defining success

 

Just a quick thought for today. You gotta know where your going in order to get there. Have you ever been working on something and you have a lot of thoughts or ideas about it but can't make sense of any of it? A lot of times when I am working with a student or another co-worker and I get the sense that this is happening to them, I ask one question. What does success look like? It brings clarity to the problem, and will help organize ideas and thoughts.

anti-workshop series: event management

As promised, the first in a series of posts. Teaching event management the "anti-workshop way". So before we get started I have identified a few key components of the anti-workshop approach.

• The learners need to be involved in the teaching. Whether it is through reflection, exercises that force the learner to teach others, or through much discussion and interaction. 
• Identify the expert. I'm not talking about the guy in the office down the hall that has done a workshop on this topic before. The expert in events management are the people that are behind the events you and I go to, the one's we pay money to get tickets to. Think big.
• Design an experience. Learning that is "sticky" will "stick" with the participant for many days, weeks, months after the learning occurred. When someone experiences something they are more likely to talk to their friends and family about it. The more they talk it through, the more they learn.

Ok, that's enough of that. As a professional staff member in the orientation office I am assisting with the management of 15 "events" over a 3 month time period. Each event with close to 400 participants attending, and each event lasts 2 full days.  I am talking about the summer orientation sessions. I am accompanied each summer by a graduate and leaderhsip team staff that serve almost completely in a logistics and problem solving capacity for each of these "events". This year we will be doing some intensive trianing with this group designed to explore the skills needed to be a successful event manager.

Who are the experts (that are somewhat local) in managing logistics, problem solving on the fly and producing event after event? Well the people working everyday to put on live shows like the Today Show, SNL and Jay Leno probably know something about all that. I would also assume the people that work as stage managers and actors on Broadway might have some wisdom to bestow upon our team about problem solving and managing multiple logistics at one time. The cool thing is that if your willing to look for it, a few hours of intense googling does the trick, there are experiences out there already packaged to meet the needs of your training. Does your school have any alumni working the field? Maybe a cast or crew member is a alumni from the school you work for, and if that's the case, chances are they would be psyched to sit down with your students to meet with them and share some tricks of the trade. For instance, NBC studios already packages a behind the scenes tour, but just doing the tour doesn't maximize the learning experience. However, following the experience by having lunch with an alumni working there as a crew member or producer to process through the experience does maximize the learning experience. Not everyone is a train ride away from NYC, but the point is that there most likely is something nearby that serves the purpose. By experiencing something out of the typical work environment and meeting with experts you can set the learner up for a memorable and "sticky" experience. The key is to integrate plenty of opportunities for reflection and processing throughout the experience. That sets the day apart from something that is just fun but empty, and ensures that the focus is on learning. If time allows, give your students time to present what they have learned to other colleagues or to their peers.

does anyone have any ideas?

Where do ideas come from?

Ideas don't come from watching television
Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture
Ideas often come while reading a book
Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them
Ideas hate conference rooms, particularly conference rooms where there is a history of criticism, personal attacks or boredom
Ideas occur when dissimilar universes collide
Ideas often strive to meet expectations. If people expect them to appear, they do
Ideas fear experts, but they adore beginner's mind. A little awareness is a good thing
Ideas come in spurts, until you get frightened. Willie Nelson wrote three of his biggest hits in one week
Ideas come from trouble
Ideas come from our ego, and they do their best when they're generous and selfless
Ideas come from nature
Sometimes ideas come from fear (usually in movies) but often they come from confidence
Useful ideas come from being awake, alert enough to actually notice
Though sometimes ideas sneak in when we're asleep and too numb to be afraid
Ideas come out of the corner of the eye, or in the shower, when we're not trying
Mediocre ideas enjoy copying what happens to be working right this minute
Bigger ideas leapfrog the mediocre ones
Ideas don't need a passport, and often cross borders (of all kinds) with impunity
An idea must come from somewhere, because if it merely stays where it is and doesn't join us here, it's hidden. And hidden ideas don't ship, have no influence, no intersection with the market. They die, alone.

Brainstorming

Having a hard time thinking of a new idea or an alternative solution to a problem? Check out this quick video showing a unique approach to brainstorming. I went to an "accidental creative" workshop in January and used the process shown in this video. We got a lot of new ideas out of it.

introducing: the anti-workshop series

Have you ever been to a crappy workshop? Someone reads a book or tries something once and all the sudden they are the expert on the topic. They whip up a boring powerpoint, maybe add in a little interactive piece and for the most part just speak at you and the other attendees for an hour and a half. This is not my idea of learning. Here is my other issue...The thought that training is just a coordinated effort of presentation after presentation. Yuck! I can't just complain and not offer any solutions, because I don't like that either. So here is the plan: I will write four posts (well at least as a start) on four different typical training topics and  identify a few "anti-workshop" approaches to the topic.

data + graphic design= my new favorite things

For those of you that know me, two of my favorite (work related things) would be data and stuff that looks pretty. I have a few design blogs on my flipboard that I will peruse from time to time and recently came across the wonderful world of infographics. Below is a sample infographic I designed to illustrate the assessment data collected after our January Kick off retreat. It gives some information about the retreat and provides the reader with a snapshot of the assessment data collected.

This is just one of the ways these can be used. Infographics can be great visuals to use during trainings. I am working on one now that is designed like a board game and along the path of this game are the different parts of the orientation program. At the very least it has potential to help the student staff learn the program, and what role they play in each part. If I can dream big a little, the hope is to get it blown up to life size, lay it on the ground, and have students literally roll the dice and walk through the game with different challenges along the way. Tell me what powerpoint lesson can beat that...

If this is something your interested in there are a lot of good resources and examples out there. This link is probably my favorite to get started with.

the legacy project

 

Senioritis. The inevitable virus plaguing students in their final year at school. We make a lot of excuses for these students, and have come to expect less from them. But, now knowing what I know about motivation has helped me to understand how we can maximize their talents. They are our most mature and  knowledgeable group of students, so it would be a waste to lower our standards and let them slide. And truthfully, if approached in the right way, they don't want to be left to let slide either. So here is the idea. The Legacy Project...

Depending on when you execute this depends on how involved your students can be in the selection of their project. I will be piloting this year with a second year graduate student, and for this pilot year I have selected three projects in which she gets to choose from. However, the ideal would be involving the student(s) from the beginning so that by the time they get to their final year/semester they have outlined a project proposal based on their understanding of the office or department. Here are a few things to keep in mind as it relates to what makes a legacy project...

• The senior(s) should be matched with a younger and involved staff member. The younger staff member wouldn't play a huge role in the creation and design efforts of the project. They mainly serve as a sounding board of which to bounce off ideas. You need to be savvy with the younger leader's role. Essentially having them involved gains investment from a key player to ensure the projected is implemented. That being said, they need to be involved enough that they care, but not too much that it becomes their project.
• The project is meant to leave a legacy of the person or group behind. Therefore it is very ideation, creation and design focused as opposed to implementation focused. So for instance, in my case I chose three components of the staff experience that are currently failing and have a lot of efficiency holes, and the legacy project will be design a new strategy or approach to revamp or fix the current problem. Maybe an example will help bring a little more clarity. One of the options I am offering is fixing the staff communication channels and information sharing among staff throughout the summer. 
• The supervisor/advisor expectations should be detailed, and I recommend the use of deadlines. While most of our seniors are beyond needing someone else to set their deadlines, I will tell you why I encourage them. With all the others cultural experiences that  run parallel to senior year like the job search or graduate school application process and the many events our seniors have to celebrate the end of their time in school, deadlines will be appreciated by the student(s). I would include the following in the outline of components for the final product...
• An overview of the idea(s) or methods(s) chosen
• The people that will need to be involved in the implementation
• A facilitator guide or publication that anyone could use to execute the plans no matter their involvement or lack their of in the planning stages
• Prototypes of assessments that will be used to measure efficiency
• A budget
• If necessary they should be thinking forward like a three year roll out, ie. year one looks like this, then add this component in year two, etc.

• The more they include in the final materials the better. Remember they will be gone after the finish the project so it has to be detailed enough that anyone could pick up a guide or materials and be able to implement. The final product should be presented to a group of staff and students, and should serve as a celebration of the hard work that went into the project.

• The focus should be on the individual's exploration of self and how they illustrate that in their work. I would recommend that either you or someone identified as the adviser or supervisor be available to meet about the project. It doesn't have to be very often, but when meeting the focus should be on progress and then mainly on how they are exploring their niche or who they are as a professional through the completion of the project.

Ok now that I have explained how to do this, here is the kicker...why it works! The science behind motivation essentially identifies three main things that drive people: autonomy, mastery and purpose. The legacy project is a perfect example of how one's search for purpose can be channeled and utilized to improve programs, services or staffing work environments. Purpose is driving many retirees to start their own businesses, "now they have the time to do what they like" and many of these businesses are people oriented with the idea of helping or advising. Much like the many retiring baby boomers are becoming a new crop of entrepreneurs in today's business, senior students are in a place where they are reflecting on what they have contributed to their campus or organization and in a prime place to turn that curiosity into product. They want to leave something behind that will be in existence when they come back. Ok, one last plug for the student development theorists.  We know that our senior level students are most capable when it comes to designing these intricate initiatives due to their developed critical thinking skills. The exploration of self and emphasis on leaving a legacy, challenges them to think in the higher levels of moral and identity development. Through process and reflection, this serves as a unique way to challenge our most mature group of students, and should yield a high return on investment.

key to relationships

This says it all.