Last month a bus drove off a steep mountain cliff in Thailand. While the accident site is known for its fatality rate, in this case there were, miraculously, no deaths and few serious injuries.
Within a short time, I learned that the son of family friends had been on the bus and was OK. A few days later, I learned from friends in a small nonprofit that their office manager and her husband were also on the bus. (She was injured and is receiving excellent hospital care.)
The experience of having two unrelated groups of people expressing concern about an accident that happened on the other side of the world has me thinking about the global nature of leadership. Who are the people that connect this group? How did they build the global network that brings us together? How can I be a more global leader? How can I nurture my place in the broader educational community?
As we enter the final weeks of the semester and face one of the busiest and most hectic times of the year, I plan to be much more intentional about focusing on what is really important. I hope I can focus on the people and projects that matter to me and nurture my networks, rather than getting caught up in busywork or, worse, complaining about people who see things differently.
Sometimes the world is a very small place, and our impact can be very large.
Dee Anne Bonebright
Higher EDge 