Care Is a Leadership Skill, Not a Personality Trait You don’t have to be everyone’s best friend. But you do have to give a damn. That’s the job. If that feels blunt, great. Because this particular leadership trait (genuinely caring about your people as people) is often treated like a Read more
Words of Affirmation: Work Edition Every once in a while, folks will talk to me about Love Languages – a clever way of describing intimate relationship communication strategies. One of the Love Languages is “Words of Affirmation,” and I personally respond to this one head-and-shoulders beyond the others. So for Read more
Help Your People Connect the Dots on What They Do Best When I was a baby assistant director, I had this magnificent boss who was very popular for her people skills. She was the beloved adviser of the college student honorary and she also handled complaining students, faculty and even Read more
How to Lead with Value When the Dollars Don’t Show Up In higher ed, we’re no strangers to scarcity. Budgets get trimmed. Positions go unfilled. Technology is “refreshed” less and less often. And still, we show up—managing events with borrowed supplies, onboarding new staff without full teams, supporting students through Read more
Clarity Isn’t Intrusive: Why Clear Expectations Are a Gift “They should know what’s expected of them.” Should they? It’s a phrase I’ve heard from supervisors more times than I can count. It usually surfaces after frustration has simmered too long—after something didn’t get done “the right way,” or after a Read more
Passive vs. Active Relationships: Know the difference. Use ‘em both. We’ve all walked away from a day full of meetings, events, and conversations—and felt completely disconnected. There’s a weird paradox in student affairs and higher ed work: you’re surrounded by people, and yet it can be deeply isolating. That’s because Read more
Your Wellbeing Depends on Your People: Why Social Connections Matter More Than You Think Leadership can be lonely. You’re the go-to problem solver, the decision maker, the “let’s circle back on that” guru. But if you’re not careful, you’ll look up from your endless to-do list and realize you’ve become Read more
Open Your Ears (and close your mouth!) Earning a PhD is an exciting and triumphant accomplishment, and a ton of work! Several of my clients are in various stages of their doctoral programs, and I always enjoy hearing the stories of their triumphs and encouraging them through their barriers. I Read more
BCC, FWD, OOO and All the Trappings of Email I am old enough to remember using PINE for email. That flashing green cursor, the old-school noisy keyboards, the packed computer labs. I also recall that, as a very new professional, I got to witness more seasoned colleagues figure out how Read more
Full Capacity Protocol Like so many of us, the hubs and I enjoy a hospital TV show – one of our favorites was ER, which was popular when our daughter was young. Watching ER together was important date night material when we were busy with our young family. Even now, Read more