218: Preparing Your Team to Face the Unnamed Disruptors with Guest Mike Gower

There is an unnamed disruptor around the corner. So says our guest today, Rutgers University’s Mike Gower. As Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and University Treasurer, the breadth and depth of his involvement in university operations is extensive. With decades of experience in the field, one might expect him to carry more answers than questions these days. That, according to Gower, is far from the case, and the unnamed disruptor - the change you haven’t seen coming - is always right around the next corner.

Being a part of the leadership team for an institution as large as Rutgers brings with it a unique set of demands. “We can’t solve the future. We can’t solve the next set of trends that may be coming our way — or may not. Instead, we have to explore them and say, ‘what might that mean?’… Then we can go positive and say, ‘what would we like to do? What should we do?’ Instead of being reactive, what would we like to do to continue growing as an institution?”

This week on Navigating Change, Mike Gower joins Howard Teibel to talk about the questions before us and the disruptor around the corner. He shares the background to his work in leading change across his leadership team and how that work can help set the stage for the next generation of finance and administrative leaders.

Our congratulations to Mike for winning the KPMG Distinguished Service Award at EACUBO for his service in advancing the role of the business officer as a strategic leader.