Developing My Plan for the Future

1. Developing My Plan for the Future Tom Ellett, Ph.D. Sr. Associate Vice President of Student Affairs New York University Tom.ellett@nyu.edu @TeEllett

2. Goals of the Session • To begin the process of understanding how to transfer skills to other positions/other professions • To recognize your own personal barriers and resistance • To connect your values to the choices you make

3. Some further thoughts… • What is being offered is a framework for thinking about your future – competencies (applicable to all fields), creating routine, and an approach to life that encourages reflection. • This can be useful if you yourself are considering your next professional steps and/or if you are supervising staff in that position. • If you are a new professional, you can also use these exercises to begin thinking about how to get the most out of your current position.

4. Competencies • Let’s start by looking at some of the competencies that are important at different levels in this profession (housing & residence life) • First there are the competencies used for the National Housing Training Institute (NHTI) • Additionally, ACUHOI has created the Body of Knowledge (BOK – henceforth) – which we all discuss further tomorrow (Keynote) • What competencies (using NHTI)are you strong at? Which ones are weaker? And why?

5. Competencies – listing (NHTI) 1. Decision Making 2. Interpersonal Communication 3. Budget Development and Resource Allocation 4. Crisis Management 5. Cooperation and Collaboration 6. Personal Characteristics 7. Staff Supervision 8. Ethics 9. Staff Selection 10. Strategic Thinking and Planning 11. Motivation 12. Organizational Culture 13. Interpretation of Institutional Goals, Issues, and Concerns 14. Networking 15. Assessment of Student Needs & Interests (Competencies are listed in rank order) (Courtesy of Dr. J. Diane Porter, University of Florida)

6. Tracking Your Competencies • It is time to identify your top competencies. • Please take a moment and identify your top three competencies. • Use the handouts, but know if there are important competencies that are not listed, you can incorporate them on your sheet.

7. Tracking… (continued) • It is now time to identify competencies you can work on. • Please take a moment and identify three of your weakest competencies. • Again, feel free to use the handouts or your own experience!

8. Working with the Competencies • Now take both competency lists and write the tangible skills you have developed for each. • Ask yourself: • What other careers/opportunities do those skills transfer to? • How much do I need to move to the next level of this profession or to another profession altogether?

9. Where To Go Now ???? Wherever You Want! It’s Your LIFE!

10. So Many Questions… • How long does the average person stay in this field? • Where do people in our profession go? • Do people move up or move out? • What is the field that most people gravitate to after housing/res life? Not all the questions have definitive answers!

11. How Long Do They Stay? • Most entry-level staff members remained in their positions for either 2-3 years (44.5%) or 3-4 years (26.7%). • The percentage of staff staying only 1-2 years was 18.5%. • Those retained for more than four years was 8.7%. • Staff staying for less than one year? Only 1.7%! St. Onge, S., Ellett, T., and Nestor, E., (2008, November). “Factors Affecting Recruitment and Retention of Entry-Level Housing and Residential Life Staff: Perceptions of Chief Housing Officers.” Journal of College & University Student Housing, 35(2), 10-23.

12. Other data about our field • Leaving the field (previously slide) – older data shows 66% stay in field somewhere • Best skills transferred: “excellent management and communication skills” – other thoughts on what you feel is easily transferred (generally speaking)

13. Your Next Career Step? • Is it within this profession or to another industry? • Do you see your current position as a career or a job? • Ask yourself: “Do I have an energy surplus or lack of energy for many aspects of my position?”

14. Career Transitions • This may mean getting into something you have always loved or moving toward a lifelong dream • Some things to think about: • Don't underestimate the time and effort it will take to make a career transition • Don't take short cuts • Don't give up too early

15. Career Planning • Whether you love your current job or feel frustrated and confined by it, career planning can help. • Think of career planning as building bridges from your current job/career to your next. • Without the bridge, you may easily stumble or lose your way, but with the bridge there is safety and direction.

16. Professional Assessment • Planning in three areas helps both prepare for your future and maintain your current effectiveness: • Self-Assessment • Drafting a Professional Plan • Ongoing Review • How to do it? • Review the instructions in Handout __ and complete the chart in Handout __

17. The Fallacy of the Pyramid • Does it really exist? Is it so hard to move up in this field? • One thing to consider: remove the geographical boundaries • You might be surprised how few people are willing to relocate.

18. Thoughts on how to move up • Contributions to my campus • Do your job & more…. • Live the values of your institution • Education (certificates/degrees) • What will your involvement be? • Publishing • Research • Committee work • Give back

19. The good life is when you get up in the morning and you can’t wait to start all over again. Life is too short not to live without a focus on pursuing your heart’s desire.

20. What gets you up starting your day? • Building a routine • Taking care of yourself – helps so we can take care of others • You don’t have to be a better person to develop a different attitude. • People don’t solve problems with positive attitudes – they do it with knowledge and action. You control both!

21. Thoughts on the Happiness Advantage (Scott Achor’s book – 2012) • A new perspective on the role of happiness based on neuroscience research • Start believing • Think again • Practice positivity • Use failure to fuel success • Focus on small goals • Use the 20 second rule • Seek social support

22. Happiness Occurred When... • People knew exactly what they wanted AND • They felt like they were moving toward it Unhappiness can come from having too many options and/or creating barriers. Adapted from Barbara Sher’s Book: I Could Do Anything, If I Only Knew What it Was, New York: Dell Publishing,1994.

23. Additional things to think about on influence on us • For most of us, we get messages from everyone around us (friends, families, partners, etc.) about what we should do, but it’s impossible to do all of that! • Perhaps by looking at who we see ourselves as we can get a glimpse at what we could do… • …or maybe we need to understand what we see as meaningful work.

24. Meaningful Work Here’s what some people said about doing meaningful work: • “It fills you up, uses everything you’ve got.” • “I know I love what I’m doing when I forget the clock.” • “It feels honest. Hard, honest work.” • “When I love my work, I’m the owner of it. To give my best I really have to feel that way.” Now it’s YOUR turn.

25. How to Get Lucky Now understanding what you see as meaningful work, you can begin to be active about pursuing those kind of opportunities: • Good luck happens when you are in action. • Action will help you think and it raises your self-esteem. • We can only create/find opportunities when we’re active! • So what’s stopping us????

26. We All Have Barriers! The key to moving forward is to first understand our barriers… …and then do something to knock them down!

27. Barriers .. They block us time & time again Barriers, or things that are “resistance blocks,” are things that prevent each of us from moving forward. For many of us, these become ‘fears’, ‘challenges’, and/or ‘lack of knowledge’ we have from meeting the level of success that each of us have the ability to reach. The upcoming slides will introduce you to the barriers and information about how to begin to make sense of these items. So let’s move forward!

28. Naming Your Resistance • Barbara Sher’s book is broken down into chapters that actually name our possible barriers. • On the next two slides we list ten barriers. Do any of these ring true for you? • If none reflect your barriers – GREAT. Teach others – role modeling and mentoring are key! Sher, Barbara (1994). I Could Do Anything: If I Only Knew What It Was. New York: Dell Publishing.

29. Naming Your Resistance (cntd.) 1) Fear of success and leaving the ones you love behind. 2) I want too many things, I’m all over the map. 3) On the wrong track and moving fast. 4) I want something I shouldn’t want - it’s trivial and unworthy. 5) Help! I’m not ready to be born yet. (This concept means you are “new” to a particular skill set/profession and you feel you shouldn’t be perceived to be a leader in that industry/profession.)

30. Naming Your Resistance (cntd.) 6) Regrouping: It’s a whole new ballgame (This concept refers to changing directions in mid-stream of your intended career goal) 7) I’ve lost my big dream - there’s nothing left 8) Nothing ever interests me 9) A rage against the ordinary (This concept refers to having a strong resistance to living your life like everyone else as you are reserving yourself for a special fate) 10) Trying to love something you really don’t want

31. The Barriers Revealed • Which barriers are blocking you? • By starting to understand your barriers, you can begin addressing them head on by changing your thinking. • If you believe you can change, you CAN! • Ways to address Barriers: The Temporary/Permanent Commitment • Thinking about your barriers, decide on one step you would like to take towards your goals and then actively work for two hours on taking it this week. • Maybe it’s finally updating your resume, looking through job postings, or talking to someone who is currently doing whatever job you want – make the commitment and follow through for only two hours this week!

32. Changing Your Actions My Life …. Where to begin? • All of the parts are connected to one whole… which is me. • Thinking from the inside out – my values drive my actions! • Introducing the Whole Life Model

33. Thinking from the Inside Out Model of Human Functioning • The model requires us to allow life to occur from the Inside  Out • Most of us allow for the outside (environment, family, colleagues, etc.) to drive the inside OR allow our feelings to affect our thinking

34. Model of Human Functioning Results: Behaviors Feelings Thinking

35. Model Explained • Our thinking (which is rooted in our core values) starts the process. • Our thinking affects how we feel about life, which in turn informs our choices and behaviors. • We can change our lives just by changing our thinking!

36. The Whole Life Model

37. Some Valuable Resources Useful Books: • The Alchemist, Sidhartha, Who Moved My Cheese, Man’s Search for Meaning, Sunflower, Thinking Fast and Slow, The Happiness Advantage, I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was, The War of Art (a book on procrastination!), The Four Agreements, Lean In, Steal Like an Artist

38. Last Reminders! • You are in control of your life… don’t let the actions you want to take not occur…. • If I can ever help you, please feel free to contact me at te13@nyu.edu