Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations (book review)

February 17, 2012

Combating apathy can be one of the most challenging aspects of leading or advising a student organization. The book Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations by T. J. Sullivan aims to offer concrete solutions for this often reoccuring problem on our campuses. T.J.’s premise is that there are three different types of student organization members: the Top-Third; the Middle-Third; and the Bottom-Third. The “Top-Third” are your organization superstars that participate in everything and are high achievers. The “Bottom-Third” members, on the other hand, are those individuals who are doing the bare minimum, if that, in terms of organization involvement.

T.J. suggests that student leaders concentrate on developing those “Middle-Third” members who are not the stellar achievers, but who do indeed participate and engage more than the “Bottom-Third” individuals. They may simply be involved in other activities, have other responsibilities, or just simply want to be involved under their own terms. By developing these particular members, the organization can benefit from increased participation and renewed vigor.

The book is 64 pages in length and is easily readable in under an hour’s time. Where many student life leadership instructors miss the mark by offering theory-dense texts that may be largely academic and undigestible for student leaders, Motivating the Middle is a leadership resource that offers concrete solutions for solving organization member apathy. This book is not only appropriate for students, but for student life professionals as well. I highly recommend this book as a text for any type of leadership course your campus offers or as an appropriate resource to include during organization board training.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com by clicking HERE. For bulk purchases of 20 or more books, contact T.J. Sullivan at sullivan@campuspeak.com and mention “StudentLifeGuru” to receive 20% off the list price. The first 50 people to share this post on Twitter by clicking below will be entered into a raffle to win a signed copy of T.J.’s book.

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10 Secrets to Recruiting & Screening for Great Resident Advisors

February 6, 2012

The spring semester is the time that we spend recruiting, screening, and hiring our new resident advisors and community assistants for the fall semester. I have been a part of this process in one shape or form at multiple campuses across the country and have seen many different good and bad practices. Unfortunately, many campuses still use RA recruitment and hiring practices that are little different than when I began my own undergraduate experience 20 years ago. With that being said, I would like to offer 10 secrets to recruiting and screening for new resident advisors that I have found helpful in hiring hundreds of RA’s during the past 12 years:

1. Set the Context for the Position – Community assistants and resident advisors fulfill crucial roles on our campuses. Not only do they help us run the Housing & Residence Life business, but they are educators, role models, and potential life-savers due to the prolific mental health and alcohol & other drug issues that we must manage. If the perception is out there that the RA role on your campus is another “work-study-esque” position or simply another extracurricular activity, then you may be setting yourself up for subpar performance from potential candidates.

2. Be Explicit About Your Expectations During Recruitment – Make sure that you fully communicate to recruits your honest expectations of RA’s. Be explicit about pay, hours, on-call, responsibilities, programming, alcohol use, and role modeling. As I tell students looking to become an RA, “It not only a job, it’s a lifestyle!” I stress that if they want to do the “college thing” (e.g., partying, flexible schedule, many activities, flippant social media photos & posts, etc.) they can take advantage of those opportunities, but DO NOT become an RA as it will be a lose-lose for both of us.

3. Don’t Rule Those Out that Talk about Room-and-Board – Typically one of the first interview questions we ask candidates is: “Why do you want to be an RA?” Many professionals can be easily turned off when a student responds with the often-dreaded, “Because it pays room-and-board.” However, do not simply throw them to the ”no” or “maybe” pile because of this response. Keep in mind that this could be the first time this student has ever had a job interview and is simply being honest. You should assume that every RA candidate is applying for the free room and not the higher student affairs philosophic ideals that made us into ResLife professionals. Some students are simply more saavy than others in responding to this question. However, it is you job to effectively assess whether or not a candidate has the skills to fulfil the job and not become insulted by an honest answer.

4. Use Meaningful Assessments for Hiring – Remember, you are hiring individuals to fill important roles and perform specific tasks, to achieve goals for the department, and honestly to make your job easier. You are NOT hiring them because they are good at ice-breakers or other non-job-related group activities. These types of group process activities can actually be counter-productive and may not assess anything other than showing that they are good at the “human knot.” Create candidate evaluation processes that allow them to demonstrate their knowledge of campus services, how they have been a role model, their ability to listen and follow instructions, and ability to work on a team. Examples include: having them lead a campus tour; developing a portfolio of their previous leadership and volunteering experiences; and planning, marketing, and implementing an actual hall program. In short, make them demonstrate, present, or create something.

5. Ask Meaningful Interview Questions – It pains me when I hear of colleagues creating and asking interview questions that have little or nothing to do with the attributes or qualities needed to be a good RA. Granted, I have a clinical master’s degree in mental health counseling so I was trained to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health problems. I translated these skills into assessing and “diagnosing” whether a student would be a good fit for an RA position. Past behavior usually predicts future behavior so you need to be able to seek out information related to teamwork, leadership, good decision-making, patience, and loyalty among many other qualities. Asking a candidate what their favorite color is or what kind of fruit or vegetable they would be and why is really not helpful. Your role is to assess a candidate’s ability to work on your team; a job interview is not meant to be cute or simply an extention of another ice-breaker. Ask them to describe specific examples of their experience with leading a project or team. Ask them about their pet peeves and hot-button issues and when one of those situations has arisen for them (and how they handled it). Ask them to describe a supervisor they did not respect and why. Ask them what they are most proud of and why. Again, ask behavioral-related questions to assess whether or not they would be a good fit on your team and a hard-worker.

6. Don’t Take on a “Project” – While it is the hallmark of student affairs professionals to be compassionate and always looking out for the best interests of students, you must be more discriminating when you are hiring staffers. I’ve seen many colleagues in the past hire someone who they said was “A good kid,” and the experience ended up being a workplace nightmare in the end. NFL teams do not recruit players because they may have “potential” with training and the ability to become a good athlete. They take great candidates and make them better. This should not be any different in Residence Life. If you have someone you want to mentor, get them involved in other ways, such as hall council, RHA, or other departmental opportunities rather than having them apply for an RA position. If they step up to the mark during that “trial run,” potentially consider them for next year.

7. Be Weary of Colleagues Trying to “Dump” Someone on You – Unfortunately, the politics of ResLife staffing can be similar to the drafts and trading practices of professional sport teams. In this regard, it is easy for a colleague to push one of their ”ne’er-do-well’s” onto you rather than effectively supervising them. The kicker is that this colleague may come to you with promising statements about an individual, but in fact is simply looking to get rid of a problem (e.g., “I think they’d fit great on your staff!”) If you do consider such a move, make sure you screen this RA like you would a candidate just applying for the position and treat them as such.

8. Be Weary of Overcommitted Candidates -  Let’s be honest. Students who are already over-extended with their activities are usually not a good candidate for an RA position. Not only does this become a scheduling problem, but can also be counterproductive academically for the student. This is especially true for those students working off-campus. Research in Pascarella & Terenzini’s How College Affects Students illustrates that students who work more than 15 hours a week can suffer academically. This is not to say that you should always rule out students in other engagement-heavy activities, but keep in mind that students in athletics, band, internships, practica, social Greek organizations, and student teaching are always going to have loyalities split between you and their other responsibilities.

9. Use Social Media as a Screening Tool – Because Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms are so ubiquitous in the lives of our students, it only make sense to see how they represent themselves online. Recruiting and training RA’s is expensive and very time-consuming, and you should take advantage of every piece of evidence about a candidate before hiring them. By looking at their public social media information, you can easily ascertain whether or not this person would represent your department and team in the best light. An RA is in a very public role, and their social media presence is a part of that presence. As I say, “If you are going to post it, I am going to see it.” You can also specifically include discussions and questions related to social media use during the selection process with candidates (e.g. Without using names, give me an example of when you saw something an RA posted online that you thought was inappropriate?)

10. Hire a Diversity of Skills & Talents to Complement Your Own – It is very easy for those in supervisory positions to hire people that are exactly like themselves. Make it a point to recruit and assess for those skills in individuals that will complement your strengths and weaknesses and those who are already on your team. This will bring a greater depth of skills diversity to your staff that you may be lacking. Get your existing RA’s involved in the screening and selection process to help you look for individuals that have qualities and skills that your staff does not already possess.

What are some secrets of the screening and hiring process of RA’s that you can share here with your colleagues?

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Communication & Teamwork Lessons from USAirways.

January 23, 2012

This past week I was lucky enough to be able to take my community assistant staff on a field trip to USAirways in Pittsburgh, PA. Through the efforts of a friend, we were able to tour the Operations Command Center (OCC) and aircraft maintenance in one of the hangars. While lately many airlines come under the criticism of passengers due to fees, cancellations, and other customer service issues, I gained a whole new respect for the work that airline personnel do.

The depth and complexity of what it takes to manage a fleet of commercial airplanes is absolutely fascinating! I took my staff on this trip because I knew they would learn more about appreciating the value of communication and teamwork.

Delegating Tasks Among Colleagues – Because USAirways flight controllers and mechanics cannot work 24/7, they have to delegate what they are working on to their colleagues who are starting a new work shift. Their shifts are purposely designed to overlap at least 30 minutes so that they can accurately communicate what work needs to continue. A flight dispatcher in charge of five airplanes currently in flight cannot simply walk away from those pilots and let their incoming colleague guess as to what is going on in the air. The same goes for the aircraft mechanics. A first-shift mechanic will walk their inc0ming second-shift colleague through what projects are currently open and their progress on that work so the second-shift mechanic can continue that work. No one goes home until everyone is on the same page as to the status of what is currently occuring.

Timely Group Decision-Making – USAirways’ Operations Command Center (OCC) controls and manages all flight operations for the world. The building was specifically engineered so that all work groups responsible for a particular flight operations responsibility (e.g., flight dispatch, maintenance control, pilot scheduling, etc.) can interact with one another on the same open office space. On the control floor, there are no closed offices so that everyone can easily move and interact with each other on the open control floor. Groups are given the ability to make decisions on-the-fly without lengthy approval processes and excessive supervisor scrutiny. In this manner, groups can quickly come up with a course of action to solve a particular problem, whether it’s a flight that needs to be rerouted because of a snowstorm, a plane that needs to be repaired, or passengers that need to be scheduled on another flight because of a cancellation.

 

Working with a Mission-Driven Purpose – Nowhere is a mission-drive purpose and teamwork evident than within the OCC and maintenance operations at USAirways: “The safety and satisfaction of our customers is a top priority for our airline…” It is clearly evident that all communication and teamwork centers on passenger safety. Numerous redundacies and plans are created so that all operations can always continue. Mechanics and inspectors all sign off on repairs as an accountability measure.  OCC employees quickly communicate with one another in order to resolve a problem so that passenger safety is never compromised. Working with the organization’s mission in mind sets the stage for how communication and teamwork must occur.

A special “Thank you!” goes out to USAirways for their gracious hospitality in allowing us to visit and see their operations.

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How to Facilitate Great “One-On-One” Supervisory Meetings

January 18, 2012

Meeting with your staffers on an individual basis to discuss their performance is an important part of being a supervisor and a leader. However, these meetings do not only have to be a means to critique your employees from an evaluation standpoint. “One-on-one” meetings can foster a rewarding mentoring relationship as well as a means by which to engage your staffers as a true partner in meeting the mission and vision of your organization.

Here are a few tips that I have found helpful in facilitating great “one-on-one” supervisory meetings:

1. Set the Parameters for Meeting Participation – As a part of the hiring process and during staff training, set the parameters for what is expected during one-on-one supervisory meetings. By setting the tone that these meetings are important and participatory in nature, your staffers will embody this as part of the team’s culture and act accordingly. Tell them that they should come prepared with feedback, questions, and suggestions for making your organization better. As I tell my own staff, I don’t want to hear complaining for complaining’s sake; if there’s a better way to do something, I want a suggestion, solution, or plan of action.

2. Always Keep Your Appointments with Your Staffers – This seems like common sense, but it is very easy to get sidetracked by other important meetings and activities and either forgot or attempt to reschedule your supervisory meetings. By making this time important, you are symbolically demonstrating that these meetings and, more importantly, your staffers are crucial to you and your team’s success.

3. Purposely Seek Out Feedback to Enact Change - Allowing for and seeking out honest feedback from your employees is a great way to keep your employees engaged in continuous improvement conversations. People take a part in what they help create so allow them to help create team goals, policies, and practices during regularly scheduled supervisory meetings. Be a servant leader and ask them how you can better help them in their position and if they need any particular type of resource or support so that they can be more effective.

4. Have an “Activity” Planned if There is Nothing to Talk About – If there is nothing of note to discuss, do not simply cancel the meeting. Utilize the opportunity to connect with and mentor your staffers. One-on-one meetings can be used for personal development and skills building. Have a “bag of tricks” developed that you can utilize quickly and easily if you’re stuck in one of these “I-have-nothing-to-talk-about” situations. Skills building activities can include role playing and case scenarios related to topics pertaining to your staffers’ positions. Using this time for brainstorming can also create productive ideas for the entire team.

One such example of a “one-on-one” activity is the Supervisory Discussion Cards activity developed by Student Life Consultants. These handy cards contain multiple questions that are conversation starters related to personal development and teamwork. Each set of 25 double-sided cards contains 50 questions and comes complete with a four-page PDF activity handout that is downloaded immediately upon purchase.

*** Use the SLG0112 code to receive 20% off of your entire order. ***

This discount is available only until Friday, January 27, 2011.

What are some practices that you use with your employees to facilitate great “one-on-one” supervisory meetings? What advice can you offer to your colleagues related to what works and does not work for “one-on-one” supervisory meetings?

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How to Create Team Synergy

December 30, 2011

Getting your team to meet the organization’s goals and mission is one thing, but having your team thrive and excite one another to achieve more is quite a different thing. Creating excitement and a shared “synergy” among team members is something that every leader should strive for. Synergy defined is the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Here are a few ideas on how to create synergy within your organization:

1. “Power Hour” – Dedicate at least one hour a week to brainstorm new ideas with key team members. To further develop relationships and create “buzz” in your organization, rotate team members to participate in this process so new and different ideas can be explored and shared throughout the team. Talking is great, but make sure that you are putting the best ideas into action so as to not kill the flow of good ideas.

2. Capitalize Upon Individuals’ Strengths – Use Strengths Finder to asssess the strengths of each of your team members. After analyzing the results, pair up people based on these strengths and create projects that they will find exciting and rewarding. It is more fun for people to work on things that they are good at rather than struggling to fix things they’re no-so-good-at.

3. Create a “Woo Crew” – I had my staffers take the Strengths Finder assessment online and share their results with everyone on our team. One staffer ended up being a “Woo.” In order to capitalize on her trademark strength, I appointed her to be in charge of the fun “staff development & recognition committee.” When I told her this, she said, “Yes! Let’s call it the Woo Crew!” Use this committee to come up with ideas and plans for educational and social staff development activities. They can also come up with great ideas on how staffers would like to be recognized for outstanding achievements.

4. Develop Innovative Contests & Competitions –  Teams can stagnate because new ideas are not encouraged and rarely if ever implemented if explicitly expressed by team members. Creating collegial and fun competitions between team members is an easy way to develop synergy. There should be a simple rubric or guidelines as to what makes for good ideas in terms of solving problems, creating or eliminating processes, and / or enhancing the product(s) and service(s) that your team offers. Kudos and rewards can be given at team meetings and even through social media announcements. 

5. Set Expectations that Specifically Address Synergy – When recruiting, selecting, and training new team members, make it explicit what your expectations are when it comes to teamwork and contributing to the good of the organization. Don’t be shy when stating that complacency is not part of the team’s culture.  

What are some specific examples that you have used in the past to create team synergy with your own team members?

All of those who share an example as a comment will enter into a raffle to win a Team Success Kit from Student Life Consultants. The raffle will occur on 01/06/12 at 8pm (EST) and the winner will be announced via Twitter @studentlifeguru and through this post’s comments. 

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10 Strategies for Fixing a Broken Team

December 7, 2011

Every so often leaders will encounter a situation in which their team is not meeting the goals of the organization or simply not performing at the highest levels. This can come about because of apathy, laziness, incongruent expectations, and burnout.

Here are 10 strategies for getting your team back on track:

1. Revisit Goals, Mission, and Vision – Sometimes everyone needs a reminder to know where we’re heading. Many times we can get caught up in the day-to-day of “tasky” behaviors and even issues unrelated to the job and forgot what our organization truly stands for and what we aim to accomplish. Print out a copy of the goals, mission, and vision of the organization and share it with everyone. Have a conversation related to what these areas mean to you, what it means to your team members, and how you can accomplish them together. 

2. Reestablish Expectations with Team Members – As is the case with #1 (i.e., Revisit Goals, Mission, and Vision), meeting with each team member to reestablish and reinforce your expectations with them is crucial. This will put you on equal ground and common understanding related to what is expected and can even spark new excitement. However, if someone’s expectations are vastly incongruent with the overall mission and vision of the organization, this would be the time to tactfully coach them out of their position. My good friend Dawn Lennon wrote a guest blog post called “Putting an End to Slackers,” which I highly recommend that you read.

3. Create a Formal Reward Structure – Everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work and contributions to the organization. Having an objective reward system can help set the expectation that reaching certain goals comes with certain “prizes or privileges.” This can also create a sense of collegial competition among your group. Keep in mind that a formal reward structure should not take place of simple “pats on the back” and other simple and cost-free means of recognizing your team members.

4. Build in Team Development Activities – Create purposeful activities for your group. This can be anything from team-building exercises and training activities to volunteering in the community and even simply taking them out for a meal. Do not have your team members participate in ice-breakers just for the sake of doing ice-breakers. Have a purpose behind every activity that you present (i.e., increased communication, conflict resolution, effective teamwork, etc.) rather than doing something haphazardly. 

5. Eliminate or Fix Processes that are Unneeded – Work for work’s sake can kill confidence in your members and add to poor team morale. If a task or process does not add value to the organization, why are you doing it? If it does not advance your mission or vision, get rid of it.  

6. Remove Complainers, Naysayers, and Troublemakers – I once read a statement that rings very true when it comes to team cohesion: “Strike the shepherd and the flock will scatter.” This can simply be presented as a conversation similar to #2 (i.e., Reestablish expectations) or a more direct approach by removing individuals from the group. And yes, you can fire volunteers! Bad attitudes spread like wildfire so deal with this swiftly.

7. Incite Excitement – People take a part in what they help to create. Writer Jeff Jarvis once wrote, ”Tap into people’s passions and they’ll about work for free!” This stands true for your team. Find out their skills and strengths and get them involved in activities and projects within the organization that will complement their passions. Keep it fun.

8. Check Yourself – No one is perfect, including you. Take a step back and evaluate what you are doing and what you may be able to do better to help your team. Being in charge is not easy. Assess your own strengths and areas you can improve upon in order to “fix” your team.

9. Take a Break – Sometimes everyone, including you, needs a brief “time out” in order to refresh. Purposely create time off or a short lull in the action to regroup rather than constantly “hitting problems over the head.” Time off between semesters or quarters can add a much needed respite for reflection.  

10. Seek Advice – Talk with your supervisor, a mentor, or trusted colleagues and get advice. Read books and blogs about leadership and management. Additionally, realize that the problem did not happen overnight so trying to solve it will not occur overnight either.

What are some strategies that you have utilized to fix a broken team that may have been under your leadership?

All of those who share a comment will enter into a raffle to win a “Leadership Discussion Cards” activity kit from Student Life Consultants. The raffle will occur on 12/14/11 at 12pm and the winner will be announced via Twitter @studentlifeguru and through this post’s comments. 

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6 Leadership Lessons from “The Walking Dead”

October 28, 2011

There is an awesome show on AMC called The Walking Dead, which is on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM (EST). The series is based off of a comic book (graphic novel) series of the same name. The show is rife with action, suspense, character development, and of course…walking zombies! (hence the title of the show). While the series is based on a fantastic premise of a zombie apocalypse, there are some real leadership lessons that can be learned from the show’s protagonists.

1. Be Prepared. As the characters learn quickly in the show, they need to be fully prepared in order to navigate around and avoid the zombies. They scavenge for supplies, create a plan of action ahead of time, and try to avoid the walking dead as much as possible.

So how does this relate to campus leadership? For instance, if you are planning a campus event you will not only want to layout plans for the day of the event, but you will want to create a game plan for the days and weeks leading up to the event as well as any wrap-up following the event. Think about ways you can keep track of schedules to keep your team moving toward the ultimate goal. Make assignments clear and establish deadlines.

2. Have a “Plan B.” The show would not be suspenseful and worth watching if there weren’t situations in which the characters end up trapped in zombie-filled cliff-hangers. However, they always seem to find a way out (granted, if they didn’t find a way out, there wouldn’t be a show to continue!) As is the case with #1 above (“Be Prepared”), you can never be over-prepared in planning for the unexpected.

When the day of your big event comes and your entertainer is stuck on the highway because his car broke down or the day of the big outdoor carnival the weather man is calling for three inches of rain, what is your back-up plan?  Brainstorm some “what if’s” ahead of time and decide how your group will handle some predictable situations. There are some things that you just cannot plan for. However, you can be resourceful and adaptive.  Seek guidance from your advisors and administrators.

3. Understand that Everyone Has Different Motivations. Obviously the main motivation for the characters in the show is to stay alive and to avoid the walking dead. However, there are the underlying motivations that drive the characterization: Sheriff Rick Grimes always needs to be the hero; Deputy Sheriff Shane Walsh is eager to win the affection of Rick’s wife, Lori; and Dale Horvath attempts to be the “father-figure” to establish his own legitimacy within the group.

Some of your team members will be completely devoted to the cause, some may be looking for a resume boost, some might be student workers, and others may be there to simply fullfill disciplinary requirements. Although all of your team members may have different reasons or motivations for being involved, they are still your greatest resource. By working with your team, you will discover their abilities and be able to manage the workload while playing to the team’s strengths. Maintain clear expectations, be fair with assignments and rewards, and find ways to keep the work fun and interesting.

4. Be an Advocate for All of Your Team Members. Rick Grimes always seems to be there for the people in his group. He cares about their safety and does his best to look out for those in the group that may not be as hardcore as he and Shane are. Be consistent and fair with all team members. Being a good leader means not playing favorites with friends over other group members. Include the entire team in achieving goals by considering members strengths and delegating attainable objectives. Reward your team with praise, notes of thanks, or small treats. Find ways to get your group recognized on campus or through national organizations for your achievements.

5. Realize That You Cannot Do It All By Yourself.

As illustrated in the show, Rick more often than not needs to rely on the members of the group in order to get out of zombie-filled situations. As a leader you are aware that “the buck stops here” and ultimately you are responsible for getting the job done. That does not translate into “No one else can do this as well as me.” Utilize your human resources. By allowing your team the ability to have input in creating goals, tasks, and scheduling, they will demonstrate more accountibility for the work. Promote one of your group members to “task master” and make that person responsible for keeping track of timetables and objectives.

6. Don’t Give Up!

“The Walking Dead” is compelling because it leaves you excited to see the next show. Rick and his group never give up against the zombies, which always ensures another show. Likewise, your group should always press on despite adversity and challenges. Be resourceful, be constructive, be adaptive, be collaborative, and most importantly, don’t give up until the goal is achieved.

What are some other leadership lessons you’ve spotted from “The Walking Dead?” Please feel free to share your comments.

Thanks for reading, and I encourage you to sign up for our blog updates to receive exclusive content and special offers. You can follow me on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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Being the “Fulcrum” of Teamwork

October 11, 2011

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, a BMW pulled in front of a young man riding a motorcycle near Utah State University. The young man, Brandon Wright, had to lay down his bike in order to avoid hitting the car head-on. Unfortunately, he slid under the car and the motorcycle started on fire. Shortly after the crash, a man emerges and attempts to deadlift the BWM himself to free the young man trapped underneath.

Realizing that he cannot lift the vehicle himself, the man calls upon bystanders to help. Four men and one woman run over to the car and attempt to lift it. This second try does not work.

The man rallies more people to come and help instructing them to tip the car over on its side. Approximately 10 more individuals rush to assist, including a couple of construction laborers working nearby.

Finally after a final effort, the group is able to tip the car over enough so one of the construction workers can grab Brandon’s foot and drag him from the burning wreckage. You can view the complete video footage by clicking HERE.

The gentleman that rallies everyone together to accomplish this rescue serves as a perfect example of what I call the “fulcrum of teamwork.” A fulcrum is an individual that supports capability for action or plays a central or essential role in an activity, event, or situation. Providing the impetus for action and inspiring teamwork is the hallmark of being a leader.

While you will not normally face life or death situations like this one everyday, you can however be the fulcrum of teamwork within your own organization on a daily basis. Leaders are not simply bystanders who wait for things to happen around them. They are strategic, decisive, and act quickly to create results. It takes courage to be the fulcrum of teamwork, and if practiced enough, it can become a habit.

What are some other notable examples of the “fulcrum of teamwork” that you can share? Likewise, what are some personal examples in which you were the “fulcrum of teamwork” with your own organization?

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Standing Out from the Crowd (Guest Post by Simon Jordan @TheSimonJordan)

October 10, 2011

In a world of high speed information and a billion-and-one options, we appear to live in a world of impatience and swimming in a sea of confusion so if you want to be seen and heard, you need to stand out from the crowd. Lady Gaga is a perfect example of this – love her or hate her you cannot fault that she does stand out from the crowd. Her weird outfits and videos provide the difference, but she does also have the singing ability to back up her craziness.

There are 5 things that we can learn from her:

1. Be different – Someone once said that if you do what everyone else does you’ll get what everyone gets.  Lady Gaga stands out from the rest of the pop world. Now I’m not suggesting wear an outfit made of meat, but I am saying that think how you can be different in order to stand out from the competition. Cut your own path in the world. Just because other people do things a certain way doesn’t mean it’s the right way for you.

2. Build a loyal following – Lady Gaga calls her fans her “little monsters.” They can relate to her and she relates to them. I recommend that you listen to what your audience are saying and provide content, products or services that relate to their needs. They will love you for it, and you can turn them into loyal followers or your own “little monsters.” But I wouldn’t suggest calling them that.

3. Be consistent – Lady Gaga is consistently different. She has created a strong and recognizable brand. If you’re starting a business you need to do the same. Being consistent is important. Consistence with your message and actions will help to build trust with your audience.

4. Have focus and a clear vision – Just like Lady Gaga, we need to have a clear and focused goal of what we want.

5. Keep going – Having read some of what happened to Lady Gaga, she could so easily have given up. If we want success then we can’t let giving up be an option.

The late great business speaker Jim Rohn, once said, “If you let doubt into your mind, it will empty your wallet, your work and your life.” And Winston Churchill once sai,d “Never, ever, ever, ever give up.” If you want something bad enough, you’ll do whatever you need to do in order to get it. Success is so much sweeter when you know you’ve had to work for it.

Keep these 5 points in mind and enjoy the journey

Written by Simon Jordan

Business Growth Coach. Author of the Amazon 5 star rated book – How to Sky Rocket Your Business (without burning your fingers), Host of Simon Jordan.TV and The Simon Jordan Radio Show and International Speaker.

 Want to know more about Simon? – visit his site here http://www.simonjordan.tv or http://www.gathermoreclients.com/blog

Leave a Comment » | Leadership, Publicity | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by studentlifeguru

10 Tips for Mentoring & Supervising a “Know-It-All”

September 5, 2011

A “know-it-all” is someone who thinks they are above your leadership and presumes to know everything about the workings of your organization. These individuals may not necessarily be disrespectful or a problem team member, but can keep the team from reaching its full potential as they may feel they have nothing left to learn when, in fact, they have much more they could accomplish. Below are ten strategies for mentoring and supervising a “know-it-all.”

  1. Remain humble and patient – As the leader, you need to remain humble and patient despite the personalities of the people on your team. It goes without saying that you are in charge so you do not always have to reaffirm this. Doing so repeatedly will undoubtedly create discord and unneeded conflicts. Be a leader; do not simply say you are one. Have patience with those who may think they have learned everything there is to know about your organization so you can help them to accomplish more for the team.
  2. Assign extremely challenging tasks – The simplest way to get a complainer or know-it-all to put their money where their mouth is is by assigning challenging tasks. This is not meant to be done to put them in their place or to make a fool out of them, but to push them to further develop their knowledge and skills. If you take the stand that this individual cannot learn anymore, they will remain stagnant. It is your job as a leader to set high expectations and challenges for them.
  3. Involve them in new areas – Expand their skill set by getting them involved in other areas in which they normally do not participate. This will allow them to have new experiences within your organization and further develop their skills.
  4. Allow them to fail – Learning from failure and making mistakes is an excellent opportunity for new understanding. Obviously you do not want to allow failure for large monetary expenditures or decisions related to life & safety issues, but purposely building room in for failure can prove helpful for staff development and continuous improvement.
  5. Increased levels of responsibility – One reason why individuals may feel that they know  it all is because they have not been challenged enough with new and more challenging responsibilities. Create projects purposely for them to allow them to stretch their wings while also being challenged.
  6. Use them as your own resource to develop their confidence Rely upon them for their expertise in areas that they do in fact excel in order to boost their confidence. While this may seem counter-intuitive, particularly with those individuals who can be problematic, one reason they may be a “know-it-all” is because they actually suffer from low self-esteem. Developing their confidence may prove helpful in easing their persistence in claiming to know everything.
  7. Role model mentoring behaviors & expect them to do so as well – Team members will tend to emulate the behaviors of those that inspire them and obtain positive team-wide results. Being a role model for your team and actually illustrating behaviors of what you expect from everyone will go a long way for those who think they have accomplished everything.
  8. Don’t tell me, show me! Have them demonstrate their skills, especially if they contend that they know how to solve various problems. This is not meant to be a battle of wills, but to push them further to reach their potential. Give them the resources and tools needed to accomplish the job, and allow them to do so.
  9. Establish trust by including them in confidential and sensitive information – Along with involving individuals in new areas and increasing their levels of responsibilities, you can establish trust with them by including them in discussions they may not have been privy to previously. Obviously you want to set explicit expectations regarding confidentiality.
  10. Counsel them out of the position – Lastly, it may be appropriate to counsel an individual out of their position, particularly if there really are no new challenges or responsibilities for them to tackle. Are you able to promote them to a new position within the organization? Are there other positions outside of the organization that you could recommend for them? Part of the mentoring process is to help recommend new opportunities for your team members so that they can grow as leaders even if that means those opportunities are outside of your organization.

2 Comments | Leadership, Supervision | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by studentlifeguru

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