Do You Really Need a Policy?

Sometimes a policy is exactly what you need. Policies can provide valuable guidelines for corporate behavior that help keep everyone on the same page, and moving in the same direction. Of course, having a policy but not enforcing it can be worse than not having a policy at all. But, not all situations require or are best served by having a policy. There is a tendency, especially among new leaders, to try to manage by policy.

For more on this check out the short video below:

 

Resilience

Resilience

“It doesn’t matter what happens to you, what truly matters is how you respond to what happens to you.” The stories of those who have overcome adversity to achieve great results inspire us. Yet, somehow when WE are the ones in adversity the real temptation is to make all kinds of excuses why we should be pitied and excused for quitting.

For more on this check out the short video below:

5 Ways Smart People Sabotage Their Success

First of all, if you are smart, you probably won’t even read this far, and if you do you almost certainly won’t click on the link to read the full article. THAT WOULD BE A MISTAKE!!! The smarter you are the more you should take the time to read this article . . . and PAY ATTENTION.

This comes from the Harvard Business Review, originally posted Nov. 15, 2018.

Mark was always one of the smartest kids in his class. He’s done well in his career, but when he checks Facebook, he sees people he outperformed at school who have now achieved more. Likewise, there are colleagues at his firm who have leapfrogged him. Sometimes he wonders, “What am I doing wrong?”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Personal Reflection

Benjamin Franklin said, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Proverbs 22:1 states, “Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.” Be aware of your personal reputation with the various areas of your life. Check out this short video for more on this:

 

 

6 Tools to Clip, Annotate, and Save Online Content

The ability to clip and save online content is a necessity for our day. The article below appeared originally in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. I personally use Evernote as my preferred web clipper and hardly a day goes by that I don’t clip an article or several from different web sites to add to my files, all easily searchable. Check it out, and then try it out.

Below is a collection of some good Chrome extensions that can help you maximize your productivity and make the best of your online browsing experience. These are web clippers you can use to save important materials you come across online such as webpages, PDFs, images, videos, etc and have them handy when you have time or when needs be. More importantly, using these extensions will enable you to annotate your clipped content and read it in a clutter-free space. Also, you will be able to access all of your saved content across various devices ( laptop. tablet, and phone).   READ MORE

Leaders are Learners

Leaders are learners, at least good leaders are.  I mean this in the sense that Leaders never stop actively learning.  Learning doesn’t always come in the classroom, nor is it restricted to one specific subject or modality.  Whether in the classroom, through reading professional journals, or books, listening to podcasts, or reading blogs, the best leaders are ALWAYS learning.

For more on this check out this short video:

Motivation

People are motivated extrinsically, by rewards of various kinds, or intrinsically by how achieving goals makes them feel.  Intrinsic motivation includes feeling appreciated, feeling fulfilled, feeling as if you have contributed to another person’s well-being, feeling like you are making a difference.

Check out the short video below for more on this:

Using Google Docs/Slides for Team Collaboration

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, collaboration on team projects can be challenging. Getting everyone together to work on the project is part of the problem. Trying to arrange schedules so that all those involved can participate and get on the same page can be difficult if not impossible. When you can’t get everyone together you run the risk of miscommunication and mis-aligned goals and responsibilities, leading to frustration and possible failure.

The other major problem is tracking the deliverables of everyone on the team to make sure they are getting their work done and submitted in a timely manner.  When you can’t track how the other team members are progressing on their part of the project it can create a great deal of anxiety for the rest of the team, and when it is discovered that an important part of the project hasn’t been delivered on time, anger and finger-pointing follow.

Here is a process which I believe will prove effective for moving your team project through to completion.

  1. Once the group members have been identified, agree on one individual to take the point in communication and logistics.  The point person should immediately set up a google doc with the file name Course#-Covenant and invite everyone to share editing privileges with the team.  You can find more on the team covenant in my previous post HERE. The Instructor should also be invited to share the document to view participation by the whole team.
  2. The first week, either meet as a group to discuss the Covenant, or the point person sets up a Zoom conference, using the link in Canvas, with the whole team at an agreed upon time to dicsuss the team covenant and finalize it.
  3. No later than week two the group meets again to parcel out the responsibilities of the group for the project. I would include those at the bottom of the team covenant on the google doc for everyone to see.
  4. Still in week two, the point person should now create a google doc for the project: Course #-Project Name and share it with the group and the instructor.  The point person should also create a google slide for the project: Course #-Project Name.  The google doc will be the working document for those who are writing the paper and doing the research.  The google slide will be the presentation document for the in-class presentation.  The benefit of this document and slide presentation is that it is easy to see who has added what, and when.  It will be easy for the whole group to work on the document/slide at the same time or separately, so everyone will know the status of the entire project at all times.
  5. Each week the point person should set up a regular meeting either in person, or through Zoom, or by chat while in the document or the slide to discuss the progress and potential areas for improvement. If you see someone is not keeping up with their area of responsibility, make sure to call them on it based on the covenant early-on.
  6. Every team member should take responsibility for enforcing the covenant and confronting stragglers. If you follow this process you will not only have a better chance of submitting a superior project, it will also improve your skills in working across a distance on team projects, which can be cited on your resume.

OK, now it is your turn – what does this process miss and what do you recommend as a solution?