Leading with Purpose: Insights from President Ted Carter (Part 1)

In this webinar, President Ted Carter of The Ohio State University shares his leadership insights, drawing from his extensive experience in the U.S. Navy and his role in academia. He discusses the importance of collaborative decision-making, the similarities between military and academic leadership, and how principled leadership grounded in trust, loyalty, and timely execution can drive successful outcomes.  

Listen to the full podcast episode here

Host, Dr. Timothy Judge:  

You know, at a superficial level, people would normally think that the military and academic contexts are very different. So, is that your experience? And just more generally, how do your experiences in the military influence your leadership approach in academia?     

Guest, President Ted Carter:  

…And I get this all the time from my Big 10 president/chancellor counterparts. They’ll often say, “Well, you know you were at the Naval Academy — very hierarchical, you know. It must be very different, where you just give an order, and everybody gets in line and does it compared to what you're doing, you know, and shared governance models and civilian, higher education”.  

And the truth is, there's more in common than different. And that's even true in the military…You don't just give orders and expect people to just go out and execute. You've got to give people a purpose. You've got to show them the reasons why you're doing what you're doing and get that kind of buy in. I found that type of leadership style has always worked for me. I kind of call it the player-coach style, if you will. It's one of empowerment and collaboration, and making sure people have the right resources to get the job done. 

Certainly, there are some differences a little bit between a place like the U.S. Naval Academy and institutions like Nebraska, and here at The Ohio State University. But, interestingly enough, at a place like the Naval Academy, over half of my faculty were civilians, I mean same tenure-track path too, you know, becoming associate professors or professors going through chairs, department heads, and even a dean. So, the process and even the shared governance model was very similar. So, I found the Higher Ed model. Whether it was coming from the Naval Academy to the University of Nebraska system, or even here in Columbus. It has way more in common than different, and I think people are surprised to hear that level of detail.