What have you learned about communication in this work?
One of the top three things you need to be a good dean is to be a good listener, and — and I think this is important — you have to listen to people in a way that they feel heard. I think that's important because a lot of times, that's the most we can do with some of the issues we face. We don't always have agency to fix or repair, but if you can listen to people so that they feel heard, they feel better. Even though you can't change the reality of whatever they're dealing with, at least you can communicate to them that we're all in this together, you know?
What is your approach to guiding or coaching those who report to you?
I don't have a sophisticated approach to that. I think I'm a lifelong learner and I appreciate that in other people, so I try to foster that in other people. I don't expect that whatever their job is will be their final job. I try to try to encourage growth, and I'm not hesitant to have a conversation with somebody where I tell them, 'I think you're bigger than this job. What are your plans? What can I do to help?' I think, long term, people appreciate that. That sort of environment helps people feel good about what they're doing right now, too.
What is your approach to difficult conversations? How do you prepare?
I definitely prepare for them. I was working on one yesterday. I try to organize my thoughts in such a way that, 'These are the three things that I want to cover.' I always try to focus on questions. One of my go-to phrases is, ‘Here's something I'll ask you to reflect on,’ and then I'll tell them whatever that is. Like, ‘Here's something that I'll ask you to reflect on: How do you think it makes you look when you send an email to our chief academic officer that was obviously rushed and that you did while you were angry, and you made two, maybe three typographical errors? How do you think that makes you look? I'm not asking you to answer that question. I'm just asking you to reflect on it."
What are the positive and negative impacts of the job on your personal or inner life?
I think our jobs are stressful and that takes a toll. Up until recently, I would've said, ‘Yeah, I'm really good at handling that.’ But something happened recently that made me realize I was stressed. I don't know whether it was the job or home or the pandemic — probably all of those things. I think to do the job right, it's a very people-oriented job, and I think people can stress you out.
What does work/life balance look like to you? This is difficult during the pandemic, but when I walk away from campus in the afternoons, I try not to think about it or worry about it and try not to even take a peek at the email. This is another advantage of using the phone more. We should not be burdened with having to look at email all the time. If there's something on fire, the phone should ring. So, I think you have to be deliberate about email and, for the most part, I rarely get an email that is super-duper time sensitive. It's very rare that I wake up in the morning and feel any guilt about, 'Oh, I wish I'd seen this last night at seven so I could have replied,' you know? And I don't want people to think that I'm going to reply to them at night if it's not urgent.
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Something to think about:
“Hiring people who are eager to prove they are more than their worst mistake -- and equipping them to succeed -- is indeed good business.” — Jeffrey Korzenick, from How Employers Can Set Formerly Incarcerated Workers Up for Success.
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