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dean, I created a monthly "Dean's Tea" event so we could celebrate professional awards, major publications, the births of children, or significant family events. But deans have to be prepared for unhappy events as well, including deaths, illnesses, or incapacitating personal problems. The degree of intimacy inherent in some relationships creates additional ethical, moral, and discretionary chal- lenges. It's absolutely necessary to be discreet and to keep confidences, yet it's also important to solve a problem in a way that serves the party involved while preserving the integrity of the school. Another way of saying this is that it's critical for deans to operate in a principled manner, as opposed to a more ad hoc, case-by-case, or post facto way. If deans want a humane and just workplace for everybody, they must create such an environment. They must understand that their behaviors, decisions, and choices help define the climate, whatever it might be—a climate of excellence, of fear, of integrity. What deans do and don't do, what they say and don't say, when they intervene and don't intervene, all turn out to be extremely important. Wielding Power That brings me to the issue of power. I remember reading a 1978 paper by Tom Peters in which he makes two key points. First, he observes that leaders often think they have more power than they really do—a notion I quickly discard- ed after I became dean. Second, he notes that leaders often fail to realize that the tools they have at their disposal are the mundane ones. They can influence events by deciding what meetings to call, whom to invite to sessions, what issues to place on the agenda, or how to frame an issue so that it remains manageable. To use Peters' terminology, these tools reflect the dean's use of symbols, settings, or patterns of behavior. If they're all aligned and consistently implement- ed, these indirect tools have a cumulative effect. I have taken these ideas to heart. As a new dean, I discovered that the acquisition and use of power is an art. Professors amass power in their own ways, often relying on relationships or on their expertise, but they rarely have much control over resources. Deans do have access to resources, and at issue is how they use these and other sources of power. How much do they achieve through peer influence, how much through logic, how much through expertise? Professors who want to become deans will have to figure out their own relationships to power. As dean, I've also learned how to structure situations to gain "ecological" power. By that, I mean I look for ways to manage the environment that sustains the decision-making processes of the business school. Most deans learn to struc- ture situations so good outcomes are more likely to occur. For example, deans who want to hire high-quality professors invite high-quality faculty to do the recruiting. Deans also exert influence by how they organize meet- ings. They can influence not only the agenda, but the form of the meeting. For example, at George Mason, our charter and our traditions demand that we have a formal monthly meeting for business school faculty and staff. But I soon learned it was not the best place for certain kinds of important conversations to take place. So I created an alter- native venue called an open forum where faculty and staff can better address key—and often emotional—challenges. Here, participants can discuss issues such as how well we are meeting our teaching mission or how we might define faculty performance standards. Anyone can show up and contribute to the discussion and thus help set the school's future agenda. Accepting Responsibility Something else I've learned as a dean is how it feels to be responsible for the lives of others. Traditionally, professors are lone wolves who thrive on autonomy and independence. BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2007 41