“We Have To Change”: Survive or Thrive

In higher ed, there are many storm cloud statements: “Due to changes in the [enrollment trends, budget shortages, technology, or regulatory environments, or whatever else], we must change.” Read: change or die. Fear, scarcity, survival. Everything is spiraling out of control, everything is on fire, and none of this is our choosing. What is worse: getting tossed out to sea or being retained to go down with the sinking ship?

What if the ship is sinking not because of the stormy seas, but because we are not building a better ship? Do we have control over the storm? Do we have control over the ship that we build?

In any case, who wants to be a part of a sinking ship? Sure, it can feel noble to go down with the ship, in some sort of twisted idealism. But let’s be clear: it is our own small thinking and resistance to unleashing our creative power that is sinking us, not the stormy sea.

We must change in order enliven powerful, creative action that will build new ways of traversing the stormy seas. Change is an opportunity to thrive. Certainly, there are costs. And not all changes will work. But by flipping our view from survive to thrive, the hard work of change suddenly sounds a lot more compelling.

There are so many brilliant, passionate and creative individuals in the higher ed industry. Let’s change our organizations to empower us to build better ships..or maybe entirely different crafts (or a different industry) all together.