Math Redesign: Working with administrators

If you're a faculty member and you'd like to address a problem, pause before approaching your administrator. Administrators are incredibly busy. They're usually scheduled to the minute the entire day with meetings and struggle to find time in the day for that work. So many will work evenings and weekends regularly. It's a grind that lasts 12 months of the year.

So even if they have complete sympathy for your concern, they likely don't have the bandwidth to deal with it. But you need a problem solved, right? Here's what to do instead:

Approach your administrator not only with the problem but also with a possible solution, including where funds can be drawn to address it (if it has a monetary aspect).

• This shows you respect their time and their responsibilities. They're always beholden to a budget. Even if they want to solve your problem, they have to have the means to do so.

• This approach puts you on the same side as the administrator to solve the problem as a team. It takes a little more time and creativity on your part to do some of the problem-solving beforehand, but the results will be worth it.

I've used this method for over two decades with administrators and found them extremely receptive. I worked with faculty that wondered why I was able to get a set of laptops or other projects completed. It was because I used this exact approach and came up with a solution, not just a problem.

This approach works for many work relationships, not just for administrators and faculty.