identitySPECIALIST

How often do you think about what you communicate?  I’m sure your first thought was, about communicate – what you say or the words that you use.  I guess that is what the question communicates, but I’m thinking about the things that I don’t say and what that communicates.  

I have looked around where I work.  I am changing a few things around the campus.  I am going to make some changes that will be noticeable.  In fact, I have had a few people that have said – I’ve been here 20 years (one has been there for 30 years) and no one has ever done that – Why hasn’t someone done that?  I’ve thought about it for many years, but no one has done it.  (For my students reading this – you’re going to have to wait till the Fall when you return to see it so don’t even try to ask what we’re doing or what we’re changing)

We have set up some things on our campus that communicate a certain message – and the basis for many of these changes is that we want to stop communicating it in that way.  We are going to change things  to communicate a difference message.  These are messages that we communicate with the set up of buildings and rooms.  These are messages that we communicate – without words.  

I think the reason it hasn’t been changed for 20-30 years is because no one has really had the vision for it.  People have used excuses – it’s not my job (an excuse that I’ve used).  Change can happen if you want it to.  It may not always look like what you had in mind, but you can make change happen.  I can make change happen, but the changes are taking place for the benefit of the students and staff that work at the place.  I think it’s much easier to make change – and make things happen when it’s for the benefit of most everyone that will be there.  

We needed to change some of the things that we were unintentionally and unconsciously communicating.