Making the Interview Process for Leadership Positions an Educative Experience (*free resource handout*)

February 9, 2012

Following up on a blog post titled 10 Secrets to Recruiting & Screening for Great Resident Advisors, I thought it would be helpful to create a post and free handout related to the interview process for all student leader positions. Crafting appropriate interview questions for interviews can be challenging, particularly if you do not already have an existing interview protocol already created. Consider the following for your next interview process:

  • Make the interview process itself an educational experience for the student. I had a colleague at a previous institution who set up resume writing and interviewing workshops prior to the actual interview process. Student candidates were invited to attend these short (30 minutes) workshop that were held in a lecture hall. Tips and suggestions were given to students related to interview practice, appropriate dress, follow-up, and information on how to seek out services at the career center for additional help and preparation. Even if they did not get the job, they still walk away with invaluable life-long skills that will help them after they leave college.
  • Student leader interviews SHOULD NOT be an officially sanctioned “hazing” experience. The goal is to illicit important information to see if a candidate is qualified and prepared for the student leader role and not to make them “pay their dues” in order to get the job. You want to make the experience as educative and positive as possible. Keep in mind that most of us student affairs professionals got our jobs after a typical phone interview and a visit to campus with various meetings. If your student leader hiring protocol is more involved than what you went through to get your own position, you may want to rethink the process. (Remember that they are students.)
  • When crafting questions, first list the qualities and skills that you need these student leaders to possess. Then develop your questions to assess for these particular attributes. For example, if you are hiring campus tour guides, you would list qualities such as: enthusiasm, ability to remember many facts and details, sociable, and quick to think on their feet. A question like “How would you respond to a parent touring the campus who asks what students can do on the weekends?” gets to the heart of their ability to think on their feet and demonstrate if they are knowledgable of campus activities and services. Not only are you going to see if they give an appropriate answer unrelated to partying, but to see if they can actually list activities available on the weekends.
  • Test interview existing student leaders. When you have your questions selected, do a test run with the student employees you already have. If your current student staffers are stumped by any of the questions, it is going to be certain that new candidates will not be able to answer them either. Get their feedback on their own interview process and what they think is important to include in an interview. They are out in the field actually doing the job so respect their experience and utilize them as an added resource. Additionally, include them in on the interview process as well so this becomes educative for them. Not only can they list this on a resume, but they will be able to implement what you taught them if they end up in hiring roles themselves in the future.  

Click HERE to receive a free “Individual Interview Questions for Student Leaders” handout, which lists 30 different interview questions that can be adopted for your own interview processes. 

Please feel free to share this resource with your colleagues.

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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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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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Rethinking Spring Training for Increased Success

January 16, 2012

Most of you are already in the process of (or will be) training your student leaders for the spring semester. Spring training offers the chance to re-establish the mission, vision, and values of your department (or student organization) as well as revisit important expectations and goals.

Unfortunately, I have encountered departments and student organizations across the country that give little credence to spring training and do not do it or simply see it as another task to accomplish rather than an opportunity to reconnect with team members to plan for a more productive semester.

Here are some strategies to use when re-thinking your spring training:

  • Purposely Build in “Fluidity” into Training -  Outside of the announcing the days and times that everyone needs to be there, do not set your agenda in stone. If you are receiving feedback during the course of your spring training that something could be added, changed, or deleted, do it! Mentally evaluate or “check-in” with everyone to see how they think things are going. You could get feedback that other skills need to be covered that are not on the schedule or that something could be eliminated because it is simply not needed.
  • Dust Off Previous Staff Evaluations – Your training should be tweaked based upon previous feedback you have received from your team members. Many great topic ideas and areas needed for improvement can be found by looking at evaluations from previous training sessions. If you have team members remaining who gave this feedback, meet with them to further pick their brain about how you can improve spring training.
  • Do Not Add Something Simply because it is Tradition – If a topic or session does not add value to the team’s skill set, eliminate it. Training takes a lot of time and work so do not include something because of a “that’s-the-way-it’s-always-been-done” attitude. Get feedback from your team members ahead of time about a tentative schedule of topics so you can delete items they feel are not necessary.
  • Dictate the Agenda for those Who Come to Speak - One excellent piece of advice I learned years ago from a colleague is to make sure that invited speakers (especially from your own campus) are teaching what you need them to teach. Through campus politics, some departments can find their way onto your schedule to meet their own needs. Training should NOT be glorified commercials for campus departments. So if you are told that someone from outside of your organization is coming to speak, meet with them to set the session content and objectives so that your team members are actually receiving useful information to utilize in their position.
  • Treat Your “Returners” with Reverance – As I stated in a previous post entitled “How to Avoid Creating Resident Assistant Boot Camp,” 2nd year and subsequent year returners going through the same process every year can be torture. Mix it up for them; get them involved in helping to teach or develop advanced topics for them. You could also bring them back a day or two after all the new team members have already covered the basic topics.

Make the most out of your spring training sessions. Do something new, do something innovative, and most importantly, teach information and skills that add value to your team.

What are some new strategies that are a departure from your normal spring training routine? What have you added and / or eliminated from your schedule and why?

All of those who share an example as a comment will enter into a raffle to win a Discussion Cards activity through the mail from Student Life Consultants. The raffle will occur on 01/20/12 at 8pm (EST) and the winner will be announced via Twitter @studentlifeguru and through this post’s comments. 

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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.

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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

How to Avoid Creating Resident Assistant Boot Camp

July 21, 2011

With August right around the corner, many of us in Housing and Residence Life are in the process of developing our fall training for our resident assistant staffers. While this is generally a fun and exciting time, it can also be a very brutally intensive experience for many given that it can occur in a “short aggressive period of time” as my one close colleagues put it perfectly (@Crystal_N_Hoser). Institutional training traditions are passed down from generation to generation of professional staffers, and unfortunately, many of these training practices can actually be counter-productive. I would like to offer some successful practices that have worked for me when training my own staffers.

•TRAINING STARTS WITH THE HIRING PROCESS: You can minimize (*not eliminate*) the need to cover basic topics (e.g., campus resources and campus departments orientation) by hiring student leaders that already have a strong knowledge of the institution and the various services available to students on campus. Simple campus resource quizzes can actually be used as another assessment tool during the selection process in addition to what you already do. Additionally, many human resource policies and expectations can and should be communicated before and directly after an RA is hired. In this regard, they know exactly what is expected up front (typically occuring in late spring) rather than them hearing a familiar, “We will go over that during training in August.” Granted, expectations should be revisited again during training at some point, but they do not necessarily have to be part of a lengthy session.

•BE MINDFUL OF THE LENGTH OF THE WORK DAY AND WEEK: This is where I feel that many Residence Life departments can and do go overboard. It’s generally seen as a badge of courage to go through a “Hell Week” of sorts starting at 8 or 9 AM every day and going through 10 PM or later. Typical schedules I have seen (and have been a part of) go like this: breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner, activity, staff meeting, bulletin boards, and, finally, bed. Rinse and repeat (for 7+ days straight). This is a tiring regiment that, again, can be more detrimental than productive. Burning our student staffers out prior to the actual move-in can set the stage for further problems throughout the semester.

•ASK YOURSELF – WHY ARE WE DOING THIS: If you do not have a strong answer for every activity and session that you are doing, then you may want to consider eliminating it from the training schedule. “Just because” or “We have to fill the schedule” are NOT good answers as to why you are including something for training. Have a reason for including every training session and activity in your schedule.

•DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COVER EVERY TOPIC: Think of training like a college class. You cannot learn everything about a particular subject in the course of one semester. Typically you will learn major themes about a subject, but not every topic and detail within that subject. You should use this same philosophy when designing RA training. Trying to pack everything in your training schedule related to policies and procedures, student conduct, programming, roommate conflicts, ethics, mental health issues, and everything else related to Residence Life is simply too much. Cover the topics that your staffers will need the most knowledge about for the first six weeks. Cover additional topics during staff meetings and staff development activities. Training should be an on-going, year-long process.

•TREAT YOUR RETURNERS / SENIOR LEVEL RA’s WITH REVERANCE: 2nd year and subsequent year returners going through the same process every year can be torture. Mix it up for them; get them involved in helping or develop advanced topics for them. You could also bring them back a day or two after all the new staffers have already covered the basic topics (this could also save you some money as you wouldn’t have to feed them all).

•ELIMINATE OR REDESIGN ”BEHIND CLOSED DOORS” ACTIVITIES: Role-playing type activities that new staffers go through to practice confronting hall violations (e.g., noise, alcohol, marijuana, domestic dispute) can be easily perceived as a mild form of hazing. It seems to be a badge of courage for a returning RA to role play in over-the-top situations that underhandedly try to stump the new RA’s trying to respond to the issue. However, these type of role playing sessions need to be designed as a teaching tool rather than an abusive right of passage. If you choose to include this type of training activity, create scenarios that are realistic and ends up being a positive learning opportunity for the new staffers. To save time and extensive planning, you can also include written case studies of varying difficulty that everyone can work on. Case study activities can be better supervised in one location rather than allowing the paraprofessional staff to control the activity throughout the halls where problems can arise.

Best wishes with your fall training! As always, I am willing to help you brainstorm ideas and offer advice.

1 Comment | Leadership, Supervision, Training | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by studentlifeguru

10 Ways to Burn Bridges in Student Affairs

May 31, 2011

Rarely, if ever, are we as student affairs professionals formally taught how to navigate the politics behind working in the field. As is the case in working with people in any career, learning how NOT to burn bridges is a important skill that we all can benefit from. Below are “10 Ways to Burn Bridges in Student Affairs” and how to adequately navigate yourself away from being called a trouble-maker:

1. Refuse to understand and embrace the culture of your department and institution.

We all become indoctrinated with the culture of the schools we grow up in, particularly our undergraduate institutions. Yet as we move onto different institutions for our graduate degrees and new professional positions, we can face completely different types of environments. Being able to adapt to new environments and people who have already established careers there can be challenging. It is important to take it slow and learn the culture of your new department and the institution as a whole. You can be perceived as threatening and making negative judgments about their program, particularly if you try to implement ideas from your previous institution too quickly. Create allies and collaborators before attempting to create programmatic changes. This is not to say that you cannot do your best and bring positive change to the department you work for, but take the time to understand the lay of the land before trying to make sweeping changes. Pushing too hard too quick will cause problems.

2. Speak negatively of colleagues at regional and / or national conferences and meetings.

The student affairs profession is a “small world,” and you will certainly have lifelong connections with individuals in the profession. This means that there is a good chance that you will have interactions with people you currently work with after you leave the institution and also have interactions with folks you have yet to work with. With that being said, you must remember that you are a student life staffer wherever you go. Keep in mind that there are ears everywhere when you go to national and regional conferences and meetings. Someone that overhears your negative comments can potentially be an important colleague or employer in your future.

3. Speak negatively about your colleagues and / or supervisor.

If you have something to say, say it directly to the individual in question in a private setting. People do not know how to change their behavior(s) unless you tell them. No one really wants to hear your complaints (unless of course your colleague or supervisor is doing something illegal, but there are proper forums for that on campus to file a complaint). Not to mention that there is a good chance that your criticisms will get back to your colleague(s) or supervisor at some point anyway in some shape or form. As was the case with #2 above, it is better to bite your tongue rather than have your tongue bite someone else (particularly your supervisor!) You may not necessarily get the result(s) that you want if you do have a private discussion, but at least your loyalty and professionalism cannot be questioned.

4. Attempt to outshine your colleagues in all that you do.

While this may come to a surprise to those of us who are “achievers” as defined by Strengths Finder, being competitive can actually be seen as a threat in many cases. This is particularly true if it is known that you are trying to make a point that you are more capable than your colleagues. Rather, bring your colleagues on board for some “competitive collaboration,” and raise the bar while including them in the process. This way you are not perceived as being “you-against-the-world” in your endeavors. As was stated in #1 above, create allies and collaborators to help you. In this regard you will most likely be seen as a leader in the department rather then a trouble-maker or know-it-all.

5. Use students to further your own personal agenda.

In many cases, students will emulate the causes and passions of their mentors and supervisors. This can be a positive learning experience for students, particularly when the cause is related to strategically-created student learning outcome efforts. However, this can be a dangerous proposition when the cause is solely for personal gain or vindictive reasons. Students should not be caught up in the personal conflicts and politics between full-time staff members that can often occur. Those outside of the drama looking in will quickly judge you for involving students in affairs they do not belong. This is not good for you, nor the department you work for.

6. Never admit that you are wrong.

We all have something to learn from our mistakes. While it can extremely difficult to admit that we are wrong or that we have made a mistake, acknowledging our shortcomings will go a long way with our colleagues. Remaining steadfast to a notion that everyone else does not agree with will not earn the hearts and minds of others. It takes courage to step back for a second and consider a new perspective that you do not necessarily agree with. Likewise, there is something to be said for someone who can admit that a decision or choice they made did not work.

7. Jump the chain of command.

Not only is this one of the quickest ways to burn a bridge, but it is also one of the quickest way to lose your job. Your superiors are you superiors for a reason, and you must respect that (whether you like them or not). Jumping over your supervisor’s head to speak to their supervisor (or even higher in the chain of command) will seriously call your loyalty into question. (This should go without saying, but you may have to do this in the case of illegal activity). If you are not getting the results that you want related to a decision or project, you must find another way in which to readdress the issue. (See #3 above). If you do not like what is going on, you can either change yourself, change your boss, or change your job!

8. Fail to follow “the lines of loyalty.”

This goes along with #1, #2, #3, and #7 in a global sense on campus because you may not know whom is connected to whom. Many individuals can be connected to one another outside of those divisional and departmental lines as defined by the institution. Just because someone on the other end of campus has nothing to do with your supervisor from a departmental standpoint does not mean that they do not already have a relationship in some shape or form with them (or anyone else in your department for that matter). Understanding the behind-the-scenes “lines of loyalty” is crucial as you can create allies or know whom to avoid (particularly if they are trouble-makers). Associating yourself with a known enemy of the department will invite problems. When in doubt, keep your mouth shut and stick to trusted allies.

9. Fail to practice humility.

A little bit of humility never hurt anyone. People want to be around others that are fun to be around, are good  listeners, demonstrate integrity, and are inclusive with others. Additionally, change the things you have direct control over and leave the rest alone (See Stephen Covey’s “Circle of Influence – Circle of Concern” in the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). “The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn’t” by Bob Sutton is a great book on this subject that I highly recommend, particularly if you find yourself in this scenario at your workplace.

10. Leave an institution / position on a sour note.

Colleagues and co-workers will remember more about your exit from the job than when you first started. While you may not be leaving under the best of circumstances, leaving gracefully is always the best practice. On the other hand, burning every bridge on your way out the door with negative comments and / or actions will really cause you yourself more emotional distress than your intended audience.

What is a “bridge” you’ve seen burned during the course of your student affairs career, and what was the lesson learned?

2 Comments | Leadership, Self-Reflection, Supervision, Teamwork | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by studentlifeguru

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