April 2, 2025 • 25 mins
Feeling overwhelmed with no words to express it? That's the reality for countless educators across America. Unlike the restaurant industry where saying "I'm blown" triggers immediate support, educators hide their struggles, compounding their suffering in silence.
Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson (PBJ) addresses this critical disconnect in today's powerful episode. Drawing from her dissertation research on crisis response, she reveals how educational institutions excel at creating emergency plans for students but have no protocols for supporting overwhelmed faculty and staff. She shares compelling stories about managing hurricane crises—both with and without proper planning—highlighting how preparation creates confidence even when unexpected variables arise.
The most valuable takeaway? Communication remains the cornerstone of effective crisis management. When Augusta, Georgia faced unexpected hurricane damage, PBJ observed how city officials maintained communication channels even when they had no updates, providing residents with peace amidst chaos. This same principle applies to managing burnout in education—open, consistent communication prevents people from filling information gaps with fear-driven narratives.
Ready to create a crisis plan for your educational team? PBJ guides you through identifying what you can control, what you can influence, and what you must accept. She emphasizes engaging your team in developing solutions, leveraging their expertise while building trust. The STOP plan offers practical micro-breaks that create sustainable rhythms of rest without requiring extended sabbaticals.
Don't wait until your educational team is completely burnt out. Download the STOP plan today and begin implementing micro-breaks that allow for revival while serving. Remember, you already possess the strategic skills to create effective crisis plans—it's time to apply them to the burnout crisis facing education today.
Upgrade to Premium Membership to access the Disrupting Burnout audiobook and other bonus content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213895/supporters/new
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the academy, in education, right now, we need a
plan.
We don't have a culture forpeople to say I'm in the weeds,
I'm blown.
So because of that, people keepit to themselves.
They don't talk about it whenthey're struggling and when
they're overwhelmed.
(00:20):
They don't share it at work.
They hide it.
And I'm here to tell you thepressure to hide that you're
suffering.
It compounds the impact of thatsuffering.
Hey, friends, I am Dr PatriceBuckner Jackson, but you can
call me PBJ.
Welcome to another episode ofDisrupting Burnout, where we are
(00:41):
giving you the strategies forpouring out purpose without
continuing to endure theconsequences of burnout.
My friends, I'm here to tellyou today we need to have a
little talk, specifically to myeducators.
We need to have a little talkbecause it's time for us to make
a plan, friends.
We need to make a crisis planWith PBJ.
(01:05):
I can't stop.
I don't have time to stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
With short staff, I don't haveanybody that can take my place
at work.
I don't have support at home orat work to stop.
Friends, if any of thesethoughts come to mind when you
think about taking a break, youare the person who needs to stop
(01:29):
the most.
I want to offer you our stopplan Simple.
I want you to use the samestrategies and wisdom and skills
that you use at work, and I'mgoing to guide you to using
those strategies to plan microbreaks.
I'm not talking about a month'ssabbatical, but can you
(01:53):
incorporate micro breaks intoyour life as a regular rhythm of
rest so that while you areserving, while you are giving,
you can have moments of revival,so that you can live the life
you're living sustainably?
Friend, you need to grab thisstop plan.
(02:13):
Make sure to click the link inthe show notes or wherever
you're watching or listening tothis, so that you can get what
you need right now.
It can't wait.
So that you can get what youneed right now.
It can't wait.
I know you do a wonderful job,but people don't know what it
costs you to be you and you knowwhat the cost has been.
It's time to stop.
(02:33):
Grab the plan today.
Recently, I shared with you allthat I read an excerpt of Atlas
of the Heart by Brene Brown.
Well, I read the book, butthere's an excerpt in the book
where Brene shared there's alanguage and a culture in the
restaurant industry for peopleto say, hey, it's busy, we need
(02:57):
all hands on deck right now.
Or hey, I need a break, I needto step away and I need you to
take care of my, my business.
I need you to take care of myresponsibilities right now.
And Brene shared if you say I'min the weeds, that means all
hands on deck, it is busy, it iscrunch time, but if we do it
all together, we're going to bejust fine and we'll get through
(03:18):
it.
She shared.
If you say I'm blown, thatlanguage, everybody knows what
to do.
No one's asking you what can Ido to help?
How can I help you?
If you say I'm blown, youseparate yourself, go outside,
take a walk, go to the bathroom,whatever you have to do, but
you go.
You go, take care of you and wewill take care of this.
(03:42):
We won't ask you a question.
We will figure it out.
We'll find out what tables youhad, we'll find out where all of
those tables are in theirdining experience and we will
handle it until you get back.
And when I read that, it has notleft me because I keep thinking
about how we don't have aculture or a language or a plan
(04:08):
in education for when it'scrunch time, but also when
people are blown and they need abreak.
So, as a result, we findourselves always reacting,
reacting, reacting.
Oh my gosh, we're so surprised.
Why are we surprised?
All of the signs are there.
(04:30):
Everything is telling us weneed a plan right now.
And here's why.
Here's why I won't pretend thatI don't know.
Here's why, in education, we wereport to so many systems.
There are systems withinsystems within systems that hold
(04:51):
educators, educationalinstitutions and educational
systems accountable that itdoesn't feel like there's any
wiggle room or control at thelevel of the school or the
university or the college.
So we're so used to being toldwhat to do, and most of that
(05:12):
comes from external.
It comes from people who'venever been educators.
It comes from people who'venever been in a classroom or
never worked full time on acollege campus.
It comes from many differentlevels of external control and
(05:38):
because and we have to payattention because our licenses,
because our funding, all of thatthe future of our career field
and our work comes from external.
So I understand why we freezeand I want to encourage us to
control what we can control, andit is time for us to create
some crisis plans to support ourfaculty and our staff members.
(06:01):
As a student affairsprofessional, I am well versed
in writing and executing crisisplans concerning students.
I thought about a couple oftimes and then, the more I
thought, the more examples cameto mind.
But I won't tell you all of theexamples, but I want to give
you a couple of examples of whenI needed a crisis plan, one in
(06:26):
particular and y'all forgive meif I get it wrong, because we've
worked through so manyhurricanes, I get them mixed up,
but I think this one wasHurricane Michael.
Maybe that might be right, buthere's what I know for sure.
Here's what I know for sure.
So hurricanes are the kind ofcrisis that you get a forecast.
It's a maybe.
(06:46):
You might not know exactly howyou're going to be impacted it
may turn, it may change butthere is a forecast that gives
you an idea.
Okay, we are on high alert,we're in the path of this thing.
We need to start putting ourplan in action.
And so I was on a campus and wegot the alerts and we got the
weather reports and we knew thatwe were in the path.
(07:09):
So we started putting ourcrisis plan into place, and one
of the first things we do instudent affairs is if we know,
if we know we are really in thepath.
Okay, can we get some studentsout of here, like, can parents
come pick them up?
Do we have time for students tophysically get to a safer place
, so they are not in town, right?
(07:30):
So we start executing that planand then we have to think about
our buildings and ourfacilities.
What do we need to do toprotect these facilities as much
as possible so after the stormis over, there's not as much
damage, hopefully, but also wecan welcome our students back to
a safe environment?
So we have to think aboutfacilities.
(07:52):
In this particular hurricane,one of the challenges was that
we had a couple hundred studentsat least, who could not leave,
did not have access to, decidednot to leave because they
thought it was going to be a funtime on campus.
For whatever reason, we hadover a couple hundred students
left on campus and they rode itout on campus during the storm.
(08:15):
So, of course, after the storm,we're trying to evaluate the
damage, see where we are as aninstitution, where our
facilities are, what we need todo just assessing, right, like
we're just assessing the damage.
But we realized having thesestudents on campus was not the
best position to be in.
(08:36):
While we're assessing, whilewe're fixing, while our town is
recovering.
I remember the impact on ourparticular town.
We had curfews, we had NationalGuard on the roads, so people
would not be on the roads.
It was not just a fly-by-nightkind of situation.
There was some recovery thatwas needed.
(09:00):
And the thing that kicked usinto high gear is we realized
that the water in our buildings,including our residence halls,
was out and that it was notgoing to return very quickly.
So, as soon as we knew thewater was out because, keep in
(09:20):
mind, if these students are here, we have to feed them, we have
to engage with them, we have tokeep them, try to keep them safe
Let me just say that right,because the truth is all right.
The truth is we can doeverything that is in our power.
The truth is, we can doeverything that is in our power,
(09:42):
but human beings have will andthey can decide if they're going
to comply and all the things.
So we have to do our very bestto keep them safe if they're
with us, right.
But when we found out thatwater was out, when we found out
it was not coming back.
That means no working bathrooms, no showers, water for drinking
cooking.
(10:02):
When we found out that water wasout, we knew we had to make a
decision and we didn't have aplan for that.
This was a place where we wereworking on our crisis plans and
we didn't have a plan for that,so we had to quickly jump into
gear.
Thankfully, we had a sisterinstitution that was not that
(10:24):
far away that had somefacilities that could accept our
students, and this particularsister institution was
accustomed to dealing withhurricanes.
As a matter of fact, most ofthe time they would be dealing
with it as opposed to us.
We had some relationships thereand I'm so grateful.
I'm so grateful because it'sone thing to care for your
(10:47):
students.
It's another thing to havehundreds, a couple of hundred of
students from anotherinstitution to come, and now
you're housing them and you'refeeding them, and you're housing
them and you're feeding themand you're engaging them and
you're doing all the things.
But when I tell you, we madethat call, they said we've got
room, we'll take care of them,bring them this way.
(11:08):
We made that call.
We got some transportation inplace so quickly and our
colleagues at the institutionreceived our students.
We sent some of ourprofessional staff with them, of
course, and they fed them andthey programmed with them, they
engaged them, they took goodcare of them until we could
bring them back to our campusjust a few days later.
(11:31):
And so we needed a crisis plan,and in that particular case, we
weren't ready.
We weren't ready.
We did not have the crisisplans in place that we needed.
We were in the process ofworking.
We got through it with the helpof our colleagues and resources
and folks who showed up andstood by us and helped us.
(11:51):
We got through it, but wesuffered for not having a plan.
There was another example thatI'll give you, and this was 2020
(12:13):
.
I remember, specifically, I waswatching the news and I was
scheduled to be out of town tospeak.
So I was working full time on acampus and speaking a bit at
that time, and I was scheduledto be away for a week.
I was scheduled to be away fora week, speaking in another
state, and I just knew in myheart I got to make a plan.
(12:35):
I cannot leave without having aplan in place, because I got a
feeling.
I got a feeling things aregoing to change before I get
back.
I just knew it in my gut.
So I sat down and I startedwriting a plan.
If this, then that.
If this, then that.
This department's in charge ofthis.
This department's in charge ofthat.
If this, then that thisdepartment's in charge of this.
(12:56):
This department's in charge ofthat.
If we need to do this, this ishow we're going to do it.
If we have to move students out, this is how we're going to do
it, in an orderly way.
This is how we're going tocommunicate.
Put a pin there, because we gotto come back to communication.
I started writing a plan andjust having the plan gave me
peace that I could go and dowhat I needed to do, knowing if
(13:19):
things started moving, there wasa plan in place that we could
follow, that we would be okay.
And I'm here to tell you.
I went away for that week andmy phone started ringing and
things started moving, startedmoving.
But I didn't have to panicbecause I had already sat down
(13:41):
and created a plan for how we'regoing to move forward when
things started moving Right.
So that plan started workingbefore I got back in town.
By the time I got back in town,we were active, like it was
happening and I was so gratefulto have a written plan that we
could follow.
And did we tweak?
Yes, you tweak as you go.
(14:02):
You can't assume every variable, you don't know every threat,
you don't know every need, buthaving a plan sets you up to
make it through the storm.
Okay, in the academy, ineducation, right now, we need a
plan.
We don't have a culture forpeople to say I'm in the weeds,
(14:27):
I'm blown.
So because of that, people keepit to themselves.
They don't talk about it whenthey're struggling and when
they're overwhelmed.
They don't share it at work.
They hide it.
And I'm here to tell you thepressure to hide that you're
suffering.
It compounds the impact of thatsuffering.
And there are so many educatorswho are overwhelmed, have been
(14:52):
overwhelmed, have been inburnout for a long time and
don't feel free to say anything,don't feel safe to say anything
.
So the compound effect ofhaving to hide it we're starting
to see the results of that.
We're starting to see theimpact of that.
So folks don't have a language,they don't have a culture or
(15:14):
permission to say it.
How do I say I need help?
How do I say this is not goingwell without having undue
consequences put on me right.
And then, beyond having theculture or the room to say it
and then having the language tosay what happens when someone
says it.
(15:34):
Because, as a leader, you maysay, hey, my people know, they
can tell me anything.
You know, I have one-on-oneswith them, I ask them how
they're doing, I always check onthem and I'm grateful for that.
Thank you, leader.
But what happens after someonehas said it?
After someone has said it, whathappens?
(15:56):
What's the next step?
What's the crisis plan we have,especially in student affairs?
We have fire plans, we haveactive threat plans, we have
behavior plans, we have allkinds of crisis plans.
And if we're good at it, notonly do we have written plans
(16:20):
but we rehearse them, we talkabout them, we do tabletop
exercises if we're good at it.
Now, sometimes we have a plan,but people are not aware of the
plan because we don't spend anytime talking about it.
But when we're good at it, wehave done the tabletop exercises
, we have been in the hot room,we have done the tabletop
exercises, we have been in thehot room, we have done the
(16:40):
things, and so we practice it somuch that when and if a real
threat happens, we know at leastwhere to start.
We know at least where to startand we're not frozen by our
nervous system because we'vealready rehearsed and we've
already practiced what we'regoing to do.
That's concerning our students.
(17:02):
What we haven't done and whatwe don't do is we don't have
crisis plans for our faculty andour staff.
We don't talk about it.
We don't write anything down,we don't make a plan.
We don't talk about what arethe needs.
We don't talk about where areour resources.
(17:23):
We don't talk about it.
Communicate, period.
The most important thing youcan do in a crisis is
communicate.
The most important thing youneed to do is say something.
Just recently, back in October,so a few months ago, here where
I live in Augusta, georgia, wewere impacted by a hurricane by
(17:46):
surprise.
We just did not expect that wewould be impacted to the point
of no power, no water for daysupon days.
Right, we had no idea, and Iwill have to say this One thing
I appreciate from our cityofficials is they kept the lines
of communication open.
(18:06):
They had communication meetings,they had the media show up, and
they twice a day at least, andthey would always say we're
coming back to you tomorrow atthis time, or we're coming back
to you later today at this time,even if there was no update,
hear me, even if there was noupdate, they would come and say
(18:30):
there has been no change, but wepromised we would update you.
So there is no change, there isno new instruction.
We're in the same place.
We were at the last update, butshowing up to say something
that update may be, we just setup a water station.
You can go to this place to getyour water.
Or we know that a gas truck hasdelivered to this particular
(18:54):
store so you can go therebecause these other places are
out.
Or please still stay off theroads.
The roads are not safe.
Please stay off the roads.
The communication was constantand it was through social media
and it was on their website.
And again, I mean, thankgoodness we had access to our
(19:16):
phones, for those of us who hadaccess to our phones.
If we didn't have that, thenthat's another level.
Right, that's another challengethat would have needed to be
navigated, but for the most part, most of us figured out a way
to have our phones.
So, because we had our phones,we had access to these updates
and I can't tell you how muchpeace comes when you're
(19:38):
communicating.
And it's a battle right, becausewhen you stand and communicate
in the crisis, then you putyourself in position to be
judged, to be challenged, toaccept the anger and frustration
of people who are in the crisis.
I get that, but notcommunicating is the worst
(19:58):
option you can take, becausewhen you don't say anything, we
human beings, we're storytellers.
We will make up a story, we'llfill in the gap, we'll fill in
the gap, and most of the time,what we fill in the gap is worse
than what the reality is.
So the first thing you need todo in creating a crisis plan and
(20:21):
I'm talking about a plan forpeople who are overwhelmed, a
plan for people who are burntout, a plan for people who are
fearful because of what is thefuture going to look like?
How are things going to change?
Fear is a driver.
It's not a good driver, butit's a driver and people make
(20:44):
rash decisions when they'reafraid.
So the first step you need totake in creating a crisis plan
is opening the lines ofcommunication.
Sit down with your team, talkabout what you know, and it may
not be a whole lot, but you needto honor.
(21:06):
This is what I know and I knowthat's not a lot, but what I
know and what I can share, youall will know Make space for the
fear, make space for theemotions, but also make space
for the expertise of your team.
They can help you create thecrisis plan.
They can help you.
What are we going to do if thishappens?
(21:28):
What are we going to do if thathappens?
What are we going to do if wekeep losing people to FMLA?
What are we going to do if morepeople leave and we don't have
enough coverage for ourclassrooms or enough coverage
for our student engagementevents?
What are we going to do?
What are we going to do inchanges in federal funding?
(21:50):
What are we going to do?
And I know, I know it feelslike a lot of that's not up to
us.
Pbj, I got it, I got it, but Iwant you to consider what you
can control.
What are the pieces of this?
There are pieces that you haveto accept.
Right, there's nothing you cando.
(22:10):
You don't have access orauthority to do anything about
it.
There are pieces of a crisiswhere you have influence, you
have access, you have impact,but you don't have the authority
.
So how do you want to use thatinfluence.
Then there are pieces of acrisis where you have control.
Control means you haveknowledge, skills, ability,
experience and access andauthority to do something about
(22:35):
it.
What do you want to do aboutwhat you control?
By engaging your folks, byhaving the conversation, by
opening the lines ofcommunication, not only are you
fueling trust you're fuelingtrust, which is the foundation
of every good relationship butby taking away the pressure of
(22:59):
hiding how folks are feeling,then you are stripping away some
of those negative consequencesand probably holding on to your
people a little while longer.
I could talk about this for days.
Y'all my dissertation researchis in crisis and responding to
crisis.
So this is my thing, this iswhat I do, and I think we need
(23:21):
to talk about it.
I think we need to talk aboutit.
I'm considering for the nextfew weeks, if I want to talk you
through how to create a crisisplan for your faculty and your
staff.
What plan do you need in placeto protect and support the
people who do the educating?
Let's talk about it.
(23:43):
Let's talk about it.
It it helps us when we have aplan.
The plan will change.
We can pivot, we can change, wecan respond to any new thing
that we didn't think about,that's okay.
But having something in place,it's going to support your team
and hold it together, and it'stime that we do that right.
(24:06):
Okay, friend, I got to let yougo, but I had to get this thing
off my chest today.
We need a plan.
It's time to make a plan, andI'll close with this.
You already know.
You know how to be strategic.
You know how to be creative.
You have made so many crisisplans for different situations.
Crisis just means it's notnormal.
(24:27):
Anything outside of your normis considered crisis.
It's time.
It's time to create a plan forthe crisis that we face right
now, for the burnout crisis, forthe overwhelmed crisis, for the
crisis of change that we're inright now.
It's time to create a plan sothat we can take care of our
(24:48):
people.
All right, friend, as always,you know that you are powerful,
you are significant and you areloved.
Man, educators are often blamed.
Educators are often blamed.
Educators are often blamed forthe woes of society, for young
(25:10):
people not being prepared forall kinds of things.
But here I want you to knowthat you're not blamed.
You're loved, you are supported, you are championed.
You deserve that.
Alright, thank you, I'll seeyou later.
Love always PBJ.
(25:32):
Bye, bye.
In the academy, in education, right now, we need a
plan.
We don't have a culture forpeople to say I'm in the weeds,
I'm blown.
So because of that, people keepit to themselves.
They don't talk about it whenthey're struggling and when
they're overwhelmed.
(00:20):
They don't share it at work.
They hide it.
And I'm here to tell you thepressure to hide that you're
suffering.
It compounds the impact of thatsuffering.
Hey, friends, I am Dr PatriceBuckner Jackson, but you can
call me PBJ.
Welcome to another episode ofDisrupting Burnout, where we are
(00:41):
giving you the strategies forpouring out purpose without
continuing to endure theconsequences of burnout.
My friends, I'm here to tellyou today we need to have a
little talk, specifically to myeducators.
We need to have a little talkbecause it's time for us to make
a plan, friends.
We need to make a crisis planWith PBJ.
(01:05):
I can't stop.
I don't have time to stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
With short staff, I don't haveanybody that can take my place
at work.
I don't have support at home orat work to stop.
Friends, if any of thesethoughts come to mind when you
think about taking a break, youare the person who needs to stop
(01:29):
the most.
I want to offer you our stopplan Simple.
I want you to use the samestrategies and wisdom and skills
that you use at work, and I'mgoing to guide you to using
those strategies to plan microbreaks.
I'm not talking about a month'ssabbatical, but can you
(01:53):
incorporate micro breaks intoyour life as a regular rhythm of
rest so that while you areserving, while you are giving,
you can have moments of revival,so that you can live the life
you're living sustainably?
Friend, you need to grab thisstop plan.
(02:13):
Make sure to click the link inthe show notes or wherever
you're watching or listening tothis, so that you can get what
you need right now.
It can't wait.
So that you can get what youneed right now.
It can't wait.
I know you do a wonderful job,but people don't know what it
costs you to be you and you knowwhat the cost has been.
It's time to stop.
(02:33):
Grab the plan today.
Recently, I shared with you allthat I read an excerpt of Atlas
of the Heart by Brene Brown.
Well, I read the book, butthere's an excerpt in the book
where Brene shared there's alanguage and a culture in the
restaurant industry for peopleto say, hey, it's busy, we need
(02:57):
all hands on deck right now.
Or hey, I need a break, I needto step away and I need you to
take care of my, my business.
I need you to take care of myresponsibilities right now.
And Brene shared if you say I'min the weeds, that means all
hands on deck, it is busy, it iscrunch time, but if we do it
all together, we're going to bejust fine and we'll get through
(03:18):
it.
She shared.
If you say I'm blown, thatlanguage, everybody knows what
to do.
No one's asking you what can Ido to help?
How can I help you?
If you say I'm blown, youseparate yourself, go outside,
take a walk, go to the bathroom,whatever you have to do, but
you go.
You go, take care of you and wewill take care of this.
(03:42):
We won't ask you a question.
We will figure it out.
We'll find out what tables youhad, we'll find out where all of
those tables are in theirdining experience and we will
handle it until you get back.
And when I read that, it has notleft me because I keep thinking
about how we don't have aculture or a language or a plan
(04:08):
in education for when it'scrunch time, but also when
people are blown and they need abreak.
So, as a result, we findourselves always reacting,
reacting, reacting.
Oh my gosh, we're so surprised.
Why are we surprised?
All of the signs are there.
(04:30):
Everything is telling us weneed a plan right now.
And here's why.
Here's why I won't pretend thatI don't know.
Here's why, in education, we wereport to so many systems.
There are systems withinsystems within systems that hold
(04:51):
educators, educationalinstitutions and educational
systems accountable that itdoesn't feel like there's any
wiggle room or control at thelevel of the school or the
university or the college.
So we're so used to being toldwhat to do, and most of that
(05:12):
comes from external.
It comes from people who'venever been educators.
It comes from people who'venever been in a classroom or
never worked full time on acollege campus.
It comes from many differentlevels of external control and
(05:38):
because and we have to payattention because our licenses,
because our funding, all of thatthe future of our career field
and our work comes from external.
So I understand why we freezeand I want to encourage us to
control what we can control, andit is time for us to create
some crisis plans to support ourfaculty and our staff members.
(06:01):
As a student affairsprofessional, I am well versed
in writing and executing crisisplans concerning students.
I thought about a couple oftimes and then, the more I
thought, the more examples cameto mind.
But I won't tell you all of theexamples, but I want to give
you a couple of examples of whenI needed a crisis plan, one in
(06:26):
particular and y'all forgive meif I get it wrong, because we've
worked through so manyhurricanes, I get them mixed up,
but I think this one wasHurricane Michael.
Maybe that might be right, buthere's what I know for sure.
Here's what I know for sure.
So hurricanes are the kind ofcrisis that you get a forecast.
It's a maybe.
(06:46):
You might not know exactly howyou're going to be impacted it
may turn, it may change butthere is a forecast that gives
you an idea.
Okay, we are on high alert,we're in the path of this thing.
We need to start putting ourplan in action.
And so I was on a campus and wegot the alerts and we got the
weather reports and we knew thatwe were in the path.
(07:09):
So we started putting ourcrisis plan into place, and one
of the first things we do instudent affairs is if we know,
if we know we are really in thepath.
Okay, can we get some studentsout of here, like, can parents
come pick them up?
Do we have time for students tophysically get to a safer place
, so they are not in town, right?
(07:30):
So we start executing that planand then we have to think about
our buildings and ourfacilities.
What do we need to do toprotect these facilities as much
as possible so after the stormis over, there's not as much
damage, hopefully, but also wecan welcome our students back to
a safe environment?
So we have to think aboutfacilities.
(07:52):
In this particular hurricane,one of the challenges was that
we had a couple hundred studentsat least, who could not leave,
did not have access to, decidednot to leave because they
thought it was going to be a funtime on campus.
For whatever reason, we hadover a couple hundred students
left on campus and they rode itout on campus during the storm.
(08:15):
So, of course, after the storm,we're trying to evaluate the
damage, see where we are as aninstitution, where our
facilities are, what we need todo just assessing, right, like
we're just assessing the damage.
But we realized having thesestudents on campus was not the
best position to be in.
(08:36):
While we're assessing, whilewe're fixing, while our town is
recovering.
I remember the impact on ourparticular town.
We had curfews, we had NationalGuard on the roads, so people
would not be on the roads.
It was not just a fly-by-nightkind of situation.
There was some recovery thatwas needed.
(09:00):
And the thing that kicked usinto high gear is we realized
that the water in our buildings,including our residence halls,
was out and that it was notgoing to return very quickly.
So, as soon as we knew thewater was out because, keep in
(09:20):
mind, if these students are here, we have to feed them, we have
to engage with them, we have tokeep them, try to keep them safe
Let me just say that right,because the truth is all right.
The truth is we can doeverything that is in our power.
The truth is, we can doeverything that is in our power,
(09:42):
but human beings have will andthey can decide if they're going
to comply and all the things.
So we have to do our very bestto keep them safe if they're
with us, right.
But when we found out thatwater was out, when we found out
it was not coming back.
That means no working bathrooms, no showers, water for drinking
cooking.
(10:02):
When we found out that water wasout, we knew we had to make a
decision and we didn't have aplan for that.
This was a place where we wereworking on our crisis plans and
we didn't have a plan for that,so we had to quickly jump into
gear.
Thankfully, we had a sisterinstitution that was not that
(10:24):
far away that had somefacilities that could accept our
students, and this particularsister institution was
accustomed to dealing withhurricanes.
As a matter of fact, most ofthe time they would be dealing
with it as opposed to us.
We had some relationships thereand I'm so grateful.
I'm so grateful because it'sone thing to care for your
(10:47):
students.
It's another thing to havehundreds, a couple of hundred of
students from anotherinstitution to come, and now
you're housing them and you'refeeding them, and you're housing
them and you're feeding themand you're engaging them and
you're doing all the things.
But when I tell you, we madethat call, they said we've got
room, we'll take care of them,bring them this way.
(11:08):
We made that call.
We got some transportation inplace so quickly and our
colleagues at the institutionreceived our students.
We sent some of ourprofessional staff with them, of
course, and they fed them andthey programmed with them, they
engaged them, they took goodcare of them until we could
bring them back to our campusjust a few days later.
(11:31):
And so we needed a crisis plan,and in that particular case, we
weren't ready.
We weren't ready.
We did not have the crisisplans in place that we needed.
We were in the process ofworking.
We got through it with the helpof our colleagues and resources
and folks who showed up andstood by us and helped us.
(11:51):
We got through it, but wesuffered for not having a plan.
There was another example thatI'll give you, and this was 2020
(12:13):
.
I remember, specifically, I waswatching the news and I was
scheduled to be out of town tospeak.
So I was working full time on acampus and speaking a bit at
that time, and I was scheduledto be away for a week.
I was scheduled to be away fora week, speaking in another
state, and I just knew in myheart I got to make a plan.
(12:35):
I cannot leave without having aplan in place, because I got a
feeling.
I got a feeling things aregoing to change before I get
back.
I just knew it in my gut.
So I sat down and I startedwriting a plan.
If this, then that.
If this, then that.
This department's in charge ofthis.
This department's in charge ofthat.
If this, then that thisdepartment's in charge of this.
(12:56):
This department's in charge ofthat.
If we need to do this, this ishow we're going to do it.
If we have to move students out, this is how we're going to do
it, in an orderly way.
This is how we're going tocommunicate.
Put a pin there, because we gotto come back to communication.
I started writing a plan andjust having the plan gave me
peace that I could go and dowhat I needed to do, knowing if
(13:19):
things started moving, there wasa plan in place that we could
follow, that we would be okay.
And I'm here to tell you.
I went away for that week andmy phone started ringing and
things started moving, startedmoving.
But I didn't have to panicbecause I had already sat down
(13:41):
and created a plan for how we'regoing to move forward when
things started moving Right.
So that plan started workingbefore I got back in town.
By the time I got back in town,we were active, like it was
happening and I was so gratefulto have a written plan that we
could follow.
And did we tweak?
Yes, you tweak as you go.
(14:02):
You can't assume every variable, you don't know every threat,
you don't know every need, buthaving a plan sets you up to
make it through the storm.
Okay, in the academy, ineducation, right now, we need a
plan.
We don't have a culture forpeople to say I'm in the weeds,
(14:27):
I'm blown.
So because of that, people keepit to themselves.
They don't talk about it whenthey're struggling and when
they're overwhelmed.
They don't share it at work.
They hide it.
And I'm here to tell you thepressure to hide that you're
suffering.
It compounds the impact of thatsuffering.
And there are so many educatorswho are overwhelmed, have been
(14:52):
overwhelmed, have been inburnout for a long time and
don't feel free to say anything,don't feel safe to say anything
.
So the compound effect ofhaving to hide it we're starting
to see the results of that.
We're starting to see theimpact of that.
So folks don't have a language,they don't have a culture or
(15:14):
permission to say it.
How do I say I need help?
How do I say this is not goingwell without having undue
consequences put on me right.
And then, beyond having theculture or the room to say it
and then having the language tosay what happens when someone
says it.
(15:34):
Because, as a leader, you maysay, hey, my people know, they
can tell me anything.
You know, I have one-on-oneswith them, I ask them how
they're doing, I always check onthem and I'm grateful for that.
Thank you, leader.
But what happens after someonehas said it?
After someone has said it, whathappens?
(15:56):
What's the next step?
What's the crisis plan we have,especially in student affairs?
We have fire plans, we haveactive threat plans, we have
behavior plans, we have allkinds of crisis plans.
And if we're good at it, notonly do we have written plans
(16:20):
but we rehearse them, we talkabout them, we do tabletop
exercises if we're good at it.
Now, sometimes we have a plan,but people are not aware of the
plan because we don't spend anytime talking about it.
But when we're good at it, wehave done the tabletop exercises
, we have been in the hot room,we have done the tabletop
exercises, we have been in thehot room, we have done the
(16:40):
things, and so we practice it somuch that when and if a real
threat happens, we know at leastwhere to start.
We know at least where to startand we're not frozen by our
nervous system because we'vealready rehearsed and we've
already practiced what we'regoing to do.
That's concerning our students.
(17:02):
What we haven't done and whatwe don't do is we don't have
crisis plans for our faculty andour staff.
We don't talk about it.
We don't write anything down,we don't make a plan.
We don't talk about what arethe needs.
We don't talk about where areour resources.
(17:23):
We don't talk about it.
Communicate, period.
The most important thing youcan do in a crisis is
communicate.
The most important thing youneed to do is say something.
Just recently, back in October,so a few months ago, here where
I live in Augusta, georgia, wewere impacted by a hurricane by
(17:46):
surprise.
We just did not expect that wewould be impacted to the point
of no power, no water for daysupon days.
Right, we had no idea, and Iwill have to say this One thing
I appreciate from our cityofficials is they kept the lines
of communication open.
(18:06):
They had communication meetings,they had the media show up, and
they twice a day at least, andthey would always say we're
coming back to you tomorrow atthis time, or we're coming back
to you later today at this time,even if there was no update,
hear me, even if there was noupdate, they would come and say
(18:30):
there has been no change, but wepromised we would update you.
So there is no change, there isno new instruction.
We're in the same place.
We were at the last update, butshowing up to say something
that update may be, we just setup a water station.
You can go to this place to getyour water.
Or we know that a gas truck hasdelivered to this particular
(18:54):
store so you can go therebecause these other places are
out.
Or please still stay off theroads.
The roads are not safe.
Please stay off the roads.
The communication was constantand it was through social media
and it was on their website.
And again, I mean, thankgoodness we had access to our
(19:16):
phones, for those of us who hadaccess to our phones.
If we didn't have that, thenthat's another level.
Right, that's another challengethat would have needed to be
navigated, but for the most part, most of us figured out a way
to have our phones.
So, because we had our phones,we had access to these updates
and I can't tell you how muchpeace comes when you're
(19:38):
communicating.
And it's a battle right, becausewhen you stand and communicate
in the crisis, then you putyourself in position to be
judged, to be challenged, toaccept the anger and frustration
of people who are in the crisis.
I get that, but notcommunicating is the worst
(19:58):
option you can take, becausewhen you don't say anything, we
human beings, we're storytellers.
We will make up a story, we'llfill in the gap, we'll fill in
the gap, and most of the time,what we fill in the gap is worse
than what the reality is.
So the first thing you need todo in creating a crisis plan and
(20:21):
I'm talking about a plan forpeople who are overwhelmed, a
plan for people who are burntout, a plan for people who are
fearful because of what is thefuture going to look like?
How are things going to change?
Fear is a driver.
It's not a good driver, butit's a driver and people make
(20:44):
rash decisions when they'reafraid.
So the first step you need totake in creating a crisis plan
is opening the lines ofcommunication.
Sit down with your team, talkabout what you know, and it may
not be a whole lot, but you needto honor.
(21:06):
This is what I know and I knowthat's not a lot, but what I
know and what I can share, youall will know Make space for the
fear, make space for theemotions, but also make space
for the expertise of your team.
They can help you create thecrisis plan.
They can help you.
What are we going to do if thishappens?
(21:28):
What are we going to do if thathappens?
What are we going to do if wekeep losing people to FMLA?
What are we going to do if morepeople leave and we don't have
enough coverage for ourclassrooms or enough coverage
for our student engagementevents?
What are we going to do?
What are we going to do inchanges in federal funding?
(21:50):
What are we going to do?
And I know, I know it feelslike a lot of that's not up to
us.
Pbj, I got it, I got it, but Iwant you to consider what you
can control.
What are the pieces of this?
There are pieces that you haveto accept.
Right, there's nothing you cando.
(22:10):
You don't have access orauthority to do anything about
it.
There are pieces of a crisiswhere you have influence, you
have access, you have impact,but you don't have the authority
.
So how do you want to use thatinfluence.
Then there are pieces of acrisis where you have control.
Control means you haveknowledge, skills, ability,
experience and access andauthority to do something about
(22:35):
it.
What do you want to do aboutwhat you control?
By engaging your folks, byhaving the conversation, by
opening the lines ofcommunication, not only are you
fueling trust you're fuelingtrust, which is the foundation
of every good relationship butby taking away the pressure of
(22:59):
hiding how folks are feeling,then you are stripping away some
of those negative consequencesand probably holding on to your
people a little while longer.
I could talk about this for days.
Y'all my dissertation researchis in crisis and responding to
crisis.
So this is my thing, this iswhat I do, and I think we need
(23:21):
to talk about it.
I think we need to talk aboutit.
I'm considering for the nextfew weeks, if I want to talk you
through how to create a crisisplan for your faculty and your
staff.
What plan do you need in placeto protect and support the
people who do the educating?
Let's talk about it.
(23:43):
Let's talk about it.
It it helps us when we have aplan.
The plan will change.
We can pivot, we can change, wecan respond to any new thing
that we didn't think about,that's okay.
But having something in place,it's going to support your team
and hold it together, and it'stime that we do that right.
(24:06):
Okay, friend, I got to let yougo, but I had to get this thing
off my chest today.
We need a plan.
It's time to make a plan, andI'll close with this.
You already know.
You know how to be strategic.
You know how to be creative.
You have made so many crisisplans for different situations.
Crisis just means it's notnormal.
(24:27):
Anything outside of your normis considered crisis.
It's time.
It's time to create a plan forthe crisis that we face right
now, for the burnout crisis, forthe overwhelmed crisis, for the
crisis of change that we're inright now.
It's time to create a plan sothat we can take care of our
(24:48):
people.
All right, friend, as always,you know that you are powerful,
you are significant and you areloved.
Man, educators are often blamed.
Educators are often blamed.
Educators are often blamed forthe woes of society, for young
(25:10):
people not being prepared forall kinds of things.
But here I want you to knowthat you're not blamed.
You're loved, you are supported, you are championed.
You deserve that.
Alright, thank you, I'll seeyou later.
Love always PBJ.
(25:32):
Bye, bye.
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