Sustainable & Leverage

So, what do those two words have to do with alligators? If you are like me, at this point in the year, you are so up to your neck in alligators that you sometimes forget why you are doing what you are doing. Reminding ourselves of the purpose of our work is so important. But that’s easier said than done. Talking about pursuing purpose, investing in relationships, and focusing on outcomes is easy. Doing it that can be a challenge.

In several recent conversations, as we debriefed or looked for ways to improve, we talked about whether we could make what we do more sustainable and leverage our activities to increase the impact.

Sustainable

In academia, we do a lot of things as individuals. However, our outcomes depend on each of us contributing to the whole. Often, significant initiatives only exist because of one person. It’s a lot of pressure for one person, and it’s not in the institution’s best interests if more of us don’t come alongside these efforts. The impact they were making goes away. Other times, it requires extraordinary effort by a small group to accomplish an immense task. What happens when the individual or group is worn out or decides to move on? What happens to the impact they were making? As we look to not be overwhelmed by the alligators, I would encourage us to look for ways to think about how we can make what we do more sustainable. Sometimes, this will be through greater focus or simplification. Other times, it will be done by asking others to come alongside to carry the weight.

Leverage

Leverage relates to sustainable because we can work smarter and then look for ways that can make a broader impact. With just a simple tweak, we can gain leverage. We achieve a more significant impact with a minimal, sometimes less, effort.

As the semester winds down and we move into the break, think about how you might simplify, focus, or involve others to make our work more sustainable. Then, think about if there are some simple things we can do to broaden the impact and outcome. Afterall, it’s the outcome that matters.

YOU make a difference!

Ponder this with me …