Review of Together We Can: Pathways to Collective Leadership in Agriculture at Texas A&M. By Edward A. Hiler and Steven L. Bosserman.

Authors

Theodore R. Alter, The Pennsylvania State UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

Fall 2012

Citation

Great Plains Research, Volume 22, Number 2, Fall 2012, pp 217-218

Comments

© Copyright 2012 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract

Edward Hiler's leadership journey through a series of major administrative positions at Texas A&M is a story of collective leadership, as told by Hiler himself, and framed by organizational and leadership strategist Steve Bosserman. This brief, highly readable, and provocative book illustrates the philosophical and operational essences of collective leadership. The shifting demographic, economic, ecological, and sociopolitical realities of Texas and the Great Plains called for optimizing the contributions of Texas A&M and other institutions of higher education in addressing critical issues. Hiler, ever the visionary, saw the power of an inclusive, egalitarian, shared leadership style that allowed diverse constituencies to take ownership of both issues and proposed solutions. The import of Hiler's work, however, ranges far beyond the Great Plains; it applies to strengthening organizational development and leadership in land-grant universities and higher education nationally.