Processing Penn State Penalties

#whatshouldwecallstudentaffairs: "Our colleagues at Penn State"

One thing is to be agreed with: Dr. Mark Emmert’s assertion that the sanctions handed down to Penn State University are designed to punish the culture of an institution that allowed for a cover-up of heinous crimes, and not to punish the crime itself. When looking at the end result through such a lens, the severe charges appear more reasonable. That being said, I have some philosophical differences with the NCAA on their decisions. For those who care to read why, I’m going to tell you!

First, there is the question of jurisdiction. An objection that I raised in the days surrounding the Freeh report centered around the question of if punishment for this case fell within the purview of the NCAA. Previous sanctions handed down, in some cases crippling ones such as those handed down to SMU or USC, were the result of a violation of NCAA policy. That said, the board in this case is acting on a violation of law. As it stands right now, no NCAA rules were broken. The decision to allow for NCAA investigation into the school’s policies could turn up findings of actual violations; in fact, based on accounts from some in student affairs there, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if they did. In the event that violations are found in that investigation, the sanctions would seem more justified. Am I saying that punishment is not deserved? No. I am, however, saying that the reasoning behind punishment isn’t as clear to me.

I also wonder about the question of relevancy. Several of these individual sanctions make sense to me in the goal they’re trying to achieve. The vacation of wins, while seemingly bewildering to some, makes sense to me. The egregious negligence of Penn State in this matter was justified by a desire to win, no matter the cost. In vacating those wins, there is a symbolic message sent that such behavior is intolerable. Similarly, the ban from postseason play allows for playing to be placed within the proper context- a diversion and complement to academics, but not an at-all-costs end goal. However, implementation of academic integrity measures (who said that was the problem?) or compliance officers (there aren’t compliance officers already? Even my Division III institution had those) is irrelevant to the problem at hand. If the NCAA does wish to exercise influence in a situation such as this, it should levy punishments that fit the crime. They should fit the crime not in severity, but to match the problem at hand.

And finally, I am concerned about the nature of due process. I spoke earlier about the difference between violation of policy and violation of law. If the former was the case, I would feel far less itchy about the desire of the NCAA to intervene in such a grave case of misconduct. But the fact of the matter is, to date the NCAA has not investigated on its own. The Sandusky family has responded to the sanctions with shock over their severity, but also the speed with which the board acted. While I don’t like the source of this concern, I agree with it. The NCAA has not done its own investigation. They have opened the door for such an option to be exercised, and I’d be interested to see what they find when they actively look. What punishment do they have left to levy if they find anything else? What is worse than life without parole? Would it take that to merit the death penalty?

In attempting to give some semblance of resolution by throwing down a verdict with teeth, I fear the NCAA has only raised more questions. As the case continues to unfold, I can only keep the innocent in my thoughts- those who were hurt by the true cause of this scandal. Yes, many in State College will be devastated at their forced irrelevance in the grand scheme of football for years to come, but their “suffering” pales starkly to those who will never be able to forget what happened to them when an institution let football get bigger than common sense and decency.

And finally, for my campus, a campus that has something of a silver lining in this case, it is distasteful to treat it as such. If Bobby Bowden is not celebrating this "victory", given the circumstances under which it was achieved, you shouldn't either.

Thoughts on Aurora From a Lifetime Movie Buff

Bruce Wayne: You're gonna destroy millions of lives.
Ra's al Ghul: Only a cynical man would call what these people have "lives," Wayne. Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live. The League of Shadows has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships with plague rats, burned London to the ground. Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance. 

As with so many times in my life, when I've wanted to express a thought and couldn't find a way to, I turned to a movie to say what I couldn't. And this one is from Batman Begins (2005), an oddly prophetic one given the events that unfolded in Aurora, CO yesterday.

I should preface this by saying that I have been a movie fanatic for as long as I can remember. I've spent thousands of dollars on movies in theaters, have an obscene amount in my home collection, and was even a film minor in college- my Honors Thesis was on "The Evolution and Impact of Documentary Film". There are movies that I know absolutely by heart, and entire films that I know the music cues to, I've watched them so often. I listen to movie soundtracks in my spare time, and have a downright encyclopedic knowledge of actors and film contributors.

One of the things I love most about the moving image, and a major reason that motion pictures have been a sustainable art form, is their ability to facilitate escape. People go to the movies to have time where their real life is inconsequential. For that hour and a half, two hours, in the case of James Cameron epics, three hours, you are transported to a world that you do not live in. One that's elegantly tied together, one that's scored, and up until yesterday- one that's safe. When I go home at night after a rough day and throw on a movie, it's to feel insulated from whatever has bothered me.

To wake up to the news that the sanctity of film's insular quality has been threatened by someone aiming to cause chaos and harm to fellow moviegoers horrifies me. In the same way that we are sickened each time a place previously thought to be safe is attacked in this manner- airplanes, major landmarks, schools (another issue Colorado has had to face), and now movie theaters, our hearts go out to those who are involved and affected. But we also have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that such events will incite fear. I suspect that this will inspire bag checks and additional security measures at movie theaters- an understandable reaction given the events, but an unfortunate state of affairs for a society that can and should be better.

And so I return to the quote at the top, from the beginning of this trilogy. This is NOT how man was supposed to live. If you go back to the original version of Batman, starring Adam West, this was not the world that he had to save. We have descended into something more sinister, a fact reflected by the increasingly dark nature of the films in this franchise. People shouldn't have to alternate between seemingly common states of despair and mourning, and outright fear. What in our society is fueling such displays of hatred and carelessness for human life? And how long before it destroys us all?

How to Succeed In Business Without Really Meaning To

A few days ago, I finally broke down and subscribed to the Harvard Business Review Blog Network. Faced with a dialog box restricting my access to yet another article of theirs I was itching to read, and realizing I could (a) make a commitment and join or (b) use the loophole I discovered and attempt to read a full article around said box, I chose the route of commitment and now have access to the network and a variety of other publications.

I consider myself to be a lifelong learner, and have used a summer without Internet at home (a commitment that I plan to stick to this fall) to read, and read EVERYTHING. Not just pleasure books, and not just student affairs books, but really expanding my scope to more literature that can make me better. And I'm finding that more and more business books and publications are speaking to me and how I want to do my work.

I always thought that I chose to work in higher education to avoid the trappings of business. But more and more, those two worlds are starting to collide. As such, I've gotten so much from the time I take to read articles and books from an area outside my own. Venturing outside that "echo chamber" we sometimes find ourselves in. Moreover, I've realized that the links I choose to click, or the pages I choose to turn, are fueled by what I want to make better, or a desire to effective change in my environment. Some great finds that you may want to check out:

Emotional Contagion Can Take Down Your Whole Team (the link that forced me to subscribe)

http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2012/07/emotional-contagion-can-ta.html

If You Don't Prioritize Your Life, Someone Else Will

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/06/how_to_say_no_to_a_controlling.html

The Best Strategy for Reducing Stress

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2012/07/the-best-strategy-for-reducing.html

Less Confident People Are More Successful

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/less_confident_people_are_more_su.html 

The Second City Way of Fast Brainstorming
http://www.fastcompany.com/1841545/the-second-city-way-of-better-brainstorming

10 Habits of Remarkably Charismatic People

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-habits-of-remarkably-charismatic-people.html

What is serving as your unlikely inspiration these days? What sources are informing how you work and live?

 

 

Let Them Eat Cake! (Introducing #1yrdown)

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my time in Tallahassee. While I didn't officially start work until the 8th, it was one year ago yesterday that I ventured north with my parents in a rainstorm to try and shove all the IKEA boxes and books upon books into my apartment. 

I don't want to use this post to reminisce about the lovely time that I've had, the amazing relationships I've built, and the good work I feel I've done. Though all of those things are real, and I do feel them, there's something more important I want to talk about.

I know too many people struggling in this first year of work.

Perhaps because I'm working on ways to teach supervision to my grad, or maybe because a potential NASPA proposal I'm working on concerns adequate preparation for postgraduate work, I am noticing so many of my friends truly struggling in their first positions. Be it with their relationship with their supervisor, their adjustment to the institution, or building a social network in their (relatively) new home, everyone is having significant trouble.

The question, of course, is WHY?

Why are so many people coming up on their one-year marks and finding themselves unable to truly celebrate? Even while happy in my work, I was unable to rip into my proverbial cake in the fashion of this young man because of the areas in which I feel like I'm struggling.

I don't know where the blame of this lies. Is it the fault of grad programs, who are missing the opportunity to inform soon-to-be grads of some of the difficulties they will realistically face in the transition? Is it the fault of supervisors who ask new staff to hit the ground running without checking on their personal and professional well-being? Is it the fault of the recent grad for underestimating the reality of the struggle?

I have no idea. And I don't claim to have an answer. I just know that I want help for those who are struggling, and a field of helping professionals should- in my estimation- be able to do something about this for its own.

So I'm asking. New pros, I want you to be able to eat cake. If you're interested in answering a few questions for me about your first year- good or bad- please respond using the link below- I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHU1UUVtTHNUZmhSTHFNREtxTjZ2X1E6MQ#gid=0
 
 

Cutting the Email Tethers

Ah, email. The fundamental backbone of our work.

Oh, it isn't?

Then why do we allow our productivity to flag whenever Outlook is down? Why do we have such a hard time communicating in its absence? And why do we allow its sudden arrival to dictate the schedule of our day?

In learning about how to calm anxiety, I've realized that a major source of anxiety for me is the sudden interruption. Not a student coming by to ask a question, or a task that quickly materializes. I'm talking about the ding. You know the sound I mean. The Outlook ding. [Author's Note: I tried to find a clip of it, but with no luck. Sorry!] The sound that I have seen reduce people to a positively Pavlovian response (I've seen this happen, and it's both funny and absolutely mystifying) of stopping their present, possibly urgent task, to see what has landed in their inbox. The prevailing mentality is: If it dings, I have to respond NOW.

What happens if you don't?

I have cut the tether, people. And I'm in love with how it feels. Does it mean I don't email? No. But I will say that the urgency of it has gone down drastically. My Outlook doesn't ding when I have a message, nor does it flash a preview of the message or who it's from. I get email to my phone, but I don't have push notifications. And if I have something to tell a student that isn't an emergency at that moment, I save drafts and send it when they're most likely to check. I know how I work, and I know that the interruptions that come with those sudden interruptions can be crippling to my productivity. 


Does your office have a culture of a near-immediate response time to emails? If not, cherish it. If so, are you willing to ask why?


If you have the luxury of doing so, I urge you to try to eliminate the sounds. Enjoy the silence. Monitor your productivity in its absence. And decide if you're willing to pull out your scissors and cut the tethers on your own.

Lencioni Lessons: The Five Temptations of a CEO/Student Affairs Supervisor

I have once again devoured and truly enjoyed a management book by Patrick Lencioni. The author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, Lencioni is great at making management principles accessible through the use of fables to illustrate the points he is trying to make. This particular book, The Five Temptations of a CEO, is about how to increase the productivity and effectiveness of a team through selfless and vulnerable supervision. I want to summarize the points made, along with their possible application and how I want to implement them with our group in the fall.

Temptation #1: Valuing status over results.

When asked what the greatest accomplishment of a CEO or supervisor is, the organization is in danger if the answer is status based. “When I was named CEO” or “When I was given an award” are fine answers for oneself, but bad for the organization. When trying to build an environment that gets good results, the leader of the group should be valuing those results when they come in.

For my part, I want to focus on what is best for my students, and emphasize recognition for the results that we do achieve. I’ve always been of the belief that this work isn’t about me, and I am so happy to work with professionals who feel the same, and allow the spotlight to stay on our students. We move so fast as an organization, we barely have enough time to make sure they’re learning from their experiences, let alone to tell them how much we appreciate the amazing work they do. I feel that in placing the emphasis on their work, the emphasis is shifted from my own. My job is to make them successful, and they should be told when they are.

Temptation #2: Valuing popularity over accountability.

How do you feel when you have to deliver feedback to staff, students, or student staff? Are you more concerned about the task at hand, or the relationship being at risk? Many leaders worry more about the latter, and that causes trouble for the organization. The effective supervisor sees the relationship between the two- if the staff member can’t count on you to hold him or her accountable for the work getting done, the relationship will disintegrate regardless. So emphasize the task, and the relationship will follow.

This is one that our office admittedly struggles with. We serve in both an advisory and supervisory role, and we straddle a dual task of encouraging independence and emphasizing adherence to departmental and divisional expectations. I am not afraid to confess that we have let the pendulum swing too far in one direction, and are working to nudge it back in the other one. I want to find a way to hold our students accountable for the tasks they are required to complete, provide constructive feedback, and to acknowledge the consequences of not fulfilling expectations. How can we hold students to a standard if they don’t know (a) what the standard is, and (b) how well they’re performing to it?

Temptation #3: Valuing certainty over clarity.

How long does it take to make a decision? This temptation actually hearkens back to some advice I got from another fascinating book I read this past year, Blink. More often than not, we can trust our instincts to make a decision. But in organizations, the desire to consult everyone, gather copious amounts of information, and make sure that everyone is happy with our decision (more on that shortly) can cause a kind of decision paralysis. When a staff member needs a decision, sometimes they just need an answer. This is not to encourage going rogue; rather, it is to reassure the novice supervisor that decisiveness is valued as well as being right. And if you are wrong…well, I’ll hit that point shortly.

This skill comes with time, I feel. When I first arrived in my position, I was terrified to be wrong. In many of my previous positions, I was either blazing a trail or following someone that, to be frank, wasn’t very good at his job. In this instance, I was both blessed and intimidated to follow someone who was very good at his work. The result? An extended period of trying to live up to the stellar example he had set. But as I settled in, learned the resources of my campus, and got more comfortable with my students, the decision-making got easier. I had to trust in my own ability to do the work I was hired to do, and the rest came gradually. I stumbled, of course, but I wasn’t shy about that and made sure the situation got fixed.

Temptation #4: Valuing harmony over conflict.

Oh, I am a big believer in this one. Too many supervisors are afraid to let people disagree about things. Too many people are afraid of this. But I have always been of the belief that discomfort leads to growth, and I don’t worry about encouraging it. Encouragement of harmony suppresses alternate viewpoints, creating the treacherous “echo chamber”. In an echo chamber, new ideas are squashed because they differ from what’s already being done, and disagreements devolve into resentment in the absence of an environment in which they can be resolved. By helping students and staff to uncover discomfort, and to help them be comfortable in doing so, decisions will be better thought out and representative of more opinions than settling for the harmonious solution ever will.

Do you encourage students to disagree in meetings? Or do you try to have them table issues that get contentious in favor of time? Perhaps you base decisions on a vote, in hopes that the issue will be based on consensus or majority rule?  This was addressed in greater detail in Lencioni’s Death by Meeting (another great read that I’m sure most reading this would appreciate), but to sum up- allow time for all to speak on an issue, and don’t squash dissention from the norm. Set the ground rule that whatever decision is made, stands, regardless of level of agreement. The ability to speak freely will help staff to feel that they are being heard, and the value of all opinions will help those who do disagree feel comfortable to express their opinions.

Temptation #5: Valuing trust over invulnerability.

The emphasis on tasks should not be mistaken for a lack of concern for relatability. Lencioni is of the belief that when you allow yourself to be vulnerable as a supervisor, allow your staff to see you in moments of weakness and admit fault, they will work hard for you. Working hard for someone that seems perfect is stressful and at times off-putting. That very principle makes it next to impossible for me to listen to the teachings of Steven Covey (minority opinion, I know, but I stand by it). Moreover, if you admit to weakness, it allows people with those strengths to fill in the gaps, thus allowing them to feel, and be, effective.

As I develop as a professional, I have gotten very good at admitting when I’m wrong. It’s never easy, but ultimately essential to moving forward with any task. And I find that when I can tell students I’m wrong, and rely on their strengths to solve problems, that our relationships are more effective as a result. Vulnerability doesn’t make you weak, as many believe. It provides a means to build strength in relationships that then allows staff to give good results. The process is truly a full circle one.

This past week at NPI, combined with a lot of reflection on my first year in my position, have given me a lot to think about regarding supervision. And The Five Temptations of a CEO is helping me to further define my style. It is my hope that this pair of experiences is going to make me an even stronger supervisor for my students and graduate assistant, and my hope that this reflection will help whoever reads this to evaluate and define his or her style.

Candies and Happies: NPI 2012

I spent last week in Durham, NC at the NASPA Region III/SACSA New Professionals Institute, held at North Carolina Central University.  After working with 41 fellow new professionals from across the South, six wonderful institute faculty, and one amazing institute facilitator in Brit Katz, I am so energized to do wonderful work from this point forward. I don’t think there’s any way to convey the depth of what I got from the experience, so I will share the highlights.

The Location

I have never gotten the opportunity to spend time in Raleigh-Durham, and have had very limited experience on the campus of a HBCU. Getting to see both was a great change of pace from what I’m used to. It was relaxing to get to go for runs each morning around a campus that wasn’t my own (and in an environment that wasn’t a million degrees), and Jody Conway has made sure that I have a deep appreciation for exploring other campuses :)
The few forays that we made into town revealed lots of things I like in an area- diversity, several college campuses, culture and exposure to nature. I don’t know that I would live in the area, but I would definitely go back to visit.

The Knowledge

NPI challenged me to think in a way that I haven’t been challenged to think in a while. More than just digesting conference content the way I have at NACA or previous NASPA conferences, the Institute encouraged us to think through each session we were presented with, to ponder how it applied to us, and to consider what we would do with the information.

And that knowledge didn’t just come from the facilitators, it came from my fellow Institute attendees. The fellow professionals in Durham were thoughtful, reflective, and so knowledgeable. So often we’re too buried in work to maintain learning about the profession; if we manage to read it all, there’s not much time to digest everything. When challenged to do so, the full group shone. I loved learning from everyone, and hope we get to continue to do so with one another.

The People

I have alluded to this in the rest of this post, but I had a wonderful time meeting people at NPI. I’ve wanted to make new friends and find people who understand the work I do for quite some time, and have relished the relationships that I got to create in Durham. They are enthusiastic and diligent, smart and entertaining. We worked together and played together for a week, and I hope that our seeds of friendship and professional affiliation will only continue to grow as we continue our journeys. We planted seeds of relationships this week- I know I will do what it takes to help those seeds grow, and I hope my new friends will too.

When I look back on the formative experiences of my career, I can tell that this is going to be a significant experience for me. It allowed me to make new connections in my work, learn more about how to be successful at this stage of my professional life, and to truly reflect on what my next steps will look like. I am so excited to start putting the new lessons to work, and even more enthusiastic about keeping up with the new friends I made. I will leave you now with a selection of quotes from our fearless leader, Brit Katz of Millsaps College. He might be my new spirit animal- when you read the selections, you’ll understand why :)

“Let the smiles be our umbrellas.”

JUSTIN: My name is Justin, and I’m passionate about Superman.
BRIT: Who isn’t?

“Look for me, I’m one of [Beyonce’s] backup dancers. I’m passionate about it.”

“Is this a good dance move?”

“It just amps me.”

“Love it, mean it, never change, sign my yearbook!”

“It’s not who you know, or what you know, but what you know on who you know.”

“SSAOs: Are We Fractured or Whole?”

“Why don’t you love this? God, we do!”

“Demonstrate effective syntax!”

“After six and a half years, I finally got the down payment, moved into my place, and promptly turned the stereo up to 6, lit nine candles, and propped open the front door.”

“If we weren’t inside the building, I’d light nine candles in your honor.”

“Money isn’t gonna bring you happiness, but boy it’ll make you comfortable while you’re looking for it.”

“Thank you so much.”