Creating Opportunities for Professional Growth for Employees at Temple University

Team Change

Kimberly P. MendicinoJeremy J. ShaferChristopher HopkinsAnar P. KhandvalaAnn Marie WhiteKermit Wilson

Summary Intro

• Ice Breaker

• Kermit

What do you think of when you hear “creating opportunities for professional growth for employees?”

Is there anyone who worked in an environment in which there were opportunities for professional growth?

What types of opportunities were available to you?

By a show of hands how many of you currently support the promotional development of your employees?

What are we really talking about here?

• Creating Opportunity = Creating Hope• That’s hard to do … so consider another

approach– Ignore the topic– Do nothing to convey any expectation for the

future at all– Value stability above all else

What’s my point?

• Hope is a powerful force• Managers and Leaders cannot afford to ignore

its power.

Hope is a powerful force.

• About $60 billion worth of lottery tickets was sold in the U.S. in 2008.

• “When I buy a lottery ticket, I am paying for the fantasy of what I would do if I won.”

• Hope influences how we spend our money.

Hope is a powerful force.

• Full time, undergraduate tuition at Temple University's College of Liberal Arts is $11,834 in state, and  $21,662 out of state.  

• What are they really buying?• Hope influences how we

spend our time.

Hope is a powerful force.

• People are wired to respond to hope. • Hope influences who

we follow; how choose our leaders.

Hope is a powerful force.

• Hope enables us to endure hardship.

Victor Frankl wrote “Those individuals who could not accept what was happening to them, who could not make their present suffering fit with their faith, who could not find it’s meaning in their world view... they despaired, lost hope, and eventually gave up and died. But those individuals that could find a meaning from their faith, were then able to find hope for a future beyond their present suffering, and so could accept what they were enduring as a part of their existence, and they survived.”

You can't afford to ignore hope

You must inspire hope in your employees:• For the sake of productivity• For your self

Do it for the sake of productivity

• Hopeful employees are motivated to work harder. • Individuals that are motivated by

hope are resilient and more creative.• Hope is your problem because

productivity is your problem.

Do it for yourself

• Your employees surround you.  • What kind of people do you want to be

surrounded by?• Hours spent in the workplace are hours of your

life.  • You set the stage.

One more illustration

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”  

He also wrote: “Here in the quietness I hope that one day we shall all be together to celebrate my and Maria's wedding day.  When? At the moment that seems fanciful.  But it is a splendid hope and a great one.”

•There are different kinds of hope.•Some can be inspired in another person, and some can’t.•Be accountable for what you can do.

Common Opportunity

Team Opportunity

Personal Opportunity

COMMON OPPORTUNITIES

Taking advantage of the opportunities that are offered to all Temple University employees.

Tuition Remission

• Go after that degree you always wanted in any school or college at Temple– *Except professional schools: Dental, Pharmacy, Podiatry, Law,

Medical

• Take some non-matriculated courses in an area you need some more expertise… or to just test the waters of getting back into school.

• Just pay the course fees – but watch out for the max threshold of $5,250/year - before you begin getting taxed on “extra income.”

• All you need is the form from the Bursar’s Office and appropriate signatures from your supervisor(s).

Other “ENRICHMENT” Opportunities…

• Non-credit programs at Fort Washington and Ambler Campus’ (20% discount for University Employees!)– Project Management, Photography, Website

design, Interior design, wedding planning, meeting planning, learn a new language, or learn a new dance!

• Real Estate Institute at TUCC (50% discount for University Employees!)– Obtain your Real Estate license through TUCC!

Teaching Opportunities

Do you have an area of expertise??

Do you want to share that knowledge with others?•Inquire about adjunct opportunities within whichever school/college you would like to teach, and also through “Jobs @ Temple” to search for open positions.•Inquire about staffing opportunities through the non-credit/enrichment programs.

Mentoring

• Is there a new staff member in your office that is new to your field or profession?– Take them under your wing– Show them ‘the ropes’ – Guide them in the right direction to these

opportunities.

• Students are the life-line of the university.– Reach out and be a mentor to them – Remain engaged to student life on campus!

Professional DevelopmentSkill Acquisition

• Human Resources– Learning and Development courses.– Improve your core and role related competencies!– Boost that PDP!

• Computer Services– Web-based Development

• Creating/Editing your department’s website

– Software Development• Get to know the tools you use on a daily basis, such as the Microsoft package,

Adobe, etc

– Data base Development– Administrative Development

• Get to know the ‘Temple systems:’ Banner, OWLink, TUPortal, Blackboard, etc.

Healthy Lifestyle

• Healthy Mind and a Healthy Body = Motivation towards professional success!!

Coming Soon!!

• Visit the Welcome Center here on campus to learn how your employer “sells” itself to the incoming students.

• Get to know Temple beyond your building and your office!– Become more connected to the student body.– Improve your customer service!

Get to know TEMPLE!

• Game Time???

Managing • Knowing Yourself

– Every time you do something that is important, write down what you expect will happen.

• Building on Strengths– Most of us underestimate our own strengths. – As a result, we don't know our strengths, and we don't know how

we can build on them.– We will have to learn where we belong, what we have to learn to

get the full benefit from our strengths, where our weaknesses lie, what our values are.

Drucker, Peter F. "Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself" Leader to Leader. 16 (Spring 2000): 8-10.

Improving Productivity and Understanding

• Effective organizations put people in jobs in which they can do the most good. They place people -- and allow people to place themselves -- according to their strengths.

• The historic shift to self-management offers organizations four ways to best develop and motivate knowledge workers: – Know people's strengths. – Place them where they can make the greatest contributions. – Treat them as associates. – Expose them to challenges.

Drucker, Peter F. "Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself" Leader to Leader. 16 (Spring 2000): 8-10.

Managing up

What does it mean?Caring enough about your work and the success of

the organization to do whatever you can to help your boss be most successful.

This includes proactively communicating, collaborating, assisting, and coaching your boss when helpful.

Ways to Manage Up:

• Nudge Coach

• Know what your boss cares about and help

• Talk like your boss

Management Craft http://www.managementcraft.com/2010/05/index.html

Providing Professional Development for your Team or Department

How many times do you have to sit around with friends and hear how their company paid for an all inclusive trip to some exotic island for a company retreat?

How many times do you hear your Mother brag about her friend Millie’s son who just got a $20k bonus from their company?

Well, let’s face it, we are Temple University and there’s no way either one of those scenarios is going to happen for us. So we just heard from Chris and Anar about professional development and the importance of it at an individual level, I’d like to examine it on an larger level – the team or Department level.

Professional development is about being aware of the decisions that you make, the way you think about, and the way you handle different situations. Imagine a Department where there is not that one person who doesn’t work up to their potential, where the office gossiper doesn’t exist and everyone is just so happy and motivated. It’ll never happen but wouldn’t it be nice???

The concept behind professional development is the idea that you have untapped potential, and to not settle with what you have if you want more out of life. Professional development is a process of continually progressing and refining your character. It is about life-long learning and growing as an individual but what about looking at Professional development for your team as a whole?

Be Positive—starting at the Top

• Positive thinking and professional development go hand-in-hand. If you think your department can be better, then it can be.

• If your manager is positive, honest and open then I believe the staff will feel more secure and motivated to do their best individually.

• Each individual working in that fashion equals a team or department who is working at their best. So I think the first aspect of an efficient team is a positive manager.

• If you as a manager are unhappy then your staff will follow. So as manager, start looking at things in a positive light, you will be able to put more energy and effort into everything you do, because you know that you are working towards an end goal.

Setting Goals—For your Department

• Professional development is all about goal-setting. We set goals for ourselves annually in our PDPs but how many managers set goals for the department annually. Or how often do managers communicate those goals with the Department. Individuals will work more efficiently if they can see the big picture and it’s human nature to work harder if they know what they are working toward and had a hand in setting those goals.

• Start by allowing the staff establishing those goals for the department each year. The front line staff members will have some great ideas. Keep in mind that when setting goals, they need to be obtainable or realistic goal. Goals must be measurable and they must have a timetable for them to be accomplished. If you set a goal that cannot be measured it is often difficult to see how far you have come or how much you have progressed from the beginning and that will decrease motivation. At the same time, goals that do not have a set timetable have a tendency to become a fantasy instead of a reality. Timetables give you focus and a sense of urgency in everything you do when it is related to your goal. Being able to measure your progress and setting a timetable will give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you thinking positively. Further, communicate this with the staff on a monthly basis. Post the timetable and accomplishments in a common area around the office and let them know where the department is and the accomplishments to date.

Create Opportunities for Professional development

So how do we provide our staff with opportunities for professional development on a tight budget? Here are some ideas:

• Have 1 staff member attend a conference and report back to all the staff what he/she has learned during the monthly staff meeting.

• Host a one day staff retreat on campus and ask staff members or outside consultants to present on various topics.

• Host professional development events by collaborating with Human Resources to do onsite sessions. Even invite another department to share the cost.

• Online courses are another cost-effective way to provide professional development.

In Conclusion:

• Professional development is applicable to every individual, regardless of what you do for a living, or other socio-economic factors. Thinking positively and setting realistic goals keep you motivated to continually better yourself, and the world around you.

The Manager is the Navigator and Role Model. One of the biggest causes of success or failures in any business can be entirely dependent on the good or bad qualities of a manager.

Managers must be interested not only in their job, but also the people they work with. To be a good manager you must become a good leader and guide your employees beyond their comfort level.

Managers Present Opportunities

1.Communication2. Leadership3. Motivation

CommunicationCommunication with others is for a purpose. It is to inform, to warn, to impress or to entertain

• Build Trust– Create a bond, people are more interested in themselves and their problems. Before anyone can trust the manager they have to feel

comfort and feel that they are understood. Trust is built when we make ourselves vulnerable to others whose subsequent behavior we can’t control.1

– Be honest and fair along with being adaptable and approachable. An honest manager garners respect, a fair manager is open minded and seeks a professional way to resolve issues. A manager must allow themselves to adapt to the situation at hand and not be afraid to make a decision, while showing control of the situation. A manager must allow themselves to be approached without fear as well as showing that they can be a wise arbiter while showing, knowledge, authority and experience. Be available to answer questions and provide guidance.

– Encourage taking part in internal as well as external education opportunities, as well as researching open job opportunities within the organization.

– Provide career path guidelines, organizational expectations.

• Become a Good Listener– Be patient and hear the persons story, comments and or frustrations.– Do not interrupt, wait until the person has finished and ask questions to confirm that what you have heard is what the person was trying

to convey.– Be empathetic, when you listen you are telling the person that you are willing to share their worries and concerns.– Provide constructive and meaningful feedback.

• Be Congruent– Skilled communicators move their bodies in congruent to evoke the listener’s emotions.– Nonverbal communication is more important than the words you use.– Your tone of voice makes a difference to the message you are delivering.– Be cognizant that your body language speaks and tells others what you are actually feeling inside.

LeadershipLeadership is getting people to look beyond their own job description for ways to improve and challenge the process. -

Maureen Fries

• Provide Goal setting. Managers have a reason for doing the job and the best managers communicate that goal to their subordinates.– Tie the work in with the needs of the employee. Set performance expectations that will allow personnel to

grow and use their individual talent, skill and knowledge.– Allow the employee to gain self-worth. Show the employee ,how his/her job is an important part of the

team as well as their individual impact on the organization. Everyone is selfish to a degree, no one will work any harder if his/her only ambition is to get a paycheck.

• Provide and explain the vision of the organization. Managers are required to work with and facilitate human, financial and material resources.– Teach, inspire and motivate others to boost their human potential. Leave your own attitude at the door.

Don’t blame your employees for your personal problems.– Reduce employee dissatisfaction. Don’t blame your tools for doing the wrong job if you have not used

them correctly.– Keep an open mind as well as an open door. Build trust, listen and be congruent.– Identify values for growth and improvement. Provide both positive and negative criticism to help in

growth, TEACH DON’T PREACH.

• Lead with integrity, control and a clear purpose.– Be honest. Don’t play the blame game.– Show strength as well as compassion. Allow employees to express their concerns and displeasures.– Treat employees with dignity and respect. Initiate, motivate and show a positive attitude (smile).

MotivationMotivation is a force that inspires a person to take action

• External Stimulus. This is when a person takes action after being offered an incentive or reward.– Actively seek out ways to increase choice and provide greater decision-making authority

and responsibility for employees.– Challenge the Process. Change from the status quo. Innovate, think outside the box. 2

– Inspire a Shared Vision. Dream, Imagine, aspire. Leaders can ignite the flame of passion in others. 2

– Enable Others to Act. Leadership is a team effort. Enlist the support and assistance of all those who must make the task at hand work. 2

– Model the Way. Leaders must be consistent, and have a operational plan. 2

– Encourage the Heart. By showing employees that they can achieve and that they can win. 2

• Encouragement. This is temporary and brief.– Team Building Events.– Recognition. People value being appreciated for their contributions. – Celebrate Milestones. Tenure with the organization, Promotion, Birthdays.– Lobbying for organizational inclusion as well as espousing team accomplishments.

1. Kouzes Posner – The leadership, page 167.2. Kouzes Posner – The Five Fundamental Practices of Exemplary Leadership, Pages 8-14.

Creating Opportunity

Thank You

The End