Asking How You Can Help— A Conversation with Dean James Ryan
by Ameer Farooq
What can you do to lead and heal a community you love in the wake of a traumatic event, fraught with political dialogue and polarized opinions? For James Ryan, Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education, running away was not an option. Ryan, an alumnus and former faculty member of the University of Virginia (UVA), was considering stepping in to the position of President of UVA, when the tragic consequences of the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville unfolded in August 2017. He asked himself, “how can I help?”, and knew then that, despite the challenges, he needed to accept the job. He had to run towards those who were hurting, echoing the words of President Drew Faust who spoke shortly after the Boston marathon bombing about the first responders and spectators that ran towards the injured to help.
At this difficult time in the nation, there is perhaps no one better to lead than Ryan, who is a believer in the power of inquiry and passionate about leading through service — and by asking the right questions. His viral commencement speech for the Graduate School of Education in 2016 laid out his “5 Essential Questions”, suggesting that we should each ask ourselves:
- Wait, what?
- “I wonder…”, followed by “if” or “why”?
- “Couldn’t we at least…?”
- “How can I help?”
- “What truly matters?”
In his book Wait, what? And life’s other essential questions, Ryan applies these questions to problems both great and small and shows how they help bring clarity and wisdom. A lawyer by training, Ryan became the Dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in 2013, and as a leading expert on law and education, Ryan has written on topics ranging from school desegregation to the intersection of special education and neuroscience. Before leaving to assume the Presidency of the University of Virginia, Ryan sat down with Dr. Michelle Williams, Dean of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, for the Voices in Leadership series on October 18th, 2017, in a unique opportunity for students to hear from two leaders at Harvard dedicated to helping people live their best lives.
Asking Good Questions
Ryan began by referring to his famous commencement speech, where he wanted to remind graduating students that they needed to cultivate the art of asking good questions. While he conceded that asking questions in a classroom and in front of your peers can be intimidating, particularly in academia, he explained that most people are grateful that someone had asked a question.
He also reiterated one of his assertions from the commencement address, saying that there are no “bad” questions, and that our challenge is to identify the true question that is being asked. For those who serve and lead others, particularly in this polarized political environment, he emphasized the need to listen, saying,
“Part of cultivating the habit of asking good questions is also being on the lookout for good questions and being open to people questioning you, especially if you’re in a position of leadership.”
Leadership Through Service
When asked to reflect on his experiences as a dean at Harvard, he admitted that going from being a faculty member at the UVA Law School to Dean at HGSE was a huge leap. He joked, “I mean, I was panicked, because I had never — I had never managed anyone, you know? I was responsible for one-eighth of a faculty assistant’s time, and I did that really poorly.” What Ryan realized was that rather than trying to coming up with his own “vision” for what the school should be doing, he asked, “How can I help?” This idea of service leadership resisted creating a “grand vision”, and instead was collaborative. Ryan explained,
“For a vision to be compelling to the community that you are trying to lead, it has to be a shared vision. And the only way that it can be a shared vision is if you spend time talking to people and getting a sense of their aspirations, what they see as challenges, what they think the goals should be.”
Stepping into new roles
In addition to looking back on his career, Ryan spoke about his next steps going forward as the President of UVA. Keenly aware of the turbulence caused by the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally, he related what one UVA student had told him — “One thing you need to recognize is that we’re just kind of hurting.” While Ryan recognized that he might not be able to completely alleviate that suffering, he felt that he had a personal responsibility to do what he could the University of Virginia, saying,
“This is a place that I love. This is a place that gave a tremendous amount to me and my family. And I don’t know that I’ll be able to help, but I thought I want to help to whatever extent I can. You’re right that there will be challenges, but there are also opportunities.”
For more from the Voices in Leadership (@VoicesHSPH) series at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (@HarvardHSPH), visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices.
Story by Ameer Farooq, first year student in the Master of Public Health program in Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Ameer is currently a 3rd year general surgery resident at the University of Calgary in Canada and is interested in global surgery, technology, and quality improvement.
Story edited by Sohini Mukherjee, a second year student in the Master of Science program in Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, interested in gender equity, maternal health, and health policy and governance.
