5 Musts in Creating Change on Campus (guest post from Jeff Stafford of Orange Slice Training)

February 20, 2011

You’ve got ideas as a leader. You want to see new things happen. But you can’t get your group to change. Many times leaders have started to run the race of change and then loop in their group. Or you and your group hatch really great ideas that can change your campus forever, but you just can’t get the administration to buy into it.

Use these steps in making the next BIG change or ideas stick – remember ADKAR!  This model was created by Prosci to help with both organizational and personal change:

Awareness. Often times, leaders are so far out in front that they lose sight of those needed to help support the change. You must create awareness for the idea or change proposed. To create AWARENESS for the change, create a list for why this must occur.  Tailor the list to the audience.  What are your key messages that you want to share with the campus community?

Desire. Okay, you’re excited about the idea – but now you need to tap into the motivation for others and help them create the desire for the change.  Create a list of the top 3 motivators that will allow them to shake their head to support your idea. To get at this, you might also ask - What if we don’t do anything? Make sure you address the “what’s in it for me?” question. If you don’t there’s no use going any further.

Knowledge. Create a really clear picture of what life looks like when the idea is in place – or when the change has occurred. Provide people the information needed to support your choice. Remember Knowledge is power.

Ability. What new skills or abilities might you need to implement the change or idea?  What might the Administration need to learn to support you?  Provide access and opportunity for them to learn.

Reinforcement. This is the stage that supports the new change or idea. Plan a celebration, thanking those that helped you get what you wanted. Strengthen the relationship at this point, this will set you up for more support the next time lightning strikes and you have another great idea to implement.

As campus leaders you have great ideas – use these steps to support your work!

Jeff Stafford is founder of Orange Slice Training – a company that specializes in creating learning and leadership events that are JUICY!  As a former Student Affairs professional, Jeff holds a M.S. in Counseling & Student Personnel from Minnesota State University, Mankato.  He is also the author of the upcoming book, Create Your Juicy Life.  Grab your FREE action guides HERE.  Connect with Jeff to learn more how Orange Slice Training can be a part of your next leadership event.

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Posted by juicylifeguy

Guest Post for TheSABloggers.org (10 Secrets to Managing an “Inherited Staff”)

January 26, 2011

This week I created a post for The Student Affairs Collaborative blog entitled “10 Secrets to Managing an Inherited Staff.” As many of us in leadership positions have changed positions a number of times in our career, supervising an “inherited staff” can be either a rewarding or especially challenging experience. However, there are a few secrets that you can use in order to gain the respect and trust of your new staff and have an easier job transition. Please take a look at the article, and feel free to post comments and questions.

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Posted by studentlifeguru

Seek Understanding Before Taking Action (team training using video clips)

January 18, 2011

 

A funny AT&T commercial shows some white-collar employees socializing during an office taco party (click HERE to see a YouTube video of it). During the party, an employee who thought he didn’t get an invite makes some negative comments and criticisms (e.g., “You invited Eric? I thought he gave you the creeps?”) to his colleagues. He ultimately receives a text message shortly after seeing that he was indeed invited to the party. A classic example of “enter foot-in-mouth.”

Even though this was a funny cell phone commercial, I thought there was a great leadership lesson within it: seek understanding before taking action. As was the case in the commercial, many times we can respond quickly to a situation with a knee-jerk reaction without actually having all of the proper information surrounding the issue. These knee-jerk reactions can cause team member conflicts, the unnecessary waste of money and / or resources, and potentially creating dangerous conditions in some instances (particularly if health & life safety issues are a part of your team’s work). As leaders and supervisors, we can be in a hurry to solve a problem or quickly move in to prevent further problems, but we can fail to slow down to examine the situation as carefully as we should before responding.

Tips for success:

1. Fully communicate expectations, instructions, and consequences among everyone on the team. Don’t assume that all of your team members know what it is that they are supposed to be doing, by what time, and with what expected / intended result(s). Team meetings and supervisory one-on-one’s can clear up a lot of issues ahead of time. Make sure that everyone has the same understanding.

2. Train your staff members and teammates how to fully assess problemmatic situations. Not every situation can be approached in the same manner. Team members should be able to assess and diagnose a situation based upon asking some simple questions: What facts do I know? What could this be an example of? And, what more do I need to know (or should ask) in order to make a better informed decision? Answering these simple questions often can take a few minutes and can bypass a lot of heartache overall.

3. Role play and / or work through case studies relevant to your organization. Following up on #2, developing an assessment & diagnostic culture in your organization can be easily accomplished through the inclusion of role playing and / or  practicing case studies. Not only is this an opportunity for everyone to work together in a team format, but helps you to think more analytically on how your team can solve problems. Use examples from the past and make them into case studies using the questions suggested above as discussion points (i.e., What facts do I know? What could this be an example of? And, what more do I need to know (or should ask) in order to make a better informed decision?)

4. Share various video examples of communication mishaps during staff meetings to spark discussion. There are many examples of organization miscommunication in sports, movies, and television shows. Take time to find these types of examples and show them during training sessions or staff meetings. Work-related reality shows are rife with examples of miscommunication leading to conflict and unintended expenses and losses. Another great example (in addition to the taco party commercial video) of “seek understanding before taking action” I’ve seen occurs on the HBO detective drama ”The Wire.” Click HERE to see the YouTube video (***WARNING – there is some profane language in this video clip.***)

What are some examples of video clips from TV shows or movies that you can suggest related to this topic?

 

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

5 Body Language Secrets for Leaders: Transparency and Higher Standards

November 23, 2010

New York Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez is an astute leader. Earlier this year he instituted a financial penalty system against himself for every time he exhibited negative body language. It seems that during his rookie year (2009 – 2010), Sanchez constantly gave negative vibes to his teammates and coaches via his critical body language. All great leaders know the power of nonverbal communication. It will dramatically help you or hurt you. Sanchez is the field general. He doesn’t want his teammates feeling that he’s always blaming them for a bad play, poor execution, or a missed opportunity.

 

This self-deprecating and very public improvement system is a profound example of great leadership and transparency. By putting himself on the penalty block, he holds everyone else to a higher standard without bringing attention to teammates who are probably much more guilty of body language gaffes and poor attitude displays than he ever was. He’s making those around him better while at the same time he’s improving his own game.

So how does one become aware of their own body language? It doesn’t come easily, but here are a five valuable pointers:

1.  Invite constructive criticism. Take an example from Mr. Sanchez and have a small group of friends, family, or co-workers critique your nonverbal communication and fine you for every infraction. The fine doesn’t have to be large; you could even institute a fine jar to add a quarter every time you have an infraction. This will help to create and reinforce feedback loops, which will help to make you more self-aware.

2.  Study nonverbal communication informally and formally. Reading books, taking classes & courses (online and in person) as well as listening to audio-books are all great ways to increase your knowledge and skill in interpreting others’ body language. Seeing signals in others will make you more aware of your own tendencies.

3.  Practice “Breathing Awareness.” The practice of focusing on a subconscious physiologic act, such as breathing, will tend to make you aware of other subconscious acts, such as nonverbal communication. I strongly suggest doing this in a dark room for 10 minutes, twice daily. It’s magic.

4.  Sketch faces. Leonardo da Vinci felt that everyone should endeavor to draw, paint, or sculpt – not so they could be artists, but so they would become more observant. If you practice drawing faces a couple times a week during your lunch hour, distinctions will jump out at you that were previously lumped together in your mind. Remember, you don’t have to be anywhere close to perfect, just draw on a regular basis.

5. Watch interviews on TV with the sound off. This will heighten your awareness of the subtle aspects of body language that you may have previously glossed over. Take notes too. This is also a fantastic exercise for actors.

There are lots of people in leadership positions, but that alone certainly doesn’t constitute leadership. However, too many act like it does. Sanchez is the real-deal. Go Jets!

Dr. G. “Jack” Brown is a Board-Certified Physician and a Body Language Expert. He has studied, taught, and used body language all of his adult life. He welcomes the opportunity to coach, consult and provide keynote speaking to corporations, associations and leaders across North America. You can visit his blog at BodyLanguageSuccess.com and contact him at Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com and 702-239-8503.

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Posted by bodylanguagesuccess

Organization Member Development (Free Assessment Activity Sheet)

October 3, 2010

 

The members of your organization are your lifeblood. Always remember that your organization’s success is solely dependent upon its members and their regular participation. Many organizations’ senior leaders can concentrate on executive board business and easily forget their members. Remember to put your members’ interests first and put time and strategic thought into developing your relationship with them while they are members of your organization.

  • Find out why your members are involved in the organization. People join clubs and organizations for many varied reasons whether it’s for skills development, gaining new knowledge and experience, or purely for recreational and social reasons. Knowing specifically why each member is involved will help you determine what you need to do or what activities to develop and provide in order to keep them interested and participating regularly. Simply put, meet their needs.
  • Regularly check in with your members. I once learned that people don’t care about you until you show how much you care about them. This rings very true regarding your organization’s members. If they feel personally disconnected at meetings and activities, there’s a good chance that they are going to stop participating.  

 

  • Give members a reason to stay active and involved. People’s time is important so treat your members almost like they are customers; treat new members like they are prospective customers. If you’re not meeting their needs or the organization activities are perceived as not fun or simply a waste of their time, they will stop participating.
  • Praise members publicly and thank them often. Make time during meetings to praise members for their participation and the good work that they do for your organization. Make a habit of thanking members often. Simple gestures such as giving hand-written notes, public posts on social networking sites, and other small tokens of appreciation will be accepted by your members with great welcome.

Click HERE for a free member development assessment activity. Please feel free to share it.

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Posted by studentlifeguru

Creating Team Confidence (Free Activity Sheet)

July 19, 2010

A post by Leadership Cures entitled “Performance vs. Leadership Evaluations” inspired me to continue this line of conversation by discussing why and how to have your team members inspire confidence. This should be an important part of a “Leadership Evaluation.” Team members need to have confidence in one another, be able to discuss easily ideas with one another without hesitation, and foster a sense of confidence among all of the members of the team.

As the team leader, creating “purposeful” conversations centered on team issues are symbolic in that you are setting the stage for what is an appropriate way to express thoughts and ideas in an open and respectful manner. If you create a team culture in which teammates solve problems together without unnecessary conflict or without always having to have the team leader intercede, everyone can concentrate on the actual mission and vision of the organization.

Here are some recommendations on how to create a team culture of confidence and communication:

1. Recruit team members that already embody the ideals of your organization’s culture.

2. Purposefully match team members on projects so they can experience “wins” together for good progress.

3. Hold regular team-building exercises during team meetings in order to demonstrate important team lessons. (Don’t simply have ice-breakers or other exercises just for the sake of having an activity; have a real purpose behind it.)

4. Be a role model for your team. Always be positive (but not fake), and speak well of your team everywhere you go.

5. Make it fun! It’s not all about work. Take your team on a fun outing in order to spend social time with one another.

Click HERE for a free teamwork communication activity sheet. Please feel free to share it.

How are you inspiring confidence among your team members?

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Posted by studentlifeguru

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