Be accessible.
Accessibility is way more than being physically present. It’s about being available in mind, body and spirit.
I ask myself if I’m always “accessible”. Hmm. No, I’m not. A couple of reasons come to mind. 1. Sometimes I can come across as a strong and loud personality, and frankly, that’s scary. 2. The job title “CEO” scares people. (I get it - bosses, principals, people with power scare me.) So how do I become more accessible?
When I am rounding or talking to someone - I need to give them my full attention - mind, body and spirit. Don’t look at my phone or computer or stare off into the corner or outside the window. (FYI - I’m not good at this.)
I need to adjust my schedule to be available. I remember when I was growing up my dad would always go for a long run when he got home from work. He and I talked about this years later. The time he spent exercising was taking away from family time, and he indicated later that his priorities were not where they should have been. A fellow rider once told me that it’s not fun riding with me because I go too fast and I have ear buds in making conversation impossible.
We can multi task and fill our time and days with tasks so we don’t have to be accessible or available. It’s not that hard. Or we can slow down and listen and prioritize our time to allow for our priorities. It’s kind of easy but also really hard.
