Listen Up, Speak Up

Mary Schmidt Campbell Ph.D., is the former President of Spelman College. A leading liberal arts college for women of African descent located in Atlanta, Georgia, Spelman has long enjoyed a reputation as the nation’s leading producer of Black women scientists. Campbell’s varied career has included work for museums, a stint as cultural affairs commissioner for the city of New York, and the deanship of New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts.

A more holistic definition of communication is the key to turning transactions into relationships.

There’s a well-known maxim that effective communication begins with effective listening. But, for Mary Schmidt Campbell Ph.D., former president of Spelman College, a private, historically black, women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, that is only half the equation.

The actual formula is more algebra than arithmetic, involving not just listening, but also real honesty about the problems and goals of all parties, multiplied by time and patience to achieve lasting trust and success.
 
With a long career in prestigious and ground-breaking cultural institutions, higher education, and the Obama administration, Campbell is uniquely qualified to expound on how this principle works, especially in the public-private relationship paradigm.
 
“I think we have to be very cautious when we talk about ‘involvement’ and be very clear about what that involvement means,” says Campbell. “In my conversations with corporate leaders, there is a real sense of goodwill and an eagerness—an impulse to do this and get this result. But that becomes very transactional. What our colleges and universities need is long-term relationship investments because that is what is going to allow us to keep those students in school, keep them engaged, and prepare them for a corporate world.”
 
Honesty can be the more challenging aspect of communication, especially in the platitudinous, jargon-soaked worlds of academia and business. However, the unprecedented obstacles and impact of the pandemic may have galvanized a trend toward pragmatic and up-front communication.
 
“Crises like pandemics give us permission to accelerate things, change direction, and mobilize people in unexpected and innovative ways,” remarks Campbell.
 
In her own experience, investing the time to reach out personally to talk with corporate counterparts and share honest feedback has led to the evolution of new internship program models, the development of new fields of study in the curriculum, and a better overall understanding on all sides about what graduates really want from corporate culture.
 
“I think we need to be very clear and candid about what’s necessary to succeed,” says Campbell. “Don’t sugarcoat it. Get and give some real, honest feedback so that everyone feels that there’s an opportunity for them to come to the table, have a voice, and to have that voice mean something to the whole community.”