Creating true engagement with others

True engagement with others is what we achieve when both sides are actively engaging with each other in a manner that is trusting, respectful as well as positively challenging.

Today I had the privilege of speaking to a group of students who attend what is called a 'kura kaupapa maori'.  A kura kaupapa is a Wananga (school) whereby the students spend their time conversing in their native tongue - in this case Maori.

I was briefed that I would talk to the students for a few minutes about Forestry and Farming.  The mistake I made was in assuming that the students had an idea of what and how big the industry is.  Boy - was I wrong!  They had very little understanding of our industry.  Then the lesson began...

What happened was the session we had together ended up being 30 minutes in length (instead of the allocated 10 minutes) and the kids were actively engaging with me while I spoke.  How did I do this?  I told the students that they had to ask me 3 questions before they could move on to the next stage of their tour.  That was the starting point for what was to follow.

What eventuated was that as I let them ask questions we developed a conversation whereby the students were able to ask me anything they liked and I did my best to answer them.  It ended up that I had to stop the questions because they had so many to ask!

So why did it work?

1. I engaged them through making them ask the questions.  Making people think is the most crucial element when engaging with others.
2. I listened to them.  When they ask me a question I always tried to answer it and then I would follow up with a question of my own to get them to continue their thinking which would then lead to the next question.
3. I showed enthusiasm and told my own story.  This is the acid test - do you keep it real?  I encouraged each of those kids to go on and study at University.  I am fully aware that some of those kids may never get to University.  But I tell my story - which is that I didn't start University until I was 30.

Getting positive engagement with people really is easy.  It starts with finding common ground, building trust through communication and ultimately walking away and knowing both sides have received some good from the engagement.

Want to know what i enjoy best about my job? People.  Be it mainstream school students, kura kaupapa students right through to senior citizens.  I love engaging with them all.

6 Thinking Hats & Instructional Design

One of the great tools that we as managers can use when analysing different situations and scenarios.  This method was designed and created by Dr Edward de Bono.

If you look through the slides you will see how it worls and the general headings for the various methods of thinking.

Here's my recommendation - make small reminder cards.  Take these with you in your wallet or in your briefcase and then whip them out the next time you are sitting in a meeting or working on a project and things aren't progressing.

Try it out with your team too.  Try working on a project or problem area and use the six hats thinking to create new ideas and ways of moving forward.

Interestingly my daughter is also studying these different thinking strategies at the age of 9 years old.  So if she is able to harness these thinking patterns at a young age she will be well equipped in later life to look at problems in a different way than others do.

(Thanks to @tabitharoder for sourcing the powerpoint too).

Creating Ongoing Returns on Investment

The New Zealand tertiary education system is set up in such a way that anyone and everyone can have access to higher education.  Along with assisting people to enter the education system the Government also gift students with extra money for living and everyday expenses.

So given that the Government are investing so much time and money into the sector - they (quite rightly) expect a return on their investment.  Legislation was introduced in 2010 that says that students can access a maximum of 7 years funding assistance and that if any student fails more than 50% of their studies in a given time period they become ineligible to recieve help in the future.

The problem is that there are plenty of students who will fail their study but ought not to be penalised for having tried.  So what has happened is a shift in the thinking and approach of educators to their students.  Where previously tutors may have thought "You know what? Tough.  The student didn't come to class and so they failed.  Not my problem".

Don't get me wrong 98% of tutors take a healthy interest in their students and will often go well beyond the call of duty to assist their learners.  What is happening now is that behavior of assistance is being internalsied and reinforced by management as a central pillar of the classroom and teaching culture.

So we seek to create a culture of caring for those whom we don't see quite so often due to all sorts of circumstances.  Part time students, mums, dads, people without transport, people have been told they are dumb.

At the same time we are undergoing a "brand" review to freshen up the way we project ourselves into the community about who we are and what we do.  My sincere hope is that the two walk hand in hand.

Ultimately community and care of each other is what we are all about.  The way we look at each other within our 'four walls' is just as important as the message that we broadcast to others outside of our organisation.

What we are seeking to provide to the Government, to the students and to the community is an ongoing return on investment.  An investment that will eventually not only raise GDP, living stndards and quality of life but also instill confidence and mana in the learners.

We do this through support, through manaakitanga and through trusting in each other.

A story of educational management change

Five years ago our educational facility was in the dumps.  Seriously.  It got so bad that the institute was facing wrack and ruin due to a lack of customers, loss of face with the community and bad internal decision making processes.  And all this was topped off by a lack of leadership in the highest office. 

Enter our current CEO - Dr Pim Borren.  Mr Borren made a number of sweeping changes and was able to bring some really common sense approaches to old problems that the previous management couldn't see.  Basically the old management was so stuck in their ways of doing business that they couldn't see any real way forward.

There were some classic management 101 changes made straight off the bat.  Here are a few examples:

1.  Reduce unnecessary overhead costs.  Cut the number of business units (faculties). 

2.  Restructure the levels of management and remove as many middle managers without decision making powers as allowable.

3.  Sack the previous management team (bar two) and hire new people who are both professional and capable.

4.  Give the power to make decisions back to the business units.

5.  Rejuvenate the marketing department with professionals who had tried and true skills and ability.

6.  Decentralise.

7.  Be open and accessible to the people.

8.  Work with the unions - not against them.

9.  Give credit to the people who deserve it.

And it worked.  Since 2007 we have had significant growth and have managed to achieve fantastic results both in graduating students as well as changing the demographics.

So here we are now in 2011.  Is it still working?

Yes.  Graduating student numbers this year were through the roof!  Building development programs are under way and last year we had our biggest ever financial surplus.

And no.  Let’s be honest - we don't have it all together.  There are heaps of changes that we the workers would like to have made.  But we're not boss.  So we get on with getting on.  And to be honest we have a lot of fun along the way too.

The last five or so years of Mr Borrens term as CEO of Waiariki Institute of Technology haven't been without the odd bit of controversy.  But at the same time there have been plenty of obstacles that we have had to overcome.  The wins far outweigh the controversies by far.

Leadership and management can be tough.  And at the same time it takes a strong person take a $27m business up to a $50m business in 5 years.

This post is my small way of acknowledging the work that Mr Borren (also known as Pim) has achieved at such a rapid pace and in such a small amount of time. 

Love him or loathe him - the results speak for themselves.

 

Graduation day - when it really counts

Graduation day is upon us.  For the 400 plus students who are attending the graduation ceremony - this is a fantastic achievement.  (Note - there are hundreds of students who were successful but have chosen not to attend).

Graduation day is the time when students get to say - "I did it.  I didn't do it my own but I did it.  And it was worth it!" 

I tip my hat to the organisers and the volunteers who make days like this special and have value.

What happens now and where the students go from here is up to them.  I as a staff member have completed my role with those people at this time.  The file is closed the students are gone - time to move on.

But have the students really gone?  Has my input really come to a close?  This question resonates with me both as a philosophical question and a practical one.

What do we do when our customers have finished their transaction?  Where does the relationship between the service provider and the client/customer finish?

In my view - graduation is not the final point of contact.  Not at all.  The relationships between people their products and the suppliers should be seamless and continual.

Encouraging engaging education

Take a moment and check out this fantastic advert that was produced for the NZ Air Force.

How and why does it work?  Contrasts and comparisons.

• Boring teacher, boring classroom, boring lesson.

Versus

• Exciting technology, exciting opportunity, exciting response.

Then there are the sub themes that really make the advert great.

• The girl who gets on the helicopter was the only student trying to learn in class.  This tells me self-motivation is a huge factor.
• The girl stands up in anticipation of what might come well before the others.  Therefore she senses opportunity before it happens.
• She only has to be asked once before she runs out the door to embrace the opportunity. 
• No one tells her what the risks are or what the withdrawal policy is.  The air force want risk takers who are prepared to jump in boots and all.

So there you go.  Even if you hate what it is you are doing or learning - be aware that opportunity is never far away.  You need to be open and aware that it could happen at any time.

Would you take the risk? 

Self assessment and evaluation

The NZ education system has undergone a sea change and has moved from a system of auditting to self assessment and evaluation.  Under the old system educfators were treated like accountants in that the entire method of teaching was reduced down to a series of numbers and basic measurements.  So if an organisation was good at writing reports then they could massage the numbers in order to meet their own purposes.

Under self assessment and evaluation the organisations are given the power to get their business right from the outset.  Self assessment and appraisal is something that most people do intuitively and generally pretty well.

There are three basic questions that underpin the self assessment method -

1. Whats up?  (Where are we at?  Whats going on?)
2. So what? (What does this mean?)
3. Now what? (Where to from here?  What and how can we improve?)

Self assessment changes everything.  Why does everything change?  Because all the questions, and ultimately all the answers, are all forward facing and future focussed.

It is geared towards ensuring that students achieve their desired outcomes and goals while returning value to the major investor - the government. 

I thoroughly recommend that you find out more on evaluations with a click here.

Making real change happen

Here is a quick overview of three areas that I think are the cornerstones of a healthy and sustainable community.  Here they are -

1. Female empowerment.  There can never be enough females empowered to make decisions for themselves.  This is especially true in countries where there is repression and lack of opportunities for advancement.  Respect rules.
2. Education.  There is no substitute or ceiling that can be enforced when a person is educated.  Education sets the mind free to explore the possibilities of life and self achievement. 
3. Micro finance.  Lending $25US to a person who lives in a country where the average GDP is less than $1,000US per year doesn't make much difference to my bank account but it can make a radical change in someone else's life.

This leads me to the question - what are your key drivers in life?  What are the three big ideals that drive you forward and excite you.  What is it in life that makes you feel that you are making a contribution and are fulfilling your life's mission?

Check out this website - http://www.worlded.org/WEIInternet/gwe/index.cfm which tells you more.

The Education Business

How do you define success? Do you use quantitative or qualitative methods of measurement?

There are no definitive answers to this question. In the tertiary education sector this an area that we are constantly working towards understanding better.

In order to be successful education providers need to do the following -

1. Be profitable.
2. Have customers.
3. Have outcomes.

Sound easy enough? It may sound easy but achieving each of these in a balanced way is very, very hard. Lets break it down some more.

1. Be profitable. If we are not making more money than we spend then we will become unsustainable. Simple.


2. Have customers. Who are our customers? Students and people wanting to learn stuff. Stuff that will make them better people and more employable.


3. Have outcomes. When a person has finished learning stuff they want to either have a job or further learning opportunities available to them.

So what types of measure's can we apply to measure these? Quantitative or qualitative?

To be honest - there needs to be a solid mix of both. For those persons who are more sensical and logical they will likely err to the side of money. To the people who are more tuned in to the students then they will be looking for qualitative outcomes.

Neither is right and neither is wrong. It is all about balance. And if an educational organisation decides the qualitative is their priority they put at risk the quality of the experience of the customer. When customers can see quality outcomes - they will pay whatever it takes to be a part of your organisation.

Education follow up stories - Where are they now?

After graduating on Friday from Waikato University with my Post Grad Diploma, I had some really interesting conversations with previous class mates.

A) One a successful engineer, who had previously worked on some very cool projects, was made redundant along with 139 other engineers - all at the same time.

B) Another had bought into a real estate company venture dealing only with top end customers. It was all fine until the recession hit.

C) A very good friend of mine went in search of the bright lights, found a new job, and then found it is the same job as she used to have - only in a far bigger setting.

What can we learn from these three people and their situations?

A) Used his class contacts to find a similar engineering role and is now doing very nicely and is the number two in charge. Lesson - contacts count. Meet people, stay in touch, strengthen relationships - you never know when you will need a favour.

B) Recessions go away. Okay it wasn't the best time to buy in - but - when is a good time? As the tide turns and fortunes increase, that company will have survived the absolute depths of darkness and will rise to stardom.

C) To make it in the city - you need to live in the city. Okay moving from one location to another for the same job may seem pointless. But the way you conduct business in the city is different to how you conduct business in the country! By moving to the city and re-learning the city culture - she will be better able to walk,talk and sell her skill sin such a way that employers will find it impossible to say no!

Marketing Silly Season

The secret to marketing is knowing - who to talk to and when they are listening.

In education a majority of the brighter students know years in advance where they are going and when.

Some of the bright kids who have a bit less conviction make their minds up within 6 to 12 months.

The kids with no idea make their minds up on the spot.

• When should marketing start for an education provider? As soon as possible. Every child and person is a potential candidate.

• What marketing strategies should providers employ? Graduates and career choices. Profile the people who have done well and show people the lifelong options available to them.

Education providers should have the easiest Marketing roles in the world. They are tasked with educating people and thereby helping them and improving their lifestyles.

What better product is there than that?