Being open to new ideas

What does being receptive mean to you?

As part of our ongoing DiSC work, the ALT is currently focusing on how to be more receptive as a team. Our team DiSC profile highlights that being receptive is not the trait we exhibit most naturally as a team, and we know it is important. Being receptive creates a culture where people are comfortable sharing reservations, confusion, and new ideas. Being receptive allows us to create more alignment in the team, and do more together.

On vocabulary.com, being receptive is defined as follows: “To be receptive is to be open to new ideas or change. If you're responsive to other people's suggestions and not set in your ways, then you're not only receptive, but flexible.”

But the definition of being receptive we care about most is yours. What does it mean to you? Or what does being receptive look like to you?

Do you require agreement with your perspective/idea to consider another individual receptive? Is being receptive about a transparent process through which you trust your input has been considered? What has to happen for you to know that someone/some group is receptive?

The ALT sincerely wants your input into this discussion to help inform our next steps. So please provide your thoughts on what being receptive looks like.

New: Q&A Sessions with the ALT

In the interest of being receptive, and to augment our internal communications and provide ongoing opportunities for input, members of the ALT have agreed to sit in the hot seat ALTogether Now!

The ALT will now be available for open Q&A sessions once per semester. This is your opportunity to ask question(s) of any ALT members on any topic. Would you appreciate more information on the Office of Advancement or the university budgets, perhaps? Ask for status updates on the implementation of a particular component of the strategic plan, Forward, Together, that interests you. Pose any questions about general university business you may have, or ask an ALT member for updates on an initiative in their area.

There will be no pre-set agendas, so the Q&A sessions will last as long as you have questions (the meeting space will be booked for up to the one hour).

And since attendance at these sessions is of course optional, space will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration for the first ALT Q&A session on March 11 from 9:30 to 10:30 am is now open.

Have Your Say on Safety

On May 2, 2019 the Workplace Safety Guidelines were officially launched. The ALT recently reviewed the guidelines to assess the safety of our team, as well as the implementation of this important work.

I am relieved to report that in the past nine months there have been no reported situations of compromised safety relative to the scope of these guidelines. I am also pleased to share that the guidelines have been used to support managers and employees discussing personal risk assessments, and have ultimately empowered employees to make decisions that allow them to feel safe.

The guidelines cover individuals in the course of their advancement work who may, as a requirement of their positon, interact with donors, alumni, volunteers and/or other stakeholders in both an on- and off-campus setting. Given this scope, as part of this review the ALT decided to change the name of this initiative to “Stakeholder Engagement Safety Guidelines” to better reflect this purpose.

That is not to say we can become complacent. If you have not done so already, everyone in the Office of Advancement should familiarize themselves with the Stakeholder Engagement Safety Guidelines.

And please let us know if these guidelines serve their purpose. We have some ideas for future work to support and enhance these guidelines, but those ideas will only matter if they matter to you. A considerable amount of effort was invested to ensure these guidelines worked for the whole team (and as someone who came into this process at the end, I will say I thought the process used and considerations that went into these guidelines were exceptional). But a lot has changed, and new people have joined the team. So, we are asking: do you feel protected by these guidelines? If not, why and what changes do you recommend be made? Please share your thoughts with your ALT member.

Black History Month in Kingston

Check out this list of events by the Black Luck Collective happening on campus and around Kingston to mark Black History Month in February. You can also visit their Facebook page for more information.

LIST OF EVENTS

Jobs with Advancement

We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancy below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.

Applications (including a cover letter and resume) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Katelyn, Carla, or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.

Available Position:

Fun Fact

Philanthropy has been important to the survival of Queen’s since it was established as Queen’s College at Kingston in 1842. The first formal campaign for Queen’s ended in 1862 – successfully raising $115,000 to keep the denominational college open.