Motivating organization members can be the most challenging part of a leader’s responsibilities. Yet, this should be the driving motivation behind why the leader is their position. Mentoring and motivating people is key is accomplishing the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. Here are 30 ways to motivate organization members:

1. Make the members in your group WANT to do things.

2. Study members, and determine what makes each tick.

3. Be a good listener.

4. Criticize constructively.

5. Criticize in private.

6. Praise in public.

7. Be considerate.

8. Delegate responsibility for details to members.

9. Give credit where it is due.

10. Avoid domination or “forcefulness.”

11. Show interest in and appreciation of others.

12. Make your wishes known by suggestions or requests rather than demands.

13. When you make a request or suggestion, be sure to tell the reason(s) for it.

14. Let the members in on your plans and programs even when they are in an early stage.

15. Never forget that the leader sets the style for the members.

16. Focus on the positive.

17. Be consistent.

18. Show your members that you have confidence in them and that you expect them to do their best.

19. Ask members for their advice and help.

20. When you’re wrong or make a mistake, admit it.

21. Listen to ideas from members.

22. If an idea is adopted, tell the originator why, and that you appreciate their ideas.

23. Accept that people carry out best their own ideas.

24. Be careful what you say and how you say it.

25. Don’t be upset by little hassles.

26. Use every opportunity to build up members a sense of the importance of their own work.

27. Give your members’ goals, a sense of direction, something to strive for, and to achieve.

28. Keep your members informed on matters affecting them.

29. Give members a chance to take part in decisions, particularly those affecting them.

30. Let your members know where they stand.

What are some other ways in which you motivate your organization’s members? Please share below.

There’s a movie that came out in 2010 with Nicholas Cage called “Kick-Ass.” It’s basically a story of a nerdy high school kid and comic book fan named Dave Lizewski that gets robbed. Eventually, he decides to become a superhero named “Kick-Ass” to fight crime throughout the city without any superpowers or special training. Obviously it’s a fantastic and funny story, but it’s the story of an ordinary kid that creates his own destiny by becoming a homegrown superhero. It’s the story of someone that can do great things and influence others by being “kickass.”

As student leaders, there are many things that you can and should do to be truly kickass.

Secret #1: Create the change that you want to see. Mahatma Ghandi is credited with saying, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” The concept is very simple, but yet very profound, particularly on a college campus. This essentially means that if there’s something you don’t like, change it! If there’s something you would like to see, create it!

If you don’t like the clubs that are offered, create a new one. If you don’t like something on campus, participate in or create a committee to research and suggest new ideas and options. Want to participate in a new campus-wide initiative or project? Create a proposal and approach administrators and faculty to see if they can support you.

As students, you have more power than you think you do. You are the reason why colleges and universities exist, and the reason why people like me have a career. Wield that power to make a difference not only in your life, but the lives of others, and the quality of the academic and student life experience here on campus.

Be a kickass leader by creating the change you want to see.

Secret #2: Stand out from others. Over the past 15 years, I have supervised hundreds of student employees across the country at five different colleges and universities. When I recruit and interview, I always ask, “What are you involved with on campus, and what have you done?”

I always hear, “Well…I am the president of the biology club … and a representative on student government …” That’s great…but what did you do? What have you influenced? What have you changed? What have you created? Leadership isn’t merely a grocery list of activities on a co-curricular transcript or resume. Leadership is about enacting change and leaving a legacy.

Also, quantify your experiences. Set goals, and upon achieving those goals use statements on your resume and in interviews such as, “I helped to raise $10,000 for a local charity … We served over 500 meals at a homeless shelter on Thanksgiving … I presented at a regional conference to over 100 session attendees …” and other impressive accomplishments.

Stand out from others. It’s easy to be great when others are mediocre.

Be a kickass leader by standing out from others.

Secret #3: Read about and become an expert on leadership. Your education doesn’t stop when you graduate from college. As someone looking to get a job after graduation, you need to be able to communicate that you know about your career field and can bring actual value to their organization. You can’t be an innovator and a true leader if you don’t know what’s occurring around you.

Take the time and spend the money to join and participate in professional organizations. Read their publications. Use social media to connect with others in your field from around the globe. Subscribe to blogs, follow industry leaders on Twitter, and attend the multitude of free webinars that are presented every day on almost any topic you can imagine. Books and articles on leadership and supervising people are published every day. If you’re not constantly ahead of the curve, others will be and inevitably will be more marketable.

Be a kickass leader by reading about and becoming an expert on leadership.

Secret #4: Seek out a quality mentor. A mentor can be a professor, a staff member, a club or organization advisor, a spiritual leader, or even someone you’ve networked within your chosen career field. Think of a mentor like having your own private secret weapon for success. And when I say “quality mentor,” I mean someone who cares about you as a person and your success. A mentor is not someone who will only give you five minutes of their time and otherwise treat you like you are a distraction.

 A mentor is someone who will not only give you good advice, but will help you seek out networking opportunities, includes you in on collaborative projects, such as research, conference presentations, and employment opportunities. A mentor is someone you can vent to and bounce ideas off of. A quality mentor is also someone who doesn’t pretend to know it all; a person that will guide you in the right direction if they don’t have a direct answer. A quality mentor is someone that you can look to throughout your lifetime as you progress through your career.

Be a kickass leader by having a quality mentor.

Secret #5: Remain humble. I strongly believe in the mantra of civility, integrity, and responsibility. I think these are the attributes of what makes a great leader. If I could add one more attribute to the list of civility, integrity, and responsibility, it would be humility. People appreciate and admire those leaders who don’t take all the credit, are courteous, and make those around them feel appreciated and respected.

One of my favorite books is “The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t” by Dr. Robert Sutton from Stanford University. Dr. Sutton’s premise is that bullying behavior in the workplace kills morale and productivity. He uses the word “asshole” because other terms, such as bully or jerk does not have the same impact.

Two tests are specified to recognize this type of person: After encountering the person, do people feel oppressed, humiliated, or otherwise worse about themselves? — and — Does the person target people who are less powerful than him/her? You can probably name multiple individuals that you deal with on a weekly basis that fit these criteria. DON’T BE LIKE THEM!

It’s easy to be in control and push people around, but it takes a true leader to be civil and gracious and, most importantly, humble.

Be a kickass leader by remaining humble.

What are some other ways to be a kickass leader? Please share your comments below.

You can also see a video of Dr. Helfrich giving a speech on 5 Secrets to Becoming a Kickass Leader.

Contrary to popular belief, good people can destroy an organization as quick as their less noble counterparts. Good people in leadership positions often have the best intentions, but can unknowingly sabotage the organization’s efforts by perpetuating counterproductive practices. If you find yourself or your colleagues using the following tactics, you may want to reconsider how you are managing your organization.

1. Focusing on Feelings and Not Results – The hallmark of any high performing organization is the unrelenting focus on positive outcomes and results. Unfortunately, results can be sidelined unintentionally for people’s feelings, which will ultimately lead to agendas other than the goals of the organization. This can be as simple as a supervisor not confronting an employee for poor performance as to not ”hurt their feelings.” Another example includes a department’s leadership passing on certain strategies because staffers may become upset by the resulting decisions even if they are advantageous to the organization. Organizations must focus on results and make smart decisions that lead to those ends.

2. “Good Guy” Hiring – I have encountered many colleagues who hired a candidate because they seemed to be “A good guy…” or “A nice girl…” I’ve even had a supervisor who demanded that my colleagues and I hire a handful of candidates because they were “good guys.” Someone that may have a nice personality in passing can end up being a nightmare employee. Furthermore, this “good guy” may not have the necessary skills to perform the job. Take the time to assess each candidate thoroughly prior to hiring. As the adage goes: fire fast, hire slow.

3. Being Unrealistically Optimistic – There’s a big difference between being optimistic and being delusional. Being unrealistically optimistic can prevent smart and quick decisions from being made that if not made can cause irreparable harm to the organization. Stay grounded in reality, plan accordingly, and make data-driven decisions.

4. Performing Favors  - Constantly doing favors can be a slippery slope as typically exceptions are being made in some shape or form. This generally means a policy is being undermined or a double-standard is being created. This can easily destroy moral among employees and clients alike. Additionally, performing favors always translates into sacrificing time and or money.

5. Avoiding Tough Decisions - This goes back to focusing on feelings and not results; results depend upon making tough decisions. Smart and ethical decisions can be made even if they are difficult. While tactics such as cutting a budget or laying off a staffer are never fun, tough decisions of some shape or form will always need to be made by every organization. Delaying the inevitable can lead to bigger problems.

I became a teenage reader of Esquire magazine after an article on urinal etiquette in an issue my father had caught my eye. While the article was a humorous one, it served as a lead-in to pieces on dressing for any occasion, ordering guidelines at business luncheons, and how to network. These skills are what my father would often refer to as “the stuff no one teaches you in college.”

In an article for U.S. News, Catherine Groux writes:

“[According to a York College or Pennsylvania Survey], 48.6% of human resource professionals believe that less than half of new employees  show professionalism in their first year on the job. 35.9% said that the percentage of new workers that demonstrate this quality has decreased in the last five years.”

With spring graduation right around the corner, the dismal U.S. job market is soon to be flooded with the “new employees” Groux mentioned: Graduates who went to school believing a Bachelor’s degree would land them a “good job” right out of college. The reality is, however, that while a degree is a requirement for many positions, so too are a professional attitude, appearance, and demeanor. While it may be true that some universities offer courses in entrepreneurship, and most all have business clubs or fraternities, the fact is that no professor, teaching assistant, or academic advisor will provide you with the necessary skills to be a working professional.

So how can a soon-to-be or recent grad learn what it means to be professional?  Here are three tactics I can recommend:

1. Internships & Student Activities

Two friends of mine interned in Phillip Morris’ New York office while they were undergrads. It was the experience gained in those internships combined with their active roles in student government (and not their average grades) that landed them jobs with that company making $90k+ salaries with amazing benefits and a fantastic relocation package.

Now I’m not saying that “big tobacco” is an industry everyone should look into, nor am I encouraging you to sacrifice your grades for work or activities. What I am advocating, however, is to add extra-curricular activities to your resume that will give you professional experience. Before joining the Underwater Basketweaving Club, take a look at working for your school newspaper or radio station to get experience in advertising and marketing, become a resident assistant to enhance a skill set in management, or take a job at your school library or computer lab if IT and operations is more your thing. Universities offer a way to gain whatever experience you may want – you just need to go out and look for it.

As for internships, try and find ones that will increase your marketability within the workforce (and potentially even the company you intern for.) In today’s economy more companies are willing to take on interns because interns tend to get paid either little or no money. While this can be frustrating for a struggling college student, college is all about “the long game.” While the internships my friends took didn’t pay much at all, they graduated from college with salaries that were some of the best among their peers. When looking for internships my suggestion is not to think “How can I work for no money?” but rather, “How will this add to my skill set when the internship ends?”

And as for the friends I mentioned? They’re both in their mid-thirties. One of them has stayed with Phillip Morris for the past ten or so years, makes six figures and has been a territory manager for the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest regions. The other went on to work for American Express before leaving to start his own travel business. Not bad for a couple of guys who decided to get involved in their school and take summer internships that didn’t pay them much at the time.

2. Find a Mentor

If I asked each of you to tell me who your mentor is, it’s safe to say many of you would draw a blank. If, however, I’d ask you who your hero is you’d probably tell me the name of an athlete, musician, or other celebrity. While I too have those types of heroes, one of my biggest heroes is someone you wouldn’t expect,  my college resident director.

I’ll admit it to all of you here that initially I didn’t think about becoming a resident assistant out of some sense of purpose or nobility. I wanted free room & board. In my sophomore year of college, however, I met the resident director of my then girlfriend’s building and was taken aback by his personality. This wasn’t someone who wasn’t focused on “busting” you or yelling at you to obey the rules – this was a guy who made the resident experience fun by planning positive activities and interacting with residents on their level while at the same time teaching lessons and shaping the minds of the students who lived in his building. I knew then that was the type of person I wanted to be like, and when I heard he had an opening for an RA position in his building I applied, interviewed, and landed the job. We’ve remained friends, colleagues, and business partners for the past 13 years, and I still find myself looking to him for professional guidance, advice, and motivation.

A mentor is similar to a hero, but the best way to describe the difference is that a mentor is much more “human.” Heroes tend to be people we regard as god-like: athletes, musicians, movie stars, etc. These people are idolized for what is seen as as their perfect life, wealth, beauty, etc. A mentor is someone who has success or possesses qualities that others may strive for and who is down to earth enough to help lead others down the path they themselves took.

My mentor and I are not in the same industry, but he continues to provide me with professional insights that can cross into any field. Through his guidance I’ve learned how to be a leader and better public speaker, how to develop, manage, and train a staff, and how to handle stressful and emergency situations with ease. The skills he’s helped me develop have become invaluable to my career and I can’t thank him enough.

My suggestion to each of you is to make a list of the qualities you want to improve on or one day have and then make a second list of people you already know who have these qualities. Send them an email or make an appointment to see them and ask if they’d be willing to mentor you. Be open and honest with them. Tell them what you think your positive qualities are, what you’d like to work on, why you’d like them to be your mentor and what you think that mentoring would entail. Most people will be flattered at the idea, but it’s good to have a backup or two just in case scheduling is difficult. Just remember that a mentor is there to guide you. You don’t need to take everything they tell you as “gospel”, but you should try to be as open as possible to the advice they provide you with.

3. Read

I’m sure that with all the reading assignments you’ve had to endure though college, taking on more seems about as appealing as an axe to the head. This assignment is fun though: Read magazine articles on the topics or industry you’re interested in.

Smartphone and tablet apps like Editions, Flipboard, Pulse, and News Republic make pulling a stockpile of articles on any topic form many different sources easy and (thankfully) free! By far my favorite right now is Flipboard, which allows you to sync your social networks with current news and events and literally “flip” (with your finger) through them quickly. I have sections like sports, technology, business and entrepreneurship in my Flipboard account. As an example, my entrepreneurship section pulls articles from Forbes, Entrepreneur, and YE (Young Entrepreneur) magazines. I can choose to read one, none, or all of them.

The iPad-only app Editions is cool because it takes the same principle as Flipboard, but delivers your daily news in a magazine “edition” format. You’ll be notified when your edition is ready and can read it like any other digital version of a magazine. Very interactive and fun!

It is important to stay well informed. The more you stay informed on the industries you’re interested in becoming a part of, the more you’ll get used to the language people use in those industries and the easier it will be to have meaningful and topical discussions with interviewers in those industries. While there’s no guarantee that any one thing will help you land a job, I can tell you from my experience that employers love to hire people who are knowledge and well informed. An employee who stays up to date on the business sector they’re in stands out in the workplace.

There are many other ways to enhance your professional attitude, appearance and demeanor as well, but the above list is a great way to get started at little to no cost to you other than time. What are some other ways you might enhance your professionalism?  Leave a reply in the comments below!

Greg Osisek resides in the Greater Philadelphia Area and has over a decade of business leadership experience. He is one of the founders and CEO of Valeo Consulting Group (http://www.valeo-consulting.com) and can be reached at greg@valeo-consulting.com, @ValeoGroup, or www.linkedin.com/in/gregosisek for comment.

*** Photo courtesy of John Lee.

Many college and university departments include a multiple day interview process in which a candidate meets, interviews with, and sometimes presents to potential supervisors, subordinates, and colleagues over the course of two or more days. I have been on many multiple day interviews over the past 15 years, and I can tell you that they are challenging and tiring. However, there are many strategies and tactics that you can employ in order to be fully prepared and in the right mindset to excel.

1. Remember that You Are Always “On”
From the time a representative from the organization you are interviewing with initially meets you to the time they say goodbye, you will be scrutinized. Being cognizant of your actions during this process is the most challenging part of multiple day interviews. Keep your “game face” on not only during the interviews and presentations, but also during meals and when traveling between meeting venues. Blunders are likely to occur if you take a mental break when you need to be constantly vigilant. You can rest after the process is over.

2. The 7/11 Rule
Seven impressions of a person are made in 11 seconds. That is a very short amount of time to make a good first impression. Even though you may have already spent hours with your host interviewer, each person you meet throughout the day needs to be met with enthusiasm, a positive approach, and respect. Tailor your approach so seven great impressions are made about you in those first 11 seconds.

3. Prepare for Evening Activities
In some cases, you may be invited to be a part of evening activities that staffers are taking a part in such as dinner, drinks, a sporting event, or other entertainment. I always recommend that you participate in these activities if invited no matter how exhausted you are as to not offend your potential employer. This is also a great time to see your interviewers in casual mode to better determine whether or not you actually want to work for and with these people should you be offered the job. Keep in mind that evening activities are a tactic that hiring organizations can use to see what you are really like outside of the question-and-answer sessions. Remember that even though you may be in a casual situation, you are always “on” (refer back to #1).

4. Be Mindful of Interactions with Support Staff
In many cases, administrative assistants and other support staffers can hold the proverbial keys to the kingdom. These potential colleagues may provide valuable opinions to upper management that will impact a decision to hire you. Be sure to not only show respect and humility in your discussions with these people, but positivity as well. Even though you may be a big shot where you come from, especially considering the position you are applying for, this doesn’t mean you should regard the support staff like hired servants.

5. Never Complain or Whine
During the course of your interview process, you will be faced with multiple questions between interview sessions and presentations: How was your flight? Did you find the hotel nice? Was the food good last night? What did you think about the tour of our building? The last thing anyone wants to hear is a negative opinion or whining. You could perform well in interviews, but kill your chances for the job during small talk.

6. Prepare “Thank You” Cards in the Evening
It is crucial that you craft thank you notes for everyone that you met with. Do your best to create a custom note for each person rather than using a boilerplate message. Once I had a multiple day interview in which I had to write nearly 50 thank you notes. I was able to get half of them done on my first evening in the hotel and the next day asked my host if she would be willing to distribute them through the organization’s mail system. Through this process I was able to get my thanks back to the people I met with quickly plus it saved on postage costs. The remaining notes I finished upon returning home that evening because I met with over 20 people on that particular day. Thank you notes could have been crafted ahead of time, but I wanted to be able to incorporate discussion points and other critical information that occurred during meetings with those particular interviewers. This demonstrates a particular savvy that some of your competitors may not necessarily show.

What other strategies and tactics have you used or recommend to those who will be participating in upcoming multi-day interviews? Please share your comments, thoughts, and stories below.

As a student affairs professional, I am involved with student leadership on a number of different levels from supervising my own student staff to advising colleagues on how to develop leadership programs for their campus. I have come to learn that the term “student leadership” has come to represent a catch-all phrase for what is simply student involvement and not true “leadership.” Unfortunately, many colleges and universities continue to offer activities and programs in which they think leads to student leadership development, but actually does not.

INEFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES

Ropes Courses – Contrary to popular belief, research shows that rope courses for traditional-aged, university students have little if any educational benefit. Recreation folks and other challenge course enthusiasts would say that these experiences help to develop teamwork, but the activity does not truly reflect situations students will find themselves in while in the work world. From a student affairs standpoint, we’re not preparing our students to be Navy Seals or Army Rangers. Additionally, a ropes course experience is simply going to be a day-long activity for most student participants so most of the lessons are going to be forgotten shortly thereafter.

Ice Breakers – One of my pet peeves is when student life professionals only utilize ice breakers as means for training student leaders. While ice breakers and other activities like this are fun and can serve a purpose as a “warm-up” activity, they cannot be substituted for meeting student learning outcomes. One or two quick activities to start the day or to get students talking is perfectly fine. But using these activities for the “meat” of your program does little if anything to serve the leadership needs of your students.

Theory-Heavy Texts & Articles – Colleges can make the mistake of having leadership development classes and programs that utilize textbooks and articles that are laden with research and theory that border on hardcore management, organizational development, and industrial psychology content. While I feel this is appropriate for graduate-level work, the message is going to be lost on undergraduates. Additionally, leadership classes that do not incorporate experiential learning activities are not going to be as effective as those that do have a ”hands-on” component.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Student Learning Outcomes – Based upon the mission and vision of your institution, what is it that you want your students to learn? Develop your leadership programs with student learning outcomes at the forefront rather than attempting to create outcomes based on activities that you already provide (which, unfortunately, may not even support student learning). Furthermore, develop evidence-based outcomes that can be assessed. Utilize the CAS Standards and Guidelines for Student Leadership Programs to help guide your efforts.

Experiential Learning – Partnering hands-on-learning with content and professional mentoring is the most powerful way for students to learn leadership skills. Create activities that allows students to put into action the content they are learning in the classroom or during any training sessions. Examples of well-established experiential learning applications, include cooperative education, internships and service learning.

What other leadership learning experiences have you offered for your students that you found to be effective?

Planning and attending programs and activities is typically the most fun part of a student affairs professional’s year. Successful programming is not only a skill, but an art. However, we need to be able to teach our programming standards to our full-time and student staffers so they understand what is and what is NOT an excellent program. Unfortunately programming expectations can be very nebulous, subjective, and many times concentrate on quantity rather than quality.

In order to better define the standards programming for my own student staff, I developed a simple, one-page Programming Rubric. Simply stated, a rubric is a written set of criteria for which a task is measured against. Rubrics are typically used by K-12 teacher and professors in the classroom in order to set the standards for how an essay, research paper, presentation, or other assignment will be graded.

The rubric includes a rating of Excellent, Good, Average, and Poor for five areas, including Pre-Planning, Marketing, Finances, Evaluation, and Overall Assessment. There is also a section for comments specific to the actual program being evaluated. Each rating has a numerical value attached to it so you can evaluate a program by creating a programming grade point average (GPA). Given there are five areas of evaluation, including the overall assessment, the points will range from a minimum of five to a maximum of 20. After adding each area together, you divide by five in order to get the program GPA. A programming GPA is a great standard for students because they can relate to it very easily, is easy for them to conceptualize, and offers you the opportunity to discuss results during one-on-one’s and semesterly and / or annual evaluations.

As a specific example, imagine you have a resident assistant who plans a resume writing workshop in which she invites an employee from career services to speak and offer tips. The RA discusses the program with you ahead of time and gets the proper consent as well as advice on how to improve the program. She advertises only using Facebook and spends $75.00 on pizza. Unfortunately, only five students attend the program, and there is little follow up of regarding student feedback and / or learning outcomes assessment. Using the rubic, you give a grading of ”Good” (3.0) for Pre-Planning, “Poor” (1.0) for Marketing, “Average” (2.0) for Finances, “Average” (2.0) for Evaluation, and “Average” (2.0) for Overall Assessment. Adding these together, you get a score of 10 points. Divide that by five (for the five areas of assessment), and she earns an “Average” (2.0) GPA for the program.

Download the free Programming Rubric handout to help assess your programming. Feel free to utilize the rubric as a template that you can edit in order to create an appropriate tool for your own department and staffing needs.

With the advent and ubiquity of social media over the past 10 years, everyone seems to be a social media cheerleader, including myself. That’s when I came across a book with a completely different perspective titled Social Media is Bullshit by B.J. Mendelson. The basic premise of the book is that social media, particularly from a business standpoint, has been artificially hyped beyond actual results.

The book is separated into four parts: Social Media is Bullshit; Meet the People Behind the Bullshit; How to Sell Bullshit Without Really Trying; and How to Really Make It on the Web. Mendelson illustrates that alleged social media successes always come on heels of large corporations with big wallets, celebrity-backed promotions, and traditional media.

Mendelson states the following in his book: “Offline matters more than online. This will never change. Your location, your circumstances, your audience, that determines everything. Trying to make a niche platform on the Web is a bad idea. Not many people can do it, and most of those who do are either trying to sell you something, were in the right place at the right time, had the right connections, or get backing from the media in some form.” Mendelson’s biggest criticism is against those high-fee-charging marketing consultants and speakers who push the virtues of using social media, but cannot actually demonstrate success or ROI (return on investment) for small companies or the bootstrapping entrepreneur.

The book is 179 pages of actual content, and I was able to read it in one evening. I thought it would be a useful resource for higher education administrators and students alike, particularly those who are involved in social media marketing efforts on campus. Mendelson’s argument offers a different perspective that is rarely discussed on our campuses. To his credit, his argument holds true within the realm of higher education because hundreds of likes and retweets does not necessarily translate into higher admissions numbers, increased student engagement, and more fundraised dollars. While Social Media is Bullshit needs to be read with a grain of salt, particularly since our target market (i.e., college students) are the largest users of social media, the contents of this book would provide great content for staff development discussions and even department and institution strategic plan sessions.

Not only is the book informative, but it is entertaining as well as Mendelson writes in a very tongue-in-cheek manner. However, he is not afraid to hold punches against those he criticizes and offers many examples and case studies throughout the book. Social Media is Bullshit offers a cautionary tale for those who think that social media is a magic bullet upon which you can obtain immediate fame, money, and success.

The first 25 people who retweet or share this post on Facebook will be entered into a random raffle to win a free copy of Social Media is Bullshit courtesy of B.J. Mendelson and St. Martin’s Press.

Recently I paid for and viewed a webinar from a nationally-recognized higher education publication and was thoroughly disappointed with the presentation.  There was a lot of presenter “chit chat” in the introduction, and it finally took 25 minutes to actually get to the content. At the conclusion of the webinar, I felt cheated as I spent $79.00 to have my skills set expanded, but already knew more than what was actually presented. Having viewed dozens of webinars, and presenting many myself receiving criticisms, here are some tips for how NOT to present a webinar.

A webinar is NOT “hang out” time with fellow presenters - I do not like to waste people’s time, and I do not like when people waste my time. This especially holds true with webinars. During various webinars that I have attended, the presenters would spend time going on about the process of working together on the webinar along with a lot of personal ”backslapping” that was entirely unneeded. Cut to the chase and get to the content, particularly if people are paying for that content.

A webinar is NOT an autobiographical dump – One professional organization webinar I attended had six different presenters. Each presenter took nearly 3 to 5 minutes each to talk about themselves and their experience. By the time they were all done talking about themselves, the webinar was already a quarter of the way over. Presenter information can be easily listed in the webinar advertisement during participant registration. A webinar is not a job interview so participants do not want to hear you go on about who you are. If you feel compelled to present your background, keep it extremely brief (i.e., 30 seconds – 1 minute total for all presenters) and move on.

Do NOT push another product or service – Many presenters use webinars as disguised commercials. While this may be ok if the webinar is free and you are being up front the intent of your trying to sell a product or service, you should never do this if you are charging for the presentation.

Do NOT improvize – Create an outline, talking points, and copious examples. Do not “wing it” and treat the webinar like a conference roundtable. Registrants have put their faith in you that they are going to hear quality content not off-the-cuff conversation.

Add to the content, NOT the noise – Create the types of quality webinars that you yourself would like to attend. People pay for and attend webinars because they have a problem they want to solve and are looking to you to help solve that particular problem. There are literally hundreds of webinars out there related to higher education, some good…some not so good. I challenge you to create quality content to share among our student affairs colleagues.

Graduate programs in higher education and student affairs provide budding professionals with educational theory and insights that will be invaluable when working at a college or university. However, there are many lessons that will only be learned by actually being a student affairs professional.

While internships and practica linked to the graduate program can offer some skills development, they can perpetuate bad practices, particularly because there may be little if any direct curricular connection between the academic program and the department hosting the internship. Unfortunately, these practices then become ingrained in students’ minds and are carried with them throughout their professional lives.

Here is a list of topics that student affairs programs do not teach:

Budgeting & Finance – One of the key lessons for moving up the administrative ladder in student affairs is having a working knowledge and experience in budget and finance management. Unfortunately, any higher education finance courses taught are cursory in nature and do not provide any opportunities to learn how to create revenue and cut spending, which is almost certainly a requirement for department heads and executive higher education administrators.

Management & Supervision – Hiring and firing, assessing performance, and motivating employees are not areas that student affairs programs teach to students who will be prospective employers. Generally, these skills are learned best on-the-job and are influenced by the specific policies and procedures of the department and institution for which you work.

Political Saavy – Institutions of higher education are rife with personal and political agendas. While classes in ethics and discussions of case studies occur in student affairs programs, there typically are not “How To’s” taught in regards to holding your own in the political arena of higher education.

Theory vs. “Real World” – As is the case with any discipline, the ideal standards taught in class are going to differ from what occurs in actual practice. You can learn all there is to know about Astin, Chickering, and Tinto, but work with colleagues who never heard of them nor care about their place in the practice of student affairs.

Emergency Preparation – The health, safety, and security of our students has become one of the top priorities of all colleges and universities. Student Lifers outside of Residence Life (i.e., admissions, career services, etc.) typically do not have day-to-day operational concerns related to this area so it can be more difficult to get direct experience in this area.

Fundraising – University foundation and alumni departments are typically charged with raising external funds to be used for scholarships and special projects. This is another area that is particularly specialized and subject to specific institutional policies and federal and state guidelines and laws.

Program Development – Civil engineering programs teach students how to build bridges, medical programs teach students how to diagnose and treat illness, but student affairs programs do not teach prospective student affairs professionals how to develop, manage, and assess departmental programs. Having the knowledge to put these type of strategic plans together is crucial. Unfortunately, new professionals carry around “bad habits” learned from their undergraduate and even graduate institutions. They can incorporate these philosophies and practices into their new professional lives without being knowledegable about how to fully develop a department through evidence-based practices.

Marketing & Publicity - Now more than ever, colleges and universities face multiple challenges for attracting and retaining undergraduate students. Marketing has become essential in order to publicize both student affairs departments and institutions as a whole. Social media has now become ubiquitous in our world and especially in the lives of our students.

* Photo courtesy of Craig Parylo