Why We Need Rituals Right Now
Higher education, college campuses, are chock full of rituals. Commencement is the flashiest one, though welcome convocations and orientations are close seconds. But there are other rituals and markers. For me the day the RAs start training is the beginning of the new academic year. For others it may be the beginning of sorority recruitment or…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Capacity?
Supervising staff is one of the most challenging tasks we have, isn’t it? Is it that the staff member doesn’t understand the task? Is it that they are overwhelmed? Is it a matter of a mis-match in communication styles? Are they unable or unwilling? Sometimes though, it’s not about ability or willingness, it’s more of an issue of…
Read MoreRealized Potential
Occasionally, I look at prior newsletters from UTSA and UT Austin to trigger ideas about topics, but today, as I am on the road, I’m going all in and just reprising an oldie. This is from the UTSA newsletter in August of 2009 and I’ve left in the UTSA specific references. Max De Pree is…
Read MoreComplex Organizations, Complicated People
Years ago, President Powers at UT Austin was invited to speak to a group of people who supported the various ministry groups located around campus – ministers, rabbis and imams. The Provost and I were invited to attend and, unexpectedly, we were asked if we wanted to speak. Difficult to say no in those circumstances.…
Read MoreStart Where You Are
Regular readers of this blog may have discerned that I have subscribed to a lot of newsletters. Some of them are new – I just subscribed to Matthew Dicks daily newsletter. Others, like the Ripples newsletter and A.Word.A.Day, I’ve been reading for many, many years. Daily, weekly, monthly they appear in my inbox and bring…
Read MoreIt’s the Mondayest Tuesday Ever
I saw this quote on Facebook yesterday. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who posted it to give credit, but it seems appropriate even though this is Wednesday. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day, not even mildly difficult actually. But last night as I was getting ready for bed, it hit me – it was Tuesday, not Monday.…
Read MoreFun Professional Development Is Not an Oxymoron
I learned early in my career, as an RA I think, that I don’t believe in the concept of mandatory fun which is an oxymoron if there ever was one. You know what I mean, that after-hours get together that is supposed to create camaraderie, but is unlikely to make anyone happy – other than…
Read MoreWhat is the New Normal?
Oh so many years ago, it was February when I joined UTSA and the campus was in the final stages of developing a ten-year strategic plan. That fall, every division and college or school was asked to create a five year plan that was directly in line with the overall campus program. In one way…
Read MoreCelebration Seasons
And suddenly it’s mid-May and we are reaching the end of one of the most amazing academic years of our lifetimes. Throughout my career, I was privileged to attend many of the year-end festivities for student organizations, student staff awards programs, appreciation receptions and other events designed to recognize and celebrate all the great work completed…
Read MoreLabels, Boxes and Identities
Several years ago, I was leading a workshop on True Colors (TM) for a group of faculty and staff as part of the Leadership UTSA program. One of the participants told me she generally didn’t like such things because she didn’t like putting people in boxes. A few months later, as we had used the language…
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