Uncle Ben’s “with great power comes great responsibility” is a standard leadership principle for many, including myself. Also, with every responsibility comes expectations that might make people upset, especially the ones you lead.
A recent article in Inside Higher Education addressed this reality: the largest community college in the Pennsylvania State system is cutting mental health services. In this particular community college on a go forward basis, these services are being handled by the community to which students are directed (how they are directed remains a mystery to me). And, when you look at the reasons: budget, budget, budget. I’d add lack of utilization and lack of an outcry. And, a lack of understanding of who are students are and our responsibility to them.
I don't bite, and when I realised that I needed to be networked I also recognised that the most interesting connections and opportunities were most likely to come from people I didn't know and who did not know me ........ yet! I value all my friends and past-colleagues (well, OK, one or two fall below the line for me, but I am only human!) and the advice and support they have given, but if I restricted my network to them then I would be caught in a closed circle.
I travel a lot. And now that I'm no longer an Executive Assistant I make a concerted effort to really work on my situational awareness. It's one of my superpowers that took me to the top of the game as an EA and something I never want to dull or get dusty.
Last week I realized a dream. I presented to around 400 Executive Assistants at Microsoft HQ in Seattle. ME! A 50-year-old, gay, Black, ex-farmboy who grew up in freshly segregated East Texas not knowing what life had in store for me.
Let’s get real – there is no such thing as artificial intelligence (AI) yet. At best, when people talk about Artificial Intelligence they really mean machine learning. By some predictions, we won’t see truly intelligent machines until the 2030s or later.
In this article I hope to offer a practical 3-step way to address the topical issue of accessibility for all; particularly access to the technology and systems that are so integral to modern society. In truth what I will propose seems so obvious that I am concerned that I may have missed something.