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

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

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

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

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

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?

]]> http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/18/how-to-facilitate-great-one-on-one-supervisory-meetings/feed/ 0 studentlifeguru Clip Art Graphic of a Lime Green Guy Character http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/16/rethinking-spring-training-for-increased-success/ http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/16/rethinking-spring-training-for-increased-success/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:56 +0000 studentlifeguru http://studentlifeguru.com/?p=1041 ]]>

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. 

My Assistant Director, Justin Schiefelbein, (@ResLifeSynergy) and I have decided to use social media as component of our new community programming model with our community assistant staff. While most student affairs departments use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and the like as a means to simply market or communicate departmental announcements, social media can be used as a platform for facilitating and assessing student learning outcomes.

We have decided to think “outside of the box” and incorporate the use of social media as a programming requirement with our community assistants. While the “traditional” programming model still has merit (which will we will continue to use), the opportunity to engage students online to educate and encourage dialogue is ripe with opportunity. This is even more so particularly because we are in charge of a large student apartment community, in which traditional programming can be a challenge.

Our community assistants are each required to develop two social media programs per semester. Each is given access to the community’s WordPress.com account (http://vulcanvillage.wordpress.com) so they can easily write blog posts related to their program. We provide them training so they know how to public using WordPress. Their submissions are first approved by us prior to us actually submitting them (i.e., they do not have direct access to publish). Access to other social media account are coordinated through all of our full-time staff so the CA’s have access.

Here are the guidelines / requirements that we are using for developing a social media program:

• Utilize social media as a vehicle for the program (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Thoughtful, focused, and developed
• Primarily educational in nature
• Must include interaction in some form
• Must be planned at least two weeks in advance, including sumission of program proposal
• Cost = Maximum of $50 for any materials and / or prizes to induce participation and interaction (with prior approval); will be specific to your institution’s budgetary arrangements
• Marketing: Use all avenues, including social media, email announcements, invitations, signage, etc.

Social media program examples:

• Participating in Green Practices
• Online Harassment & Bullying
• Sex Ed: Are You Being Smart & Safe?
• Alcohol Use & Abuse: When Enough is Too Much
• How to Develop a Resume

Suggested tips:

• Social media programs can be either one time or part of a semester-wide campaign. Example: our “Green Education” programming will continue over the course of the semester with multiple blog posts, Facebook and Twitter advice, YouTube videos, and educational webinars.
• You can do polling and simple surveying to see what students want to learn at your college or university (“What do you hope to learn while here?” could be a simple Tweet or Facebook comment.)
• Tie your social media programming to student learning outcomes based upon CAS and Learning Reconsidered Outcomes.
• Assessment efforts can be utilized by using SurveyMonkey.com or another survey tool to pre-test and / or post-test participants. You can also simply use comments from Facebook and Twitter as qualitative and quantitative assessment data.

Click HERE to receive a free “Social Media Programming,” which illustrates guidelines, programming examples, modes of interaction, how to encourage participation, and ways to assess.

Please feel free to share this resource with your student affairs colleagues.

]]> http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/13/social-media-as-a-programming-strategy-free-resource-handout/feed/ 0 studentlifeguru images http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/06/10-uses-for-twitter-within-student-affairs-free-educational-handout/ http://studentlifeguru.com/2012/01/06/10-uses-for-twitter-within-student-affairs-free-educational-handout/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:00:44 +0000 studentlifeguru http://studentlifeguru.wordpress.com/?p=999 ]]>

Twitter is a very powerful resource that all Student Affairs professionals should embrace and utilize on a daily basis to enhance their work. While many individuals within Student Affairs feel that Twitter is merely a novelty or distraction, there are in fact many purposeful ways in which Twitter can be used to advocate, educate, empower, and network with students and other Student Affairs professionals from across the globe. Here are 10 ways in which you can use Twitter within your department and division: 

1. Program Publicity – One of the most practical and least complicated ways in which you can use Twitter is to publicize any and all events and programs that you may have. Tweeting event information days and hours prior to the actual program can serve as an easy event reminder. Program announcement tweets can also include website links for more details about the program, including registration information if applicable.
2. Advising / Mentoring – Because Twitter is based on an SMS system (messaging), you can use it in order to communicate with students whom you advise and / or mentor. Simple tweets of encouragement or advice with those students who “follow” you can prove helpful in developing meaningful relationships. This can be done publicly for everyone to see or you can “direct message” the individual privately so only they can see the tweet.
3. Program Assessment – Mining tweets for qualitative and quantitative data can be invaluable for program assessment and even departmental reviews. After a program, simply ask the students who attended to tweet the most important thing they learned and one question that they have remaining in 140 characters or less (or two tweets if necessary); this practice is called a “One Minute Paper.” Create and give them a “hashtag” associated with the program (e.g., #Greeklife12; #AOD12; #Wellness12; etc.) to include within their tweets so that you can track everyone’s tweets afterward. To encourage participation, those who tweet are eligible to win a raffled prize. You can aggregate tweets from over the course of a semester to illustrate evidence of the various student learning outcomes you have developed.
4. Club & Organization Communication – Organization advisers and student leaders alike can tweet valuable information to the student members of their curricular and extracurricular clubs and organizations. Content related to the club’s interests can be tweeted and even discussed during regular club meetings.
5. Staff & Student Recognition – Public displays of recognition for both staff and student achievements and contributions can mean the world to them. Tweeting a few words of kudos is a free and simple way to recognize students among their peers. As a bonus, this can help them to acquire more Twitter followers in the process.
6. Staff Development & Training – Twitter is a wonderful way to find and share a wealth of resourceful information related to literally any topic. Using a “hashtag” along with a keyword in a twitter search (e.g., #leadership; #reslife; #greeklife; #studentaffairs; etc.) can help to easily find resources that others are tweeting and re-tweeting.
7. Vendor Discounts – Tweets can be use as a marketing platform to create and spread bookstore, campus eatery, and special event (i.e., concerts, comedians) discounts. This tactic can be combined with various contests to reward those who respond to trivia questions 
8. Leadership Development – Many tips, blog articles, and other associated leadership resources can be shared and discussed through Twitter. Students can tweet about their leadership experiences throughout the semester.
9. Advice, Facts, and Tips – Twitter is a free and easy way to distribute department-specific educative information. Tweets related to student learning outcomes can be utilized as a part of a semester-long educational campaign. These tweets can include links to online resources for more extensive reading.
10. Emergency Announcements – Twitter can be used as an effective way to send out emergency announcements to a large amount of students, faculty, and staffers. Keep in mind that individuals must follow you in order to receive the tweet. Obviously this emergency announcement strategy should be used in junction with other options such as mass texting, website updates, and email given that not everyone uses Twitter. 

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. 

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. 

Given the recent Penn State sexual abuse scandal, there has been a lot of media coverage on the topic. However, there has been little if any dialogue related to educational resources on the subject or what we as individuals can do to help prevent sexual abuse and all forms of abuse.

Here are some resources that you can utilize to be an advocate for and educate others related to sexual abuse and domestic abuse prevention. Each link provides direct access to various documents and educational materials that you can print and use:

1. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) – The link here lists multiple ways in which you or your group can get involved with RAINN. Examples include volunteering, being part of the “E-crew” (e.g., using social media, Email outreach, blogging, etc.), and improving public policy.

Twitter: @rainn01

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2. National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women –  This link goes to a “Training Resources”site in which there are free webinars, online toolkits, videos, exhibits, games, and curricula. Each of these materials can assist in raising awareness, increasing capacity, or enhancing one’s knowledge-base related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, and other abuse-related topics.

Twitter: @VAWnet

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3. Stop It Now! - Free child sexual abuse prevention resources, including “Prevention” and “Warning Signs” tip sheets that you can download, print, and distribute. Other free downloadable resources, include guidebooks titled “Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: Facts About Abuse and How to Prevent It” and “Let’s Talk: Adults Talking to Adults About Child Sexual Abuse.”

Twitter: @StopItNow

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4. National Domestic Violence Hotline - Link to download resource center containing awareness materials. The National Domestic Violence Hotline creates access by providing 24-hour support through advocacy, safety planning, resources and hope to everyone affected by domestic violence.

Twitter: @NDVH

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5. MedlinePlus (A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health) – Produced by the National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus publishes information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues. This particular link connects to child sexual abuse information, including links to associated third-party resources and research.

Twitter: @medlineplus

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

In 2009, one of the founders of Twitter, Dom Sagolla (@Dom), wrote the book 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form. This is a fun little read that not only has a sense of humor, but is also practical for those who are new to or are veterans of the Twitterverse.

The book is broken up in five parts (Lead, Value, Master, Evolve, and Accelerate) and 19 separate chapters. The titles of the chapters serve as snippets of advice themselves and is a nod to Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (you may remember this from high school or college composition or English). Here are a few examples:

• Simplify: Say More with Less
• Avoid: Don’t Become a Fable about Too Much Information
• Reach: Understand Your Audience
• Mention: Stamp Your Own Currency
• Open: Give and You Shall Receive
• Increase: Do More
• Fragment: Do It Smaller

As is the case with many of the “self-help” Twitter books that I have read, 140 Characters comes complete with a short history of the founding of Twitter, practical tips, and recommended individuals to follow.

This is a nice resource for both professors and student affairs professionals alike. It is a short read (179 pages) that can be completed in one sitting and applied to various student learning applications, such as networking (career services), composition and writing (English / poetry / creative writing) and communication skills (leadership development / Greek Life / Residence Life / clubs & organizations).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Don’t Give Up!

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

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

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