If you’re like me and everyone I talk with these days, you’re feeling worn out and discouraged about…well, lots of things. We’re out of the big pandemic, but the fear of contagion and some angst about being in close spaces with many people linger. War and violence in the world are in the news daily and the political and social schisms around the world seem to be at all-time highs. I bought one of those “funny” frig magnets recently that said, “I only worry about two things: The past and the future. Also, right now is troubling.” That’s me for sure.
What gives me hope on a good day are human relationships. I just spent a week in a Summer institute with colleagues at Kansas State University. It was a national, virtual, conference but we had several sessions of “team time” in person on our campus. These young professionals are taking up the mantel of leadership, with all its challenges, and connecting with them and developing deeper relationships was an honor and a privilege. Day to day, I think we need to be intentional about building community with our colleagues, our students, and people in our communities – all the people who will have to come together to solve the critical problems of our country and world. Many people in education at all levels have realized the importance of human connection and have made it a vital part of their practice. Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick, a clinical professor in the College of Education at the University of Northern Arizona, shared this with me about the way she fosters connection in her work:
Reading Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization affirmed many of the concepts that I incorporated in my P-12th grade and post-secondary teaching practices. As a chair of academic programs and now as the associate vice president at Northern Arizona University, I am able to apply the themes in the book as I lead a team of professionals from diverse backgrounds and experiences who all have families of their own. So, I am very mindful about their emotional well-being. When we have our one on one meetings, I ask about their partners, their children, their parents, and anything else that is going on. In many cases, they are happy to share about their children’s accomplishments: volleyball tournaments; acceptance into college; or their own progress in their professional development. As our relationship has become stronger, they even share some challenges.
I attribute the phenomenon to how I am vulnerable with them. For example, recently, I had to be out of the office in order to take care of my Mom who had fallen and fractured her femur and needed to have surgery. So, at a team meeting, I shared some of the challenges that I was experiencing in addressing her needs. In modeling my vulnerability with them, my direct reports feel safe to do the same with me and with one another. In doing so, it feels like we are a very cohesive unit. For example, one of the regional directors on the team completed a graduate program this Spring, and everyone on the team attended the commencement ceremony to celebrate her accomplishment. Additionally, we are strengthening our own as well as each other’s bandwidths which prompts us to better meet and/or exceed our unit’s goals and objectives.
Thanks, Marjaneh, for these practical applications of your wisdom. We can all learn from you and each other and continue to build the kinds of relationships within which we can have conversations that lead to transformational change.