Day 31 of the 31 for 21 Challenge
Marketing is all about the message. What are we
communicating to people about our college?
In the early years of the college, we determined that there
were three key elements we needed our messaging to say loudly and clearly:
1.
Shepherds College prepares students for
Appropriate Independence.
2.
Shepherds College offers an individualized
program with supports.
3.
Shepherds College is a physically and
emotionally secure environment.
There are so many ways we can get these messages across –
words we use, images we select, people representing our program, the layout of
the campus, our curriculum, where we choose to advertise, colors in our logo… I
could go on and on.
It is my heartfelt belief that one of our most effective
messaging tools is the man who leads Shepherds College -Executive Director,
Tracy Terrill.
Tracy is passionate about our philosophy of Appropriate
Independence (Ai). He and his team have designed every facet of Shepherds
College to promote the development of Ai, to help our students understand its
principles, and to commit to a lifelong pursuit of this philosophy. He works to
ensure that all staff wholeheartedly accept and endorse Ai and then provides
them with opportunities to develop it in our students.
Just as Shepherds College looks at the individual strengths
and abilities of the students, Tracy is aware of every staff member’s strengths
and how to best utilize them to benefit the team and grow the college. Through
his effective use of the StrengthFinders assessment test, Tracy is able to know
his own strengths, discover his staff’s strengths and formulate a strategic
plan of interaction. Each person is treated as an individual and managed in a
way that he or she finds empowering – because Tracy taps into gifts and
characteristics that are uniquely theirs.
One of Tracy’s strengths, that of Maximizer, focuses on ways
to stimulate personal and group excellence – transforming something already
strong into something superb. He models and expects excellence from his staff,
and they meet those expectations.
Wow! With excellence as the benchmark for the staff, can you
imagine how exceptional the college program must be?
Tracy sounds like he must be a heavy-hitter, doesn’t he?
Powerful, strategic, successful… He is
all that, but what makes him such an effective leader is his humility. He is a team player that
builds others up to be successful. He creates a physically and emotionally
secure environment for his staff to learn and grow and teach. His management
style isn’t about making himself look good, but about caring for, respecting
and valuing the staff. It works.
“I respect how Tracy leads. He is always willing to listen
and accept new ideas. He is willing to hash out the details of new ideas to see
if they would work with our program.” ~
Instructor
“Tracy has a calm, quiet leadership style that is effective
and respected by students and staff.” ~ Para
“Tracy is a fantastic leader. He is kind and gentle, but
firm. He is wise and creative. He listens. I love working for him. He is
visionary and expects excellence. He is approachable and understanding. He goes
above and beyond to support his staff.” ~ Instructor
“I am a better person and employee by watching this humble,
gentle leader quietly and diligently pursue God’s will in his life. He is
exactly what the college needs. He offers calmness and direction and wisdom.
His manner of leading reminds me of the quote, ‘Preach the Gospel, and if
necessary, use words.’” ~ Staff
Tracy epitomizes the message of Shepherds College. He
prepares, he treats people as individuals, he creates security for staff and
students alike and, above all, he leads with Godly character - especially the
humility of Christ.
And we, in turn, gladly and gratefully follow him.
Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.
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