"There's no time for strategy!"
This is a common refrain I hear from countless professionals -- including those who attend our graduate programs and executive education courses. They are learning new theories, approaches, and tools, but are worried about falling back into old patterns when they return to the office.
I found the article below that has many ideas, but I also wanted to share some of the specific things I do to "make time for strategy"
Over the summer, I took on a new role as Managing Director of the Goff Strategic Leadership Center. As a part of that role, I am involved in much more curriculum development, including the development of a new class that I started in Fall 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like many teachers and professors, there was much to learn in developing a new online course in the “IVC” or synchronous format. Here’s my story - hope it brings you a bit of humor and perhaps some tips as well. If not, it certainly comes with a generous amount of empathy.
Accountability. Responsibility. Integrity. Personal Ownership.
These are qualities we’d like our colleagues, team members, employees, and classmates to embody.
At the Goff Strategic Leadership Center at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, one of the key Principles of Strategic Leadership we teach is to Deliver results with strong personal ownership. That means knowing you’ve done all you can do to push the work forward as you collaborate with others to create value.
However, while this all sounds good in theory, the actual practice of taking personal ownership over one’s work is not always as easy as it seems.
Read MoreAt a couple of different points in my career, I have been in what I (or others) might call “crisis mode.” One of those times in right now as the world tackles the COVID-19 virus. Going through it this time, I am reminded of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Read MoreOne of the things I often hear from women on campus (particularly those who are not tenure-track faculty), is that they are unsure of how to navigate their career path. Do you wait for someone to tap you on the shoulder? Try to move up in your own organization? Move to another one? These questions (and more) don't have one definitive answer and, like most things, are context-dependent. Below is a story of navigating my own career path, which you will see has not been a straight line...(and in my opinion, rarely is).
Read MoreAbout a week ago, Adam Grant, an author and professor of organizational psychology at the Wharton School, posted this simple question to his Twitter: “What’s the worst career advice you’ve ever received?” While I have been given a lot of great advice over the years, I posted what came to mind as one of the worst: “stop being so prepared.” After that Tweet became one of my most popular ever, I figured it was worth telling its story.
Read MoreWhen I worked in retail, we often talked about our Good-Better-Best marketing strategy, which included product mix and pricing components. My morning musings had me thinking about parallels with this structure and higher education, particularly as it relates to price discounting.
Read MoreIn my blog post on mentorship as a key factor for the advancement of women, I talk about some of the key benefits and challenges of mentorship and link to a few stories of how mentorship has played out in my own life and career. Here, I share my 5 tips for making mentorship meaningful.
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