HR Newsletters 2020

Part 2—WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

Dr. Andrea Mayfield

Learning to embrace change, confront challenges, and interact with people on multiple levels has been critical to both my personal and professional growth. It is this growth that served to catapult my career. Every role I have ever held, has provided hidden opportunities to grow, and learn meaningful lessons. Having served in almost every role in the community college, from faculty to president and beyond, I have experienced situations and circumstances that have brought joy, anger, disappointment, fear, and even disbelief. Unequivocally, the most challenging of circumstanc- es to me, are those which involve personnel. I have always cared about people and wanted to provide them with opportunities to achieve their dreams, and in doing so, maximize their potential. When you care about people and want them to achieve their maximum potential, the decisions you make have a lasting impact. There are circumstances that we as leaders face, which test what we think about the impact we are making, and how we feel about the people we influence and influence us. I have been asked many times during my career, “what keeps you up at night”. My answer is always the same. Items that involve personnel, people. I am a “trusting sort” unless proven wrong. I like to believe the best about people, even those I just met. Through my many years of circumstances in many roles, I still BELIEVE in peo- ple. Throughout the years, I have experienced many difference emotions when I reflect on people and situations I have had the great fortune to encounter. While it can be difficult to recall every situation where I was overjoyed with pride in the people I work with, I find it is easy to remember the few disappointments. I suppose this is true because disappointments associated with personnel are few. A recent example of such feelings of disappointment and betrayal involve a legal case. A once trusted team member made the decision to insert themselves into a legal personnel matter in such a way that their actions sabotaged the integrity of the case. Fortunately situa- tions like this a rare, but when they do occur, it causes me to take a step back, to question more closely. The stories I read often focused on the good, the sad and the betrayal of trust. I believe wholeheartedly that reading prepared me with fundamental skills to value people and to also understand that people make mistakes and learn from them. I have read thousands of books which have a story line focused on expectation, loyalty, deception, and betrayal. Fictional situations that catapult the reader into unexpected and challenging circumstances, helps to facilitate emotions and analytical thought needed to navi- gate the situation with the best outcome.

16