{"id":227592,"date":"2026-10-21T14:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T18:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/?p=227592"},"modified":"2026-10-22T11:21:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T15:21:35","slug":"seen-valued-and-empowered-john-blackshear-on-creating-a-culture-of-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/2026\/10\/21\/seen-valued-and-empowered-john-blackshear-on-creating-a-culture-of-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Seen,\u00a0valued\u00a0and empowered: John Blackshear on creating a culture of engagement\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_227612\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-227612\" style=\"width: 562px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-227612 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/inline-john-blackshear-768x1152-1-562x843.jpg\" alt=\"A man named John Blackshear smiles while wearing glasses, a blue blazer, and a yellow-and-blue striped tie.\" width=\"562\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/inline-john-blackshear-768x1152-1-562x843.jpg 562w, https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/inline-john-blackshear-768x1152-1-708x1062.jpg 708w, https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/inline-john-blackshear-768x1152-1-271x406.jpg 271w, https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/inline-john-blackshear-768x1152-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-227612\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Blackshear\u2013vice president for student life<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Employee Experience Survey gave faculty and staff across the University an opportunity to share what helps them feel connected to their work\u2014and where there are opportunities to strengthen their experience.<\/p>\n<p>For John Blackshear, Ph.D., vice president for student life, responding to that feedback starts with something fundamental: creating an environment where people know where their organization is going, have a voice in shaping how it gets there, and feel trusted to contribute their talents along the way.<\/p>\n<p>His philosophy can be pictured as an inverted triangle. Rather than seeing himself at the top of the organization, Blackshear sees his role at the\u00a0bottom\u2014supporting and empowering the people around him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy job is to be under them as a strong pillar of support, to make sure that they can all rise to the occasion of serving this University at this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s\u00a0a philosophy that reflects several themes heard through the Employee Experience Survey, including employees\u2019 desire to feel connected to the University\u2019s direction, involved in decisions that affect their work, supported by their leaders, and recognized for their contributions.<\/p>\n<p>And Blackshear\u2019s approach offers practical ideas any leader can put into action.<\/p>\n<h2>Bring people into the vision<\/h2>\n<p>Rather than developing a strategic plan behind closed doors and presenting it to employees, Blackshear and his team spent a year\u00a0defining together\u00a0who they are, what matters to them and where they want to go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have the people in it,\u201d Blackshear said. \u201cThey have to believe in it, and it has to represent values that matter to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That shared ownership continues through his leadership team. Blackshear makes sure leaders understand the broader\u00a0vision, but\u00a0then trusts them to bring it to life in ways that resonate with their own teams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey add brilliant flourishes to it in how they present and talk to their teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What other leaders can do:<\/strong>\u00a0Look for opportunities to involve employees before decisions or plans are\u00a0finalized. Ask what they see, what may be\u00a0missing\u00a0and what would help make the work successful.<\/p>\n<h2>Support people instead of solving everything for them<\/h2>\n<p>Blackshear\u2019s inverted-triangle philosophy also shapes how he approaches problems.\u00a0His job isn\u2019t to have every answer; it\u2019s to create the conditions for others to find them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI guide them. I\u00a0deliberate with\u00a0them. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0give them the answers,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the smartest person in the room.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That means giving people room to think, contribute and sometimes\u00a0bring\u00a0a different perspective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful to watch them talking to their teams, thinking things through, talking through it with me,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have to agree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blackshear learned the value of that kind of trust from leaders who recognized his own potential earlier in his career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey recognized my capacity, and they gave me a lot of room to practice it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes that led to advancement. More often, he said, \u201cit turned into an opportunity to do something that I was proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What other leaders can do:\u00a0The next time someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to\u00a0immediately\u00a0provide\u00a0the answer. Ask what they think should happen and what support they need from you to move forward.<\/p>\n<h2>Make appreciation visible\u2014and meaningful<\/h2>\n<p>Recognition is another important part of Blackshear\u2019s leadership approach. But for him, recognition\u00a0isn&#8217;t\u00a0limited to awards or formal programs. It begins with ensuring people know that their ideas,\u00a0expertise,\u00a0time\u00a0and effort matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want their human intelligence, time and effort to be seen and appreciated,\u201d Blackshear said. \u201cThey want to be part of the ultimate calculus of what\u2019s important to this institution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He encourages his leadership team to recognize employees openly and share their successes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really encouraging my leadership core around me to recognize openly\u2014with appreciation and thanks\u2014and share the good news across our team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Blackshear\u00a0practices that\u00a0himself. When he\u00a0hears about\u00a0someone doing exceptional work, he makes sure others hear about it,\u00a0too\u2014including senior University leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s not a time\u00a0that\u00a0an accolade or word of appreciation comes to me that I don\u2019t share it,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time, the president sees it, the provost sees it. I share it with them\u00a0to say, \u2018This is what your people are doing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What other leaders can do:<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0wait for a formal recognition opportunity. When someone does\u00a0great work, tell them\u2014and look for opportunities to tell others about their contribution.<\/p>\n<h2>Give people room to be great<\/h2>\n<p>If there is one lesson at the center of Blackshear\u2019s approach, it may be this: leadership\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0about\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0how much the leader can do.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0about creating\u00a0the conditions\u00a0for other people to do their best work.<\/p>\n<p>His description of himself as a \u201cdrum major\u201d captures that idea.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to know how to play all the instruments. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to be able to read all the charts.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0got to keep the time,\u201d Blackshear said. \u201cIt is truly, truly about these marvelous people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As teams across the University continue turning Employee Experience Survey feedback into action, Blackshear\u2019s approach is a reminder that meaningful change\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0always require a new initiative. It can begin with the everyday\u00a0choices\u00a0leaders\u00a0make:\u00a0<strong>listen, involve, trust, support and recognize.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Try it with your team:\u00a0<\/strong>Instead of asking,\u00a0\u201cHow do I fix this?\u201d\u00a0ask,\u00a0\u201cWhat can I do as a leader to help my team solve it?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Employee Experience Survey gave faculty and staff across the University an opportunity to share what helps them feel connected to their work\u2014and where there are opportunities to strengthen their&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":232712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1452],"tags":[1542],"class_list":["post-227592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-grow","tag-hr-connect"],"acf":{"external":"","hide_featured_image":false,"related":"show_related","style":"","content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"query_new","anchor":"","css_classes":"","title":"<h2>Related articles<\/h2>","content":"<a class=\"button button--blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/human-resources\/news-updates\/hr-connect\/\">Explore HR Connect 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