studentlinc

Welcome To A Great Opportunity

Dear Newly Elected Freshman Class Council Member:

I want to congratulate you on your recent election victory.  I know you put forth a lot of effort in your campaign, the results of which show the strong trust your fellow classmates have put in you.  As you begin the process of fulfilling the responsibilities of your position, I would like to offer some things for you to consider:

• Get To Know Your Council.
  Some of you were building friendships prior to this election, some of you are meeting for the first time.  Part of your effectiveness this year will be found in your ability to work together as a team. Teams are developed for a variety of reasons, but they only stay together and produce quality results when they learn to trust each other, understand each other, and work for the success of each other.

• Find Ways To Get Others Involved.
  I realize that you ran for this position to be involved yourself.  But I'm encouraging you to take the next step...the step of leadership.  You've already seen that there are others beside yourself that want to get involved.  Now your in a position to involve them.  Don't feel like you have to do your position all by yourself...give others a chance to use their gifts and abilities.  If you do it all yourself, you're merely a student worker.  But if you involve others and give them direction, you become a student leader!

• Figure Out The Systems That Are In Place.
  Now it's time to figure out how your organization works.  How do you get money?  Request money?  Spend money?  Find out who your advisor is and start asking questions.  Talk to those who served on the Freshman Council last year.  Find out how to reserve a room on campus or an event on the calendar.

• Prioritize And Work Toward Balance.
  Remember, you're a student first.  I've discovered that the key to longevity in school is to pass all of your classes (of course, you could fail all your classes and still have to stick around for a long time...but that costs more).  With added responsibilities comes the added necessity of prioritizing your time and your tasks.  Make sure you do what's most important, not necessarily what's most urgent all the time (or necessarily the most fun).

• Speaking Of Fun.
  This is a great opportunity that you've been given.  Enjoy it.  Learn as much as you can.  Have a blast discovering your gifts and using them for the benefit of others.  Take time to stop and reflect on all that you're doing.  Take lots of pictures (I love digital cameras).  Make some cool memories.  Think about all the things that you'd like to say about this year next summer and work toward that.

Once again, I congratulate you and am hoping for your continued success.

Think About Planning Ahead [5x5s]

Five Things To Think About For Five Minutes on the subject of PLANNING AHEAD

1. Start at the end and work backwards.
Some would wonder immediately, "If I'm planning ahead, then I need to know what my next step is going to be, what should I do today to get ready for tomorrow?"  I believe that question is more easily answered, in fact, more intelligently answered, by starting at where you want be and working backwards.  Envision what the completed task, event, project will look like completed and then begin the process of moving from the completed state to the various things that will need to be done along the way.  This will help you to set better deadlines and...

2. Break big stuff into little pieces.
Most of the time, when a large project or task is looming in front of us, we are overwhelmed to the point of never starting.  When we wait (dare I say, procrastinate), the task will not get smaller.  If anything, it gets bigger and more daunting.  That's why we should immediately break bigger tasks into more manageable sizes.  Divide it into steps that we can accomplish in short period of times or even delegate to others.  Accomplishment of one small step provides motivation to keep going and gets us off the starting block (43folders invites us to Run A Dash).

3. Develop a reminder system.
Some people spend a lot of time planning for the future, but then fail to follow through on those plans because they have no way of remembering what they were supposed to do and when they were supposed to do it.  Carry some type of planner.  Write things down in a place that you will revisit.  Make notes to yourself that remind you of the important things you were supposed to do.  (Here's a great idea from lifehacker.com for using Yahoo calendar as a reminder system)

4. Flex as the future unfolds.
Try as hard as we might, our plans often get messed up.  There are circumstances, interruptions, and natural life occurances that don't feel the need to get our permission before they happen.  That's why planning ahead requires room for flexibility.  No one knows what tomorrow brings.  Build some space into your planning for just in case.  Don't be so married to your plans that it throws you into a complete tailspin if you can't follow your plan perfectly.  In fact, think of your planning as a compass, rather than a map.  Planning should give you direction.

5. Start now.  Do something.
Some people are addicted to planning (or the idea of planning).  They get excited about all the tools you can use to plan, all the latest, hip ideas that planning gurus offer.  But their planning ends up being all that there is...just planning.  Planning is not a means to an end.  We plan so that we can accomplish (both efficiently and effectively) the tasks that need to be done.   I believe that planning is vital to accomplishment.  But if we never start, then we are wasting time.  Implement your plans. 

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Use this material in conjunction with the 5x5s worksheet.
Download the 5x5s Worksheet here.
What is 5x5s?  Read more about it here.

How To Email A Professor

Attention College Students.  Your professors may not be reading your emails!

That's right.  It takes a lot more than jotting a note down on your computer and sending it off into cyberspace.  If you want your professors to take you seriously, then you need to take this post seriously.

Michael Leddy of Orange Crate Art, writes the most useful post you'll read all week.  One student that I showed it to remarked, "Why..this changes everything!"  Here's just a sample...

Think about what you're saying. Most students are not accustomed to writing to their professors. Here are some ways to do it well:

Choose an appropriate greeting. "Hi/Hello Professor [Blank]" is always appropriate. Substitute "Dear" and you've ended up writing a letter; leave out "Hi" and your tone is too brusque.

Avoid rote apologies for missing class. Most professors are tired of hearing those standard apologies and acts of contrition. If you missed class because of some especially serious or sad circumstances, it might be better to mention that in person than in an e-mail.

Avoid direct requests. They tend to sound more like orders in e-mail. For instance, "Please send me the next assignment." Even worse: "I need the next assignment." It's much better to ask a question: "Could you e-mail me with the page numbers or the next reading? Thanks."

Proofread what you've written. You want your e-mail to show you in the best possible light.

Sign with your full name, course number, and meeting time.

Maggie Simpson
English 3703, MWF 10:00

Signing is an obvious courtesy, and it eliminates the need for stilted self-identification ("I am a student in your such-and-such class").

Click here to read the complete post of How To Email A Professor.

Hat Tip: lifehack.org

studentl.inc and email

I have been investigating a number of email options to use in conjunction with the studentl.inc blog.  As you can see, on the top of the right column I have included a link to a feedblitz account that will send you an email each morning with any new posts from studentl.inc.  Some people like to receive their information this way (especially if they're not use to an RSS-feed reader).

Another option that I'm toying with is a every-so-often newsletter that people can subscribe to.  This will give them some summary information from recent posts and encourage readers to re-visit studentl.inc if they haven't been here for awhile.

I've produced my first newsletter and you can access it here. If you'd like to subscribe to the studentl.inc letter, you can do so by signing up here.

       

 

 

 

 

studentl.inc subscription
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I'd be glad to hear your thoughts about the content, layout, and the concept of partnering email and blogging together.

Thinking Ahead & The Big Moo

I joined the BzzAgent campaign to promote The Big Moo and I'm not disappointed.  This is an incredibly inspirational book that moves the reader to consider being remarkable.  Following in the footsteps of Purple Cow, Seth Godin has gotten The Team of 33 together (some of the best and most creative minds in innovation and remarkable-ness) to write short-storied essays on what it means to stand out from the crowd.

One of the short essays that has stuck with me is Three Steps Ahead.  As I've posted before on this blog, if you're living from event to event, you will soon be dead in the water.  If you're one step ahead of everyone else, you're still in danger of missing opportunities as you lead.  Two steps ahead is cool, but most of your competitors are already there.  The key is to be THREE steps ahead.  This is where imagination, innovation, and downright super-cool, game-changing vision takes place.

The vision thing often trips up leaders.  If you can't see beyond one step ahead, you might need to step aside (harsh but true).  Vision based on what you are capable of today or on just the resources that you currently have at your disposal isn't vision - it's reprioritizing.

Vision takes into account what you want to become and what resources and capabilities you will need in the future.  The thing is, technology changes so quickly that if you're basing your decision only on what's possible right now, you're not going to be in a very good position a few months down the road.

Pre-order The Big Moo.  All proceeds go to very worthy charities.  It's an easy read, with not so easy implications.  For all of you who love a challenge, get this book in your head.

Leadership: The Dangerous Act

Came across a couple of quotes I had written down a couple years ago by author, Ronald A Heifetz.  I've read a couple of his outstanding books, Leadership on the Line and Leadership Without Easy Answers.  Both of them provide a practical approach to leadership, especially leadership in the midst of crisis (which is when leadership is most necessary).  Here's the quotes:

Leadership is a long, difficult, and ultimately dangerous process.  It is through an emergence of multiple experiments that progress is made.  To lead, authority figures must maintain a manageable level of disequilibrium to encourage and enable others to take on adaptive challenges.

To act outside the narrow confines of your job description when progress requires it lies close to the heart of leadership, and to its danger.

Think About Building A Team [5x5s]

Five Things To Think About For Five Minutes on the subject of BUILDING A TEAM

1. Look for people with potential.
Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, writes: "The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there.  No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and figured out where to drive it."  The takeaway is that we need to look for the best people possible to be on our team, even if we don't have a position for them.  Once they're on board, the leader can create a position based on their giftedness.  Potential can be measured in the areas of influence, strengths, capabilities, attitude, etc.  Always be on the look out for the right people, even if you don't necessarily have a specific job for them to do at first.

2. Set clear expectations.
When people sign up for something, they want to have some idea of what they're signing up for.  Expectations allow most of your team to do their jobs right, and allow a few to exceed them (Think about this...if you brought on the right people, there will always be some that exceed expectations).  Expectations should speak to commitment levels, proper modes and methods of communication, time factors involved in projects, and what constitutes excellence on the team.  If you want to see an example, you can read my previous post, Managing Expectations.

3. Offer a compelling vision.
In the Jim Collins quote above, he mentions knowing where to drive the bus.  This is key.  The people on your team will want to be a part of a worthy, lifechanging, go-to-places-you-never-dreamed-existed team.  The leader offers this type of experience to the team by giving them a vision of a unique future that the team is working towards.  Whenever a leader offers a vision, it is important to paint a picture for the team of where the team is going and to place the team members within that picture.  Help the team to know what success will look like and what they will look like acheiving it.

4. Develop a relationship beyond the project.
Play.  Engage.  Get to know each other.  The foundation of any team is trust.  Trust is developed through relationship.  When we move beyond our roles, responsibilities, and tasks and simply hang out as people, enjoying each other's company, something happens that deepens the relationship.  This isn't to say that everyone on the team needs to be best buddies.  But being friends is a definite plus to the team's morale and group dynamic.
/UPDATE/ Over at To-Done, they have an excellent list of ideas of how to play while on the job.  While it is more of a personal philosophy of play, it does offer creative ways to enjoy your team's company and build relationship.

5. Deal with conflict quickly.
Don't be surprised by conflict.  Conflict happens.  People don't always agree.  If you have brought the best people onto your team, they will probably have a different opinion and viewpoint on certain issues.  That's good.  Allow conflict to help the team find the best possible solutions and to better understand where each other is coming from.  But be on the lookout for issues that can cause division.  The rule of thumb here is to fear division, not discussion.
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Use this material in conjunction with the 5x5s worksheet.
Download the 5x5s Worksheet here.
What is 5x5s?  Read more about it here.

100 Ways To Help Student Leaders Succeed [#14]

Focus on Strengths

Most people work under the false assumption that in order to be a good leader, one must be a “well-rounded” leader.  Thus, they spend their time trying to fix their weaknesses and ignore their strengths.  They figure that they don’t need to work on their strengths because they’re already “strong” in that area.  Unfortunately, the area for greatest growth is not in the area of a person’s weakness, but in their strengths (See Marcus Buckingham's Now, Discover Your Strengths for more on this).  As a student leader, discover your areas of strength and work, develop, and grow in those areas. 

Successful leaders do two things:

• Become aware of their strengths – take a personal inventory of what you do well, what you comes “second-nature” to you, what personal characteristics stand out from others.

• Focus on education and experience in the area of your strengths – once you know what it is, then spend the majority of your time on developing your strengths even more.

One note about this: I’m not encouraging you to ignore your weaknesses, but to simply find ways to manage or delegate those aspects of your life where you are weak in.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.  But as you can see by the chart (click on the image for a larger version) if your primary focus is on improving your weaknesses, you are only going to have average results.  The value of a great team can be found in bringing together a group of people who have complementary strengths to balance each other’s weaknesses.

Hat tip: The chart was derived from a lesson I received from the Maximum Impact Monthly Tape Club.

Lead Your Learners To Better Thinking

I'm enjoying the sharing of ideas and partnering together that is happening at the Talking Story blog.  Rosa writes such insightful wisdom for those who lead and manage other people.  Here's my latest contribution to her emphasis on learning this month.  The entirety of the post appears at Talking Story.

Throughout this month's Ho'ohana emphasis on learning, I have been thinking about what and how I am learning.  But oftentimes, I am on the other side of the table, working with student leaders, trying to enhance and direct their learning. 

Sometimes the lines are often blurred between student and teacher. It's hard to tell who's doing the learning and who's doing the teaching...

Continue reading Lead Your Learners To Better Thinking

Perspective: To See Better, Move Back

"If you're always chasing the next problem, you don't see three problems ahead."
- Author Unknown

I know this may sound incredibly simplistic, but when we get caught up in the busy-ness of life, we begin to live from event to event (or problem to problem, as mentioned above).  As leaders, this head-in-the-sand approach can result in missed opportunities and chisel away at our attempts to be excellent.

I've sat in on many student council and cabinet meetings where I regret a student leader's frustration because it could have been alleviated if they had just planned ahead a little.  Living from event to event means sacrificing one's effectiveness as a leader.  Charles Noble said, "You must have a long-range vision to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures."

One of the tools that I've provided our student leaders is a chart that helps them to see what's coming up beyond the next big thing.  If you click on the image you'll see a larger, more readable image.  All I've done here is try to give our leaders a little perspective on the future.

If all you see is the next event, then you lose much of your capacity to lead.  Leaders must be aware of the BIG picture - what's out there farther ahead.  This will give them a better perspective on what is necessary for today.