Articulate your goals. I always tell
students that 90 percent of success is just showing up. It’s like
an old Woody Allen quote, but I
really believe in it. You have to
have a goal that you pursue, let’s
say a college education.
Just knowing that you want to
pursue your education is success in itself. Being able to articulate those goals and address
those goals and meet those
goals is kind of like the ultimate
journey you’ve completed.
(We) developed within the
university a broad-based university planning council comprised of students, faculty, staff
and administration. All of them
come together around the table
once a week to go through a
planning process of putting
together a set of priorities that
track those values and that particular belief system.
It does create a lot of discussion. There is bantering back
and forth. ‘Why should we
fund this and not that area?
That diverse group of folks is
going to have different opinions on how to get there.
Ask questions. Ask whether
that’s the direction we’re going
to go. There’s a constant level of
engagement and connectedness
that is occurring. It’s engaging
everyone in this process.
If we have a common purpose
or outcome that we have agreed
on that is in the strategic plan,
that is part of the university’s
lifeblood. You’ve got that as a
purpose and as a goal.
Let your people shine. Engage
folks by allowing them to be
themselves and by saying that
they can be just as productive
as anyone else. That’s the
approach that is much more
proactive. People really buy in
to it and are dedicated to what
they want to do.
They are going to approach
issues and challenges quite differently. Let them know
upfront that these are their
tasks and responsibilities and
this is what they need to do.
Give people the confidence
and the opportunity to address
you or send you information
or just knock on your door
and stop you in the hallway.
Be accessible, be a good listener and listen to the advice and
to the feedback you get.
Allow for that type of communication. Allow folks to provide
you differences of opinion for
issues perhaps you haven’t even
thought of or a specific variable
that makes a difference in making a decision.
Give folks the opportunity to
say that they are engaged and
that you are forthcoming.
HOW TO REACH: University of Houston-Downtown, (713) 221-8000 or www.uhd.edu
