Leadership makes sure we re doing the right things. Jeff Cowart, director of extended learning for the American Press Institute in Reston, Va., offers a slightly different distinction. It looks for declines in performance, in productivity, in quality. When it finds those declines it seeks to restore things to the standard. It essentially looks backward and tries to fix things that are broken.
Leadership is essentially innovative in character.
It sees the need to change to meet the new information age or changes in readers or the community. It wants to create something different. It looks forward and asks how we might change to be reflective of today s and tomorrow s needs. Newspapers are pinched by increased competition for readers time and attention, and the squeeze of competitors fighting for ad dollars. Look no further than your photo department.