Most leaders can learn an important lesson from the RAs at TCU who are creating a sense of community in the residence halls on campus. You can read about it in this excellent article entitled “Culture of Caring.” The article makes an important point that creating a sense of community requires intentionality. Daniel Terry, TCU’s director of Community Renewal, puts it this way:
“We’re trying to create whole people here at TCU. [TCU has always had an emphasis on personal attention and mentoring relationships.] We’re implementing Community Renewal at TCU because, like all communities, there needs to be some intentionality around relating to the people around you. Where there is no intentionality, people tend to take relationships for granted.”
So true.
In this blog, I consistently describe new research and case studies that collectively prove beyond any reasonable doubt that connection = flourishing and life and disconnection = disfunction and death. This applies to both individuals and organizations. (For additional information on Connection Cultures read the Connection Culture Manifesto or my book Fired Up or Burned Out.) That’s why I’m excited about what I saw at TCU last week when I spoke on campus and met with university administrators, faculty and students. TCU’s motto is “learning to change the world.” By developing citizens who value connection and community and know how to create it, TCU will indeed be living up to its aspiration. This comes at an important time given that the emotional health of many college students is at a low. With 75 percent of American workers not feeling connected to their supervisors or colleagues at work — and, as a result, not giving there best efforts — American business leaders need to learn a lesson from these RA’s who value connection and are intentional in bringing it about.
