Remaining in a job that doesn't align with your purpose can hinder not only your professional trajectory but also your overall well-being. It's essential to recognize that mindset plays a pivotal role in shaping your experience. Committing fully to work necessitates alignment between purpose, skills, and environment. Whether through a career change or a shift in perspective, prioritize being where your authentic self thrives. Take ownership of your journey and cultivate a mindset conducive to growth and fulfillment. Embrace change where necessary and proactively nurture a mindset of resilience and purpose.
Future of the Profession
Recently, I came across an insightful article highlighting the indispensable role of student affairs in higher education ("Student Affairs Leadership is Critical to Student and Institutional Success" - https://www.agbsearch.com/newsletter/student-affairs-leadership-is-critical-to-student-and-institutional-success). For student affairs to continue to provide value to institutions, graduate preparation programs for student affairs must retool for new professionals to be successful in the evolving operational landscape of higher education. Leadership within the profession is responsible for providing ongoing support to new professionals, aiding them in navigating their roles successfully. Continuous training is crucial in the development of new professionals. Beyond initial graduate education, structured mentoring, coaching, and practical experiences are essential. Feedback, reflection, and guidance nurture their development and enhance retention rates in the field. Student affairs leaders must prioritize implementing robust, ongoing training initiatives throughout the first three years of a new professional's career.
Fuel
After winning the US Open, Coco Gauff commented on how the naysayers fueled her fire. Tom Brady in a recent podcast talked about the desire to win being fueled by negative comments made about him from the other team. Finding motivation to achieve can come from many sources. When you have a growth mindset you seek to turn failure into an opportunity to learn; mistakes into teachable moments; and setbacks into ways to move forward.
There will always be tough days, even tough weeks. Instead of letting them hold you back, use the tough moments as motivation to push forward. Take what happens in a setback to drive you on to be better.
What can fuel your fire today?
Lessons Learned
Mistakes happen! When a mistake is made a supervisor will work with the staff member to correct the mistake. However, that is only half of what a good supervisor needs to do. A good supervisor will help the staff member to reflect on what they have learned from the mistake. Supervisors often spend a great deal of effort to correct a mistake. If they spent as much effort to help the staff member learn the lesson from their mistake, there would be fewer mistakes in the future. Helping staff reflect on mistakes allows them to enhance their knowledge and skill application. That is what learning organizations do. So, the next time there is a mistake consider what can be learned from it first, then correct the mistake.