Spontaneity

What a Thanksgiving!!  Ate entirely too much…hung with the family…then drove back to Richmond for a great wedding and reception at The Jefferson Hotel…where, again, I ate entirely too much.  Now, we are all back to finish up the home stretch of coursework.  This has been a quick semester, but a very valuable one indeed.  Yesterday, I had a surprise visit from one of the directors from corporate and we had a nice chat about the position I have been interested in (executive director of career services).  We spoke of career services and how I envisioned the department in the future.  We both shared ideas…and strangely enough agreed on everything.  She is a great leader in her own regard and was fascinated with my ideas pulled from the Schein text…and other classes as well.  Mainly, we spoke of the communication aspect of a successful organization.  This is one portion of our department that needs help…which is where cultural leadership comes into play.  She also noticed an article I had on my desk, which spoke of appreciative inquiry.  After thinking about it more, this may be a wonderful method to evaluate our current processes in career services.  Anyway, it was a great meeting and I am hoping to move forward in the interview process so a decision can be made.  All of us have learned so much and I am SOOOOO eager to implement various strategies described by Schein, as well as others.  We have a strong department and remain a key aspect of student success, since their overall goal is to find a position in their field of study.  Yet, there is so much more we can do as a department…and I hope to be the one to lead us to the next level of success.