Dear NMC Community,<\/p>\n
Over the past three weeks \u2013 has it been just three weeks that I\u2019ve been on the job?<\/em> \u2013 my focus has been three-fold:<\/p>\n That translates to more than 100 calendared meetings and events during these first three weeks \u2013 listening and learning<\/em> \u2013 seeking to better understand who we are and how we serve our students and the wider community.<\/p>\n I share this update to be both transparent about \u2018what I\u2019ve been doing\u2019 and to be sure I am communicating and sharing feedback with you about what I am hearing as I engage in listening and learning. But also, recall, I promised that I\u2019d share with you \u2013 weekly, over a five week period \u2013 a\u00a0 short personal reflection about the \u201cFive Behaviors of Cohesive Teams,\u201d beginning with the importance of trust; then, working my way through \u2013 conflict, commitment, accountability and results.<\/p>\n I believe it\u2019s important to begin with trust. Trust is relying on someone else to do the right thing.<\/strong> I hope my role modeling and actions show you that I can be trusted, as you rely on me to listen and learn; champion a student-centered focus, as well as a community-centered and community-serving focus; and to be the college\u2019s Chief Storytelling Officer, sharing our good news stories, cheerleading and advocating for you, the college and our students.<\/p>\n I am also trusting you, relying on you to do the right thing. This week I witnessed just how reliable our NMC family is. When a longtime faculty member had to unexpectedly cancel his class for the semester, that very evening Bobbi Garner, the science and math office manager, came back into the office at 7 p.m. and worked with the instructor and his students until midnight, to ensure that they would be able to enroll in a class, and that there would be no adverse effect on their academic plans. Bobbi\u2019s student-focused action is a touching example of how trust produces great organizational outcomes. It\u2019s what happens when we can rely on someone else to do the right thing<\/em>.<\/p>\n Of course, as we seek to grow together we\u2019ll inevitably face challenges as all teams do; challenges around trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results. But, as one faculty member reminded me, after my last communication, \u201cLiving this out [the five behaviors of cohesive teams] starts with trust as the foundation, at the bottom of the page, and reads upward.\u201d His point to me is a reminder that trust is foundational, it\u2019s the bedrock upon which all of our aspirations will be built.<\/p>\n Together, let\u2019s continue to strengthen our foundation of trust, inside and outside of NMC with our partners in the community \u2013 relying upon one another, so our students and the community can also rely upon us to do the right thing. The \u2018so what\u2019 of intentionally developing trust is that it is essential to an effective team, because it provides a sense of safety. When we feel safe with each other, we feel comfortable to open up, and take appropriate risks. Without trust there’s less collaboration, creative thinking and innovation. On the flip side, where there\u2019s trust, we don\u2019t hold back, we\u2019re \u2018all in.\u2019 We think out-of-the-box and are willing to take prudent risks. In high-trust environments we don\u2019t need to look over our shoulders, instead we look to each other, and together we look ahead.<\/strong><\/p>\n Together, let\u2019s continue to look ahead!<\/p>\n Nick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear NMC Community, Over the past three weeks \u2013 has it been just three weeks that I\u2019ve been on the job? \u2013 my focus has been three-fold: maintain the momentum, ensuring that all the good work that our faculty and staff have already set in motion, continues to move forward; build relationships, with both our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intercom","category-presidents-update"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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