When you work in the digital space, it’s all about change. Times change, priorities change, tools change. Nothing, as much as we may want it to, stays the same. I often say that if I approached my job the same way I did back when I was hired, I’d be doing a terrible disservice to my campus.
But change is hard. Especially if we’re used to doing something the same way for a long time. Some people will give it a chance, some people will embrace it completely, and some people will spend significant time and effort to tear it apart. The first couple groups are easy to deal with; the challenge comes with the third group. One piece of advice I’ve gotten lately is not to take the efforts of those not in your particular camp personally.
I happened to be turning this over in my head today while watching the tweets from the always-brilliant Scott Stratton’s (@unmarketing) keynote at HighEdWeb 2015. I decided taking it personally may not be a bad thing. One of the most quoted lines from his address was “Integrity matters. When you lose the integrity, you lose the care. Integrity is not a renewable resource.”
It was one of those moments where the clouds parted in the skies revealing the sun after a storm.
For me, taking something personally means that I’m still passionate about what I do. Taking something personally shows I’m a real human that cares about what I create. Taking it personally means I’m going to do everything in my power to listen to concerns and see how we can make things better.
But taking it personally also necessitates that level of integrity that Stratton reminds us is key. It does not give us the right to engage in personal attacks of those who don’t agree with us. Nor does it give us permission to act without empathy and compassion.
It’s all about how to move forward that makes all the difference. Because as Stratton reminded us “You have a limited amount of emotion to give each day. Give it to the good ones.”
So I say go ahead and do take it personally, but always act with integrity.
View from the Trenches 