Dr. Gary Carlson

Warren, Small groups are always good for the ownership in the task at hand. When you can get the peer relationships going in the smaller settings there will be more contributions from each individual. Lack of interest is not as prevalent. Dr. Gary Carlson

Margaret, Leaders often standout because of their demeanor and personality. When leading the personal side comes out with honesty, integrity, consistency and fairness. Dr. Gary Carlson

Katherine, Crisis plans should never be put on the shelf to gather dust. We should constantly look at them on a scheduled basis. One way to do this is to set aside a calendar date to review throughout the year. Crisis plans are a good start but remember that when a crisis occurs is when we need to be able to adapt the plan on the fly. This is the sign of a good plan and leadership Dr. Gary Carlson

Margaret, I have used a saying that will fit exactly with your statement. It is that people don't care what you know until they know that you care. Dr. Gary Carlson

Margaret, You are right about the ability to plan with averts some of the issues with a crisis. Also, a great leader will take the plan and be able to adapt to issues during the crisis. It is not always possible to create all the scenarios in a pre-plan but when your plan is close you can make the changes necessary to keep the crisis at manageable levels. Dr. Gary Carlson

Ryan, Release of emotion is the healthy practice we all need to learn. Screaming in the cooler works for you but I would even look farther into the best practices for release of emotion. There are numerous activities that can release stress. A balance plan of exercise, good health habits, mental activity aside from work, recreation, spiritual rejuvenation and others keep us in the right fram of mind to accomplish great things. Dr. Gary Carlson

Janet, Priority is the key to accomplishing the most important topics first on and agenda. Pre agenda distribution and topic expectations will give the members the ground work on what is expected. Time limits are set for a purpose and only the leader of the meeting can extend or reduce time on each agenda item. It is necessary at times to make adjustments but it is extremely important to not let discussion get off track or allowing the same discussion when it becomes redundant to continue. Dr. Gary Carlson

Lani , We are a business and existence of peoples lives. Our responsibility is to protect people at all cost. We need as a society to feel safe. When we as leaders can give this assurance for our ability to plan and prepare with a purpose will help us to endure all crisis as they come forward. Our plans are for the safety of our staff and students. Dr. Gary Carlson

Jeannie, Making yourself available and known to your staff and students is key to having the trust level when people need to talk with you. This accessibility for your staff to you will help in the time of crisis when it comes. The respect, trust and honesty has been earned my your ability to care and be available. Dr. Gary Carlson

Alex, All of these instances are definitely issues. Data is always a concern and redundancy is an answer is another sight with data protection. Just having the for thought to know what the issues could be will allow you to make a plan. Some plans never get used but having one makes the time they do come a way to reduce the impact. Dr. Gary Carlson