July 19, 2022
Where are You Investing Your Attention?
Last month, I had the opportunity to speak with new team members (New Staff Orientation) and seasoned team members (PFT/TDT Leader summer meeting) about hybrid programming. We’ve been discussing the delivery of programs and meetings online since the pandemic started and began addressing it as a systemwide initiative a year ago. What I wanted to know when I spoke with everyone was:
- What do you think of when we talk about hybrid programming?
- What has worked well?
- What needs more support?
- How do you make decisions about offering hybrid options? What are the questions you ask about each program?
I heard some great ideas! We need some teaching tools for basic Zoom etiquette and Zoom host training. And we need screening questions for whether an event should be available online (“The 2019 Rule” seemed to be—If your reason for requesting an online accommodation would not have been acceptable pre-pandemic, it is not now) as helpful tools for decision-making.
This quickly evolved into a discussion of expectations: our own, supervisors and stakeholders. Who do you feel is requiring you to offer every single meeting and program both online and in person simultaneously? Think about it. Where do you feel the pressure? How can we alleviate it?
If you are feeling pressure from extension administration, please relax! We simply want to provide tips, tools and techniques to be successful in all program delivery methods. Deciding which meeting or program should be available in which format is something only you will know best, based on your audience's preferences and needs.
This brings us to engagement: Skills for in-person and online engagement are similar but different. If you need a refresher on the Chad Littlefield training, check your email or Teams. He has excellent resources, many of which are available at no cost. Remember, you are all outstanding at engagement with stakeholders — that’s one reason you have pursued a career as an extension professional! Don’t sell yourselves short in this regard.
We are moving into the next phase of post-pandemic extension program delivery. Each of you will have different skills, stakeholder preferences and needs as it relates to hybrid programming. Not every event needs to be online. If you do offer online, ask for help. You are less effective as a host and teacher if you are trying to do both by yourself. Give yourself the support you need and collaborate.
More broadly, what I want you to think about for your professional effort is where you are giving your attention. These days our attention is split by the people in front of us, social media, email, text messages, etc. Choosing where to invest the capital of our individual attention may be the most important decision we make, both as professionals and as humans trying to live meaningful, purposeful and reasonably -calm lives.
This idea comes from Cal Newport, Ph.D., a computer science professor at Georgetown who also writes popular non-fiction on work productivity.
Attention Capital Theory: In modern knowledge work, the primary capital resource is human brains; or, more specifically, these brains’ ability to create new value through sustained attention. At the moment, most individuals and organizations are terrible at optimizing this resource, prioritizing instead the convenience and flexibility of persistent, unstructured messaging (e.g., email and IM). I predict that as this sector evolves, we’ll get better at optimizing attention capital, and accordingly leave behind our current culture of communication overload.
How do we apply this to our work in extension? It starts with each of us, with every decision about where to give our attention at any given moment. Are we setting aside time for the deep work of our brains? Are we practicing digital minimalism and treating addictive social media and messaging as work tasks to get in and get out before getting distracted? Both of those are also Cal Newport’s ideas that he has written books about. It takes intention and practice, but we can do hard things.
You get to decide who and what gets your attention. This should help you prioritize and, in turn, help you help your stakeholders with their own attention capital resources. Helping stakeholders understand that they are either at your meeting or they are at the baseball game (not both at the same time) will help everyone focus, be present and contribute meaningfully.
Being mindfully present moves change forward, and that is what we’re after at K-State Research and Extension. If you would like to chat about this with me, reach out. —I promise you’ll have my full attention.