Photo credit Dev.Arka

My short answer to the radical question: no.  Don’t worry, there’s a longer answer coming at you.

A long while back, Eric Stoller asked “Where Are the Radical Practitioners?”  My gut reaction back then was the same – that I wasn’t one, even though I felt like it is a necessary part of learning and growing.   If nothing else, I saw the value of constantly questioning as a part of positive group growth (thank you, Tuckman).  I started this post in February, with the same title, though I didn’t have the courage to finish it until today.  I kept trying to find ways to change my answer to yes.

I still feel scared about posting this.  In the midst of a job search, I’m not sure what prospective employers will think about “being radical” and pushing the limits.  However, I maintain that being authentic is one of my best strengths, so I’m writing it anyway.  In addition, if you read through the comments on Eric’s article (please do), you’ll see a lot of folks who generate some great conversation about being radical while developing partnerships, remaining collaborative, and being student learning focused.  These are all skills & traits I value and strive to exemplify and uphold.

The reality? Some days, I feel like I’m just an average “do what’s expected” practitioner, but I know that I also challenge the status quo.  The problem? Managing that “push” and maintaining relationships is really tough.  There are a thousand factors to consider and you won’t always be successful.

There are a few other sources that prompted my courage to complete this post.

1. A couple weeks ago I moderated my first #sachat (yay!), and I really loved the discussion.  The topic was “Discussing job (dis)satisfaction with supervisors.” The transcript isn’t up yet, but I’ll link to it when it is.  Some of the great points mentioned included understanding fit & office culture, identifying allies, owning your responsibility in dissatisfaction, and knowing when it’s time to leave (if you weren’t able to participate in this #SAchat, I highly recommend reading through the transcript – folks were really engaged and honest)
2. Recent reflection on the nature of feedback and how to best create a culture of feedback (here’s a great article that guided some of this reflection: How to Get Feedback When You’re the Boss)
3. Re-watching this amazing talk by Brene Brown
4. Reading this fantastic article from Tara Sophia Mohr on the Dark Side of Girls’ Success in School
5. Lots and lots of twitter chat over the past six months on being “innovative,” which I correlate with radical in a way

Now, obviously, that’s a lot of information (can you tell that input is one of my top strengths?) and you don’t actually have all of it, so I’ll try to reference important facts when necessary.

I want to be radical in that I am wholeheartedly idealistic and I just want us to do better, always.  And by us, I mean me, my staff, my colleagues, my department, my institution – all of us.  There is always room for improvement and if we’re not trying to do what we do better, then what are we doing this for?

Enter the understanding that I learned: 1) to be a “good girl” (via Tara Mohr’s article) and succeed in school by following the rules and doing what I was told, and 2) a piece of my core self disagreed with a lot of what was going on in the world around me – which created a strong internal need to bring voice to that disagreement.  A strange dichotomy, and one that manifested in a few different ways.  When I was younger, this often appeared as bringing home A’s but engaging in some nasty screaming matches with my mom, needing to feel popular but standing up for those being picked on (which, among other reasons, made me not popular).  As an undergraduate, it looked like writing the kinds of papers my instructors wanted (I was an English major – there were LOTS of papers) while staying up late and engaging in typical young adult behavior, learning to work the system and do the minimal amount of work to keep up my GPA but still have the “college experience.”  In graduate school, it surfaced as reading enough (but not everything) to participate in engaging dialogue during class while also trying to confront the things I saw wrong with the “system” of my program (which my faculty can likely tell you was not always pleasant or effective).  In professional positions, the dichotomy still exists.  It shows up in accomplishing the tasks in a job description or possibly a timeline but trying to create new programs or change institutional culture.  The kicker in the professional world is that completing those “assignments” does not always guarantee the “A” or the next step up the ladder and though graduate school taught us strategies to understand institutional culture and affect change, putting them into action is a whole different ballgame.

The last few paragraphs from Tara’s article stood out to me.

“To blaze a trail, women and men need to know how to experiment with their ideas when they are messy and imperfect. They need an ability to take considered risks, challenge authority and respond to criticism with a thick skin.

Boys are more likely to acquire these skills from what they learn from family and peers and from the stories of adventurous, authority-challenging boys and men that they see in video games, films, TV and popular culture. Too often, girls are still learning a different story from the media and from school itself — how to be a good girl. It’s time we started rewarding girls’ risk-taking as much as their rule-following at school. It’s time we celebrated them not just when they gained the teacher’s praise, but when they thoughtfully challenged authority.

Those of us already in the midst of our careers need to make a shift. Let’s use our “good student” toolkit as a foundation for doing quality work. But let’s also start to paint with new colors: greater risk-taking, shrugging off criticism and experimenting with our work when it’s imperfect and not yet fully formed.”

I’ll be honest – I’m definitely still learning how to do all of these things.  My transition from a small, private liberal arts institution to a large, division I institution has been a challenge for me.  I 100% own this transition and the accompanied struggles as my choice; I sought out this space in order to have colleagues/peers who are in my same role rather than being “the only” at a small institution.  However, strategies that worked really well for me last year (when I was in my third year on a small department) are not working for me quite as well this year.  Now that I’m part of a larger department, there are now multiple levels and deeper nuances of political savvy, of which I’m not always conscious.  I’ve always been a jump right in kind of person (despite being a worry-wart), and a verbal processor (despite being an introvert), which leads to talking first, considering the risks of participation second, and often less successful results.  At the same time, I want so much to “earn the A,” be liked, and do my best work.  I also know I need to be true and authentic and to listen to that voice inside that is constantly questioning.

Therein lies the rub.  How to navigate those relationships, partnerships, and politics while pushing for positive change?  I need to figure out how to be my authentic self without just succumbing to my exposed vulnerability and shame in not succeeding.  My initial reaction was that I should silence myself, disengage.  But a wise friend and mentor sent me Brene Brown’s talk after processing through this feedback with me.  I had seen the talk and watched it several times before, but it held so many valuable reminders.

“Courage: to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.”

Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness…

To deal with vulnerability, we make the uncertain certain.  We are afraid.  We blame as a way to discharge pain and discomfort.

The wholehearted have the courage to be imperfect, show compassion for self and others,  and are connected to others as a result of authenticity.  They are willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they are.

Brene’s talk was compounded by well-timed tweet from Cory Booker:

“Don’t allow your wounds to turn you into a person you are not.” Paulo Coelho

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 5, 2012

So here I am, tempted to be silent (to make the uncertain certain – disengage from the discomfort) and struggling to navigate this world in my authentic voice.

Have you experienced an internal struggle such as this? How did you successfully (or perhaps unsuccessfully) manage to be your own person but also fit into the culture around you? In an effort to be a voice for those unable to speak, please share advice, tips, stories for those who are in a situation similar to mine. 

This is cross posted at EricaKThompson.com.

Looking for ways to jumpstart your #altprodev plan? Join us for the summer 2012 #SAChat book club!

We’re starting off the summer reads by joining forces with our friends over at The Cronk of Higher Education. They’ve selected The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose.

Kevin Roose wasn’t used to rules like these. As a sophomore at Brown University, he spent his days drinking fair-trade coffee, singing in an a cappella group, and fitting right in with Brown’s free-spirited, ultra-liberal student body. But when Roose leaves his Ivy League confines to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Baptist school in Lynchburg, Virginia, obedience is no longer optional.

Cronk News staff writer and saucy elder Irma Pelt will lead discussion number 1 on Wednesday, June 20th at 9:00 pm EST. Follow along via #CronkClub. We’ll then continue the discussion on Thursday, June 21st at our usual 12:00 noon CST time via #SAChat. We know this first discussion is happening quickly, but promise this book is a page turner!

And to give you a special preview, our second book of the summer will be Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. Discussion will be held Thursday, July 19th at 12 noon CST. More details to follow!

Happy Reading!

Who is your mother’s mother?

This is the question that a recent blog post by Ann Marie Klotz, Assistant Director for Selection and Training at DePaul University had me thinking about during Women’s History month.

I was recently enjoying the hot tub at the rec center one Sunday evening before heading back to work, when an older gentleman who was also enjoying the spa sparked up a conversation with my friend and me. He started off the conversation by exclaiming, “This is the life”, which we enthusiastically agreed, and he said “If you think this is the life now, wait until you’re older, if I knew I was going to live this long I wouldn’t have done half the stupid things I’ve done”. I quickly learned that this man was not just a talkative older gentleman, but also a firefighter in town that remembered when a friend and I delivered treats to the firehouse on MLK day, but he could have probably never guessed where my mind went with that comment about life expectancy. Then, I realized, I’ve just never really thought about that, just like I never really thought about going to college.

Yet who was Jean Klein (Goodin)? She was the daughter of a Chicago horseback police officer and an older sister. She grew up in the Catholic school system, and was told by her father that she would go to an all-girls Catholic school for the entirety of her life. I guess in this sense she was a rebel. She didn’t have the grades she says to get into Mundelein College so off to DePaul she went.

What would she major in? Education of course, her father determined that, he would tell both his daughters, when they asked if they could be nurses instead, “No daughter of mine will be changing bedpans”. So a teacher she would be. When I first heard this story I was a little saddened. Saddened because I felt my grandmother had no choice, but she reminded me the choice has always been hers. Sure if she chose a different path things may have been more difficult. She was happy. She was happy because her children were able to go to any school and choose any major. She knew her granddaughters and grandsons would have those choices – and that she would be right there with us supporting and loving us.

As I said before, I never really thought about going to college. I just knew I would. I knew I would because my grandmother had, because her father made sure she did. In this sense I consider myself quite lucky. I always knew that there were “dorms” and RAs, I knew about financial aid, and I knew I’d have to pick a major. Now that I think about this, I’m sure my great-grandfathers decision to have his daughters be teachers has greatly influenced my desire and passion for this field – it has led me to recognize that not all students view college this way. There are so many people out there who view Higher Education as an impenetrable fortress, this is what has led me to want to do this work, to be able to help students work through college. This privilege I have and have had gives me a sense of responsibility to give back. We all have something, some strands of knowledge, that we can give back, give to someone else. Who will you remember today? Who will you help tomorrow?

Ryan Bye is a graduate hall coordinator at Texas Tech University.

It’s no secret that Google is trying to dominate everything from self-driving cars to human-powered monorails. But one industry that continues to block out the behemoth is Student Affairs in Higher Ed. Beyond the occasional Google+ Hangouts and Google Wave retirement parties, Student Affairs and Google haven’t been the best of friends. But all of that is about to change.

In an unexpected move, Google reached out to the leadership team at #SAchat several months ago to inquire about a possible purchase of the famous Student Affairs Twitter chat. Unconfirmed reports from an inside source state that Google was ready to offer up to $10,000 in conference registration fees and a box of free t-shirt schwag.

Lots of questions still remain about what will be different after the sale is completed, but some have suggested the new hashtag might be #SAoogle, #SAgoog, or #SA+, as a way for Google to continue to make Google+ a relevant thing.

While we many never know the full deets of the secret meetings that went on between #SAchat and Google, one thing is for sure, joining the Google family will send @the_sa_blog’s Klout score through the roof!

What is innovation? One way to look at innovation, is the convergence of ideas to create a new idea. In a ‘big picture’ sort of way, innovation usually occurs through various networks of ideas that when engaged produces a new idea. Similarly, when an idea is created, the firing of neutrons (visually) looks like a web. This is a great metaphor for the formation of new ideas or information networks. It is the ebb and flow of the network that can dictate how information or growth moves. Throughout our #SaChat on innovation in Student Affairs, there was this exploration of ways we can be innovative and where innovation needs to occur. What I would like to explore, is the ‘how’ component. How do we create an environment conducive to innovation?

We can take what we know about structural predictors of organizations that encourage innovation and apply it to our offices. Through a multitude of studies a couple of trends/concepts emerge as predictors. I think a good way to reference these concepts, is in terms of strengths. Not only does it help with clarity, but it can provide a concise set of guidelines for any office. Each has the ability to balance the other out.

The strength in weak ties concept describes the connection of both influence and information networks (think Malcolm Gladwell). Weak ties are shown to allow information to travel more efficiently and information is more likely to arrive in different contexts, because they tend to bridge the gaps between distinct social groups. This encourages innovation, because the threat of conformity remains small. Think about it, if you get information from one source, you are only looking at things through one lens.

Strength of directed ties refers to a unilateral relationship between two people where the separation between influence and information has occurred. One can think of directed ties as having a mentor, without that person actually knowing. Microblogging and “tagging” have heightened the ability to create these ties and maintain them more efficiently. We all have people whom we unofficially communicate with through Twitter or by reading their blogs. We use them for information or even best practices.

Strength of network diversity is the creation of a blended network. This network can include individuals (family, friends, acquaintances, organizations) who you have had no prior contact with, yet still remain influential. When individuals have a strong diverse network, individuals tend not to become so tied to their specific role in an organization due to their broaden perspective. Because they are obtaining information and influence outside of their role, they are able to seek out information and act not solely as an academic advisor (for example), but a practitioner who can develop skills outside of student development theory and increase their professional performance.

How can an office strive to strengthen these predictors? How can these concepts be tied to simple initiatives? I believe the first step is the continual push, from the top down, towards the development of human capital in each member of an office. For this reason, I do not like the term professional development, because I believe it conjures up an idea that is too narrow- the network is not expanding (think conformity). There needs to be a push to expand employees network passed its normal boundaries. There needs to be a desire to develop new knowledge, skills and personal connections. Google has produced many of the platforms that we use today, because of this ethos. Employees are instructed to use a portion of their work day to develop ideas outside their established role (weak ties, diverse ties). Here are some items I feel warrant discussion and would have immediate impact on the strengthening of the three network ties :

1) Conferences: Are there conferences outside your specific area that may still be beneficial? It is very easy to attend your associations conference each year, but could there be others?

2) Serendipity: Can you devote time to pursuits outside your specific role?

3) Participation: Are you strictly operating within your office or area/specialty? Participating in the SA Collaborative (direct ties) has been a huge eye opener for me. I have found new perspectives, new avenues for information (weak ties) and a great community. Most of which has been outside of academic advising, but still extremely beneficial. Are there new ways your office can participate within your campus/community to gain new perspectives or connections?

4) Et cetera: While conferences can be expensive, does your office take advantage of webinars? Perhaps there is a great book that an office can read as a collective for inspiration. Do you take time to collaborate or converse about processes or how to make things better? Do you hold others accountable to pursue these goals?

Finally, we need to operate in an environment where it is okay to take risks. For offices wanting to foster innovation, the development of a culture that promotes new and uncharted ideas is a must. If you have taken the time to expand your information network and developed new skills, what are you going to do with this new knowledge? For example, embracing social media for an office might be seen as a risk. Does it have to be?

When I think of taking risks, I love this quote:

“Chance favors the connected mind” – Steven Johnson

More often than not, innovators are taking chances and operating in expanded networks. Individuals should be pushed to develop beyond their current capabilities and then act on them. Not only can it be beneficial for the individual, but beneficial to the office as a whole. To me, offices who look to develop individual’s stronger weak ties, direct ties and create a more diverse network tip the scales in their favor when taking risks.

Its hard to believe, but two years ago I wrote a post here on the SA Blog about some then outstanding Student Affairs Graduate Students.  Joe Ginese encouraged me to gather information and write a follow up to showcase where exactly those folks are now as working professionals.  Besides asking them what has happened over the last two years, I also asked them share their best advice for those who will be job searching this spring. I’m thrilled (and proud) to share their stories!

Constanza (Connie) Cabello

My first student affairs association conference was the 2006 NASPA held in Washington, D.C. I was graduating from my master’s program that spring, and several of us were heading East to participate in The Placement Exchange.

As graduate students, we had taken the time to figure out many cost saving measures. We flew into the cheaper airport, fit nine of us in a shuttle into downtown, and me and my three closest cohort friends shared a $99/night room in the Days Inn. (No, it was not one of the conference hotels.) The room was “non-smoking” yet we all had a slight stale smoke smell to our interview clothes, and I am still not sure if something of a questionable nature was rolled up in the carpet that sat at the end of the hall all week.

I forgot pajamas, packed uncomfortable shoes, and spent more time agonizing over what sessions I should go to instead of actually attending the sessions. I can honestly say, my conference experiences have only gotten better as I have spent more time in the field. As I started planning my conference season, I thought it would be useful to solicit advice from others in the profession to share with those attending their first conference this year. Thank you to all who shared, I think we have a great collection of wisdom to pass along. If you didn’t get a chance to share your tips, please feel free to add them to the list!

My own advice from the D.C. conference years ago? 1) If you are able to, splurge on a conference hotel. Being in a comfortable space really makes the conference more enjoyable, and being in the midst of all the happenings gives you a chance to make some great connections. 2) Pack snacks and bring a reusable water bottle. 3) Take some time to explore the city and sights around the conference location. It’s a good mental break, and a great way to find good restaurants and unique souvenirs. 4) Everyone around you may be a potential colleague or supervisor. Be kind, be courteous, and don’t get too crazy at the regional receptions.

I wish you all a successful and fulfilling conference season!

James Fowler’s keynote address at the #ACUI11 conference this year stirred up quite a discussion after he made the claim that online relationships had little influence over behavior. As expected, our friends in the #SAchat community quickly expressed concern for the statement through the Twitter backchannel and afterwards in the hotel lobby as they’ve experienced a great deal of influence exchange through #SAchat. In talking over the keynote with Jeff Lail from UNCG that night, he brought up the idea of weak ties verses strong ties within relationships. In-person connections are more likely to build strong ties whereas online connections are more likely to result in weak ties.

Over the past year, it’s been interesting to watch this concept play out within the micro world of Student Affairs. The #SAchat community on Twitter is the most active hashtag for Student Affairs professionals to connect, learn, and grow from each other. However, within #SAchat there are many sub cultures such as Residence Life, Orientation Leaders, First Year Experience, etc. These subcultures have tried, several times, to create and maintain a hashtag to connect their members together. But most of the hashtags have faded away. Why?

Let’s start with #SAchat. The original group of people who started #SAchat knew each other in the real world. There were strong ties within the inner core. This meant that if no one else participated in the conversation, there would still be a longer term commitment to the conversation between the people in the inner core because they shared strong ties. As it happened, other people did join the conversation and over time it grew. If it were a dance floor, the total number of people on the dance floor increased through weak ties, but the number of people with strong ties in the center of the dance floor stayed the same. The critical shift in the community happened last year during conference season when #SAchat members hosted meetups at each conference. They wanted to meet their weak tie online friends IRL (in real life) and thus turn them into strong tie friends. The results were amazing, the #SAchat community grew exponentially. Back to the dance floor, not only did the overall number of people on the dance floor increase, but the number of people in the center of the dance floor increased as many of the weak ties were converted into strong ties. Each meetup repeats this process.

During conference season this year, I made it a point to connect with as many #SAchat people as possible IRL because not only did I want to get to know them better, but I also know how strong ties are what keep people engaged in the community longer.

On the flip side is #FYEchat. I started the #FYEchat community to mimic the success of the #SAchat community. But it has never quite worked [yet] even though I see the value it could provide to First Year Experience professionals. The difference is I started the community on a foundation of weak ties so the commitment to keep the conversation going wasn’t there. So it fades in and out.

Another example is the #WLsalt community. The community started online with a collection of weak ties but has since grown to a dedicated group. The critical difference between #WLsalt and #FYEchat was that soon after a collection of weak ties were created online, they hosted a meetup for the community at a conference to convert those weak ties into strong ties. The strong ties thus formed the inner core of their dance floor.

In terms of weak ties and strong ties, there are two options to creating and maintaing an online community. Either start with an inner core built on strong ties that are dedicated, or convert your weak ties into strong ties quickly. Once the inner core is established, and the community norm of inclusion is practiced, you’ll watch your community grow with little effort from you. Weak ties won’t have as much influence over you as strong ties whether online or offline.

A project I was assigned recently involved analyzing a set of grant applications. The proposals were centered on using technology to enhance student success. My job was to determine commonalities and missing pieces across the proposals. From a list of 20 or so findings, here are the four takeaways I believe are pertinent to our work:

1. Even in a fairly well-defined grant program, definitions for common terms differed greatly across the 81 proposals.
2. Many authors used buzz words in their application narratives, but failed to back up those words or concepts with knowledge or examples that showed they knew anything about the terms.
3. Risks and obstacles associated with the implementation of the project almost always dealt with resistance to change in other areas of campus.
4. Student affairs units were woefully absent among the collaborators in proposed initiatives.

In an era of fiscal responsibility and budget cuts, relevance matters. In era of accountability, meaningfulness is important. In an era of continued alteration, adaptation is key. In an era of “do more with less” (whether you ascribe to that theory or not), collaboration is necessary.  So, I ask you to consider the following as you plan for the upcoming academic year:

1. Does everyone on campus understand what you do? If not, why not, and how will you address that this year?
2. Do you use buzz words so you can be a part of the conversation, or are you driving the conversation because you and your area are the buzz of campus?
3. How are you addressing change head-on and helping others realize its usefulness and necessity?
4. Are you collaborating with non-student affairs offices to learn about their work and efforts, enhance their programs, and impact your campus’ students? If not, why not, and who’s at the top of your list for contacting?

It’s a new year, with new possibilities and new opportunities. How are you going to make this the best year yet? Not ever, because that implies you’ve no way to improve from now. Just yet… better than years past, setting a solid foundation for the years to come.

Matt Pistilli is a research associate in Information Technology at Purdue University. Connect with him on twitter.

James Fowler’s keynote address at the #ACUI11 conference last week stirred up quite a discussion after he made the claim that online relationships had little influence over behavior. As expected, our friends in the #SAchat community quickly expressed concern for the statement through the Twitter backchannel and afterwards in the hotel lobby as they’ve experienced a great deal of influence exchange through #SAchat. In talking over the keynote with Jeff Lail from UNCG, he brought up the idea of weak ties verses strong ties within relationships. In-person connections are more likely to build strong ties whereas online connections are more likely to result in weak ties.

Over the past year, it’s been interesting to watch this concept play out within the micro world of Student Affairs. The #SAchat community on Twitter is arguably the most active hashtag for Student Affairs professionals to connect, learn, and grow from each other. However, within #SAchat there are many sub cultures such as Residence Life, Orientation Leaders, First Year Experience, etc. These subcultures have tried, several times, to create and maintain a hashtag to connect their members together. But most of the hashtags have faded away. Why?

Let’s start with #SAchat. The original group of people who started #SAchat knew each other in the real world. There were strong ties within the inner core. This meant that if no one else participated in the conversation, there would still be a longer term commitment to the conversation between the people in the inner core because they shared strong ties. As it happened, other people did join the conversation and over time it grew. If it were a dance floor, the total number of people on the dance floor increased through weak ties, but the number of people with strong ties in the center of the dance floor stayed the same. The critical shift in the community happened last year during conference season when #SAchat members hosted meetups at each conference. They wanted to meet their weak tie online friends IRL (in real life) and thus turn them into strong tie friends. The results were amazing, the #SAchat community grew exponentially. Back to the dance floor, not only did the overall number of people on the dance floor increase, but the number of people in the center of the dance floor increased as many of the weak ties were converted into strong ties. Each meetup repeats this process.

During conference season this year, I made it a point to connect with as many #SAchat people as possible IRL because not only did I want to get to know them better, but I also know how strong ties are what keep people engaged in the community longer.

On the flip side is #FYEchat. I started the #FYEchat community to mimic the success of the #SAchat community. But it has never quite worked even though I see the value it could provide to First Year Experience professionals. The difference is I started the community on a foundation of weak ties so the commitment to keep the conversation going wasn’t there. So it fades in and out.

Another example is the #WLsalt community started by Teri Bump. Her community started online with a collection of weak ties but has since grown to a dedicated group. The critical difference between #WLsalt and #FYEchat was that soon after a collection of weak ties were created online, Teri hosted a meetup for the community at a conference to convert those weak ties into strong ties. The strong ties thus formed the inner core of their dance floor.

In terms of weak ties and strong ties, there are two options to creating and maintaing an online community. Either start with an inner core built on strong ties that are dedicated, or convert your weak ties into strong ties quickly. Once the inner core is established, and the community norm of inclusion is practiced, you’ll watch your community grow with little effort from you. Weak ties won’t have as much influence over you as strong ties whether online or offline.