Interview with Dr. Su Jin Jez, Executive Director of California Competes

California Competes is a policy research and advocacy organization focused on driving system-level change to improve the state's higher education and workforce outcomes. Dr. Su Jin Jez said, “Our work sits at the intersection between higher education, equity, and the economy. We spend a lot of time thinking about what are the problems in our state and then doing research to come up with evidence-based solutions.” The discussion centered around non-traditional learners such as working adults and online learning, as well as leadership books she recommends and advice for leaders.

The COVID pandemic has been changing the economy. As a result, there are a couple top issues that are current priorities of California Competes. Dr. Jez sees the need for Higher ed to be more responsive to general workforce needs, such as retraining adult workers in new career fields. The second issue is the need for improving online learning with higher quality and improved access. “Online ed - we think it’s here to stay, and we need to figure it out,” stated Dr. Jez.  She also sees the progression from K-12 to community college to four-year colleges and the workforce as inefficient because each entity is being run separately. She thinks coordination between the entities would make them more efficient. She feels the COVID pandemic has made us more conservative in our planning. Dr. Jez shared how she is more nimble in her planning, “This could all change tomorrow, and we have to be okay with that.” She also said, “You can go faster alone, but you can go further with a team.”

Bridget Burns asked Dr. Jez to share some books she recommends on leadership. Dr. Jez suggested “Policy Paradox Art of Political Decision-Making” by Deborah Stone. She says the author has a great analysis of what’s fair and what’s equitable. For example, if

your underlying assumption for a complicated issue is x and mine is y, then it unpacks more clearly how to move forward. For example, how does security vs. liberty challenge each other or compliment each other?  Her second favorite book is a textbook, “Understanding and Managing Public Organizations” by Hal G. Rainey. She explained, “As a leader when you’re thinking about the changes you want to make to think about what is the H.R. perspective around this? What are the cultural perspectives on this? It builds a nice frame for thinking through the different sort of aspects of leading an organization.”

Doug Lederman asked Dr. Jez, “What is your favorite piece of advice?”  Dr. Jez likes the four paths one can take, “Do, Defer, Delete, Delegate.” This advice helps her not feel overwhelmed and reminds her that not everything needs to be done immediately. “It’s like a deep breath around demands.”  Another favorite piece of advice she learned from a mentor and shares with her team, “You have to write something twenty times in order to have an impact. Don’t give up.” It has to be reframed for different audiences.  Bridget acknowledged that she has observed the most effective leaders who repeat themselves are the ones who get where they need to go. Dr. Jez also said she shares with up-and-coming leaders, “Find your reason for wanting to lead.” She also said, “Find your helpers.”