Showing posts with label Millennials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Millennials. Show all posts

Monday, February 18, 2019

6 Ways for Higher Education Faculty and Staff to Handle Conflict in Their Department


I know that you get along with everyone right? Wrong! I will almost promise you that you will not get along with everyone all of the time. As a millennial, I am in a workplace (higher education) in which I do not have many peers. I am in my mid-30s and most of my peers are in their 50s and 60s. As a black professor, I do not see many people who look like me who do what I do on campus each day (teaching). 

When differences are evident, this means that disagreements can happen. We have to be prepared for these disagreements ahead of time and to mentally be alert to HOW we are reacting to situations and people. 

Recently, I read an article in Entrepreneur that can be applied to the higher education environment as well. "How to Handle Office Conflict" focused on six ways that employers can address office conflict amongst their employees. These strategies can also be applied to student affairs and the tenure track process.

1 - Confront It - Sometimes when we disagree with someone and we do not address the conflict when it arises, it can become worse. For instance, if you have to work on a group project with someone and you are taking more of the responsibility, this means that you need to address this responsibility inequity with your research or student affairs partner!

2 - Know When to Cut Ties - When you are working on a research project with someone and they do not hold up their end of the research bargain, you can cut your ties with your research partner. Sometimes, it is VERY difficult to do so, but in the long run it can save you months of anguish!

3 - Take It Outside - When you address the issue, you need to have in face-to-face and in an open, private place. This means, maybe a table on the patio of the building or perhaps in the library coffee shop, but address the conflict in neutral space.


4 - Embrace It - Know the the conflict exists, acknowledge it and converse about the conflict!

5 - Keep It Constructive - When you converse about the conflict, you need to stay focused on the topic at hand. Sometimes, when a conflict occurs it is easy to think about other items that are affected BY the conflict. AVOID this!

6 - Designate a Mediator - Think about involving someone who is not in your department and perhaps not in your academic college. Faculty conflict and conflict amongst student affairs professionals is very common, but address the conflict before it becomes a larger issue.

Okay guys, resolve the conflict and get stuff done! 

Oh and by the way, here's another resource for you:



Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Interested in a specific student success topic or do you need a speaker for an upcoming conference? Contact me via direct message on Twitter or join our Student Success Communication and Technology Institute on Facebook!

Thanks for visiting! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Higher Education Speaker and Researcher

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Monday, October 1, 2018

Five Easy Ways to Remain Connected to the Office While You Are on Vacation


When you are on vacation in higher education, sometimes your role requires you to remain connected to the office (especially during the beginning or end of the budget cycle OR if an important decision is occurring on campus).

Remaining connected during vacation is a characteristic of some individuals in my generation (the millennial generation), especially entrepreneurs and educators. However, I want to emphasize that these tips are mostly for millennials and for members of the millennial generation.. 

Here are some steps to remain connected with the office while enjoying vacation with your family/friends.

1 - Wake Up Before Everyone Else and Grab a Cup of Coffee and Your Laptop/Tablet to Answer Emails or to Write a Portion of a Research Manuscript

2 - Consider Only Replying to Email Messages During the Early Morning and Late Afternoon

3 - Let Your Family and Your Office Know about Your Work/Life Boundaries During the Week

Sometimes your child has to know that you will complete the puzzle with her after you complete a conference call with the office (and sometimes vice-versa - after you finish your trek through Sea World). Not that this actually happened by the way. :) 

4 - Pack an Anker Charger to Remain Connected to Power Throughout the Day

5 - Consider Providing an Auto-response for InBound Email

This will help the senders realize that you will respond during certain times of the day while you are on vacation.

Deadlines used to run my life. This year, I've decided to prioritize everything in my life to truly LIVE life at home and at work.

If something is pertinent, it will definitely be pulled on to my lifeboat (the few items that I can truly focused on per day). However, if an item requires a lot of thought and emotional processing, these items definitely float to the top of the water, but I do not pull these items on my lifeboat. Items that do not require or demand my immediate attention are in a net below the surface. These items can be pulled to the water's surface at anytime, but do not have to obstruct my daily views of the journey ahead.

1 - Family
2 - Action Items from My Immediate Supervisor (even while on vacation)
3 - Telephone Calls and Conversations from my team (even while on vacation)
4 - Emails or Tweets from Students
5 - Emails or Tweets from Others

This metaphor enables me to segment my prioritizes while maintaining my daily schedule.

How do you prioritize your to do list? Let me know!

J. Edwards



Monday, January 16, 2017

Each Faculty Member Should Know About the Degree Qualifications Profile! Do You?


Over the past year, I've been fortunate to serve a LEAP Texas Faculty Fellow. This has truly been one of the best experiences in higher education that I have had in a long time. Our LEAP Texas groups was selected to present at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment's Charrette experience. 

All five of the LEAP Texas Fellows collaborated together to form a collection of five similar assignments focused on the first-year seminar (our common link). During the charrette, we shared these assignments and received feedback focused on our assignment design. We incorporated this feedback and then we resubmitted our assignment for the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) library.

Check out my submission to the assignment library - Incorporating the Diversity of Academic Disciplines in a College-Wide First-Year Seminar Course to Address University Problems

Incorporating the Diversity of Academic Disciplines in  a College-Wide First-Year Seminar Course to Address University Problems

When you have a chance, please check out the DQP library. It is very extensive and it definitely helps all faculty (new and seasoned) create assignments focused on the following DQP proficiencies:


Analytic inquiry
Broad and Integrative Knowledge
Communicative fluency
Ethical reasoning
Quantitative fluency
Use of information resources
Applied and Collaborative Learning
Civic and Global Learning
Engaging diverse perspectives
Intellectual Skills
Specialized Knowledge

Have a great week! Thanks for visiting the Millennial Professor Blog!

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
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