Some Thoughts on Advising

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

     Well, a lot has happened since I last posted.  There was conflict, there were - and still are - readings, and there was a ton of fun (what?! =)).  But there was also group advising.  In my position I have the responsibility of advising a hall council - a group of students who advocate for the residents of the hall and put on programs using a portion of the student fees.  It is essentially a full student organization with a full executive board and everyone contributing.  More importantly, they answer to only themselves, as I can only require actions of them when policy (or the law) forces me to.  Other than that, I am simply a voice on the sidelines that they can choose to listen to when they want.

     I have been developing a lot in what I say with that voice.  Last year I advised an excellent Hall Council as a Head Resident Assistant, but it was a very different experience, because they were all upperclassmen, programmed for an Apartment Complex, and were fairly self-sufficient in generating ideas.  This year's Council consists of mostly freshmen living in a more traditional residence hall, and, even though the ideas are always flowing, the follow-through and communication skills are not always.  This has forced me to step-in and guide conversation much more than ever, but the need to do this conflicts with my own views of what an advisor should or should not do.

     An important aspect I see in advising is allowing mistakes to occur.  Plenty of times last year and already a few times this year, I have seen parts of programs and initiatives that I could and wanted to change, but I had to leave them be.  They were simply not mine to modify.  Instead, they were the residents' programs.  Because I have let them be, they have been able to see the mistakes occur themselves, then reflect upon those mistakes and (ideally) learn from them.  This is part of the leadership development that we facilitate in student affairs - growth through mistakes and seeing what does not work when leading an organization.

     This is not to to say that I am perfect, at all.  I have made, and continue to make, plenty of mistakes when planning and executing programs.  I have advised groups and been surprised when their programs do not go well.  The aforementioned growth occurs at every level - I just have the privilege to advise groups because I have experienced more - this does not necessarily make me better.  It makes my voice louder in the room, which is why I have to restrain it at many point.  Because as much as I have steered students away from mistakes in the past, they have also proven me wrong and experienced great success when I saw flaws.  Their potential to create wonderful programs is so vast that my voice on the sidelines could just get in the way.  And so I will continue to only steer when asked.

Quote Citation: Churchill, W. (n.d.). Goodreads. Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2834066.Winston_Churchill