A few years ago, a friend invited me to speak to the trustees of the college she served as president. It was to be an after-dinner speech to college trustees after a long day of meetings, and I was asked to speak on how to be a trustee. In other words, I was to tell them how to do their jobs. Hmmm. Long day. Big meal. An invitation to move from preaching to meddling. Reminded me of the old song, “Born to Lose.”
Now, with the realism of hindsight, I can see that “my best” was actually a retreat into self-protective breeziness: I pursued the popular but prosaic, puerile and procrustean ploy of . . . (you guessed it!) alliteration.
Somehow I settled on the letter “G.” There are six “G’s” to trusteeship.
• Guide: You have been chosen for your insights and good counsel.
• Guard: You have been chosen for your commitment to a core mission.
• Govern: You have been chosen to make reasoned and prudent decisions.
• Goad: You have been chosen to ask questions and stimulate change.
• Give: You have been chosen for your ability to make a real contribution.
• Git: You have been chosen to be a steward, not a permanent fixture. Know when it’s time to go.
After what I thought had been a virtuoso performance of my little “Air on the G String,” I faced the necessity of the ride home with the feisty, funny and frank frau with whom I have shared bread and bed for now nearly fifty years.
“Well, how’d I do?” I asked, with just a soupcon of self-satisfaction.
“Pretty well,” she said, “But you left out one “G.”
I, of course, took the bait. “What might that be?” I asked.
With appropriate finger-down-the-throat illustration, she answered, “Gag!”
In my heart of hearts, I know she was right. Alliteration is pretty puerile. But I guess I’d still have to stand behind the content as well as the intent of my “G’s.” When it comes to showdown time for any of our institutions -- as has occurred all too frequently in recent months -- the prudent and passionate participation of trustees is sometimes the crucial factor in the discovery of a manageable present and a useable future. And good trustees seem not to need mnemonic devices to know how to do their job. They know how to guide, guard, govern, goad, give, and git. They also know the propriety of distance: Don’t be a stranger, but don’t micro-manage. They know the value of dispassionate judgment upon truths that are self-evident: Call ‘em as you see ‘em; and don’t let hurt feelings be an adequate reason for doing the right thing for an institution which has entrusted itself to you.
There’s an old joke that says that the students are supposed to study, the teachers are supposed to teach, the administrators are supposed to administer, and the trustees are supposed to trust. Good trustees are the ones who realize that they hold the life and livelihood of our institutions in trust. They are the ones who guide, guard, govern, goad, and give. Then, and only then, should they feel that they can, in good conscience, git.
John W. Kuykendall is President and Thatcher professor of religion emeritus at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
