No offense intended by using the term “nerd” because I am a self-proclaimed goofball, silly goose, and nerd. So, I want to share a little piece of that with you because it is an example of how this program has helped me live authentically and how I am beginning to share myself with my team.
If you are participating in the upcoming event, I ask that you stop reading here and don’t steal my awesomely nerdy idea. Agreed? Okay, let’s continue.
So, I may have mentioned in a previous blog that our institution is celebrating its centennial celebration (woot woot, centennial class!). Leaning into that 100-year achievement, this upcoming weekend, we will participate in a campus preview event. These are typically themed, and this fall’s theme is “A Century of Leaders.” Boy, oh boy, were we stumped.
We’d recently done a decade of leadership and struggled to think of something new. “Cheers to 100 years” and President Taylor for taking a picture with our booth at the Spring event. We showcased the 100 years of university presidents and had university annuals from the 1950s to the 70s for guests to view.
So, one morning, I was mulling over the theme. I kept repeating, “A century of leaders, A century of leaders, leaders, leaders, leaders, leaders, humm liters?!?!”
What if we created liter bottle people to represent a century of leaders liters. So, I pitched the idea to my immediate supervisor. Then, I pitched the idea in a staff meeting. Needless to say, I was met with many stares of “Are you kidding me?” but no one flat out said, “That’s stupid,” and no one offered a better suggestion, so away we went. In my head, I could hear them saying they were crafty and couldn’t possibly create 6people from 2-liter bottles. But I was prepared. I came armed with middle school assignments to create just such a thing. I asked them if they could think of anything else, and I came prepared with lists of distinguished alumni and a more contemporary top 25 most recognizable alumni. We began brainstorming who we could create and showcase as our entry into the prize-winning contest.
I feel so much like Dr. Harapnuik when he says he’s so sneaky in how he helps us learn, collaborate, and grow (COVA). My teams have worked together to create their “bottle buddies.” When I explained in the staff meeting that 5th graders were making these, I found that everyone stopped thinking they couldn’t. We just needed a little dose of Growth Mindset. I will see staff members wandering off with felt, hot glue guns, and any crafting supplies I and others brought to the office.
The culture is shifting. There is teamwork happening. It is so exciting!
I have selected Florene Miller Watson as my most recognizable alumni of LU to honor with a crafty creation since I visited the WASP Museum in Sweetwater, Texas.
The Advisor That Cares 
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