Control What You Can, Leave the Rest

Now that we are in post-pandemic times, many of us have learned that there is more in life and work that we can't control than before 2020.This is especially true for Admissions-related offices in colleges and universities who have long relied on predictive models which are suddenly not so predictive. As students arrive on campus ready for the new academic year, the realities of enrollment for both undergraduate and graduate programs now takes front and center with many schools not reaching their projected goals.

As the recruiting season starts, let's look at a few areas that we learned were out of our control during the pandemic. These are true now as well.

No Control and limited predictability:

• Other people's choices.
• The weather.
• Viruses.
• Technology working when you need it.
• Students starting or completing their education.

When the pandemic started 2 1/2 years ago, no one could have predicted the relentless waves of change forced upon everyone. The type of change and limitation was different from state to state, causing universities to recast expectations immediately and often. Now that we are entering a time when student and family expectations are heightened and the value of higher education is called into question publicly, how do Admissions, Marketing, Student Affairs, Financial Aid, and enrollment-related offices move forward?

When faced with jobs that require constant attention to detail and decision-making along with escalating enrollment pressures, it's critical to prioritize your problems into "What I Can Control" and "What I Can't Control". Let's look at what you can control on your campus.

• How you react to and treat others: Everyone has their limits and we've all had our patience tested during the past few years. You can still take the time to listen to colleagues and employees while juggling all the balls in the air. When you feel annoyed or distracted, count to 5 very slowly before you respond. You won't miss that 5 seconds at the end of the day, but you will miss a positive working relationship with lack of patience.
• How you set priorities: Do you stay focused on your job or do you get pulled into office projects and dramas around campus? I've seen so many employees derailed by requests that they are not doing the job they were hired to do. There is a very big difference between a crisis and a needy request. A brochure/pdf request is not a crisis. The website getting disconnected is a crisis. Respond accordingly.
• How you manage your time: I've always preferred to have an open door policy at the universities and hospitals where I worked. This practice creates an atmosphere of availability, trust and openness. However, as the pressures on admissions escalated in the past 5 years, I found myself closing the door when I needed to have space to think. Another practice is to block your calendar for Office or Admin Time. I would often do this early morning or lunch time (although I usually ate at my desk) throughout the week and it gave me time for unexpected tasks or to catch up with the workload.
• How you personalize your conversations: Internally, it's sometimes good to ask someone how they are or what have they done for fun lately. Learning more about others makes our work lives more enjoyable. When recruiting students and talking to families, it's important to remember that they are not "files", they are people. Many schools tout personal attention in their marketing materials, but don't deliver campus-wide when it comes to engaging and problem-solving with their student populations. There should be some agreement on the roles of non-academic offices and faculty in supporting prospective student engagement. It's up to us to make it easier for the public to engage with us as individuals with consistent information and engagement.
• How you learn from others: Colleges and universities are matrix organizations, which means they require cross-team collaboration and cooperation. Employees with a variety of skills and experience work together on projects all the time, providing learning opportunities for everyone. The matrix organization can be very liberating for those task-oriented employees who only see their small piece of the entire operation day after day. I learned from a technical employee how much she learned and expanded her horizons about the university by working on a project with me. She really didn't understand why she was doing her tasks day after day until being assigned to an admissions project that needed her input. Once she understood the "why", she was more empowered to contribute in the future and engaged in her role.
• How you manage yourself: Over the years I've attended many professional training programs and I am a certified Life Coach. When I worked in the hospital industry, we were required to attend training for CPR but there were also management courses provided to all employees. In higher ed it is not common practice to train staff or faculty for managerial roles, so there are many employees who can't manage their own time and workload. And it's really unfortunate when they are in leadership positions and supervise others. They tend to arrive at work or in meetings late, don't take many notes, have problems with organization and follow through, do not know how to counsel employees and more, but they possess technical skills that provide a ladder to the top. Wherever you are in the organizational hierarchy, you can choose to change bad or unproductive habits. There are many professional courses of study online as well as books on leadership, time management, and self development. YouTube videos can be helpful and are free! When you work on your own habits, you can become a better colleague and supervisor, affecting the lives of others positively.
• How you decide to start the day: How do you start your day at work? I always like to check my email to see if there is anything I need to add to my To Do list for the day. I prefer to jump in and get started as soon as I arrive. Others prefer to grab a cup of coffee and slowly start their day, getting energized later in the morning. When I was dealing with the pandemic and in the midst of decisions changing every hour, I decided to start my day more slowly. I knew the day would eventually become hectic so slowing down helped me to balance out the day and not feel mentally and physically burned out by the end of the day.

Take the time to get yourself focused as the new academic year starts, and decide to take control of the areas of your life that are important to your purpose and your work.