The Dean's List #30

How do you make time and space for big picture thinking?

When I’m traveling, that's when my big ideas come in because I can just follow that train of thought or I can make the calls I need to make to see if this or that is a viable option. At one time, I tried scheduling my own in-service where I don't talk to anybody all day long. It doesn't work well because things come up. When I started, there were some folks who would roll in when they wanted ... let's just say they weren't always available. For me, the lesson wasn’t that that's a bad habit, it was about the expectation that I'm managing my own time and figuring out the best way to utilize it. So if I'm on a roll in the morning, I'm not going to bust my butt to be here at 8 a.m. just so everyone else sees me strolling in at eight. If I'm firing off emails or I've got something going and it's pretty good, then I follow that.

What is your approach to difficult conversations? How do you prep?

I diagram out my opening statements. I write out why we're here, what we need to accomplish and what the issue is. From there, I try to figure out where they're going to go and how I might respond to that. The other part of that is recognizing that I need to be flexible and I may need to pivot because I got more information than I had when I started. There have been plenty of times where I was going to give somebody a counseling memo or letter of reprimand or something, and then as I'm talking to them, I come to realize it's not that simple. I need not to be stuck on the idea that this is the path that I have to take. Sometimes it's just recognizing that the message is the important piece. With an employee that's redeemable, a shot across the bow can be way more effective. When they know they're deserving of some sort of discipline and you show some compassion, that's another thing that helps inspire loyalty. I'm not advocating not following the letter of the law, but I think infusing some humanity is critical.

Where do you find the most joy in your job?

I find it when I'm talking to a student, whether I’m on campus or out in the community, or just observing a class. And then there are times when it's just a matter of accomplishing something. Or there are times when you're talking with a faculty member or a classified employee, whomever, and you realize that some messaging you tried to get across actually came through – when someone moves on to another role and then they come back and say, “You know, I want to get your thoughts on how to manage this or how to do that.”

If you could start all over, what are three things you would do differently?

Well, I got some hard knocks learning about listening. I always listened, but helping people understand that I am actually listening even though I may not necessarily take their advice – I wasn't very good at making them feel like they had that voice. I always heard them but there wasn't much of the give and take. So it just appeared like they told me something and I did what I wanted to do anyway.

Book, podcast, website recommendations that help with work life?

Not really. Well, actually there are two things, now that I think about it. One is little snippets of comedy. Every now and then I have to drive somewhere, and I'll put the comedy channel on and it gives me something to laugh about. The other thing that really helps, is oftentimes when I go to church, I'll hear something that speaks to me about something at work. It isn't necessarily about religion, I think it's about being open to what is around you. If I were less religious and more spiritual, I would say it's about being open to what the universe is trying to tell you. There are things that will come into your life that will help you manage what's going on around you. In my case, it's through my religion, but it's also been other things that I hear from people, including comedy

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Something to think about:

A random meme meant to be funny, but when you think about it …

“The guy with the worst grades should get to give a graduation speech, too. Let me hear both sides.”