Book Review #4 - Motivating the Middle

You know how they say 'good things come in small packages'? Well the book Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations, written by T.J. Sullivan in 2012 definitely fits that description!

This is an extremely quick read (6o-ish pages which can be read in under 30 minutes), but offers some real gems for anyone working with student organizations.

The target audience for this book is the top third of all student organizations, those over-involved, crazy over the top students who want to be everything to everyone and put the needs of their organizations over their academics and most everything else in their lives (I was definitely guilty of this as a student). Rather than focus on the bottom third of the organization, those bare-minimum, often complaining and unreliable members of the group, Sullivan emphasizes the need to work at connecting with the mid-range group. These individuals may not be as completely devoted as the top tier, but are still much more committed and willing to participate than the bottom tier. 

Sullivan offers a list of thirteen strategies for the superstars of the group to better engage the 'middle', thus strengthening the group as a whole:

1. Ask their opinion, but don't ask them to do anything else
2. Ask "what one thing do you think we could be doing that we aren't that would make this group stronger?
3. Start and end your meetings on time
4. Invite the significant others
5. Give them more choices and the ability to skip the things they don't enjoy
6. Minimize the conflict in your group to the greatest extent possible
7. Let the middle member lead on the thing he likes most
8. Thank them for participating
9. Offer to assist with other stressful areas
10. Give them a meaningful supporting role
11. Ask for help on one specific, limited-time task
12. Take some personal time with them
13. Slow down on the decisions 

In reading the given descriptions, I found a few errors that I myself make with the groups I advise, and am looking forward to applying some of these ideas. I am also strongly considering purchasing a few extra copies of the book to hand out to my Senior Resident Assistants and Residence Council President in hopes that it will help them in their work with student leaders. 

Book Review #1 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

As I've promised myself as part of my #oneword2013, I will be reading at least one book per month which is either directly or indirectly related to my work in Student Affairs.

The first of these books is entitled The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, written by Patrick Lencioni and published in 2002.  Given that most teambuilding/leadership books tend to be quite dry, I wasn't really sure what to expect when reading this one, but thought it might be worth reading anyways, given that I am now responsible for a team of student leaders for the first time as a professional. I was pleasantly surprised by not only how quick this book was to read (I made it through the 224 pages during two lunch breaks and a one-hour wait for an appointment), but how interesting it was as well.

Most of the book revolves around a fictional scenario in which a new CEO attempts to 'fix' a very disconnected executive team by identifying and addressing a list of 'dysfunctions' which prevent it from being successful. The book concludes with an in-depth review of the five dysfunctions, as well as a self-evaluation meant to allow individuals and groups to assess their team dynamics.

What I found most significant in reading this book was that even though I haven't had any real problems with my own team, I was able to identify behaviours which upon further reflection, would qualify as having a negative impact on the group.  Evidently, working in a group in which I am a professional staff member supervising a group of student leaders, I am not able to apply all the techniques that could work for a company's executive team. I am however getting some ideas for how to improve the dynamics within my current group, as well as how to help form next year's Residence Assistant team.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone working with a group of individuals, as either a supervisor or a team member.

Residence Life Winter Camp

This week, my colleagues and I took our 20 residence life staff members (Residence Assistants and Senior Residence Assistants) on a Winter retreat. This was a great opportunity for all the staff to spend time together for the first time since summer training, and reconnect as a team.  In addition to engaging the group, this opportunity also allowed the staff, as individuals, to challenges their own abilities, through learning how to cross-country ski, snowshoe, as well as participate in low and high-ropes courses.

In previous years, this retreat served as a training session, with very little programming.  Though the benefits of training mid-year are no doubt evident, we chose a different approach this year by using the session more for team-building purposes, with only one official training session (behind closed doors) in order to review our expectations for certain situations.

The reasoning behind this change was that we could use our weekly staff meetings as an opportunity to engage in mini-training sessions, in order to provide on-going training, and to fulfill identified need in a timely manner.  By using this approach, we have been able to redefine expectations for incident reporting, review concerns regarding addressing a student at risk of self-harm, as well as practice clear and concise communication with students, all within a week of identifying a need or concern.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this method will continue to benefit the staff in the coming months, and whether the added team-building will ensure a renewed bond between these individuals.