Last summer, I attended one of the EDUCAUSE Leadership Institutes. I attended two different ones but I’m choosing not to identify which one this particular post pertains to.
One exercise that seems common among the various leadership programs from EDUCAUSE is that we write a card to ourselves. Stuff we want to remind ourselves to do afterwards, or perhaps an important lesson we might forget that we need a reminder on. One thing I did last time, for instance, was to design a staff retreat using certain principles we had learned.
In one of the two institutes I attended, we also had to write a card to the person sitting to our left. Which meant that, 6 months later, I got a card with a suggestion from someone else, who had observed me during the week. To paraphrase, this card said that I had
lots of great ideas and energy, but need to slow down and ask others for their opinions before speaking up. You need to include others. Only then would I be successful
To be honest, at first this was rather hard to take. I felt a bit insulted and hurt; I wouldn’t be successful until I changed something?. Of course, I soon realized that the person didn’t intend it in mean-spirited way at all, and that, in fact, he was right. I do tend to let my enthusiasm and energy overwhelm the need to be thoughtful and inclusive. Oddly enough, I also tend to be inclusive overall, wanting to keep everyone involved. The two forces conflict, and the energy one sometimes wins out, such in this case. This particular institute, I found myself on the minority of ideas a lot, and therefore caused some tension now and then. I was frustrated by my group, overall, and even apologized to them in the end. So yes, the part of me that gets overly excited to the point of excluding others became an issue. This card reminded me of that.
Here I am today, at the EDUCAUSE Leading Change Institute, and I’m working hard at asking others for their opinions and letting others do the talking and presenting. I’m not saying I’m doing a good job of it – but I am definitely letting others talk. And I have to admit that it’s been really tough. I want to say every idea I have, and I want to be the one to present it to the attendees. I want everyone to know that I’m a presenter, comfortable talking with people, affable and funny. I feel this especially at an event like this because I don’t know the other attendees very well.
But I know I need to let go, and I need to trust in others. I have been trying really hard, with mixed success (as I was writing this sentence, I interrupted someone just out of enthusiasm. Definitely still working on it).
It will be a good thing in the long run and I still have a ways to go. I am determined to reel myself in for the rest of the week, and ask others for opinions and actively listen as much as possible. I want to be thoughtful.
Not easy, but an important skill, without doubt.