Betsy DeVos: Caring and Skilled Leader
There are few people who care more for children and who have done as much for them as Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Education.
Despite the manifold and significant contributions she has made to provide a better education for children in failing school districts, she has been vilified by those in the education community that oppose schools of choice and competition in education.
As a member of the Board of Trustees of Northern Michigan University, I have seen firsthand the significant impact the schools we charter have on our students. Without Ms. DeVos and her leadership, we simply would not have as many children in charter schools today and we would not be providing as much competition and choice for our young people. But, my purpose is not to debate the school choice issue, that heated argument is already taking place on numerous platforms.
I want to discuss Betsy DeVos’ character, leadership skills, and experience, because all are imperative to her success as a cabinet secretary.
I have known Betsy DeVos for more than twenty years and she is one of the most fundamentally kind and decent people I have ever met. She is a warm, caring person who has been involved in political and charitable work all of her life.
She treats everyone she meets, whether they are rich or poor, young or old, powerful or not, with the same sense of dignity. I have watched her interact with governors and senators, with people from all walks of life and from all religions, races, incomes, and jobs, and in every instance the people with whom she meets have been treated with the same respect, concern and compassion no matter their station in life.
I’ve seen her in a small group quietly discuss how she and her husband spend time reading letters from people who request contributions from them, and how moving it is for them to be able to help; how hard it is to choose some over others, because they can’t help everybody, even with their enormous wealth.
Helping others is an integral part of who she is. It is the reason she and her husband became so involved in the school choice issue. She felt that children, especially those in urban areas, were not getting a good education; that their school systems were failing them.
Her goal has been to provide a better education for those youngsters, so they in turn could provide a better life for themselves and for their children. She has been able to accomplish her goals because she has such strong leadership skills.
I watched how she built an outstanding and successful team as Chair of the Michigan Republican Party and as leader in the school of choice movement. In both instances, the first thing she did was to travel the state, learning about the cares and concerns of every-day people, so she could understand their issues and problems. Then, she used her considerable leadership skills to help solve those issues and problems.
A successful CEO of a corporation with more than 100,000 employees once told me that it made no difference if a company had 100 or 100,000 employees; essentially about a dozen people ran it. He said that if someone has the right skillset, he/she can run any sized company because the real difference was only the number of zeroes in the budget or in the number of employees. He’s right. Leaders lead, and successful ones usually have the same set of talents that are transferable to any sized operation.
Betsy DeVos has the crucial skills and traits found in every great leader: 1) she has the vision to look long-term and see how problems can be solved; 2) she understands that in order to be successful you have to have a comprehensive plan with clear metrics and timelines to accomplish goals, and that the plan has to be carefully and systematically implemented; 3) she picks strong team members to work with her to create and implement the plan; 4) she motivates and inspires the team she leads; 5) she empowers and delegates to her team and she does not micromanage; 6) but, when a team member has trouble, she steps in and provides help; 7) she gives credit to a team member when they do good job and makes them feel special;
she provides constructive criticism when someone is not living up to expectations, then works with them to do a better job; 9) she understands that when it becomes clear someone cannot or will not do the job, they have to go. As a result of those skills, she has been very successful.
There is no doubt in my mind the leadership she has demonstrated in smaller settings can be directly transferred to heading an organization as large and vast as the U.S. Department of Education.
Finally, Betsy has extensive experience in education. She was one of the architects of the Detroit charter school system and she is a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has served as chair of the board of Alliance for School Choice and heads the All Children Matter PAC. Her other activities on behalf of public-school reform have included membership on the boards of directors of Advocates for School Choice, the American Education Reform Council, and the Education Freedom Fund. She has chaired the boards of Choices for Children and Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP).
Her remarkable leadership skills, coupled with her compassion, concern, and experience, make Betsy DeVos a tremendous choice to head of the Department of Education.
There are few people who care more for children and who have done as much for them as Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Education.
Despite the manifold and significant contributions she has made to provide a better education for children in failing school districts, she has been vilified by those in the education community that oppose schools of choice and competition in education.
As a member of the Board of Trustees of Northern Michigan University, I have seen firsthand the significant impact the schools we charter have on our students. Without Ms. DeVos and her leadership, we simply would not have as many children in charter schools today and we would not be providing as much competition and choice for our young people. But, my purpose is not to debate the school choice issue, that heated argument is already taking place on numerous platforms.
I want to discuss Betsy DeVos’ character, leadership skills, and experience, because all are imperative to her success as a cabinet secretary.
I have known Betsy DeVos for more than twenty years and she is one of the most fundamentally kind and decent people I have ever met. She is a warm, caring person who has been involved in political and charitable work all of her life.
She treats everyone she meets, whether they are rich or poor, young or old, powerful or not, with the same sense of dignity. I have watched her interact with governors and senators, with people from all walks of life and from all religions, races, incomes, and jobs, and in every instance the people with whom she meets have been treated with the same respect, concern and compassion no matter their station in life.
I’ve seen her in a small group quietly discuss how she and her husband spend time reading letters from people who request contributions from them, and how moving it is for them to be able to help; how hard it is to choose some over others, because they can’t help everybody, even with their enormous wealth.
Helping others is an integral part of who she is. It is the reason she and her husband became so involved in the school choice issue. She felt that children, especially those in urban areas, were not getting a good education; that their school systems were failing them.
Her goal has been to provide a better education for those youngsters, so they in turn could provide a better life for themselves and for their children. She has been able to accomplish her goals because she has such strong leadership skills.
I watched how she built an outstanding and successful team as Chair of the Michigan Republican Party and as leader in the school of choice movement. In both instances, the first thing she did was to travel the state, learning about the cares and concerns of every-day people, so she could understand their issues and problems. Then, she used her considerable leadership skills to help solve those issues and problems.
A successful CEO of a corporation with more than 100,000 employees once told me that it made no difference if a company had 100 or 100,000 employees; essentially about a dozen people ran it. He said that if someone has the right skillset, he/she can run any sized company because the real difference was only the number of zeroes in the budget or in the number of employees. He’s right. Leaders lead, and successful ones usually have the same set of talents that are transferable to any sized operation.
Betsy DeVos has the crucial skills and traits found in every great leader: 1) she has the vision to look long-term and see how problems can be solved; 2) she understands that in order to be successful you have to have a comprehensive plan with clear metrics and timelines to accomplish goals, and that the plan has to be carefully and systematically implemented; 3) she picks strong team members to work with her to create and implement the plan; 4) she motivates and inspires the team she leads; 5) she empowers and delegates to her team and she does not micromanage; 6) but, when a team member has trouble, she steps in and provides help; 7) she gives credit to a team member when they do good job and makes them feel special;
she provides constructive criticism when someone is not living up to expectations, then works with them to do a better job; 9) she understands that when it becomes clear someone cannot or will not do the job, they have to go. As a result of those skills, she has been very successful. There is no doubt in my mind the leadership she has demonstrated in smaller settings can be directly transferred to heading an organization as large and vast as the U.S. Department of Education.
Finally, Betsy has extensive experience in education. She was one of the architects of the Detroit charter school system and she is a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has served as chair of the board of Alliance for School Choice and heads the All Children Matter PAC. Her other activities on behalf of public-school reform have included membership on the boards of directors of Advocates for School Choice, the American Education Reform Council, and the Education Freedom Fund. She has chaired the boards of Choices for Children and Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP).
Her remarkable leadership skills, coupled with her compassion, concern, and experience, make Betsy DeVos a tremendous choice to head of the Department of Education.
