In over a decade of leadership in higher education, I have had the pleasure of working with and for many wonderful individuals that have all maintained a student first approach to their work. While this student first approach is the foundation that makes for a good employee in higher education, the GREAT employees and co-workers went beyond merely a student first approach, and they were the individuals I enjoyed surrounding myself with the most. In true higher education fashion, I will try and explain what makes those fantastic individuals GREAT in an acronym form, these type of people have the R.I.G.H.T. stuff that you want to associate yourself with. The R.I.G.H.T. type of people are ones that you want to be around in work, in parenting, in volunteering, in… “You Name It!“

*One caveat before we jump in, the ordering of attributes is not in order of importance, it simply makes the acronym work. It may best be read backwards.*

Risk Takers

One of the key attributes that I have recognized in GREAT leaders (both those in charge and those leading from the bottom up) and DADs is that they are not afraid of a little risk if the reward is high enough. In the workplace those that are able to recognize that an opportunity, when it presents itself, is worth the risk of possible failure are usually those that are able to take their institution to the next level. At times this may look like you are out on a ledge by yourself, trying something new that has yet to be attempted at your institution (even more rare is the truly innovative in the field creation that can carry even more risk with it), but those who are grounded with good morals and an ethical compass can lean on their morals and ethics to determine if the risk is worth the reward. Is a $100,000 investment into peer mentoring during a time of budget cuts worth the risk? Thankfully at my institution, we were able to find out that it indeed was worth the risk and increased retention 15% among incoming freshmen. That was no easy decision to make, and yet being willing to take the risk and live with the results allowed our institution to experience growth. What would have happened if the risk had not paid off and we were not able to increase retention? The institution still would have grown in knowledge and been able to make a better decision in the future, even failure has some reward. Most importantly though, had we not tried, we would not have increased retention, and 135 students would not have moved on to their second year.

Risk taking has implications in fatherhood as well. Coddling your child and keeping them from the outside world only prepares them to be solely reliant on you. If you instead introduce them to the world and teach them how to cope with it, there is a much higher chance that they will be self-reliant and prosperous as they get older. Today it is not uncommon for a child to live in their parent’s basement until the age of 25! I am afraid if we do not teach our children about responsible risk-taking, then by the time my child is of adult age that average age of basement dwellers will go up to 30! That statement alone is enough to cause me to be willing to accept some risk in exposing my child to the outside world even at her young newborn age. Sometimes we can take the risk with a child by leaving them with a babysitter while mom and dad go on a date. If for nothing else, hopefully, she will get to see what a strong marriage looks like that is centered on the marriage first, and then the child.

Inspiring

Over the last decade-plus of working in higher education, I have been very fortunate to enjoy what I do on a regular basis. I wish I could say that I wake up every day and look forward to the work I have ahead, but as a Title IX coordinator there have been a handful of days that have not been all that inspiring, and yet, in helping the students I am inspired by their resolve to pursue their educational goals. Students can indeed be our inspiration, in fact, if they are not inspiring you to reach your best and do your best, then I would encourage you to look for another profession. A similar correlation can be made about being a DAD, if your child doesn’t inspire you to be your best for them and provide the best for them, then… then you need to figure it out and change that.

While our children and our students may inspire us, it makes a world of difference when your co-workers can also be inspiring. This goes for both those that lead from the bottom up and those that have positions of leadership within the institution. I am not sure which I find more inspiring honestly. A new employee with drive and desire to do great things, both to help students and simply to be their best self, is incredibly inspiring and makes a supervisor of that employee want to meet and exceed the level of inspiration that the new employee is exhibiting.

When a leader of an institution creates an institutional vision and exemplifies that vision through inspiring the employees of the institution to reach the goals set forth by the leader, it will result in an institution reaching and achieving new heights on a regular basis. This inspiration creates more inspiration to the point where new heights become the new norm. In an institution where inspiration is coming at you from all directions, you have no choice but to choose to be inspired and inspire others yourself.

Go-Getters

Has anyone ever told you, “Way to be a go-getter”? This is my favorite praise and has many different forms. At the end of the day, it is a direct result of what I have found to be the most valuable character trait that is absolutely the hardest to teach, initiative. (In fact, if you know how to teach initiative please let us know in the comments. Also, before you say it, I know that using Go-Getters as an alternative to the word initiative may seem like the easy way out, but hey it makes my acronym work.)

Initiative is something that is incredibly hard to quantify, and I have even found it hard to look for in an interview process, yet I would rather have an employee working for me that is off the charts on the initiative scale than any other character trait, skill, or attribute. Simply put, you can teach someone to get smarter, you can’t teach initiative (at least not before it drives you insane that someone lacks initiative).

A Go-Getter mentality can more than make up for other areas that one may lack as an employee. Initiative will be one of the greatest things I attempt to instill in Biscuit and fortunately I have many years to try to get this one right, and we don’t have to master it overnight. In the world of higher education, or any industry for that matter, not showing initiative can result in not having a longterm job, so take the first step and figure out how to learn it, earn it, or get it, whatever you must do show the initiative. (fyi if you take this first-step then that is initiative so bravo)

Happy

Another incredibly valuable and yet frequently understated characteristics is that of just being an overall happy person. This is a trait that I am drawn to as I have grown up with the gift of criticism, I can look at a situation and pick it apart telling you what went wrong and how it could be better. Who knows, maybe one day I will put this to use as a consultant? However, if I am not careful, my gift for criticism can come across as being unhappy with my work or the work of others. For this reason, it is even more critical (pun intended) that I make sure people know that I am a generally very happy person and love my job.

When you work with someone that is not happy to be at work, it simply brings down the entire environment and can make every day miserable. It is for this reason that happy people are the type of people that you want to surround yourself with at the workplace. They can make you look at your day in a whole new perspective that is both fun and energizing.

In being a DAD being happy is incredibly important as well, this is especially true leading up to and right after the birth of your new child. This is such a critical time in which your spouse needs you to be your best version of self and encourage her that everything will be ok. This is true for all new dads, and especially for those that are worried about exactly what comes next. So long as you take a happy approach to being a dad, everything will be ok, and both you and your wife will be great parents.

Trustworthy

In the people that you choose to surround yourself with either at work or at home, the R.I.G.H.T. people are trustworthy. Trustworthiness is something that is earned, through exemplifying an excellent work ethic and dedication to relationships. As a DAD I plan to prove I am trustworthy by doing what I say I will do. By keeping the best interest of my child and family at heart.

Similarly, in the workplace, I keep the best interest of students at heart and focus on delivering on the things I say I will accomplish. In doing these two things, I develop and establish trustworthiness with my employer and my peers. While we should all go into every situation with the thought that the person across the table is a trustworthy individual, that initial amount of trust is small and can be short-lived if squandered.

Someone who is trustworthy is not easy to come by, but once you find them, you won’t want to let them go.

Alright, alright, al-R.I.G.H.T.

When it comes to who you surround yourself with at home or in the office, remember to look for the R.I.G.H.T. type of people. As for me, I am fortunate enough to get to surround myself with the R.I.G.H.T. two ladies every day, and I am all the better for it.