“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care… The ability to be kind, the ability to have empathy, the ability to want what’s best for people costs nothing. In a world where we need to talk about how do we find more staff, how do we resource the staff appropriately, being kind and being supportive is not something that shows up on a balance sheet in a negative way.” That’s Virginia Tech Executive Associate AD for External Affairs and Advancement Brad Wurthman in conversation with ADU’s Steph Garcia Cichosz at the 2024 PacNet Convention. Wurthman breaks down his empathetic leadership style and discusses his methods for empowering his team to push boundaries, embrace change, temper ego and prioritize personal balance. Wurthman: “Leadership, if I could distill it down for me, it’s the ability to know when do you press, when do you need to say we’re not in gear and we need to kick it up, and when do you pull someone aside and say, you’re doing great.”
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