Note to self: Next time you interview the president of Boise State University, wear deodorant.

     Honestly Susan, do I really need to spell this out for you?  Apparently so.  I'll chalk up the oversight to lack of sleep...  Nerves perhaps, due to the big interview today.  But still.  Susan!

     I just interviewed Dr. Robert Kustra, president of Boise State University for a project in my Leadership 325 class.  The assignment is to interview a leader that is doing something similar to what we want to do after graduation.  Now, I can state with a clear conscious that I have never once wanted to run a University.  The thought has simply never occurred to me.  But I want to lead on a large scale, and I'd say he fits the bill.  But with that said, I don't think I would have thought of President Kustra except for one thing, Readers Corner.  

     I stumbled upon Readers Corner three or four months ago.  It is a radio program where Dr. Kustra interviews authors of very interesting books.  My list of, "important books I want to read" are littered with his interviewee's books.  And I do read them.  Or better said, I do listen to them.  I am an excruciatingly slow reader.  Due to that, and all the trauma sounding my reading history, I just couldn't bare to even try it any more.  So, for many years I didn't read anything at all.  Well, then somewhere along the way, I discovered "Book on Tape" at the library.  And I mean tape, as in cassette tape.  (For you youngins who are saying, "what's a cassette tape?" - you can Google it)  Then, over time I followed the technology from cassette to CD and finally online - Recorded Book.  It has rocked my world!  Now I "read" all the time.  Sure, I have had to scale back when I started school.  But I have gotten crafty, and listen to my books whenever I can:  while brushing my teeth, doing the dishes, walking across campus.  Pleasure and Sanity Keeping are a couple of the benefits I reap from this endeavor. 

     As a voyer to Dr. Kustra's program, I have been quite impressed with his people skills.  In a short half hour he is able to connect with the person he is interviewing on a kind and interested level.  That's the kind of leader I want to be.  That's the kind of leader I'm learning is most effective, one who puts the relationship first.  This is the person I want to interview.  

     I didn't really think he'd say yes.  He is an important and busy man after all.  But if there is one thing I have learned in life, it's to ask.  What's the worst that could happen?  He could say no.  I can live with that.  He could laugh at me.  I doubt he'd do that, but we are brainstorming worst case scenarios here.  Well, I can live with that too.  Laugh away, I don't care.  I'm still going to ask.  He didn't laugh.  He said yes.  

     I told a few trusted souls, "I've got 30 minutes with him, what should I ask?"  I got a really good list of ideas.

1.  Interview the way he interviews.  Sharing experiences.  Be interested.  (that, from my insightful sister)

2.  How has your leadership evolved?  What brought on the changes?  (yep, also my sister)

3.  What new leadership techniques are you using now?

4.  What is the worst thing about you as a leader?  (I really like this one - and it's from my professor!)

5.  Ask more general questions.  What has been effective?  What were the pitfalls?  

6.  Ask him why tuition is so high that students carry school loan debt for much of their lives.  

     I ended up starting the interview asking him, if he were me, what would he ask?  What would he most want to know back in the beginning that he didn't know then, but he knows now?  The very first sentence out of his mouth was about The Relationship!  I'm still buzzing from the experience.  What an amazing conversation we had.  I can't wait to transcribe it (yes of course I recorded it - I didn't want to miss a word!).  There are such nuggets there that I never want to forget.  I'm not going to tell you about it now - oh the suspense!  I'll be writing a kick ass paper that I will probably share here later.  In the mean time I just want to say, thank you President Kustra, for taking time out of your busy day to meet with a lowly, fairly clueless student that really wants to learn.  And I'm sorry that I didn't wear deodorant.  


See blog post of the finished paper, Does BSU Have a Level 5 Leader?  (October 2015)