When Leadership South Carolina participants recently visited Greenwood, they met with Dr. Lloyd Willis, dean of Lander University’s College of Business and Technology, for an interactive session on leadership styles and challenges.
During his talk, titled “Lessons on Leadership from a Career in Higher Education,” Willis called on participants to discuss how comfortable they are with change and how comfortable their organizations are with change, as well as their thoughts on poor leadership and their own career purpose.
Founded in 1979 by the Governor’s Office and the South Carolina business community, Leadership South Carolina is the state’s oldest and most respected leadership program. Designed to cultivate informed, engaged leaders, the program works to empower talented, highly motivated South Carolinians to strengthen their leadership skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the critical issues shaping the Palmetto State.
In Greenwood, the Leadership South Carolina class heard from leaders throughout the community in stops at several different local organizations, such as the Benjamin Mays Historic Site, Self Regional Healthcare, Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries and the Greenwood Genetic Center. Their discussion topics ranged from civil rights in South Carolina to rural healthcare, education, poverty and the need for children’s and community services.
“Leadership South Carolina’s presence in Greenwood and their engagement with a cross section of Greenwood’s pillar institutions are an indication of the importance that Greenwood holds in the state leadership landscape,” said Willis.
An Educator’s Career as a Leader
Willis, who began his career at Lander in 2006 with a goal to succeed as a scholar, became interested in developing online learning and degree opportunities for the University. From 2012 to 2018, he explored the ways that Lander could make online learning a reality and became director of Lander’s Center for Online and Innovative Learning. Initially, the University had one online bachelor’s program and eight students, as well as five master’s-degree programs, mostly online, with 82 students.
But with an attitude of “online learning rocks” and “the demand is practically limitless” – and refusing to accept arguments that online learning was a fad or too expensive to implement -- Willis persisted to help the University grow its online presence in higher education. He guided the University through the switch to online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually became the dean of Lander’s College of Graduate and Online Studies.
When the pandemic shuttered in-person classes in March 2020 at colleges and universities throughout the world, online learning became vital to instruction at all educational levels. “All of my arguments were over,” he said. “Everybody was teaching online.”
Today, Lander has approximately 1,000 students enrolled in online programs.
Willis shared a quote pasted in large type to a wall in his office: “You need to be irrationally optimistic you can win because, by default, if you don’t you will lose.” Written by Jeff Wang, CEO of Windsurf, the message is that achieving goals – from starting something new and creating change – often looks unrealistic at the start. But having optimism gives people resilience and is relevant for those in leadership positions.
Also key to a leader’s success is the ability to take the time to stop and reflect on their goals and purpose.
“Reflection is powerful. I hope the participants from Leadership South Carolina learned that it is important for leaders to reflect on their own leadership journeys, understand them, and be able to share them with their organizations in ways that promote productivity and cultivate new leaders,” Willis said.
An Inspiring Message
Leadership South Carolina participant Artrell Williams, of Ladson, said Willis' talk contained important messages for each person. “There was something different for each of us to take away. For me, it was an inspiring message of teamwork and resilience.
“Dr. Willis, his students and partners at Lander have achieved amazing things by being dreamers, believers and doers,” he said. “I appreciated that they consistently produced meaningful results that undoubtedly left a lasting impact on all that were involved, from the teachers to the students to the communities they serve. I really appreciated the examples of the growth mindset being used to help South Carolina reach new levels of innovation, productivity and contribution to society.”
The Greenwood session “opened my eyes to the breadth of history that took place in Greenwood, current initiatives that help drive the future of the area and opportunities for people like us to support the great work that citizens from the area are doing to ensure that the area grows and thrives,” he said. “I had never considered a vacation to Greenwood. Now, I have it on my list.”