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9
Mar 10
Me vs. “InBox.” Let’s Go.
One recent thread on the Twitter #sachat has related to the quest for something called “In Box Zero.” Out of sheer desperation for some motivation to get my e-mail life under control, I posted a challenge to readers and participants of the #sachat to see if we could motivate each other to get our e-mail situations under control.
Postings and responses were mixed. I could talk for a while and analyze whether or not it is possible to be productive when there are 2,000 e-mails in your In Box, but I’ll let your own conscience ring in on that one as you are asking yourself if your current system is working. Instead, I’ll share a bit about what I did and how I’m hoping to reclaim my productivity.
This quest for In Box Zero was inspired by a few frustrating e-mail searches during situations where I needed to be able to quickly locate an email. As I was frustrated by the huge numbers of messages that kept coming up no matter how specific I thought my searches were, I realized something big.
My e-mails are important, but not that important.
I owe it to myself to manage my own life intentionally and with the same care that I coach my own students and staff to do for each other. I am really starting to tire of all of the student affairs culture that asks us to wear our stress as a “badge of honor” as we tell anyone who will listen how busy we are. This has to stop, especially if we are going to accomplish the respect we are looking for. We need to show our campus leadership and ourselves that we have our *stuff* together.
Getting to the point of In Box Zero took about two days of moderate focus (I will confess!! It was fun – a nerdy “spring cleaning” of sorts). Here were some important parts of my attempt:
- Email folders are my new best friend. If you think of a paper-driven system, my former In Box was akin to a pile of papers with the one that just came in on the top. They are now filed in a system that makes sense, kind of like file folders, so if I need to quickly review emails all relating to the same event or issue they are still there.
- Un-subscribing like it’s my job. In campus activities we get a lot of email from artists, agents, vendors, etc. In many cases, these subscriptions are not ones that I asked for but are ones that come with membership in associations. My past approach was just deleting, but now I’m also making an effort to unsubscribe to those I will never need.
- Ruthless deleting. For every message, I thought hard about “what are the chances I will need this info again?” and “can I get this information somewhere else if I needed it again?”
I got to In Box Zero in time for this past Thursday’s #sachat, as promised. The main question is, can this last? From here out, I’m hoping to change some things about the way I work to take more control over my management of information. Based on the Tuesday Tally results, I think at least a few of you might be interested in joining me on this quest!
- In Box Zero is the goal each week. I don’t think I can manage it each day, but I think by the end of the week each week I can do this.
- No more using email as a To Do List. This was sage advice I received (from the wise @reyjunco) and I will most definitely oblige. Most of the reasons why I was keeping so many emails was “as a reminder” that I had to do something. I was also keeping a To Do List that usually included all of the email items, but not always remembering them. From here on, I’m deleting or filing those messages after I enter the task on my list. Now, my e-mail is in better control and my To Do list is now more of an accurate picture of what is on my plate.
- When In Box Zero is accomplished, close the e-mail. Again, sage advice from Reynol Junco (@reyjunco…follow him!). With e-mail being empty, the accumulation of a few messages isn’t a big deal anymore. The peace of mind of not worrying about every little message coming in for a few hours is quite nice.
- Set up some rules. For the e-mail subscriptions that I kept, I set up auto rules for the ones that I wanted to read when I have time. This way, the messages are out of my day-to-day message flow and I can review them when I get time.
- Manage the blog reading. Before I really figured out the world of the blog, I was subscribed to some blogs via email/RSS. I finally caught up to the rest of the world and started using Google Reader in the way it is supposed to be used. My newsflash: Collect all of these great messages in one place…and that place is NOT in my email! This way, I can use Google Reader when I have the time to read the blog posts.
The feeling of getting the e-mail world under control is this ENFJ’s “natural high.” This is a great feeling and I really believe I can approach the work week with a bit more sanity. I have this community to thank for some motivation.
For more on In Box Zero, Merlin Mann is the guru you want to read more about. Check out his 43folders.com site. More About In Box Zero
So, are you willing to give this a try, or are you sticking with the “I’m Too Busy” explanation? If you can’t work on this, what are your struggles with managing your e-mail and getting control over your work?
22
Feb 10
On Citizenship
Greetings from data land with the Multi Institutional Study of Leadership results for my campus!
As my previous few posts have indicated, I’m strolling down a very long road with analyzing our rather large volume of data from this study. Some changes in our Institutional Research department on campus have left me with more of a role in managing this step of the process than I had planned, so this is a little more than what I expected!
As some of you know, the MSL is structured around assessing leadership as structured around the values of leadership in the Social Change Model. (read about the theoretical frame for the study on the NCLP website!) This model offers values of leadership based on individual, group, and community values.
We were investigating the specific results along one of the values that is essentially important to our campus, Citizenship. Our campus has invested a great deal of time and focus around building our commitment to a mission of service as indicated in our motto, “not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” I’m working with a graduate student on our campus this semester on a project relating to community service involvement of men on our campus, so I immediately went to that area and looking at gender differences.
Rather than digging in to this aspect of the data, my eye strayed over toward the opportunity to look at other areas of campus involvement in addition to prior involvement in community service. Instead, I went to look at the students who have cited prior involvement in campus programming organizations.
DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!
Students who cite prior involvement in programming organizations reported significantly higher results on Citizenship than our general student body. Their results are comparable to those from students who note prior community service involvement.
We knew this all along, didn’t we?! Or did we?
I know that our programming board students are always among the most selfless students that I have the pleasure of working with. I also know that their commitment to improving our campus has always been second-to-none after over 15 years of experience across a few institutions.
Knowing all of this, why have I never linked this to Citizenship before? Conversations about citizenship on our campus typically only include discussions of service activities outside of our campus boundaries and various forms of political activism. Yet, this study is telling me that the value of Citizenship is alive and well in our programming students to a comparable extent to our students involved in more typically termed “service” activities. I am really not saying that all groups of students are meeting a “need” that is even comparable, but our students working in all of these capacities are telling me they understand Citizenship in a different way than our general student body.
If our field is emphasizing a focus on student learning and we see that learning about Citizenship is happening in campus programming, is there any hope of expanding a definition of service to include campus-based service?
I’m looking forward to your thoughts on this one.
3
Feb 10
Drowning in Leadership Data!
I wrote last about our campus initiative that is going to push us toward a “comprehensive” leadership program. We’re really building this from the middle, as there are many leadership efforts around campus that already exist. A move in this strategic direction is still without a lot of focus and without any defined leadership roles for our office in this effort, but as the Director of Student Involvement and LEADERSHIP, it’s probably a good idea for me to get our ducks in a row, right?
In preparing for this movement on our campus, I know that someone needs to take leadership for leadership. (grin!) I don’t know if I’m going to end up in this role, but I need to get prepared for my office to be primary partners in this effort if not charged with overall direction. So, how do we get the plan in place? Let’s look at needs and let’s look at assessment.
I’ll confess that I’m someone who gets pretty fired up at the idea of assessment and feels very dedicated to its place in our department. However, I’m not someone who is blessed with a natural gift for statistics (as my grades last semester show!) and I also didn’t get much preparation for the mechanics of assessment in my master’s program.
So, now I’m a department director and we need data. Go.
We needed information and we needed it quickly. So, we looked to a national survey on leadership and found the MSL. I don’t know how many of you have participated in the Multi Institutional Study of Leadership, but we decided to take the plunge for the first time this year. This national study of leadership that looks at how the higher education experience impacts leadership in college students. It surveys a HUGE majority of your student population and gives back a TON of data! Check out this work from Susan Komives and John Dugan and you’ll certainly see why we were so excited.
I now have a set of data that tells me what 4,000 of our students think about leadership and need to figure out what to do with it! eeeek! This beginning Ph.D. student looks at all of this great data, knows there are great pieces of insight in this binder, but is shaking in her boots to try to figure out where to go next with it.
Here is what I have figured out so far:
- I’m developing a list of “research questions” that I think the data might answer.
- Then, I’m going to work with someone who knows data analysis much better than I do and see if they also agree.
- After that, my supervisor and I are going to figure out the implications of these conclusions here on campus.
- Once we write the implications and conclusions, I’m going to do this presentation as many times as appropriate culture on campus will let me and tell everyone I know what we found.
As of now, I’m hoping it will help us understand a bit more about our college males and why they aren’t stepping forward in leadership roles here. I’m also worried about what looks like overall weak self-report of leadership efficacy from Undeclared majors and really glad to see what looks like very positive ratings on Citizenship from students involved in campus programming. There’s also a list of 20 additional potential questions to pursue and I certainly have my work ahead of me!
Off to a meeting with my supervisor to dig into this for the first time. Wish me luck! I’ll write next time about leadership and what I’m learning about the different “parts” to this change effort.
Until I get back, can you tell our SA Community about a time when you were facing an assessment “Mountain” and conquered it? We will learn from your journey!
28
Jan 10
Building a leadership program. Go.
After some degree of reflection on my career path these days, I’ve noticed that at every stop along my journey I have had some role or charge related to starting a new leadership program. Whether you think of “program” as a leadership event or as a comprehensive four (or five!) year approach, I think a lot of campuses are reinventing their approach to leadership development.
At my campus right now, we are building some momentum around leadership because it’s made its way into the strategic plan. (insert dance of JOY from me!!) This doesn’t mean that we don’t already have existing leadership programs that meet with good success in areas like residence life, athletics and in my office (Student Involvement and Leadership). We’re honestly in pretty deep with these programs in these areas in addition to a couple of isolated academic courses. Even though we’re in the middle of this already, I’m beyond excited for the potential that comes with institutional commitment and potential synergy in collaboration.
So, the light finally shines on an area I’ve been excited to get started for a number (not saying!) of years now on campus…what next? Where do you start when there is finally “permission” to dream for your campus? Join me in some planning and tell me what you think…
- Leading Change by John Kotter is an essential resource for anyone planning a change effort or who is overwhelmed by the change process. Kotter’s fairly straightforward analysis of the change process reminds me to be patient and build momentum around this process. I need to be intentional, build stakeholders, and not rush forward on what I believe needs to get done immediately.
- I don’t think we need to need to choose a leadership model. I think our job is to offer a variety of models in a variety of settings for dialogue about what leadership actually means. If students are able to grow in their personal definition of leadership, then they can pursue activities and opportunities that take their definition deeper.
- There is much to be gained from involvement of student leaders from the beginning of these conversations. I’m hoping to include plans for student interns and directed study projects that let advanced students get the opportunity to influence knowledge about leadership for their peers.
- I believe our goal needs to be a “comprehensive” leadership program that includes…
- Leadership training: Training for positional leaders (RA’s, club officers, etc.) on how to be more effective at managing their responsibilities.
- Leadership development: Campus-wide initiatives to cultivate broader understanding from students that they possess the potential to lead and increase their willingness to accept the challenges of leadership wherever they are presented.
- Leadership education: Educating more students about the art and science of leadership including exploration of leadership models, attributes, skills and case studies.
I am hoping to develop a series of posts about our journey toward connecting our many disparate parts of leadership education efforts on campus. To start, what do YOU think needs to be considered when starting from the ground up… when you’ve already started the pieces a long time ago?
Next time…we’ll talk assessment.
23
Dec 09
Student affairs… why stay?
One of my former students told me, "do you remember the conversation we had about sororities on the orientation cruise when I was a sophomore Orientation Leader?" I'll confess, I didn't. She, however, cites that as a defining moment in her decision to join a sorority and, in retrospect, a defining moment in one of the most important decisions she made in her life. She told me that because of that conversation and her related decision, she grew as a person beyond even her own potential and found her leadership style, her best friends, and a career she now loves. I just attended her wedding a few months ago!
That conversation took place about eight years ago and I just heard about its impact last month.
In that story, a "typical student moment" for me is pretty momentous for her. If I'm being honest with you, my frame of mind at that time, was probably more like "if I can just make it through this long night on the Spirit of Boston cruise we will be so close to this huge week of events being over!" Yet, a basic "should I get involved" conversation is something she remembers today.
Why in the world would we endure never ending work days, low pay, occasional lack of respect, shortage of resources, and struggles with serious crisis situations? Why do we stay and not just give up the ship for easier, safer, more lucrative careers?
I wanted to close out 2009 on a positive note, so here is my list… in no particular order.
1. I stay because at least twice a year, I get to gather with like-minded people in my profession to learn more about my chosen field through active professional associations. These conferences seem to come at just the right time each year and refocus me toward wanting to achieve in this field.
2. I stay because at least once a day, I get to connect with like-minded people in my profession to learn more about my chosen field through active on-line communities like the SA Blog and Twitter. There's a lot of great thinking out here and I'm grateful for the vibrant community!
3. I stay because every time I think something has brought me down at work, the next thing comes right along to pick me back up. We could have a terrible disaster one day and then a big "a-ha" comes through the door that reaffirms my faith in my ability to impact education and help good students become great.
4. I stay because I get the chance to hire talented people who put their all into their work with a temperament that doesn't take ourselves too seriously. There are a lot of amazing people out there in our field and they are all potential future coworkers, supervisors, or assistants.
5. I stay because if I decide it would be fun to have a "Wear your Snuggie to Work" day, we do it. No joke. We did it… and there are pics on Twitter to prove it.
6. I stay because the field is about learning. Learning for students, learning for me as a professional, chalking up mistakes to "learning opportunities" and attributing weaknesses to "learning and needed development." This learning thread is not as present in our corporate settings and this focus on learning cuts us a lot of slack.
7. I stay because if I think there is a new program, event or service that we need to experiment with, I can make it happen. (within budgetary constraints, of course!) It may not happen immediately and may not happen with the funding it deserves, but if I want to plant a seed to start something new, it's up to me!
8. I stay because my skills and experiences are marketable in a zillion possible directions… and frankly, the next step confuses me! Might as well stick it out until it gets clearer. There are great ways to "stretch" your skills, try new things, and really see what you can do.
9. I stay because the campus activities profession feeds my "policy maker side" by giving me that role, feeds my "counselor" self in my many interactions with students, feeds by "entrepeneurial" side by giving me room to start new programs, and feeds my "emerging CEO" by giving me a small sphere of the universe where they call me "director." There is such a big range!
10. I stay because of the students. It's got to be said.We are lucky to work with some of the best and the brightest on campus and they really teach me just as much as I teach them. I mean really, in what field do you get to work with the same "clients" over the course of four/five/six years and help to support their achievement of their most important goals in life?
I could write forever, but let's close out 2009 on a positive note, shall we? Tell me why YOU stay? Let's end it all with a big student affairs group hug.
Happy holiday break to all and no matter what holidays or observances you may celebrate in the coming weeks, I hope you celebrate making a difference in countless lives. Most of your impact may never become clear right away, but let's feel that unspoken "thanks" from all of those students' lives you have influenced!
14
Dec 09
Things are getting Funky
I have to thank this community for a great response to my previous post about the "funk" in student affairs this time of year. Between both comments on the blog and emails/Tweets I received, I know more than ever that this topic is even more relevant than I had thought.
So, if the student affairs world is getting you down these days…how do you know if it's time to go? During these uncertain times it's hard to know if a job search is right for you as well as whether it's a good time to leave a secure environment. While you are racking your brain about how to deal with any loyalty you may feel to your current institution, we're here to talk about you and not them.
Let's start thinking about what might be going through your head if it's time to leave your current job. How about some of these:
- If you would rather get a root canal than attend yet another residence hall move-in weekend…
- If you find it hard to control the urge to tell the dean what you really think of him during your orientation meetings…
- If you have done the math to compare potential income in a retail job per hour with the income you are making now…
- If you hear the phrases like "we've always done it that way" and "we tried that and it didn't work" coming out of your mouth more than once in a blue moon….
Let's talk. All kidding aside, if you find it hard to maintain a level of professionalism and positive energy during a typical work week on a consistent basis it might be time for some conversation. I have known people who have spun so far into a low opinion of themselves and their work place that it has been hard to get a grip on reality. The question to wonder is whether this "funk" is temporary or whether it's more than that?
One thing that I'm always trying to warn friends to be conscious of is the typical cycles of stress in student affairs. The ebbs and flows of our jobs typically have a way of wearing on us just as quickly as they will pick us back up. The thing to watch out for is if you never get picked up.
Pay attention to how you are feeling the next time a student comes in with great news about an accomplishment or when a progress step finally comes from a group you have been advising. Are you excited about these great moments? Or, is the first instinct more of "that's nice" and a move on to returning emails and phone calls just to stay on top of your list.
I had a former staff member who left student affairs to become a meeting planner at a company. She said that the biggest difference was that the "highs" were not as high by any means… but the "lows" were nowhere near as low.
Are you too wrapped up in the lows so that you are missing the highs? These great moments are what makes everything worth it… are you letting them pass you by?
We'll talk next time about some more positive things like "when it's time to stay." For now, I'd love to hear from those who have made successful transitions out of jobs "when the time was right" and those who may have regretted waiting.
Any words of encouragement for those thinking of taking the plunge?
9
Dec 09
Hmmm….
There are days when I wonder why I'm still sticking around in this field. There, I said it. I know this is a "shiny, happy student affairs community" but I have to be honest in saying that every now and then there are points where I raise the important "is it worth it" question.
I know you're expecting me to write about my wonderful students next…and that's probably the right direction to take this in. The students here at my campus are truly special and never cease to amaze me with their resilience, their humility, and their willingness to seize every opportunity possible. BUT, that's not where I'm headed at the moment even though they do make this job really worthwhile.
"Is it worth it?" I hope that all of you have taken the time to ask this question about your life's pursuits at one point or another. If you're someone who never challenges yourself to consider whether even the best job on earth is right for you…then it might be time to give it some thought. It keeps you honest and keeps you motivated to pursue the quest for excellence.
I don't know what's up on your campuses, but things at mine are a little lacking in the holiday spirit. People are tired, stressed, and frustrated. Some of you are even out there wondering if you have the resolve to keep "fighting the good fight" for yet another semester…so it's time to chat.
Do me a favor and ask yourself some questions…
- When I'm at my happiest, what am I experiencing? Does this job bring that out in me or are those happy moments reserved for outside of work alone?
- When I'm at my saddest, what is going on? Do I deal with these issues at work or are they mostly outside of work?
If work life is getting you down, I hope you'll take some time to think about what makes you tick? In the name of balance, give some thought to your core values and how you can be sure your work life and personal life are both connected. It's what will make you YOU.
If you're coming home from work each night and you are miserable, are there common elements to what gets you down? What things need to be in place for you to be at your best? Is your current place of employment helping you do that?
If so, then here's to you and I hope you are planning new ways to take 2010 by storm!
If not, then we'll have some more blog posts to share together in the coming year about taking stock of how things are going. With the economy in the state it's in… you may still be sticking around or you may have the chance to try something new. I'm hoping to write a few upcoming posts about ways to make the most of where you are. (I've been at my current job 11 years and I swear it was only supposed to be for 3!)
In the meantime, can anyone else out there offer advice to people wondering if it's time to start a job search next semester? What factors need to be considered?
Hang in there SA friends… we're almost done!
30
Nov 09
Student Scavenger Hunt On Twitter
Our office is celebrating a new attempt in the world of programming, the scavenger hunt through Twitter!
We called it the "iHunt" (after much debate!) and our student marketing coordinators for our office ran this as a project. I love that I get the chance to brag about their great event on this blog and can also share some of our learning from our first event held on Twitter with all of you.
Before I go through the specifics, you should know that our campus is just barely dipping our toes into this Twitter pool. A few of us are tweeting and some of our programs and offices are getting started with it, but we are just barely setting forth on what many campuses have already accomplished through using this exciting tool. We knew we were starting and needed to build followers, so the iHunt was born!
Now that I've let our "social media newbie" status leak to the public, I hope you realize that this can be adopted by everyone! Here's how it went down:
- We chose one account that we wanted to build through this event and made that account the central account. We didn't use a hashtag (#) because our goal was to increase followership. (Warning: If this hashtag reference confuses you… seek a Twitter tutorial on YouTube and then come back!)
- Pre-event advertising was done using the typical channels. To sign up, students had tweet a full name to the designated account and sign up to follow (in order to get clues).
- Once the hunt started. we tweeted clues and the participants had to tweet back for certain numbers of points. We did questions based on campus history, departmental programs, events going on that week, and wierd trivia about our staff members. Remember, the goal is to gain followers for our office's Twitter so it was shameless promotion on purpose.
- Our two student marketing coordinators kept running scores and did a mid-week update on who was winning. I also did some incentive points by posting things like "extra five points for getting five new fans of our Facebook fan page to post that you referred them."
- Questions ranged in point values and we made sure that people who had signed up after things got rolling had a chance to catch up through extra effort. There was no rhyme or reason to our point system and it got kind of silly after a while…but we had a blast! (I believe I was awarded a thousand iHunt points for "being awesome" by the end of it)
Our conclusion to this event is going to be a "Tweetup" where we are inviting all the participants and our staff to talk about the event and what we can do to make it huge for next semester!
Overall, this whole event was a real trip! We wanted to run one as a pilot just to see what it would be like and before we set our sights too high and too big. We had goals of large registration with teams, etc. but decided to keep things simple the first time around. I'm glad we did, because…
- Students were HYPED about this! It might have been because it was a new tool to "play" with, but we really did just basic promotion and got great enthusiasm.
- Students were INTENSE about this! When we put out a tweet, we had no idea that they would feel compelled to answer the tweets immediately. It most definitely created drama around the office and stress from the students that was totally not necessary. There was something about the Twitter format that made them feel urgency.
I can't wait to see how this Tweetup goes and will post a Comment on here when it happens. What more do you want to know about this experiment?! Cheers to Web 2.0 and a new platform for "events!"
16
Nov 09
Professional development… what’s your definition?
In this era of budget reductions we are struggling to find new ways to continue to challenge our professionals and providing them with ways to keep current in their thinking without being able to fund costly conference travel. After a long and complicated conversation about conference attendance, we ended up sending a group of students and staff to attend the NACA Northeast Regional this week. We had a great group and aren't we snazzy at the closing banquet:
As an experienced NACA Volunteer, this wasn't my first conference. I attended just for two of the days, but during my attendance I got the chance to reflect a little bit about the different ways "professional development" was being offered and the different experiences my delegation was having all at the same conference. We all attended the same event, but experienced ideas relating to our professional growth in so many ways!
My students started using Twitter (#bscpc) and a blog (pcatnaca.blogspot.com) to record their observations and to communicate with both fellow delegates and folks back home. The conference introduced them to these tools that they had never used in this context and their comments were priceless! They also got the chance to present an educational workshop as well as a presentation in competition for the "Excellence in Programming" award. Through these sessions, they had the exercise of having to articulate their accomplishments AND to have to explain them to someone else through a presentation. (oh, did I mention they won the award too… yay!)
My graduate assistant attended the conference too and it was the first time we got to see her in a leadership role with our student delegation. She was amazing with them in helping them make meaning of their conference experiences. During times like when they were working hard at volunteering the day before the conference, she found ways to help them understand how their efforts contributed toward a better experience for everyone involved!
My staff member was on the conference committee and I know I don't have to explain what that is like to all of you! He was responsible for the "business side" of the conference by helping to organize the marketplace (HUGE number of booths!) and the performance venues. He didn't just look cool with his walkie talkie – he really made it possible for all of these hardworking artists to connect in a positive environment with potential entertainment buyers.
And then there's me… even after attending what feels like my zillionth regional conference I gain new knowledge. I got to present on two topics I have never presented before, I had the chance to meet some of NACA's leadership from the past 40 years at an anniversary celebration, and I got to really, really connect with a group of people who truly "get" what I do. Now, I'm lucky at my campus where there are some who do understand it… but that's usually from a lens of someone who made the decision not to do it anymore OR who only sees a part of it. These people at this conference? They play amazing roles in my life that they have no idea they play. At the very core, they understand my challenges and my constant personal push-and-pull about how long I can keep "doing" campus activities.
This type of "professional home" is out there for all of us, but with both our campus budget constraints and the constraints that our associations are feeling, I fear that we need to figure out new ways of developing this kind of community among professionals. Many of our senior leaders on campus come from the days of frequent planning meetings for these conferences and no concern for attending these professional meetings, no matter where they were held. So will they respect the opportunities that technology will provide and support ways to make them meaningful? Will they see participating in great things like #sachat on Twitter and contributing to the SABlog as credible ways to grow our skills?
This current generation of student affairs professionals won't get the opportunity to develop their professional home in the same way that our current VP's did, so I'd say that there is a charge to those of us in mid-level positions to take the lead in redefining professional community. This is a question we have to answer about our on-campus offerings, our professional association activities, and using technology to help fill in the blanks.
Who's up for it? Where do we go next?
