Making People Matter
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to talk with the student staff who work in the residence halls at the university where I work. The focus of our time together was about how people in leadership positions can help make others feel like they matter.
Mattering and Marginality is a concept developed by Nancy Schlossberg (1989) that focused on the college student experience. In general, when beginning of a new experience, college students may wonder if their presence matters to anyone. That nagging question can lead to feeling like you're on the outside looking in - pushed to the margins of an experience.
The beginning of college is just one example of entering into a new experience. Whether it is starting a new job or changing jobs, moving to a new location, or entering into a new relationship, the question of "Do I Matter here" can come up. Below is the list I came up with for changes for new college students. What would you come up with for changes experienced when entering a new job, community, or relationship?
They may not always appreciate it at the time, but you just never know when you will be the one person who makes the world of difference to someone else.
Mattering and Marginality is a concept developed by Nancy Schlossberg (1989) that focused on the college student experience. In general, when beginning of a new experience, college students may wonder if their presence matters to anyone. That nagging question can lead to feeling like you're on the outside looking in - pushed to the margins of an experience.
The beginning of college is just one example of entering into a new experience. Whether it is starting a new job or changing jobs, moving to a new location, or entering into a new relationship, the question of "Do I Matter here" can come up. Below is the list I came up with for changes for new college students. What would you come up with for changes experienced when entering a new job, community, or relationship?
When new college students, employees, partners, community members are asking these big questions and experiencing all of these changes, we want to do what we can to help them feel like they matter. Our friend Nancy who came up with this gave us five things to think about when making people matter.
Ask yourself how you can make someone feel like they are:
- Noticed
- Cared for
- That you would be proud of them in good times and sympathize in bad times
- Needed
- Appreciated
They may not always appreciate it at the time, but you just never know when you will be the one person who makes the world of difference to someone else.
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