased longer-term strategies such as exploring how different dis- collaboration at Harvard to further research and thought ciplines could collaborate in new ways. Faust recalled a visit leadership at the university. As distinctions between aca- to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, where she was shown demic fields blur, there could be more opportunities for fac- images of cells to which certain compounds had been added ulty in one school to teach in another, thus making better to test whether the cells were protected from amyotrophic use of resources while sharing valuable knowledge.

“i hope i will be able to say that i took this moment when change was possible and i used it to improve harvard in a variety of dimensions.” making of future leaders he financial crisis has also allowed Faust to having a sense of responsibility and a sense of ethical com- tackle issues that are more philosophic in na- mitment to society and to those you are leading.” ture, such as examining the link between higher When we met, it was still too soon to comment on Faust’s education and economic growth, and that a bet- legacy. Nonetheless, she did reflect on the difference she ter-educatedT work force can help propel the economy for- hopes to make. Top of her list is access, making sure that ward. To focus on that point alone, Faust advised, would students, staff and faculty feel they are part of the Harvard be to neglect a larger question about the value of humani- community regardless of race, gender or economic circum- ties as well as what she called the more theoretical aspects stances. She described her vision of Harvard as a “porous of higher education. “Not just to train people but to educate institution that really draws talent and enhances and wel- them for a life,” she said. “Not just a vocational capacity but comes that talent – a vibrant intellectual community. That rather an ability to be someone who can ask the big, difficult is how we serve both our own goals by getting the best tal- questions. I think all of these issues have been put on the ta- ent, and it’s also how we serve the world best, as we serve the ble by the financial crisis. We, as a leading institution in the people who can take advantage of what we have to offer.” field of higher education, need to pose those questions and Second on her list was the hope that she can look back come up with some answers.” on these times and say she took advantage of the opportu- Faust ponders Harvard’s role in training future leaders nity that events presented to institute important and lasting who need to understand the intersection of leadership and change. “I hope I will be able to say that I took this moment responsibility. “It means your career is not just about en- when change was possible and I used it to improve Harvard hancing your own talents or your own resources and build- in a variety of dimensions, some of them organizational and ing a good life for yourself,” she said. “Leadership means administrative, but more important the kinds of intellectual connections that our interdependence [between schools and disciplines] can foster,” she said. As Faust responds to external catalysts and creates some of her own, there is no doubt that she is leading Har- vard into and through a period of questioning and discern- ment. This prompted Faust to offer one last item on her legacy wish list: “that we really asked hard questions and made ourselves better, and that we decided that just because we’ve done some things one way doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t change it.” Faust faced a crisis without flinching and then chose to look for the opportunity in the midst of turmoil and uncer- tainty. She shares that attitude with many great leaders who view crisis as opportunity because change is inevitable. As a lifelong learner and a student of history, Faust has demon- strated the importance of drawing parallels between past and present and using the lessons learned to chart a course to a more solid future. K/F/B

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