A Familiar Feeling
In 2013 I attended my first NACUBO Conference on Integrating Student Services (aka OneStop in Higher Education Circles). I was new to this world and it was still 2 years before I would start in my role as Project Manager of Ryerson University’s own OneStop Project. I did a lot of listening at this conference but neurons were firing and I could see the ways in which Ryerson could benefit. I had a vision for how transformative this approach to service delivery could be. Years later, Ryerson became an award winning model for onestop service. I hosted site-visits, I presented at conferences and shared about our successes and failures. I had travelled full circle from an observer, learner, teacher and now leader.
Now in a new role as Change and Opportunity Lead with the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students (OVPS), I’m attending the 2019 Lean Higher Education International Conference and feel those neurons firing again. It is such a familiar feeling where I am excited about the prospect of how Lean could transform the experience people have with OVPS. I’m learning but wonder how long it will be before I’m a leader?
I challenge you to think about the last time you were a learner.
Positive Feedback Up
This week at my full-time gig I participated in a change management workshop with our Organizational Employee Effectiveness group where I was reminded that just like employees need feedback, leaders like to hear when they are doing a good job too. My four year old, I tell them all the time that they’re doing a great job, that they are brave and to keep trying when they don’t experience success on the first try. They reciprocate this praise when they watch me undertake something challenging which always feels good.
I wonder why it can feel uncomfortable to praise someone who may be senior to you? Are we afraid of coming across as insincere or is that we think they don’t need to hear it?
Google came up with plenty to say about giving constructive feedback to your boss and all the risks related with doing so. I can understand why people are adverse to feedback altogether when it seems like the potential benefit just isn’t worth it.
My three pieces of advice for delivering positive feedback up:
Do it in private. You don’t want to come across as a suck-up. If you genuinely appreciate your leader, make it about them and not about you.
Give them some detail. While everyone appreciates a ‘great job!’ adding some context about what behavior or action you appreciated goes a long way to helping your leader understand what makes an impact.
Don’t look to them for immediate reciprocation. Remember, this is about them feeling good, not you. Your feedback can go a long way towards establishing a culture of 360 degree feedback and great leaders will recognize your contribution.
I’m off to write a quick note to a leader I appreciate and hope you do the same!
Ironing and the Critical Self
September 1 means a fresh start for many people. As someone who works in higher education, it always means back to school - - even if I am no longer the student. I spent some time this weekend purging and organizing the never ending piles that seem to collect in our basement and I came across a letter to my future self.
In June of 2018 I spent four days at the Appreciative Advising Institute in Boca Raton under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Bloom. Jenny is the kind of leader we all want to see in education and was inspiring to be around. During my time there we undertook a reflective exercise and wrote reminders to ourselves six months later. This letter, received in December 2018 had four reminders. Two of which I will share with you today:
Launch your website and tell people your ideas.
Make decision for your critical self and not your experiential self.
Number 1 seems obvious as I undertake my first blog post for the website (which of course is now live).
Number 2 is rooted in a Youtube video which I can’t find again (apologies but it was two years ago). The speaker in the video talked about your critical self (who you are right now) versus your experiential self (who you see yourself being in the future). Like many others, I fall victim to the next week I’m going to start making my lunches for work, next month I’ll start training for that half-marathon or as I thought today, this academic year I’m going to prioritize dressing in clothes that make me feel good
I stuck that letter up the wall in the basement (which is also where I write) and got to ironing seven shirts for the next few weeks. Queue critical self stepping in to get sh*t done!
I’m asking each of you, what is stopping you today from being the person you want to be in the future?
Robyn
PS To learn more about Dr. Jenny Bloom check out, An Appreciative Approach to Revising the Art of Conversation | Dr. Jennifer Bloom | TEDxFAUJupiter