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I've been asked to share my thoughts on a deans' panel on how to support morale & wellness for students, faculty, and staff. This is a preview. 1. Frequent communication to F&S emphasizing our shared mission, acknowledging hardships, and showing care is important. Tone matters.
W/r/t hardships for F&S: A leader needs to truly get it & show she does. It's hard to get info when you can't walk the halls, so you have to do town halls, surveys, phone calls, etc. There's no substitute for leading from the front: I did trainings & I'm teaching now. It's hard!
2. Communications should be quick, clear, and frequent. Uncertainty creates anxiety: try to be as clear & forthcoming as possible. Provide as much information as you can quickly. Trust those around you to be able to handle the truth, even if it is hard.
3. Constantly model kindness & flexibility & emphasize our shared humanity in this moment. Ask how people are coping. Ask about their families. Project optimism, show courage, be resilient, but admit that this is hard. If there was ever a time for authenticity, this is it.
4. It is important to discuss mental health & wellness issues openly & often, because the stigma is still real. I opened our student orientation with this message, I talk about it frequently, and I'm getting ready to reach out again with support and a list of resources.
I have lost students to suicide before, one @ UF and one @ MU. It haunts me. It's changed me as a teacher/dean. I'm lucky to be at a school w/ a culture that emphasizes that we must all look out for one another. I reinforce that culture every chance I get, but especially now.
5. Try to stick to routine to the extent possible, recreate missing rituals (like retirement parties). Now is not the time to philosophize or launch grand new initiatives. Predictability in a time of uncertainty brings comfort.
6. Seek as much input as you can, & change course as necessary. Model adaptability + decisiveness. Preserve your credibility at all costs by being honest+ forthright. Most of all, show you care by putting people 1st. (Writing this shows me I need to organize my thoughts better.)
