Myname: Tracy Donnelly
Mycompany: Northern Lights College
Mytitle: Dean of Continuing Education
Mylocation: Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Bestbusiness advice I ever received: On the day she retired mysupervisor shared, “If you spend your entire career working to please yourboss, you will never be happy. Understand that the general motivation behind assignedtasks is to help your boss look good to his or her boss, and so on up thechain. Being aware of the full picture gives you the professional freedom tonot be beholden to any one person, while remaining true to your workplace goalsand your happiness.”
Her wisdom has rung true countless times over the past 10years. I have found that this notion allows me to notice when assigned directiveswill take me away from the overall strategic vision or mission. Rather than tryto please my supervisor at the moment, I am able to see the broader perspective.I can ask the supervisor which road I should travel, and ask for the support Ineed to meet the new goal. In the end I feel empowered—lending to a trulycollaborative experience.
Mostdaring personal career move: I was moving quickly towardmy PhD when I was told I would have to put everything on hold for a year. Itwas a crushing blow and it felt like I would never recover. Ultimately thisevent became a gift in strange wrapping paper, as it forced me to examine why Iwas on that path in the first place. Idiscovered that I was investing all this time and life energy into the Ph.D. mainlybecause I like to complete the projects I start. Stepping back, I realized Iwas already doing the work I love most—without the degree. Furthermore, if Icontinued down that path it would cost me time, money, and more sacrifice thanI wanted to give. After much reflection the choice became clear. I amgrateful for choosing to honor myself, as opposed to making a costly decision bornout of expectation and obligation.
I often think about how my life would have differed had I waitedand put everything on hold. I can honestly say I am happy that I took the riskto NOT finish what I started. If I had stayed on that path of sacrifice for thepromised unknown, I am almost certain I would never have been able to enjoy thelevel of impact I have on my community.
WhatI’m most proud of: I am most proud of mypersonal tenacity (although my loved ones call this being stubborn!) I am proudof how this very deep part of my character has positively impacted lives.
I have been given challenges such as, “Please build anursing program that we desperately need. Never mind that our previous effortshave been met with resistance.” As a point of clarity, I am not a nurse. I justtook the process step-by-step and built a quality program. I recallsitting in a windowless office creating this program from the ground up.
Since its inception in 2011, about 130 nurses havegraduated. My efforts have gone on to touch the lives of community members, families,and patients. This ripple will continue to reach out and change lives. It istruly an honor and a privilege to create something, even when it is hard andfull of unknowns. I believe with all my heart that education is the key tounlocking the door to generational poverty.
Currentworkplace challenge: When I took my currentposition as dean of continuingeducation, the division was in dire straits. In working to createsustainability, my first challenge was discovering that the required change wasmet with extreme opposition by just about everyone at the college. I had to takean honest look at the old thinking and how it mixed with my new thinking. Idiscovered that the opposing views running together created muddy water ratherthan clarity toward a unified vision. I had to stop everything and listento everyone. I had to reimagine my change strategies and shape a new vision. Ittook considerable time to make clear, data-drivendecisions and implement a solid and mindful new plan.
My overall success has been dependent on my ability to bringother departments into my decision tree. The conversation with internalstakeholders is not difficult, but setting my goals into motion through theirtimelines and their needs is difficult. My answer to finding balance has beento become hyper-transparent. I tell everyone on the leadership team everything,even when they don’t ask. This helps when conversations become stressfulbecause I have already planted seeds into why I need to tend to my garden at myfast pace. This generally softens the conversation and seems to work ascompared to just pushing through, which generally creates resentment andmisunderstandings.
In the end, I believe that my collaborative andhyper-transparent approach will infuse my divisional success with much morethan I thought possible with my initial plan and strategy.
Somethingpeople don’t know about me: I have overcome extremeshyness, and this personal growth has translated into me becoming a legendaryrock star. (Or at least that is what it feels like when I am in my car bymyself, on my commute to work!)
