A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.

A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.

A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.

Making the impossible, possible

Troy Gilbertson, Martin Tadlock, Michelle Frenzel, Colleen Greer, Mary Ward

October 2015

B E M I D J I S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

Troy Gilbertson

• Mindfulness:  Specifically at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day walking on and off campus I try hard to just be for those moments and not think about what just happened or is likely to happen.  I try to pay attention to that particular point in time.

• Email civility:  I prefer direct communication over email whenever possible, and normally begin email with “Dear name“  I find this calms the environment most of the time, and specifically this is important during evening/weekend hours to minimize drama.

• Email sabbatical:  This is an idea that I have not figured out yet.  The concept (not mine) is to turn off email completely for some period of time.  Not an auto reply, but actually turn it off so that during some defined period of time, people cannot contact me via email.

• Bag lunch:  I brown bag my lunch almost every day.  Normally this is a healthier option than fast food.

• Walking office hours:  Combine important informal means of communication with direct reports/students/other stakeholders with some exercise.  This also sets a work/life example I think.  This is still pretty new so I’m not sure how it works yet.

W O R K / L I F E B A L A N C E F R O M A N E W B I E

Martin Tadlock

VVJXR-EZDTB-IPRMG

Michelle Frenzel

Ideas to maximize

commute time.

APPS for iPhone:

Focus Ahead: Read aloud web pages

vBookz PDF Voice Reader

Keeping track of projects/ initiatives.Meet bi-weekly with all direct reports.

Document every meeting.

Review prior meeting notes.

Spreadsheet used to track.

E-mailsFiling everything… at least almost everything!

Follow-up folder.

Colleen Greer

Colleen Greer• Planning Ahead – Review week ahead Sunday evening

or Monday morning to see what’s “coming up”

• Use One-Note to keep track of projects – shared folders with assistant to anticipate and respond to weekly/monthly/six month initiatives

• Schedule weekly meetings with staff to update task list and progress

• Face-to-face meetings with all chairs once every six weeks and meet with all departments at least once a semester

• Structure department chair meetings around key topics in higher education as well as local informational items

• Organize a social event for the entire college once a semester

Mary Ward

Define Reality Max Dupree

Mary Ward

Why does it matter?

What do we need to know?

Sense making

Create a Vision. . .Mary Ward

How do we get there?

Where do we

want to be?

Sense making

Trust . . .Mary Ward

Stay committed. . . Demonstrate

character

Show confidence. . . .empower

others

Sense making

Say Thanks . . . Max Dupree

Mary Ward

THANKS, THANKS, THANKS

Say Thanks

Sense making