I recently went one-on-one with Dr. Jeff Olsen, President of Nightingale College.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Jeff: Not sure there is time or space to fully answer your question, but I will say that I have been extremely fortunate to have taken opportunities as they arose in my world. I have consciously made myself available to every opportunity, networking with incredible people who have supported my growth and development. I have also allowed situations that were significant blows to instead become driving forces to move forward again.
I started younger in my higher educational journey than most, taking my first university courses at age 13. I knew if getting a college degree was the ultimate goal, I may as well start as soon as possible. Since those early teen years, I have never stopped gaining knowledge, getting advanced degrees, and engaging in professional development opportunities.
My professional career, too, has continually evolved from teaching in public schools, transitioning to the healthcare industry working in regional hospital systems, and then returning to education, this time in a university setting. Some of those transitions were fortuitous accidents, opportunities that seemed to present themselves in front of me, and some were by design.
Early in my career, taking the leap from a public school classroom to a regional healthcare system educator felt like a major jump, but led to dozens of wonderful opportunities that have shaped my career thereafter. Ultimately, taking what looked like a risk at the time to transition from a nationwide university to a then-small regional online college, and putting in the time and effort to support the growth and maturation of systems to where it is today. Taking this challenge has been a tremendous blessing in my life.
Adam: What would surprise people most about the role of a college president and how you allocate your time, energy, and focus?
Jeff: Every college is going to be a little different. Each one calls for a different approach to continue delivering excellence for the communities we serve. They will each require a different approach to continue advancing the mission of the institution for the benefit of the community of interest. These communities include our learners, their families, their future employers, politicians, regulators, accreditors, and the recipients of healthcare from these learners. Much of my time is spent addressing challenging situations and concerns as they arise, coordinating and supporting operations, and strategically planning for growth optimization of the learner experience.
I am fortunate at Nightingale College to be surrounded by incredibly talented and dedicated support teams that allow me to dedicate much of my energy to our learners and advocating for their success, while also supporting our partners and other stakeholders. I believe that when we engage in the educational process fully, it can be a catalyst that supports being the best versions of ourselves. My role here is supported enough that I am never so distant from the learners that I cannot see and celebrate their successes and journey.
For example, Nightingale College is a nationwide nursing school with remote learners in every state, both busy metro areas, remote rural regions, and even places considered educational deserts. I can travel to those areas and witness, first-hand, the impact our curriculum, nurse educators, and technology, like customizable VR simulations, are having on our students. I’m able to witness those skills in action as they complete their clinical rotations in hospitals, clinics, and nursing facilities across the nation. Sometimes those clinics are in the frigid areas of Anchorage or on the Native American reservations of Oklahoma. Regardless of where they received those clinical experience hours, Nightingale graduates will take their skills back to their hometowns, ultimately serving their neighbors who might be traditionally underserved. I’m proud to play a role in helping those learners bring health equity to every corner of this nation.
An individual example was a gentleman from California who sought me out after a commencement celebration. He told me about how he came to this country as a refugee, had worked as a practical nurse for 15 years while applying for nursing programs and never found an open door, but was now celebrating a brighter future with his family because he was graduating from Nightingale as a registered nurse. His story reminds me that with the balanced mix of opportunity, access, and wraparound support, lives can be transformed through their education.
Adam: What are the biggest challenges you face as a leader in higher education today? How are you navigating them?
Jeff: There is no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone, so I am always trying to look at obstacles as opportunities to challenge the status quo and expand my thinking.
Higher education has always been a space for growth, but for many decades it has begun to settle into comfort zones. The last several years have seen regulations shift, norms and the place of higher education in the wider culture challenged, along with the outcomes we are attempting to achieve through higher education. Our focus in this shifting landscape is to ensure that our learner population can see the value of what Nightingale College can offer in their professional journey. To support employers in seeing the skill and preparation of our learners who will be their employees. And we also need to find opportunities to partner with and engage the wider community of policymakers, state regulators, and accreditors as we strive toward defining and supporting the impact that can come from effective nursing education made available everywhere in this nation.
Adam: In your experience, what are the keys to managing change and leading through uncertainty?
Jeff: I recently gave a TEDx talk around this topic. Briefly, I discussed how to ensure we are managing effectively and focusing our time and resources where we can have the greatest impact. We must take a step back and identify the problem we are trying to solve. We can then respond to an endless barrage of issues that emerge, or focus on the core issues to be resolved through a careful understanding of the source of those issues and explore how to resolve them. If we don’t know the core problem we are trying to solve, we will never drive effective outcomes, and our endless response mode thinking will diffuse our attention from what matters most.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Jeff: Every situation calls for different qualities depending on the context, group dynamics, culture, and time. That said, I strongly believe in the ability to pause, ask questions, solicit solutions, and recognize that intelligence is broadly distributed. Creating an environment where we seek first to understand, remain open to outcomes, lead with trust, and give credit where credit is due will support a leader in directing how teams can have the most meaningful impact.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Jeff: I think it’s vital that leaders approach each new situation with a growth mindset and know they are surrounded by brilliant people who can support understanding, ideas, and their own personal development. At Nightingale College, we embrace a concept called Evolvitude™ — the blending of “evolve” and “attitude.” This coined term represents a college-wide and individual mindset and commitment to never-ending growth and self-improvement. Every person you are going to meet is smarter than you in something, so don’t be afraid to engage people at all levels of the organization in your growth as a leader and a person.
Adam: What do you believe are the most important skills needed to succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s workforce?
Jeff: With technology expanding at an exponential rate, many previously marketable skills are shifting, as they always have when new technologies emerge. However, things we have previously called “soft skills,” what I would deem essential human skills, remain crucial to success in every setting. Communication, critical thinking, de-escalation, compassion, professional presence, and the ability to engage and support others. These elemental skills form a foundation for any other compensable qualifications.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to leaders in business, government, and education?
Jeff: 1. Learn from the past, but don’t be married to it. We have been conditioned to look to the past to better understand what lies ahead, and while it can be helpful to understand how we got here, it is not necessarily a model predictive of the future. Just like we can learn from past investment strategies to support better investments in the future, merely replicating the past without taking in the new conditions will not lead to similar or the same dividend returns. Just because something has been effective in the past does not mean it will always be effective in the future. Learn, adapt, and evolve.
2. Consistently ask, “What is the problem I am trying to solve?” We often get stuck in the weeds when seeking resolutions to obstacles, and that can leave us stuck in the thick of thin things. Sometimes we just need to step back from our work and ask ourselves those basic questions to be able to refocus on the real problem and not all the symptoms.
3. Never stop seeking to become the best version of yourself, professionally and personally. That will look different to each person for what they value and what they want to achieve, but the principle is the same for all. We should always be reflective enough to allow a growth mindset to drive us to improve.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Jeff: Don’t tear down the fence before you know why it was put up.
