Meloney Linder Mecklenburg MA

I grew up in a family of hard workers, and my parents instilled in me a strong work ethic. I have been fortunate enough to be open to opportunities when they came my way, and I was willing to take leaps of faith, even when it meant moving across country to do it. I think that willingness to be open when those opportunities come your way is really important.

There are two phrases that I go back to again and again. The first is that feedback is a gift. Early in my career, it was hard to get critical feedback - I would feel really defeated and maybe even a little defensive. But when it was reframed for me that people give you feedback because they care, it really changed how I accepted feedback, and that was really important to me. I added my own twist to it: when you give feedback, give it like it is a gift, so that you're framing the feedback for that individual in a way that they can receive it in the most positive way as well. The other piece of advice that was given to me is: be brief, be brilliant, and be gone. If you drone on and you're not clear and concise in what you're saying, it's hard for people to remember what you've said. So, put the thought into what you want to say and have clarity so you're able to be brief, and it's obviously going to be brilliant, and then you're gone, the concise and clear message will be one people will remember.

I would say be open first to opportunities when they arise. It's okay to take a risk, and maybe it doesn't always work out the way you think it's going to, but you're going to learn regardless. The openness to try new things is important. I would also say, I have loved being an executive and I've loved being a mother, but I'll be honest and say sometimes you have to give yourself a little grace along the way. You might not be able to do it all - I bought cupcakes instead of making cupcakes on many occasions, and I couldn't be at every event, but I tried to make it to all the ones that were really important to my children and be there for them. It's important to give yourself the grace that you don't have to be perfect. And it's okay to ask for help, too, from others. Surround yourself with other supportive women, because they will lift you up. They may give you the hard truths that you need to hear when you need to hear them, but it's important to have that support network as well.

In higher education, I think for at least the last decade or more, it's kind of been under attack in terms of what's the real value of higher ed. This is where getting back to believing in the mission is really important, because then you really do want to help communicate why higher education matters. So that's a challenge and an opportunity at the same time. The other challenge is there's been a lot of changes in the last few years coming from the federal level, and you have to be nimble and be able to adapt. And then there just never seems to be enough resources to go around, and so we are constantly having to balance getting the work done and improving efficiencies while we're continuing to be asked to do more and more with the same amount of resources we had maybe 10 years ago.

I think integrity is really important - do what you say you're gonna do, be a person of your word. Because you want people to know that they can rely on you, or if you're working on a project, they know it's going to get done and it's going to get done well. I think the same is true in your personal relationships. If I make a commitment to do something with those in my personal life, I'm going to follow through with it and I'm going to be there for them. It's also really important to laugh. I love to have a good laugh, whether it's at work or at home. I tell people we work really hard in our lives, personal or professional, and you've got to be able to enjoy the ride. Not every day is going to be a great day, but if you can laugh with others as you're going through those moments, it just makes it better for everyone.