The Dean's List #17

How do you make sure nothing falls through the cracks?

Well, they do fall through the cracks. It doesn't happen too often, but inevitably I forget to do things, and when I do I confess and move on. That's just the nature of our job. We’re going so quickly from one fire to the next or one project to the next and we don't have a lot of time to reflect on how we're responding or the accuracy of our responses or whether or not we left something else undone.

What’s the best process or system you’ve set up for yourself or your department/office?

You know, when we're working in person, I rely really heavily on in-person communication with my team members. That's my preferred method of checking in with people. My door is always open and I think people who work for me would agree with me there. I do a lot of checking in, too, just to kind of get the pulse of what's going on in our spaces. We can get a different sense of things by looking in person as opposed to just communicating via email. So that's really important to me when we are working on campus.

My door, it's a revolving door, when we're physically at work and, and I mean that in a good way, because I want people to come in. That also takes time from your day, but I truly feel like that's the work we need to do. I also feel like when we invest more time in those conversations that may take up time, it pays off in the end. If you do a cost benefit analysis, it's worth it to invest a little bit more time when people need you, than to try to clean up a mess on the other end because you didn't make time for it.

What tips would offer to a new manager? Hard skills? Soft skills?

I would say investing time in getting to know people, what makes them tick, what their triggers are. I really think that's such an important part of our jobs, and it ultimately does save time. So much of my job is just talking to people, understanding their needs. I think that's one of the most important things a new manager can do is to you get out of your office — whether it's in person or in the remote world — you have to find a way to connect with people. I think that pays dividends. I also think that you've have to find a way to be organized in these positions or you will sink. There's just too much to keep track of, and whether your system is making lists like I do on paper with my favorite pen or doing something on your computer, you've just go to find a way to find that balance in order to find some joy in your job and not feel like you're constantly treading water.

What's the most valuable lesson you’ve learned the hard way in this job?

I wouldn't say I've had too hard a lesson, but something that I wasn't accustomed to in my previous positions was the relationship with our unions and bargaining units. So much is driven by the contract, you know? I didn't come from that world, and I think could have handled a few things differently by having a better understanding of those relationships and how those contracts drive so much of what our folks do or don't do. It just creates an interesting culture and, as you know, there are times when that culture can be a little bit more tense, where it feels more like us against them. And that's a hard place to work from. It's an interesting dynamic.

What did you think the job and the role of the dean were before you got the job?

I don't think in retrospect I really knew what I was getting into. I would see deans around and interact with them, but I think until you're doing that work, it's really hard to have a good sense of what the work is all about. I guess I thought more in terms of, OK, you're running departments, you're running programs — a little bit more black and white. But now the way I see it, there's a lot of gray in my job. By that, I just mean there’s so much more than the paperwork that needs to get done. I don't think I had a good sense of how much time I would actually be investing in people, but that's where I get my energy.

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Something to think about:

“In-person communication was 67% more effective for getting to ‘yes’ than any form of video or audio communication.”

— Mahdi Roghanizad and Vanessa Bohns for the Harvard Business Review

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The Rabbit Hole (resources, content, etc. that are relevant to the job):

Pity: I feel sorry for you.

Sympathy: I feel for you.

Empathy: I feel with you.

Compassion: I am here to help.

Better visual here.

From: Connect with Empathy, but Lead with Compassion

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