What student affairs professionals can learn from the series finale of Breaking Bad

Dan

Since last night’s finale, I’ve had Breaking Bad on the mind. It may be one of the best television shows I have ever watched. When I was driving to work this a.m. I was thinking of all I had to do this week and then my mind went back to Breaking Bad. At some point this morning, it occurred to me that some of the lessons from the series finale can be applied to student affairs. Mild spoilers are included, but nothing too revealing.

1. Deliver on your promises without compromise. Throughout the season, Vince Gilligan (creator, writer) has promised to wrap up stories in a way that would be satisfying. The series finale did this and there’s really no unanswered questions remaining. It occurred to me that this is similar to how we should approach annual planning, reporting and assessment processes. As we develop goals as departments and divisions, we should ensure these goals drive our work (much as resolution drove Gilligan to write the finale as he did). Realizing these goals and documenting the processes used is a vital part of demonstrating leadership in student affairs work.

2. Examine why it is you do this work (and determine to what extent that’s ok). Without giving too much away, Walter makes a confession to his wife – he had justified his “work” because it was for his family. Last night, he admitted it was because it made him feel alive and valued. Why do you do student affairs work? Is it because you define yourself through how students value you? Or is it because you aim to add value to the lives of students? There’s a difference. Consider your personal foundations, what drives you to do this work?

3. There is calm after the storm. Two episodes prior to the finale (Ozymandias), the world comes undone for Walter and other characters. It was arguably the best hour of the show I have watched. However, the final two episodes don’t live up to the pace or drama of Ozymandias (though PARTS of the finale feel as edge of your seat awesome). During these two episodes things were wrapped up, relationships were examined, Walt went into and came out of hiding, etc. The pace was different and I think many audience members may have felt let down. Well, we shouldn’t.

Many of us who work in student affairs take a breath after a large scale event and to some extent we might miss the activity and interactions around the event. What we should do is come to value the times when we are not driven by someone else’s agenda and develop our own – get caught up on other projects, develop reports, document program successes. All things we can do better in our student affairs work.

I believe we can learn a lot from a show like Breaking Bad (not to mention the anti-drug campaigns that are very helpful). I think pop culture teaches us about who were are and allows us to reflect on what we should and could do. What are lessons you’ve learned from Breaking Bad? Other shows? Music? How do you apply those in your work?

 

 

As you develop that strategic plan, realize it will likely fail

Dan

I am a big fan of strategic planning. I think it’s vital. I’ve been a part of a few dozen efforts either as a participant or consultant. They’ve been vital to my professional development. They’ve helped me make mortgage payments.

But I have found that most strategic planning processes will fail.

There’s some danger in me saying this, but I have seen it too often. So, considering I have said that it is vital but it is also prone to failure, why do you bother? Well, the key is knowing what needs to be done differently. Here’s what I’ve seen happen when it goes well and is done right.

1. There are multiple champions. In previous posts I’ve written about infusing awareness across functional areas to increase the attention on developing competencies. This blog post focuses on the leadership competency of the ACPA and NASPA Professional Competencies. People believe that leadership equals LEADER, but what I’ve seen is there is a need for many to lead and to do so from wherever they are in the organizational chart. The same is true with strategic planning. There has to be at least one really good champion and multiple parts of the cheering squad on board. Take the time to invest people to champion attention to the strategic priorities of your organization.

2. It’s not so much a plan as a philosophy. People love to see the final plan but in this case the process is as important as the product. Additionally, the implementation is more than just attention to the document. There has to be an ethos of strategic THINKING, not just PLANNING. As you develop the document engage people in discussions about how to anchor the changes in the culture. How can you create an environment in which people think mission, vision, values, goals FIRST and then launch into action every day?

3. The laundry list doesn’t work. I’ve been as guilty as anyone in thinking “we need to get it all on paper so everyone knows our plans and how they fit in”. Actually, too much of a good thing is simply too much here. Focusing on a few key actions to help facilitate the strategic priorities is better than brainstorming a list of several. For example, if your strategic priority is to retain students then having four to five action items, broadly written, can be better than having 20 very specific ones. You can flush out the specifics when you develop operational plans. In fact, give your broad items off to a separate committee to develop operational plans. Think of it as the Myers-Briggs spectrum – big thinking vs. detail oriented. Strategic thinkers have to go wide. Operational planners need to go deep.

4. The plan is seen as static or unchangeable. People like to think 5-10 years in strategic planning. I’m not sure that people can create a road map to the future with that long of a distance in mind. I’d go three at most. It’s like saying that you’re driving from New Hampshire to California (which I have done) and the map you create in New Hampshire will not and cannot change. Life throws things in your way. Strategic planning is no different. Yes, mission, vision, goals/strategic priorities/objectives, values may all stay the same but actions and especially how you operationalize those actions through tactics should be revisited annually. Therefore, strategic planning isn’t a thing you work through every five years; because you’ve adopted strategic planning as a philosophy (see number 2) you then take time throughout each year to revisit, reaffirm and revise.

The leadership competency has a strong focus in ensuring the planning process occurs and taking the time to think with innovation about the future. What can you do to ensure your next planning process doesn’t fail? How can you create a culture of attention to the plan? These are questions I plan to ask when I’m next involved in a planning process.

When Bad Assessment Happens to Good Student Affairs Assessment Professionals

Dan

Recently, I’ve conducted some bad assessment.

Two surveys on different occasions in which there were issues that any basic assessment professional should catch.

I’ve let a survey go out that has double barreled questions!

That same survey had political implications, asking controversial questions within a tradition laden population. It wasn’t for work or for formal research, I reasoned. So, I didn’t take the time to do the survey right and get people bought into asking the questions.

Another survey was pretty well done and had many eyes on it, but I realized the challenges of administering a home-grown survey using both paper and electronic modes. There were issues printing at natural question or page breaks. I printed eight versions before I got it perfect. Then I used print job seven for making copies and provided participants with an instrument in which three questions were hard to read because the words were cut in half – if only I had that extra .25 of an inch on the sheet.

Reality is that even I – someone who does assessment, and likes to think he does it well – can have those bad days. Even the best at developing instrumentation and protocol should involve others in the review and development. It is vital to examine political implications of assessment before “just putting an idea out there to see what people think”. No! Stop! Don’t do it. Don’t just put the survey out there just to see what they say. There are implications. Think about whether the implications are worth handling after the survey is sent out (even to a convenience sample of friends on Facebook).

It reminded me that we all have to be working toward maintaining and increasing our competence and confidence daily. We can backtrack. We can let things slide. Designing a poor survey likely won’t end up being the biggest tragedy around but there’s implications that must be addressed. I should have known better. People expect more from me.

What are the skills you need to improve/maintain that will make a difference in how others perceive you?

What are the mistakes you’ve made when aiming to do something you’re good at but ultimately you failed miserably?

What are Effective Practices for Professional Development in Student Affairs?

Dan

For the last nine months, I’ve asked a lot of questions.

For our Division of Student Affairs, I develop a monthly professional development newsletter. Since our October 2012 edition, one of the recurring columns are to highlight stories of “workplace engagement and professional development”. I interview someone each month and ask them three basic questions: what does it look like to be successful in your job? Why do you value professional development? What are the approaches you are currently taking to professional development.? I have also conducted interviews with staff here at the University of Memphis who I identify having a high level of confidence and competence in each of the ACPA/NASPA Core Competencies. I featured these interviews in the February 2013 newsletter. From these 16 interviews since October, I have heard three common themes about how our staff demonstrates commitment to good work and professional development.

1. Good work requires one to go the extra mile and engage others in a shared goal.

2. Professional development is important because it helps us to be better in our work. It has personal benefits as well but ultimately the commitment we give to learning and improving in student affairs is because we want to be better facilitators of student success.

3. People engage in a range of professional development activities. Conversations with colleagues, serving on campus committees, and reading articles about specific competencies they wish to develop was as important as attending a conference. Additionally, such approaches are more sustainable and can have more frequent benefits.

These findings aren’t surprising to me. In my dissertation I identified professional development was a value of graduate students entering student affairs. Others such as Darby Roberts, Stan Carpenter and Steve Janosik have also explained some of these approaches to professional development. So, why does this matter when it’s already been established?

It matters because it happens here. It matters because my colleagues are committed. It matters because a place I love to work has an ethos of being better. I may have just reinforced the obvious, but it wasn’t “known” here. It’s important that we continue to ask the questions about what good work looks like and why and how we prioritize professional development. When we do that, we create a culture of being better. That’s an environment in which I really enjoy spending my time.

Discovering Your MOOC: For What Would YOU Want to be Known?

Dan

I spent the last four days as a fellow at the Interfraternity Institute. I was tasked with helping participants make sense of their experiences and facilitating dialogue in small groups. However, I learned a lot and a lot that while influencing fraternities and sororities are really issues of higher education and student affairs.

Allen Groves, the dean of students at University of Virginia, did a session on issues in higher education. He focused significantly on issues such as the financial climate (so little money), legal issues (so much documentation), and the press towards increasing opportunities for access, affordability, and ease of getting a degree (so many options). One of the things he talked about was MOOCS (Massive Open Online Course). He was so interesting, engaging and informative I told him that he should do a MOOC on issues in higher education! He’s clearly a well-read and well-versed administrator with his finger on the pulse of issues in higher education. I would take his class because he’s an expert – almost a master – of the topic, particularly law and finance.

It got me wondering – what could be my MOOC? On what would I educate thousands of people if I had the opportunity? Ultimately, for what would I want to be known? And what learning experiences should I expect that thousands of people would actually want to listen to me? This isn’t about presentation style or reputation. It’s simply about what I might understand so well and so thoroughly that I should have the guts to declare I am an expert and to invite thousands of people to learn from me.

I present on lots of things, but I wouldn’t go near the idea of a MOOC. Declaring ourselves the expert, requires us to be absolutely intentional about our development as professionals. It requires us to determine our strengths, interests, skills and to focus on some specific aspects of this work to become the expert – not just a person who reads something and then can facilitate it well. There’s lots of people who can facilitate almost anything. I know lots of good to great facilitators, but I’m not sure all of these people should be declaring themselves as “expert” and opening up their message to the masses. Watching Dr. Groves reminded me that I have more work to do even on the things at which I am good. I’ll continue in my small world while letting experts tackle some of these big issues in the big MOOC based world.

What kinds of things do you feel you have expertise in?

How have you developed that expertise?

Are you so good at that subject that thousands should want to hear you?

 

Launching into Writing

Dan

I’m looking at the summer as a chance to focus on some professional development goals. One of them is to increase the time spent writing. I’m launching into a few major writing projects – a chapter for a book and co-editing an entire book. I am also working with a few folks on revising articles to student affairs journals. I’ve been forced to be in a writing mode, but I’m not sure I’m in the writing mood. While I have written a lot, I’ve had a hard time launching into the identify of a writer. In fact, it’s the reason why I decided I didn’t want to be full-time faculty: the idea of producing and producing research requires a certain approach to life, and it’s an approach I have not been able to adopt.

There are numerous things that paralyze me about writing: is the topic worth examining? Is there actually a gap in the literature that needs filling by what I am producing? Have I reviewed every bit of existing research (I may have had the longest reference list in student affairs dissertation history)? Will the editorial board understand the topic, the reasons for my approach to the research, and value my work’s contribution to our field? I’ve had enough rejections and a few of those rejections made sense and a few did not; however, rejection about your writing is a judgment of how you spent your time. Rejection means that the hours and hours spent were for nothing – at least that’s how you look at it if publication is the primary goal.

I’ve viewed writing as an important part of increasing my competence and confidence in student affairs work. Sometimes writing is just a good practice for student affairs professionals. It helps us examine a literature base and propose ideas about how we can work differently/smarter/better.  I’m a decent writer, and an even better editor – I’m a great last author on your collection of three other authors. I’ve used writing to explore and apply concepts and share ideas/thoughts/knowledge. However, as I look ahead to the next two to three months I am going to have to adopt the identity, get in the writing mood, embrace the idea of spending time on fewer projects so that I can spend more time on editing paragraphs. It’s going to require me to change my view of writing.

And I wonder how I will be better off when I am “done” with these projects. What about me and my approach to my work and the world will change?

 

Gone to a Workshop and Think You’re An Expert? Think again.

Dan

I love college students. I’ve made working with them my life’s work. That said, there’s a few things that can drive me a little crazy about educating college students, particularly when it comes to out of classroom educating.

Sometimes, college students think they have all the answers or know it all once they’ve done one leadership retreat or attended one workshop. Really? You know it all now? Think again.

The same kind of inflated sense of competence and confidence is often articulated by us as student affairs professionals. Go to a conference session on leadership programs and come back and you know it all. Attend the social justice institute and you’re the campus expert on inclusion. Listen to a webinar on assessment and think “I can write the best survey questions ever!”. Think again.

It’s time for student affairs professionals to demonstrate our field’s value of lifelong learning. We hold up the ongoing learning that a student experiences across her/his time as an organization leader, participating in community service, and attending our campus programs and events. We know students do not learn all it takes to demonstrate leadership in one program and we should remember that we cannot become experts in the same manner. Learning something takes time. Incorporating it into our framework as we conduct student affairs practice takes even longer. Becoming an expert? Well, that’s a life’s pursuit.

Considering how context and culture influences how we apply lessons in our work is another factor for consideration. You might know a thing or two about cultural competence in one setting, but is the same level of understanding sufficient in another? Again, as educators we must adopt a commitment to lifelong learning – always improving.

Think about the things on which you may have a high level of competence and confidence: what can you do better? Examining the ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies is one way to be humbled: do you really know everything at the basic, intermediate and advanced levels? And what are you doing to develop the long list of attributes needed to demonstrate sufficient and advanced skills in each of the competency areas?

Rethinking our Expectations of Students

Dan

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to a colleague about her frustrations after working for six years in the field: “they still don’t get it” she said referring to the challenges she had with ending hazing on her campus.

Sadly, “they” will never get it. “They”, as a term we use to generalize a population, is all too encompassing and far reaching for any student affairs professionals – even the best out there! Particularly for traditional aged students (though possibly applicable to many adult students), the developmental challenges of life and the dynamics of engagement in a campus community renders most students not quite ready to have some of the discussions we need to have in order to affect change. These students have ways of knowing that have been informed by years and years of other influences before they come to our campus. “They” are bigger and stronger than any one of us. It’s not impossible to influence a “they” but spending all of our time beating ourselves up because we haven’t been successful is not a good strategy.

So then how do we implement and sustain change? We have the conversations with students that help them develop the skills they need, including interpersonal development, critical thinking, practical competence, etc, so that when they have the opportunity to make decisions they make ones that are in the best interest of others, not just themselves. These conversations likely don’t happen in masses. They tend to happen one on one or a few on one. They also tend to happen only with the leaders or the worst students out there, disregarding many of the students “in the middle” who need to have the conversations the most.

So, maybe it’s time to rethink our expectations that “they” should get it. What does this mean?

It means rethinking how we educate the masses. It means developing the competence and confidence to have the conversations needed to affect and sustain positive change. It means making sure those conversations are tailored to the audience. It’s going to mean rethinking concepts of advising and helping and the time we spend with students. It also means that we have to realize that this is not personal, it’s not about us and that we are not failures when things don’t change drastically. We are only failures if we continue to tackle the same issues in the same ways and hope for better results. They’re going to stay the same age, you’re going to get older and frustrated. “They” will win.

 

Cutting Budgets? Rethink Professional Development!

Dan

A colleague recently lamented on Twitter:

“Finished prelim FY14 budget…another year of no pro devo conferences for this guy. 🙁 Oh well, it’s more $ directly benefiting students!”

That’s 140 characters of sadness right there!

For divisions of student affairs to make ends meet, professional development, particularly conference attendance and travel, may need to be an area to cut. However, there’s two big problems with this line of thinking: first, cutting staff professional development means they may not have access to education on some of the issues they most need to learn about. For example, if your state uses a graduation formula for funding, then you better know how to retain students. But what happens when your entire work has been focused on planning events, advising students about policies/procedures, offering services and programs, and organizational management practices and you haven’t considered retention conversations as part of your work. While these things may influence student retention, it doesn’t mean that you know how to use retention of students as your FRAMEWORK. How do you go about developing the competence and confidence to have the conversations and focus on the right topics to influence retention without some training?

While I would encourage divisions of student affairs to think twice about cutting conference and travel funds, the second issue is that when we think of professional development as ONLY going somewhere else and having to travel to get there then you miss the mark and professional development becomes something done once a year versus something that is integrated into your approach to work. While it stinks that you won’t head to your favorite association’s annual meeting, you can rethink professional development in a way that uses the human and fiscal resources you do have. Here’s a few ideas:

1. Form a reading group: discuss an article from a book or journal a few times a month. Put those association magazines and journals to use. You can use wikis to form discussion groups.

2. Determine an area of improvement, possibly one of the ACPA/NASPA core competencies, and meet with a colleague on campus who you believe is already strong in this area. Interview them about how they developed their skills. Develop an ongoing mentoring relationship.

3. If you’re in a location with multiple institutions around you, coordinate some in-service trainings using each other as resources. For example, here in Memphis we could have staff from student life at Rhodes, LeMoyne-Owen, Southwest Community College and many others meet to discuss best approaches to leadership development. And treat the day as if you were at a conference. You don’t have to go to your office before or after. Use the full day!

4. There are lots of free or low cost webinars offered by associations. If you’re a Campus Labs or Map-Works client, there are numerous assessment webinars that come with your package – and know that there are likely other services being used by other places in the university/college at which you work that may provide similar “free” services.

5. Coordinate a monthly call with colleagues across the country who do similar work to you. Pick a topic and have everyone bring two to three questions they have about the topic. Have people provide thoughts. For questions you can’t answer, have people commit to finding resources and sharing with the group.

6. Is it time to begin classes toward that next degree?

What matters is that you’re thinking intentionally about your professional development. Try creating an individualized plan using the ACPA/NASPA Core Competencies, possibly using this model that we’re beginning to apply here at U of M.

There’s value to coming together to learn. Ideally, divisions of student affairs can fund your participation at national or regional conferences, but when that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t mean to stop focusing on your development. Look around you and you’ll be able to find creative ways to keep learning without breaking the bank.

 

 

Ethical considerations in Las Vegas

Dan

I’ve been to Vegas before and I’ll admit, I hadn’t thought about my ethics as a student affairs professional until going there for a professional conference. Personal time with friends at my bachelor party (not quite The Hangover but admittedly there were similarities) and a friend’s wedding were reasons I spent several days in Vegas in 2005 and 2006. While I know I can’t completely disconnect my personal and professional ethics, these were times for me and not my work. I certainly wasn’t thinking of the ethical principles of student affairs work during either visit.

Many people see me as someone who asks colleagues to make good decisions at conferences: I believe that it’s your responsibility to represent your institution well and to use their resources well. It’s not a vacation. You’re working.

I had a few folks talk to me about their challenge with a convention in Vegas, particularly because student affairs professionals must be good role models for students. You might read that as student affairs professionals should not have fun, but I read it as we make decisions to act in ways that reveal our values and permits students to see our authentic selves. At the least when WE act in ways that counter what students perceive to be our expectations of behavior for THEM we might be seen as hypocritical.

I think I have fun and sometimes that involves consuming alcohol. I’m honest with students about decisions I make. I can justify those decisions and feel ok with them – a basic part of handling ethical decisions. So how did that play out in Vegas?

Upon reflection, I think it is great that we had our convention in Vegas. It is the perfect place to examine your ethics. It’s a great test for us as professionals. So, let’s consider some actions I took that may present ethical considerations for me while representing my university and myself.

Did I partake in drinking alcohol? Yes. I had two to four drinks a night each time spread out over at least three hour spans. Typically wine or beer, except for those two straight bourbons while playing blackjack.

Did I visit any establishments in which people remove their clothes or are scantily dressed? No unless you count Cirque de Soleil.

Is playing 90 minutes of blackjack a problem? Possibly. I played from 5:30-7 before the IU reception. I could have been at a meeting or session.

I went to sleep between 11-12 each night. Slept no later than 6:30 each morning. I could have stayed up later, but I had stuff to do the next day or had just done enough that day – I’m not old but 41 year old Dan can’t rally the way he used to. Bedtime wasn’t set for me. I chose to go when I needed. If I had been up later I hope I still would have gotten up as early and went to as many sessions as possible.

Did I skip sessions? See above. Between three presentations, meetings, and attending others’ sessions I participated in about eight hours of structured professional development each day. Spent many more hours talking to colleagues about important student affairs topics and lots of conversations on other interests I’d say we’re good for me professionally because they were good for me personally. Spending time with your best student affairs friends is just good!

There are other considerations that may be ethical dilemmas.

Did I go to a state in which issues of social injustice exist (see views on AFA or NASPA in Phoenix during 2010 and 2012). Yes. Prostitution is legal. Women are objectified for money. Guess as we throw around social justice, inclusion, intercultural competence as a value we better be prepared to address all issues not just the ones popular right now. Then again, if we only had student affairs conferences in states with no laws that undermine our associations’ values we’d likely just end up in Vermont or Iowa. Neither of which are places people want to go for conferences!

I’m happily partnered. I don’t hook up. I’m safe there.

Are these considerations that everyone should examine? I don’t know. I do. I firmly believe that these are my considerations and I don’t tell you that they should be yours. I do know that student affairs professionals struggle with all of these issues.

The only judgment I make is that I believe people should use their institution’s resources appropriately and go to sessions, not use it as vacation. After that though, I don’t judge. Drink all you want. See whichever sex naked as much as you want. Gamble away. Ultimately, you will need to reconcile to what extent these are or are not compromises to your ethics, those of your institution and those of the profession. At some point we will have to defend our actions to colleagues – just be ready to defend your decisions.