The late Dr. Phil Schlechty oft reminded us that the people we work with, our internal and external customers, and even our students (for the educators among us) should be viewed as volunteers.
Each and every one of them extends to us their time, effort, attention (and sometimes money) in direct proportion to how engaged they are with us and with the actions/progress/vision we propose.
If we drink Dr. Schlechty’s koolaid, then what should we be be doing to increase the level of engagement of that wide range of stakeholders we serve?
Worth considering is this menu…
- TRUST – Seek mightily to foster trust between and among the individuals and groups with which we engage.
- LEARNING – Heavily invest time and resources toward the advancement of knowledge and skills with those on our team, and with those from whom we seek support.
- TRANSPARENCY – Be open and equitable with information flows and resource allocation.
- FOCUS – Craft clear and very concise messaging regarding what we are about and what needs to be done to achieve our goals.
- DISCIPLINE – Follow the advice of Coach Phil Jackson: “Chop wood, haul water.” Every day, all day, in many ways.
- LISTEN – Intently listen to all stakeholders, with our ears, with our eyes, with our hearts.
We can never get it all right, all the time, but …… we can get better at each, every day.
Today is an excellent day to begin raising the engagement level. No telling what we can accomplish…us and our volunteers, that is.
*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.
