Leading with Purpose: Insights from President Ted Carter (Part 2)

In Part 2 of the webinar, President Ted Carter of The Ohio State University discusses his vision for the university, emphasizing the institution’s role as a leader in higher education. He shares insights from his leadership journey and highlights initiatives aimed at enhancing student success, staff engagement, and the future of the university in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.  

Listen to the full podcast episode here  

Host, Dr. Timothy A. Judge: 

What advice would you give to a new or emerging student leader to further develop their leadership skills...like, what can they do? Based on your career and life experiences to develop their leadership skills.

Guest, President Ted Carter:

…The first advice I give to young people when I'm asked that question is: Don't be afraid to get engaged, get involved. You know you can't really do leadership by reading books, or even reading biographies, or studying somebody else's leadership style. Those are all helpful, they inform. But the more that you get into the crucible is where you're going to really learn.  

And it’s okay to make a mistake. Some mistakes can have consequences but keeping the mistakes to as low-level as possible.    

And then the last thing I would just point out again to give a shorter answer to this is: Be ready. I can't tell you how many times in my own career, and dealing with other young people, whether it be in uniform or even on a campus where somebody was called upon at a very young age—and I'm talking about in their late teens to early twenties—to lead something very important. So, when those opportunities come, don't be afraid to take them, because that's where you're going to get the most of growth in your life. And for me, personally, I'm very thankful that I had a lot of those opportunities very young. And those are the things that developed me in my career.