Some thoughts...

Hi all,

First of all I wanted to start by thanking everyone for their contributions. Though I’ve been a silent member thus far, I’ve really enjoyed learning from and about each of you through posts. This brings me to my first thought that I wanted to share – a lesson/thought that I’m sure we all know, but this blog specifically reminded me of it.

Because the author of the post’s name is only signed at the bottom of the message, I’ve been able to read many posts without knowing who wrote it at the start. Some of them I realized right away who had written it (it’s a strong hint when you talk about being a Donner HF or CA ) but others I had no idea until I got to the very bottom. While I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some of you better than others, I still don’t know most of you that well. It was exciting to read a post, take it in and then have the opportunity to combine it with what I know of the person. The lesson that this reminded me of is that of not letting pre-conceived notions interfere when judging/learning about a situation/person. It’s not always so easy to just cover up a name and get to see something from a blank slate, but it’s an important aspect to keep in mind.

The other thing I wanted to talk about in my post is more of a thought provoking, self-reflection idea. I am currently in Jerusalem taking a Jewish studies course and this week in one of my classes we were talking about someone who is considered to have been one of the greatest rabbis of all time. I’m not sure exactly how we got to this point, but my teacher said “Wouldn’t it be great to know the guiding principles of the most respected and trusted rabbis of all time?” Then he asked us each to think about our own guiding principles in life. While we didn’t dwell on it in class, it got me thinking. I drew a blank when he first asked us but it was a great prompt that I’ve been thinking about lately and wanted to share with you all.

A last parting thought – I was in Tel Aviv 2 weeks ago and saw graffiti that said, “The greatest revolution is personal revelation.” I think this ties in with some of the ideas that have been brought up in other posts. As members of the community who hope to enrich the lives of the students around us, it’s important to remember the significance of not just blanket programs/activities/ideas to cause changes, but that every individual must learn and understand for his/herself. Anyone have other interpretations or comments on this?

Hope everyone’s summers are relaxing and memorable!

-Danielle

Yes to the WHaM

Corinne: Leading from afar has been my challenge, from last semester as I studied abroad to currently as my staff members are all over the world. In addition, my staff continues to grow into its own. With a transitional housefellow, a newly-hired RA, and parts of a team I've never met, I'm coming into this year with a challenge on my doorstep.

However, many things have fallen into place. I am in Pittsburgh for the summer; my RAs are receptive to my e-mails; housefellows all over campus are happy to meet with me. It makes me excited to see what can be accomplished when the team is complete and together in August.

WHaM (Welch, Henderson, and McGill) have had some fits and starts in the past, but I'm hoping to help forge an identity this year. With a mix of first-years and upper-class in all of the buildings, though, it might be a tough job made easier by the fact that each house has a unique focus to it already.

I wish there were "3 Steps to Being a Good CA", but this blog seems to be the best there is right now. :) I know that there are the roles of an RA... what would you say the roles of a CA are? (Or is there a list I'm going to see during CA training...)

One thing that has brought a lot of joy in my life is my mantra to say yes. Many times, the default is "no." "No, I've got work." "No, I'm too tired." "No, no one else will be there."

These have been in situations that "yes" was an event or opportunity. Our chances to say "yes" as a CA, though, carry a bit more weight. When we say "yes" to an RA or resident (or housefellow for that matter), it should be a good start to greater support. We say "yes" and enable them, not just set them afloat without an sail. That is the "power of yes" as a leader.

Comment with your favorite program that you had to do the least amount of work for. (Mine was the Spring Stever Day that the house council planned and executed two years ago. I was amazed!)

Also, all this text was getting boring, so here is what I took pictures of during RA training two years ago.... Stever staff, '08-'09 playing Wii!

Following the leader...

I (Lenny) was contacted a few months ago by the Director of Chapter Development for Phi Kappa Theta National Fraternity. Her message asked if I would be willing to do a presentation for the upcoming Leadership Institute that is to be held this August in St. Louis.

Immediately I was thinking sure, I can do a program for my fraternity. She probably wants me to do Conflict Resolution or Responsible Decision Making, two programs that I can do impromptu if needed. When I spoke with Anita, she asked me to do a 90 minute presentation on leadership. Again, not too difficult because of the numerous presentation I have attended or facilitated on this topic.

The more I thought about the topic of leadership, the more I was interested in doing something different. My audience was college men who have taken on a leadership role in their respective chapter. My guess is they have heard the leadership talk, many, many times.

I then remembered a word that I had not heard for many years but it had previously caught my attention. A word that sounded interesting but I dismissed up until this point, Followership.

A Google search pointed me to several resources on this topic and subsequently to purchase and read the book Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders by Barbara Kellerman. After explaining the importance of followers she then describes five Followership types. As I read about these types I could see that not only was this topic relevant to fraternity men, but also a house staff and house community.

According to Kellerman the five types of followership are defined as:

Isolates

Isolates are completely detached. They do not care about their leaders, or know anything about them, or respond to them in any way. Their alienation is, nevertheless, of consequence. (p.86)

Bystanders

Bystanders observe but do not participate. They make a deliberate decision to stand aside, to disengage from their leaders and from whatever is the group dynamic. This withdrawal is, in effect, a declaration of neutrality that amounts to tacit support for whoever, and whatever constitutes the status quo. (p. 92)

Participants

Participants are in some way engaged. They clearly favor their leaders and the groups and organizations of which they are members-or they are clearly opposed. In either case, they care enough to put their money where their mouths are-that is, to invest some of what they have (time for example) to try to have an impact. (p. 92)

Activist

Activists feel strongly about their leaders and they act accordingly. They are eager, energetic, and engaged. Because they are heavily invested in people and process, they work hard either on behalf of their leaders or to undermine and even unseat them. (p.92)

Diehards

Diehards are as their name implies-prepared to die if necessary for their cause, whether an individual, or an idea, or both. Diehards are deeply devoted to their leaders; or in contrast, they are ready to remove them from positions of power, authority, and influence by any means necessary. In either case, Diehards are defined by their dedication, including their willingness to risk life and limb. Being a Diehard is all consuming. It is who you are. It determines what you do. (p.92)

As you think about these descriptions, can you identify past residents who fit into the different types?

Do you have any techniques to offer about engaging those who could be Isolates or Bystanders? How do you find the Participants/Activists/Diehards amongst your residents?

Is there a type of follower that describes residential staff?

What kind of follower do you identify with?

Are you always the same kind of follower?

How can we leverage the Participants/Activists/Diehards to help build our communities?

Kellerman, B. (2008). Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders.Harvard Business Press.

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Lenny brought the idea of followership to me (Rowshan) during a conversation about this blog post, and it sparked some thoughts for me. A lot of attention is given to the leader and what the community/organization/etc vision and purpose is, but the group (however that is defined) can’t just be about the leader/s. The followers (residents, other staff members, whoever the group may be) are just as important if not more so in creating those communities, those visions, that purpose.

Below is a clip that ties in the idea of leaders and followers to the work we do residentially. You may be familiar with TED, which was started in 1984 to bring together people from Technology, Entertainment and Design. On the web you’ll find all kinds of TED talks about varied topics delivered by the famous to the not-so-famous. This link is a TED talk delivered by Derek Sivers about leadership and followership. As you watch this quick clip, think about it in the context of the work that we do as residential life staff, collectively as well as in each of our positions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg&feature=related

Here are some questions about the clip for you to think about. Feel free to post an answer to any of these or your own reaction to the idea of Followership and/or the TED talk.

One of the main points is the notion of the critical importance of the first follower. We can’t have a leader without a follower. He describes the leader as the “lone nut”. Have you found yourself in the position of being the lone nut-the guy out there doing the crazy dance and hoping that others join in? Have you ever been in the position of being that first follower, where you see the lone nut and decide that’s a dance you want to do too?

The presenter also talks about the tipping point, where we’ve moved beyond the few people dancing and have created a movement. What is the tipping point in our residence halls? How do you know?

The presenter talks about the followers emulating the followers and not the leader. How does this play out in our communities? Talk about the importance of this idea, especially in light of messaging, who are the followers, do we always get to select who others follow?

He states that leadership is over glorified and it’s really about the followers. Do we get wrapped up in our positions as leaders and lose focus on the movement (and the followers for that matter)? How do we nurture the followers as equals and focus the importance on the movement and not us?

What is the “movement” in our communities?

We’re interested in hearing from you. Please post your thoughts/reactions. We hope you’re enjoying summer-can you believe we’ll be in CA training in no time!

Lenny and Rowshan

If you’re interested in knowing more about the presenter, here’s his bio:

Derek Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician (and circus clown) since 1987, Derek started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. After he won the 2003 World Technology Award, Esquire Magazine's annual “Best and Brightest“ cover story said, “Derek Sivers is changing the way music is bought and sold... one of the last music-business folk heroes.” In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company MuckWork where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their “uncreative dirty work”. His current projects and writings are all at sivers.org.

It is 7:09 AM and I am waiting for the subway train (or “the T” here in Boston) to depart. There are 12 other passengers in the car with me, wait…now 13, and I have not heard one word uttered besides one single mouse-like “excuse me.” The train departs. A few people have headphones on, a few read, and a few have their eyes closed. I can’t tell if people are actually sleeping or not. It seems that people on the T will do anything to avoid human contact, especially in the morning. Why? Because it takes effort, it is potentially awkward, and because it threatens one’s comfort zone. “Davis Square, doors open on the right” says the lackluster conductor. About a dozen more passengers enter. Same thing.

During this morning’s trip, only one person really stood out to me. He looked to be in his early 30’s, had on hiking shoes and REI-ish style clothing, and looked to be pretty normal overall. However, his ipod-style headphones were blasting "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Just about every passenger gave him a look. Some gave quick glances, and others looked like they expected to see a 16 year old girl, but were confused and shocked to see a man instead. Now I have rocked out to this song on several occasions and I bet at least half the passengers on the train have as well. Props to this dude for not caring.

A challenge - Not a Cop Out

As David and I reviewed the previous posts I am admittedly a bit, no really overwhelmed, by the length and narratives posted here. It feels daunting to me to be “up next” with David and I am conscience of not wanting to let him or you down! Yet I am not in a place where I feel compelled or able to offer something as reflective and insightful has those previously posted. I am grateful for David’ s wisdom which guided him in talking me down off the ceiling with saying how important it is for us as a community to create a place where everyone can find a way to contribute. So our way of inviting you to contribute this week is to ask you to pick up on the common theme offered by a combination of comments made by Dawn and Dave:
Go to a place where there will be new people in the environment and sit back and observe how the new people are picking up social and contextual clues and the norms: how are they being perceived by the regulars. A couple of ideas; a coffee shop, a public bus, a public library, a faith community experience.
Let us all know what you learned from you observations and how it can guide our work with students.

Renee & David C

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

So I wanted to write a little bit about not only why I wanted to become a CA, but what I want to do in that role as well, which is to broaden the experiences of those around me beyond the campus bubble that I know I find myself living in a good deal of the time.

I have had probably the best experience at CMU that I could have hoped to have in my four years in college, as a student, a resident, and an RA. It has been absolutely terrific and I wanted to try to pass that along and help a house full of students, residents, and RAs as best I can. That being said, one thing I find myself wishing I had more of is a connection with areas all over Pittsburgh, not just Oakland.

The reason I've been thinking about this lately is that I just finished reading a book called The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon. It's the story of a recent Pitt grad and his first post-graduation summer in the city. It was really fantastic and part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was because it took place in the Oakland/Shadyside neighborhoods and described landmarks that I was familiar with throughout the story. It really got me thinking, though, as it described the streets and neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, that even though I know a certain radius around CMU's campus really well, I don't know other areas like Mount Washington or Point Breeze or even trails in Schenley Park as well as I probably should for having lived in the city now for three years.

I spent this past semester in London and at the end of the semester I reflected on whether or not I considered myself to have really lived in London. That is, whether I took advantage of everything I could while I was there or whether I had just spent four months in the city doing nothing more than going about my daily routine. I ultimately decided that it varied from week to week. The first few weeks there I took advantage of everything I could and went all over the city. Towards the middle, as the weather got worse and I settled into the city, I fell into a routine and didn't do all that I could have done in the city. The last few weeks I was there, though, as I began to realize I was leaving and probably wouldn't be back for a long time (and as the weather got nice) I started again going out to random underground stops with friends and walking around the neighborhoods they opened up to. One of the best things I did during those last weeks, though, was to go on a self-charted graffiti tour to see as much of Banksy's work as I could find. It was amazing and I felt as though just by walking some of those backstreets and looking at the artwork of unnamed Londoners scrawled on walls and under bridges that I was connecting with the city in a way I hadn't before.

That's why my goal for this upcoming year, potentially my last in Pittsburgh, is to get out and connect with the city like I was able to connect with London in my last few weeks there. I think of Pittsburgh as a home but I want to know it as best I can before I leave it. So I'm going to take day-trips and walk to places I haven't been yet and familiarize myself with parts of the city I don't know all that well.

And I want to take my residents along and encourage a connection for them, too. I want to look for service opportunities away from CMU's campus, for restaurants not on Forbes Avenue or Craig Street, for running routes that don't lead to the Cathedral of Learning. I want to encourage a connection with the city as I build on my own, so that they really feel comfortable in Pittsburgh, as that can make a huge difference in whether or not you enjoy your time at CMU.

I guess the takeaway from this post is that I think, as house leaders, we really should be striving not only to create a community within our houses and within our campus, but to broaden the experience that all of our residents and RAs have around the greater Pittsburgh area and in any other way we can. To really expand their focus to all the opportunities they have while they're in college, especially being in a city as accessible as Pittsburgh. The best way I can think to do that is by example, and I hope to be able to do that this year.

You Dont Have To Be In Front To Lead The Pack

I remember sitting in my graduate class a little over a year ago, which now based on the eventful year we have had at the university feels like ages ago, reviewing theories of leadership. Up until the mid way point in the class we discussed over and over again the qualities that are associated with leadership. Trait theory, Psychological Theory, Relational Theory, all of which attempted to explain in detail how individuals can become leaders. Individuals. When we think of leadership we usually think of a lone person. A person with a certain intelligence and/or charisma that qualifies him/her to captain the ship that carries our personal and professional wants and needs. We depend on these leaders to set a vision for us, and sometimes tell us what we should expect from ourselves. Kind of funny, because when you say it out loud it sounds kind of ridiculous.

However, this day in class was different. We had begun reading a new book by Peter Senge called the 5th Discipline. The primary focus of the book discusses the development and cultivation of what he calls learning organization. He argues that in order for an institution of any capacity to flourish that it must create an environment where the constituents, the people, constantly feel the need to learn and develop at every level. And not only is their added emphasis on learning but there is a responsibility to teach and help shape and inform the perspective of others. Out of this ideology comes the SHARED LEADERSHIP theory.

Shared Leadership theory basically argues that leadership is not dependent on what a leader does as much as it is what people do together. This concept takes the context of leadership out of the realm of positions and deposits it into the context of behavior. Leadership is not what you are It’s what you do. He argues that actions that help the group to achieve and move forward are what constitute leadership.

This idea really threw me for a loop. Clearly in any organization or at any university institution there has to be a clear cut leader. We need someone to make the tough decisions, and to guide our approach. Right? I see now that this method of thinking may have been a cop out. This was my way of surrendering my stake in the vision of my university community. Choosing to be a blind follower. This theory was my proverbial red pill.

I began to see myself as a leader in every context. Not only in positions that embedded "leader" in the job description, but in the classroom, the weight room, even within my family. The concept of social leadership was a powerful one to me because I felt it gave me increased authorship and influence of my life experience. But there where rules to how to do this. At least according to Senge.

The first rule being that a leader must operate from an ethical standpoint. And since this is social leadership the leader must be inclusive meaning that all people can share in the leadership process), and elevating (meaning that leadership must seek to better the group). Leadership must always be made using sound ethical judgment. Failure to do so leads to deceit, corruption and can create an abuse of power. (Cough *Hitler* Cough). All of which can be extremely detrimental to the group. This concept has been subject to much debate and I hope that it at least sparks conversation as to whether or not you feel it is mandatory for a leader to be ethical.

Secondly, a leader must have a sense of Ownership. This was my favorite part of this theory. The concept of ownership was important to me because this is why I feel this theory is so powerful. Having affirmed your ownership over a certain issue, it now becomes your responsibility to correct. However, depending on how big the issue is there can be multiple stake holders so it is also your responsibility to bring those individuals to the table and affirm for them their stake in the problem. Once people take ownership of an issue there is less individual burden and more support.

Thirdly, is the notion of learning. Learning to Senge means the practice of understanding of different things in the world needed for people to flourish. As a leader you must be willing to learn. Learning in the sense of becoming wiser and having a better understanding of the world around you. Learning is something that you do for others and with others. This concept helps to reinforce this notion of reciprocal leadership.

And lastly, a leadership involves sharing. Leaders are willing to be open and authentic with other members of a group. They seek to develop trust, respect, appreciation and concern for others. Having these values established helps to remind members of the group that leadership is based on interconnectedness.

Essentially what Senge has outlined are the principles for Democracy. However, in this democratic representation it is the responsibility for all stake holders to be informed, act ethically, value communication, and takes ownership of all issues. If only real democracy was that simple.

Basically, I say that to say this. As individuals at the institution who have been exalted as leaders in the CA position it is your responsibility to make sure that you are maximizing not only your potential but the potential of those individuals that you are working with. Having a title commands a sense of entitlement and presents a level of authority, but the most amazing work will in your residence halls will occur when the entire building takes ownership of creating a life changing experience. When every student feels like that have a voice, and when all members of the community are acting in response for what is best for the building and best for the CMU community. Learn from them as they learn from you. I would encourage you to be a facilitator of leadership behavior.

As a great man once said "You guys may not know this, but I consider myself…a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by one. So were two…so there was two of us in the pack. I…I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later.

And 6 months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys. I thought…wait a second, could it be. And now I know for sure, I just added 2 more guys to my wolf pack."

Its better to lead with people and share the burden, than to lead for the people and shoulder the burden. Your never gonna find Doug on your own.