Ask yourself: what do you want to do when you “grow up”? That is, if you ever need to “grow up” which can certainly be debated either way. 😉 What is it that you want to accomplish, what do you want to become and do? Who are you today and who do you want to be tomorrow? As far as …
Best job interview advice: be yourself!
Job interviews are an important and (for most) unavoidable process in transition between your current place of employment and the next chapter of your career. While I have made a video about in-person interview tips, I want to take a moment to focus on the most important advice of them all: be yourself! No matter what happens or what you …
Proactive career management
All of you who know me a bit know that I like to be intentional about goals and accomplishments and that I’m not a fan of aimless drifting as a viable strategy. While I’m not always successful in this pursuit, my intent is always to look some 3-5 years ahead and plan where I want to be and what would …
Experience is a lot more than the number of years alone
Experience is what we are all after when looking for a new hire (obviously in addition to personality, skill set and education to name a few). However, this elusive experience is not equivalent to the number of years candidates have, but it is much more related to how were those years spent. When looking to hire, ask yourself, better yet, …
Why Educause matters to me
Each industry has a number of organizations that unify professionals and enable them to network, collaborate, communicate and exchange ideas and knowledge. For me, one of such organizations, is certainly Educause. Educause is an association that unifies all of us who are in higher education (higher ed) information technology (IT) and provides opportunities for collaboration with colleagues and vendors. When …
Invest in people
Education, training, growth and other opportunities are among many responsibilities of leaders to provide for their teams and staff. Make sure people are trained in their area of responsibilities and that they have opportunities to continue learning, growing and advancing. It’s always better to have a smaller number of high performing people on your team than a larger number of …
Creative thinking required
Creativity and originality are at times challenging to come by in most organizations. Way too frequently folks follow the same path that was cut by those before them without considering all available options. It is imperative to consider alternatives and ensure that you and your business are using the best available solutions and are not simply maintaining status quo. At …
Push your employees over the edge then be there to catch them
Push your employees “off the edge” and be there to help them land safely. Get them out of their comfort zone and enable their growth, advancement and provide them with opportunities. At times, you will come across folks who lack confidence and belief in their abilities and it is on you as a leader to find a way to reinvigorate …
To succeed you must leave your office
Get out of your office and have your staff do the same. Now, don’t interpret that as not working or simply hanging out, but as a necessary process to grow, learn and become better at our jobs. Each of us must reach beyond the comfort of our core expertise in order to meet people and learn from them. Meet folks …
Tell me about your worst boss ever
Never speak ill of someone you work for. No matter what may have happened, publicly, you always need to have your boss’ back. Privately, you will hopefully have an opportunity to speak honestly and share your thoughts, ideas and comments. Conversely, don’t allow anyone to badmouth you or your team especially if they haven’t approached you first or have nothing …