February 2016, Issue 2
Message from VPSA
Sam Gonzales
The Power of Conversations
Recently, I attended the Student Affairs New Staff Orientation hosted by the Staff Development Team. The day began with a meet and greet between the employees and our divisional leadership. Next, I led a conversation about what the staff hope to learn in their new roles and what they hope to gain as a member of our community. It was a powerful way to start the day.
It should be our goal to facilitate conversations with each other and our students.
We all know that I attend a lot of meetings, but my favorite meetings are ones in which the discussion of action plans or tasks transitions seamlessly into conversations. Conversations transform meetings into discussions that ground our agenda by guiding our philosophies, our purpose and our collaborations.
Once we start turning our meetings into conversations, we open ourselves up to the possibilities of the project or event. We don’t stop with good, but advance to great. We find ourselves listening to the attendees and considering different perspectives. Most of all, I leave conversations knowing more than when I arrived, and often with new ideas.
When we start having more conversations, we greatly impact students. I just had a meeting with student leaders from our Student Government Association. We covered our agenda and proposed solutions, but we also had an honest conversation about the student experience. I left that conversation with a new way to look at potential solutions and I felt motivated and energized. It is the power of conversation.
So, go out with the intention to add conversation time to your meetings. Listen, explore, dream, design and let me know what you find.
Best wishes,
Sam
We Are UTSA! We Are Student Affairs!