The Art of Making Mistakes

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. - Oscar Wilde

    Because I am a Graduate Assistant, this blog is sometimes as much about learning to navigate a position with greater responsibility as it is about Student Affairs.  Today's post is no exception.  In the past few months, I have made some mistakes.  Gasp!  It is not quite surprising - with more responsibility comes more mistake-making potential.  Some of these have been larger than others, and a variety of people have been affected  by each, from students to employees to my supervisor.

     What each of these mistakes have had in common, though, are two moments.  One is a moment of realization of the mistake.  The "Whoops" or "Uh-oh" moment, if you will.  Depending on the scope, a feeling of panic may accompany this realization - a split-second of fight-or-flight in which the short distance from my office to the airport seems short enough to sprint.  Luckily, that feeling subsides, and I have always made it through to acceptance that I messed up.

     The second moment is more important and the central takeaway from this post.  This is where you begin working towards a solution.  In some cases, you may be able to do this on your own.  Being able to solve a problem, or at least plan a solution to implement, is an important skill and shows a heightened sense of responsibility.  If you are able to do this, you will going to your supervisor with more than "I made a mistake," you will be walking into hir office with "I made a mistake, and here's what I plan to do to fix it."  This brings up another simple, yet important point - you need to tell others about the mistake!  Consider who needs to know and who should know (i.e., your supervisor will almost always be in at least the latter group, even if it only affects your direct reports).

     Envisioning a solution and telling stakeholders about a mistake may seem over-simplistic.  But coming from undergraduate, student staff positions, where most mistakes are smaller in scope and had easy solutions with few consequences, making your first mistakes in an entry-level position can be scary, if not paralyzing (helps combat the "flight").  Being the only "professional" staff member in this building, though, has been a great experience for many reasons, not the least of which is having the chance to solve the problems I create.  Not that I advocate for making mistakes; I advocate instead for learning more from mistakes than how to avoid them in the future.  Learn how to address them when they occur.  

What are your thoughts on getting back up after realizing a mistake?

Quote Citation:
Wilde, O. (n.d.). Goodreads. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/799160-experience-is-simply-the-name-we-give-our-mistakes 

Photo By Me - a couple of birds in the airport!  Choose fight, not flight, at that realization step :)

New Semester, New Goals

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi

Happy New Year, Everyone!  The blog is back!

I realized rather slowly last semester that I was in over my head in this endeavor.  I barely had time to tell my wife about my day, much reflect on it with you all.  So now, after being rejuvenated by a relaxing winter break with my family, I am setting out to do one post per week on Mondays.  As always, thank you for understanding and reading!

I believe a good way to start the new semester would be to set some professional goals for now through May.  I have had the chance to think back on last semester and want to reach for developing in the following ten areas.    Hopefully some may be general enough that other new professionals can relate, or at least consider where they can be analogous to their own positions:

1. Ask for more feedback - I have yet to figure out why, but I find myself consistently wondering if I am doing things well or doing enough in my position.  I think some of the time I spend wondering would be better spent this semester by actually asking someone who will have an answer.
2. Plan and implement a campus-wide program with the Hall staff - We have started to think about it and are excited to make it happen.  This will be a grand test in the action of following-through!
3. Assess some initiatives within the hall - There is a lot that we do that we assume is working.  It is about time that I actually talk to some residents about what they think works and doesn't work.
4. Create more space for academic success - I discovered at the end of last semester that many more residents than we thought were struggling with academics.  We can always do more, so it is time to rethink how we incorporate our Faculty Fellow, intentionally discuss classes, and create a space for students to be first and foremost academically successful.
5. Be a more approachable and intentional supervisor - Again, there is always more to be done, and facilitating the professional development of RAs to me is one of the most important areas of my position.
6. Reflect more on how students manage conflict and how to facilitate this - I plan to discuss this in depth with the RAs I supervise during our winter training; it is an area in which I have become very interested, and I believe helping students manage conflict became a much larger role last semester than I had expected.
7. Gain a sense of my professional network / reconnect - I did not realize how quickly a professional network grows in this field, and before I even thought of how to best network I had more connections than I could track in my head.  I need to at least start a list before it grows beyond my reach.
8. Be more present with advising - I have had the chance to reflect with some mentors on advising and realize that my approach could be less hands-off.  Redefining my role with Hall Council is one of my primary goals this semester.
9. Give more time to one-on-one conversations - Within a conversation with a student I (ideally) have a captive audience.  I need to appreciate this more, capitalize on these moments, and have the conversations I can have with those students.
10. Continue to bring theory into practice - My cohort is finally studying student development theory this semester, and I am excited to apply this to my work.

There you go!  What do you think of these goals?  What do you plan to work on this semester?

Quote Citation:

Francis of Assisi. (n.d.). BrainyQuote. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/francisofa121023.html 

Photo By: Me :)