Michelle Howard-Vital

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The Heart of any Company is its Employees

Recently at a meeting with colleagues at the American Council on Education, we discussed the College presidency, the average age of college presidents, and how to engage in both succession planning and preparation of a qualified cadre of candidates for future college presidents, or those at least willing to consider the opportunities and challenges of leading an institution of higher education.

working_together_teamwork_jigsaw_puzzleEven though higher education is witnessing a transitional in leadership and re-envisioning its responsiveness to societal needs, as a sector, it is probably not alone. Many industries are undergoing similar transformations, as they experience rapid technological changes, the surge of online transactions, new generations of workers, and global competitors.  One of the obvious questions in the workforce is how do we prepare leaders who will lead multi-generational and diverse workforces in a very digital age, in a range of industries, to meet current and future consumer and societal needs? Without a doubt, there are numerous leadership gurus and perspectives, programs, and adages.

Yet, the core of it is that the heart of any company is its employees. Regardless of rank, education, or generation, employees, for the most part, are the key to innovation, productivity, and perceived value of the company. Employees, for their part, want to be recognized, respected, valued, and informed how their daily activities somehow benefit the well-being of society. Because employees change jobs six or more times in their careers, it is also important for employers to furnish incentives, design collaborative teams, and offer acknowledgements to keep talented employees and to maintain a positive working environment.

Given our current national political divides, creating a cohesive workforce based on shared values could be at least one way to bridge some of our differences and build a more perfect union.

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Let Us Give Our Families the Gift of Tolerance For The Holiday Season

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Happy Holidays!
We say that phrase often during this time of the year.

Many of us attend, with our families, churches, synagogues, mosques, and other “places of worship” during the Holiday Season. Visiting these places of worship is a good thing, I guess–if it is more than a ritual or another box to check because we have been told we are supposed to do such.

Holiday Season 2014, many of us notice an undeniable undercurrent of unrest and intolerance in America, and other places of the world. Peace and civil discourse seem to be eroding, and some citizens believe they must take to the streets to be heard, acknowledged, and understood. Whether we are watching protests marches, vitriolic political campaigns, the frenzy over Ebola, viewing violent acts around the world, or interacting with persons in our community–one thing is sure–we need the gift of understanding and tolerance in our communities, cities, in America, and in many places in the world.

Like most fundamental orientations, the gift of tolerance probably begins in the smaller units of “family worlds”–in the conversations that parents have with their children and the examples they set when interacting with people who seem to be different from them.

From my perspective, there are at least a few basic essentials needed for giving the lifelong gift of tolerance that can be taught in our family worlds:

• Expanding the family’s knowledge base about other people, their lives, opinions and ethnic origins, by viewing them from numerous and historical perspectives. Do not assume….

•Treating other individuals and families as we would like others to treat us and our families (almost all organized religions profess this ethic of reciprocity).

•Gathering facts, from different perspectives, and discussing them in our families before rushing to generalizations or judgments.

So, Happy Holidays and spread the gift of tolerance in our families this season and into 2015. Such a gift will improve the well-being of all Americans, and it will be the gift that keeps on giving!