We often get so busy with the day-to-day– that is, LIFE–  until we have to struggle to focus on the world beyond us.  Especially here at the end of the semester, we're all caught up in the excitement and work of finishing the year that it's sometimes difficult to look beyond today.

Striving for our own professional growth can fall further and further back on our list of priorities.  I have a wonderful definition of leadership that I try to keep in the front of mind:  "Leaders facilitate action and guide change."  That means that leaders make things happen; and, they guide the things  that are happening to them.  Here are a few suggestions to help you keep "ahead of the curve" as we take action and shape our own future.

1.  Read– and read widely

It takes time, and that is a rare and valuable commodity.  Still, true leaders,
are
hungry for information, trends, and conversations from everywhere in
our world — not just higher ed. Reach out to new sources of knowledge.  Grab a new newspaper.  Read a new (or old) book.  Get curious. Read about things you don't know, instead of just reinforcing what you already know.

2.  Synthesize new ideas

The book of Ecclesiastes reads "there is nothing new under the sun."  It's just as true today as it was three thousand years ago.  Yet ideas
are the essence of leadership.  Understand you don't need to create new ideas.  The ideas are already out there.  You need to find them, and apply them to your needs.  Is texting any different that passing a note in class?  No, it's just the contemporary application of an old concept.  Synthesize new applications for old ideas.

3.  Lead from where you are

Waiting for a position or title to empower you is the biggest possible waste of potential.  You don't need a more important job– or job description– to lead.  Start leading now.  Embrace your possibilities.  Strive to be the best.  Demonstrate your own vision and integrity, and become the leader you seek.

As the semester comes crashing to an end, you may be wrapping up programs and events with student leader teams. I found this thoughtful list of questions from Tim Milburn over at studentlinc. This semester, instead of asking your student leaders to evaluate the experience or program, ask them to complete a self-assessment. My peer mentors are hired in the fall for a calendar year term of service, so I may have them complete the questions now and once again in December after their fall experience.

1. What did I learn as a student leader?
2. What will I need to remember from my student leadership year?
3. Which interactions with others taught me the most about how to work with people?
4. What do I know now that I didn’t know a year ago?
5. What am I better at as a result of this student leadership experience?

6. How would I describe my student leadership experience in 100 words?
7. How am I better prepared for the next chapter in my story?
8. What would I have done differently as a student leader?
9. If I had one hour with a group of newly elected student leaders, what would I want to talk to them about?
10. What mistakes did I make this year and what did I learn from them?

11. What do I hope to be remembered for as a student leader?
12. How could I have done better as a student leader?

Completing a self-assessment allows student leaders to depart the experience with a greater context for their contributions and learning. Over at studentlinc, Tim has shared a pdf of these questions and other great student leader information.

Do you have student leader evaluation or assessment ideas to share?

Our campus is working on expanding our support for student organization transition as a result of a recent "Aha" moment.  During some expense of brain power about the frustrating and negative impact of weak officer transition, I realized how little support we offered to the bulk of our student organizations to assist them in successful officer transition.  Of course, for those groups that our staff directly advises we try to focus a lot of energy on supporting that changeover.  My moment of clarity, however, was more about the rest of the groups and what we should be doing differently.  It only makes sense – the groups that are further "outside" the circle need more ability to exist on their own and therefore more support.

We have some things in mind for a new program and I want to share the details…

First Phase:  Deadline for Elections through end of classes

• For the first time, we have established a deadline for student organization officer elections.  By April 3, clubs need to file a form with us that informs us of their newly identified e-board. 

• We will be developing a Wiki site about Officer Transition, presenting sample outlines for meetings, checklists, and other tips.

• We will be sponsoring a "Fall Event Calendar Party" to organize fall semester planning. Through establishing a deadline for elections, we will make sure that we have the right students in the room when we are making commitments to the fall calendar.

• We will sponsor a New Officer Welcome Reception in our office where the new officers can meet each other and meet our staff before the end of the semester.

Second Phase:  Summer

• We don't have many students around or in contact over the summer, so we will offer web-based resources (podcasts, tip sheets, etc.) and focus on the issues of "I'm in charge, so now what?"  This phase will focus on completely optional content, but topics such as Vision, Goal setting, and "Membership Management" topics to respond to an expressed need for students to get better at managing their peers. 

• Anyone with events during the first six weeks of school will be invited to attend "Open Houses" that we will sponsor at various points in July.  Our goal is to foster earlier event planning and more frequent contact with our office to prepare to host effective events during the opening of school.

Third Phase:  August 15 – end of September

We will focus on student organization registration, preparation for our Involvement Fair and host a leadership conference at the end of September with a focus on hands-on, practical topics that will be useful for the leader just starting out.

Any thoughts on this plan?  Does anyone out there in Blogging land have similar types of efforts and can share stories of success?

Have a great week!!

We just completed the first of four half-day mini retreats for our peer leaders. These students will be facilitating our first-year seminar course in the fall and they spend this semester building team relationships and studying student development in preparation for their work. A favorite concept that we utilize is the FISH! Philosophy. We introduce the unit early and refer back to it throughout the year. FISH! includes four simple interconnected practices that are easy to remember and fun for activity transitions.

In need of a fun, interactive "getting to know you" icebreaker or class energizer? Barbara Nixon offers this gem for getting to know a new group of students: create a magazine cover! Nixon, an assistant professor at Georgia Southern, utilizes her blog to share assignments in her Public Relations courses. She shares a virtual file cabinet of creative ideas for integrating social media into the classroom which are applicable in a variety of student development arenas.

When it comes to goals, we’ve had the S.M.A.R.T. mantra pounded into us.  You know, your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable,  Realistic and Time-based.  It’s a handy rule of thumb when it comes to setting those organizational and personal goals each year.

That’s a useful tool.  But let me offer you another tool. Dream Big.
Set an extraordinary goal, something that’s not “smart.”  Set a goal
that’s a real long shot, something that’s not easily attainable or
realistic.  Companies sometimes call them “BHAGs”– big, hairy audacious goals.

Why would you want to set an impractical goal?  For one simple reason:  big goals are inspiring.

It might be difficult to make that 8 a.m. Organic Chemistry class if
your only goal is to pass.  You might be more inspired to get up early
and study if your goal is to be a great heart surgeon.  Sure, medical
school could be years away from now, and practicing medicine even further way if you plan to specialize in cardiac surgery.

But having that big goal may make the difference between actually getting up and going to class or sleeping in and just barely passing (or flunking).  It helps to be inspired. 

When I was in graduate school, my fellow grad students had an
expression to deal with all the tedious busy work we got assigned:
“anything not worth doing is not worth doing well.”  But when we were
inspired by a big goal, we would come in early and work latedoing all the little things it took to achieve it.   

Come up with that organizational goal that will inspire your
members.  Having that big dream can make the mundane chores seem more
important.  Think of the difference it makes to have a big goal.  Could you get your members to participate in a fund raising car wash if the goal was to take all of the members to see a movie? 

Now, imagine if the goal was to take all of the members to the national convention in New York. 

See the difference a goal makes?  Inspire your members with a big goal.  You just might attain it.

Earlier this summer Del Suggs challenged us to create contemporary mission statements that address why we do things. Sure enough, upon examining the missions of my scholarship and exchange programs, I found dusty and tired lists of the services provided, but not much about the benefit. The statements were certainly not representative of the active, evolving organizations or the students in them.

I struggled for weeks with rewriting why we do things in order to convey a new message of the vibrant nature of our students and goals. I found the best inspiration at a summer staff retreat. The homework exercise required writing a personal mission statement. And BAM. That’s what it took. My struggle to define program mission statements had been hampered because I needed to define myself.

Helpful resources were found here and here to point me in a new direction for crafting a personal statement. By redefining self and the values that shape my work in student affairs, my program mission statements found new life and purpose.

Facing mission statement impossible? Try looking within.

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t. –Richard Bach

Do you have a personal mission statement? How does it enhance the work that you do?

"The Five Whys" is a method of distilling the true cause/effect of an issue.  Simply put, it involves asking the question "why?," and then asking "why?" of the answer.  The pretense is that if asked five times, that simple question will take you to the heart of the matter.

When I first heard of the Five Whys, I was told it was an ancient Chinese technique.  Later I learned it was neither ancient nor Chinese– it had been developed by  Sakichi Toyoda at his automobile company to aid problem solving.  Whatever the source, it’s a useful tool.

A quick example:  My car won’t start.  Why?  Because the battery is dead.  Why? Because the alternator isn’t working.  Why?  Because the belt broke.   Why?  Because it was worn out.  Why?  Because I didn’t follow the maintenance schedule. 

So the root cause of my car failing to start is my own neglect of the required maintenance.

The concept is to peel back the layers of an issue, and get down to the true problem or concern.  But is also works in helping to determine a purpose.  I like to use it to analyze a situation, condition, proposal, or issue.

It’s especially useful in developing a purpose or mission statement.  While assisting an SGA to create a mission statement, I began by asking them why the SGA existed.  "To be the voice of the students" they replied.  Why?  "So the administration will know the students’ opinion on important school issues."  Why?  "So the school can better meet the students’ needs."  Why?  "So more students can get an education."  Why?  "So they can become successful productive citizens."

So the SGA’s real purpose is to help students become successful graduates.  That’s a totally different idea and more powerful purpose that just being the "voice of the students."

While it may seem a little hokey, and the number five is pretty arbitrary (could be three, could be six), it does seem to work.  Maybe looking at the path we’ve come will make the path ahead seem more clear.

The next time you’re faced with a decision, issue, or question try the Five Whys.  You might just get down to the "heart of the matter."    

As I prepare for my student leader retreat next month, I appreciate utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) for program development.  As a Type practitioner, I have long used the MBTI to facilitate the transition to college in my first-year seminar.  I reintroduce Type in my leadership courses for comprehension of differences and strengths development.

Understanding new methods of instruction in the college or university can be challenging for any new student and is especially so for my students from small, rural high schools.  Type assessment in the first-year seminar helps students understand their preferences for learning and methods that will enhance individual learning.  Reviewing the principles of Type for my student leaders promotes understanding of diversity and differing work styles.  These skills become important as they engage in event planning and classroom activities for different learners.

Breanne Potter describes one of my favorite MBTI activities, the Living Type Table (LTT).  The LTT is a great practical exercise that gets students on their feet while demonstrating that learning and work style differences are real.  The activity shows that Type is systematic by sorting participants based on responses to Type specific questions.  For example:

When learning something new, do you like to:  Talk out your thoughts?  -OR-  Keep your thoughts inside?

When learning something new, do your prefer:  Solid facts? -OR- Intriguing Concepts?

Building the grid and moving into the 16 areas of the LTT is a fun activity that helps students define personal preferences in work and learning styles.  Check with your Human Resources office to partner with a trained MBTI facilitator on your campus or seek a referral from the Association for Psychological Type.

Every organization on campus needs a Mission Statement.  As a matter of fact, every department and office on campus should have a Mission Statement.  While it sounds like a pretty simple matter to create a mission, it’s more difficult and requires more thought than you might initially consider.

The modern mission statement is far different than it’s predecessor.  How can that be?  Isn’t a mission statement just the purpose for an organization?  Shouldn’t it be simple to capture your purpose in a few words?

Here’s the difference in the modern Mission Statement:  it explains why. 

Old school mission statements defined what an organization did.  Contemporary mission statements define why an organization does what it does.

See, it’s really the why we do things that matters.

Let me give you an example.  I worked with a history and natural science museum to create a new mission statement.  Their old mission was typical.  It explained what the museum did:  maintained a collection of native plants, animals, and historic buildings and presented programs to the public.

I started out the rewrite by asking everyone why the museum was important.  I talked with staff, volunteers, board members, visitors, any one who had an opinion.  Why was all the stuff the museum did important?

I discovered that the museum had a higher mission than just collecting artifacts.  All of the collections were simple tools serving a bigger goal.   

In the end, this became the new Mission Statement:  "The Museum promotes knowledge and understanding of the area’s cultural history and natural environment, inspiring people to enrich their lives and build a better community."

The real mission of the organization was to inspire people to enrich their lives, and to thereby create a better community.  That was why volunteers gave their time.  That was why staff members worked long hours without complaint.  That was why donors provided funding.  Collecting artifacts and presenting exhibits just assisted in reaching that end goal.

Think about applying that lesson to your organization and office.  Take a look at your mission statement.  Does it define what you do?  Redevelop it so that it explains why you do what you do.  What is your ultimate purpose?