I am at a small liberal arts college in the mountains. Which mountains doesn't really matter, let's just say the 'Rockies.' Let's call it OSC for simplicity purposes. If you would like to know what the acronym stands for, just post a comment with your email address and I will send it to you. As an added morsel to contribute to the juciness of these postings, I am an alumni of this "institution," a term that is used for colleges and universities as well as mental health facilities - I have come to realize that I now need to spend some time in the latter to see if there are more similarities because I believe that are many!
As a student, I was provided with a caring and attentive residential learning experience that continues to this day to influence my life. My current social contacts for the most part were fellow students here. This is where I met my wife, fell in love, and as fate would have it, where she works as well. The spouse/spouse combo is not rare here as I understand is common in this industry. This extremely positive experience, however, is not translated to those in the employ of the institution, especially as staff member, can't really say if the feeling is the same for faculty, but some have shared that it is.
Prior to my arrival, I had been in the consulting business. Due to current economic conditions, I needed to find something else to do and chose a challenging opportunity to "fix" a broken support department at OSC - or at least that was what I was told during my interview process. That information is crucial to help explain what will follow on this blog as to what has happened and what will be happening during my internment here.
Please understand that I have a deep appreciation for the job as I needed something to do. I had a business running with several employees that is now shut down and I had to be the one to let them know the news of termination and layoff. But I spent much of my life in professional and volunteer settings building teams, developing team members and employees, establishing lines of communication, setting goals and agendas, forming visions and mission concepts and working towards executing them, and celebrating the successes and analyzing the obstacles that prevented success. From this background in experience, I am also furthering my education in organization communication and leadership as it is my passion.
So to keep an understanding for future use and clarifying my experience, I will use this blog to help me understand what I am experiencing - a reflection tool if you will. Why? Because up til now, I have felt that I was progressing forward, growing personally and professionally, and seeing the results of my passion and efforts. Now I have fallen into 'Plato's Cave' and it is a dark place void of the light of truth and knowledge. I can still eat in this cave, but my eyes need the sun that they are used to and it is hard to find my way around the cave and/or out of it.
Thanks & remember:
That's Justin Credibill!
