Nov. 3 - Nov. 9, 2011
Education
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How can schools utilize employees’ strengths to improve performance in the workforce? Ronald W. Holmes, Ph.D.
Education Editor/Vice President
If “one bad apple does not spoil a show,” what should you do with the apple? Some people would say that you should get rid of the apple. Others would say, endure the apple or place the apple with other bad apples. When you consider real-world scenarios, school leaders may either fire an ineffective employee, tolerate the employee or transfer the employee to another setting to allow someone else to deal with the problem. So, the questions to be asked are: How can schools use employees’ strengths to improve performance in the workplace? Is it possible to take what is unique about the employee and make them useful? How can author Marcus Buckingham’s nine strength roles be used to maximize employees’ contributions to the workplace? At a workshop by author Marcus Buckingham, he discusses the concepts of focusing on strengths. According to Buckingham, we each have specific areas where we consistently
“standout,” where we can do things, see things, understand things and learn things better and faster than other people can. Buckingham says that when we find ourselves in these “strength zones,” we are magnificent, self-assured and flushed with success. The objective then is for the employee and the manager to understand the unique strengths and to focus and harness those strengths in the workplace. Simply put, Buckingham says “you are most productive and creative in those areas where you are already strong.” So, organizations of all types, including schools, should focus on employees’ strengths rather than their weaknesses to make them feel useful in the organizations in order to improve performance. As a vehicle to assess the uniqueness of employees, Buckingham created the “Standout” assessment that measures you on nine strength roles. Through a questionnaire, the assessment highlights your top two roles. They are seen as your greatest contributions and the “edge” you have on other employees
Ronald W. Holmes, Ph.D. in the organization. These roles include advisor, connector, creator, equalizer, influencer, pioneer, provider, stimulator and teacher. Buckingham notes that in the teacher role, “you are thrilled by the potential you see in each person. Your power comes from learning how to unleash it.” In contrast, Buckingham says that in the stimulator role, “you are the host of other people’s emotions. You feel responsible for them, for turning them around and for elevating them.” Specifically, Buckingham explains that in the questionnaire, you are asked to respond to different scenarios. He says that these scenarios were captured from stakeholders in industries of all types over the past 10 years. The results of your choices are
how teammates view you rather than how you view yourself. According to research, only 20 percent of employees utilize their true talents in their organizations. Buckingham suggests that businesses should harness their employees’ strengths and make their employees’ weaknesses obsolete. They should have discourse continuously to determine best practices for getting the job done proficiently in the organizations. Buckingham notes that this might include benchmarking best practices from various organizations then using those practices that best fit their organizations. He gives examples of how a best practice may work effectively in one organization but may not work the same in another organization. So the key is to make sure that the practice you adopt is germane to your organization. To illustrate, Buckingham articulates how several hotel industries use various approaches, such as mascots and symbols, to improve performance in their organizations through the contributions of their
employees. He emphasizes, however, that hotel “A” could not use hotel “X” business profile identically because the climate of the two organizations are not the same. In order to transfer one business profile to another organization, Buckingham says that you have to grasp the understanding of the best practice and then make it fit your organizational profile. You cannot mix apples and oranges and expect the same result of another organization. From a school perspective, Buckingham’s concepts can be applicable. For example, school districts are faced with budgetary shortfalls. Research reports that policymakers in numerous states are providing flexibility to school districts to change their instructional calendar. Thus, the four-day school week provides a key best practice for when there are limited options in the school district budget. However, each school district has to assess the pros and cons of the best practice and then determine if the practice is relevant to its organizational profile. As it is written, “one
bad apple does not spoil a show.” There are alternatives for dealing with the apple. Using Marcus Buckingham’s theory, every apple has its own uniqueness. When we recognize the apple’s strengths and focus on those strengths, there is where the genius lies. Marcus Buckingham’s view of strengths is applicable to the school environment, whether we are focusing on employees or applying the concept to children. The ultimate goal is get the best performance out of people. The essential point is that people are most efficient and innovative when they operate in their strength zones rather than their weakness zones. By focusing on the concept of strengths, people can activate their unique competitive advantage in the workplace. Dr. Ronald W. Holmes is the National Superintendent of Education for the National Save the Family Now Movement, Inc. He is a former teacher, school administrator, and district superintendent and can be reached at rwholmes@capitaloutlook.com.
Barron announces initiatives to create most veteran-friendly campus in nation
FSU President Eric J. Barron announces several initiatives designed to provide support and services to assist military veterans in their transition to college. Listening is Jared Lyon, president of the university’s Collegiate Veterans Association and a Navy veteran. Special to the Outlook Florida State University (FSU) President Eric J. Barron and the Florida State chapter of the Collegiate Veterans Association (CVA) today announced Oct. 31 several new initiatives that will help the university in its efforts to become the most veteranfriendly public university in the nation. The initiatives are designed to provide support and services to assist veterans in their transition to college and successful pursuit of a degree. To launch the initiatives, a special Veteran’s Day screening of “Hell and Back Again,” directed by Danfung Dennis, will make its southeast premiere at Florida State’s Ruby Diamond Concert Hall on Nov. 11. The film is a 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prizewinner.
“With nearly 25 percent of recently-separatedfrom-the-military veterans enrolling in college within two years, the need for support and assistance in the transition from military service to college student is obvious,” Barron said. “Although FSU is already recognized as a ‘Military Friendly School,’ we want to do more for our studentveterans, while raising awareness about their educational needs and service to our country among the student body in general.” The new initiatives include: • Establishing a Florida State Veterans Center, which will reach veterans of all generations. The center will serve as the focal point for all campus veteran resources, academic advising, orientation and transition programming, personal and rehabilitative support services, and assis-
tance with VA educational benefits and certification. • Hiring a director of the Florida State Veterans Center, who will implement the center’s mission to recruit veterans who want to transition from military service to college life; support veterans by coordinating services; and promote awareness of Florida State’s veteran heritage and current issues facing student-veterans. In addition, the director will promote Florida State’s veteran-friendly initiatives nationally. • Launching an annual Student Veteran Film Festival to raise awareness of veterans’ issues and support the establishment of a veteran’s center. This year’s screening of “Hell and Back Again,” which will benefit the proposed veteran’s center, will set the stage for what will become a multifilm event in future years. “These initiatives are important because nationally veterans are graduating at a lesser rate than nonveterans,” said Jared Lyon, president of the CVA and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he served on multiple deployments around the globe from 2001 to 2005. “As an institution for higher learning, it is our responsibility to ensure that student-veterans have the resources available to them to be successful in their
goal of achieving a college degree.” Because veterans tend to be older students – the average age of a studentveteran at FSU is 27 – they have been out of the academic environment for a greater period of time and often struggle with transition and isolation. In addition, some may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or physical limitations. Florida State is unique among universities because of the depth and scope of services it intends to offer, Lyon said. “Not only is Florida State going to provide the services needed by student-veterans, the university also is going to try to identify the reasons behind these lower graduation rates while focusing on making the campus a more inviting and welcoming environment for veterans past, present and future,” he said. Plans are under way to build a 35,000-square-foot building located on Jefferson Street near the Varsity Way roundabout. The proposal calls for bringing the Florida State Veterans Center, ROTC offices and a World War II museum together into one facility that would promote collaboration. In the meantime, the Pearl Tyner House at the Florida State Alumni Association complex on West
Tennessee Street will serve as the center’s temporary home. It will open its doors today and will be available to students from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A university advisory board recommended establishing a center and hiring a director to oversee the center and services. Barron appointed the advisory board in spring 2011 after Lyon and several members of the CVA approached him about the need for improved support and services for veterans and their dependents at the university. It was the students, however, who came up with the idea of hosting an annual film festival that is perhaps the first in the nation to be devoted to veterans issues. Florida State Interfraternity Council President David Ward approached Lyon about developing an event to support student-veterans, and soon the Student Veteran Film Festival was born. “We wanted to create an event that was as entertaining as it was educational,” Ward said. “Our student-veterans contribute so much to our campus community, and it’s our duty both as citizens and Seminoles to raise funds and awareness for this great cause. We couldn’t be happier to help make this landmark event come to life.” Working with Frank
Patterson, dean of the College of Motion Picture Arts, and Paul Cohen, director of the college’s Torchlight program, the students were able to secure the rights to screen the newly released documentary “Hell and Back Again” for the inaugural event. “When we saw ‘Hell and Back Again’ at Sundance, where it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, we knew then that we needed to bring it to Florida State,” Patterson said. “I can’t think of a better venue to screen Danfung Dennis’ riveting documentary than the inaugural Student Veteran Film Festival.” The film follows the life of 25-year-old U.S. Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris as he confronts the physical and emotional difficulties of readjusting to civilian life after his time fighting and being wounded in Afghanistan. Tickets for the event are $10 for Florida State students and $30 for the general public. To purchase a ticket, visit www. fsuvetfilmfest.com.
Student-veteran members of the Collegiate Veterans Association wear matching T-shirts proclaiming “I’m a VeteraNole.”
Two universities to co-sponsor conference on Publishing firm pledges 50 percent of profits for literacy of young black males Special to the Outlook The schools of library sciences at North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will hold a conference next spring on improving literacy among young black males. The conference is funded in part by a $126,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that supports the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The conference, en-
titled Building a Bridge to Literacy for African-American Male Youth, will be held on the campus of the University of North Carolina. “Extensive research shows that poor literacy skills among young African-American males have lifelong negative consequences,” stated Irene Owens, dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University. “Libraries and librarians have always played an important
scholarships at HBCUs
role in promoting literacy, and yet there is no coordinated national effort to address this persistent socioeconomic problem.”
Charles Gray Special to the Outlook Irene Owens, Ph.D.
A new audio book company has pledged to
donate half of all its profits to scholarships for students at the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. The company, ATuskegeeAudio.com, has produced 18 audio books. The first release is The Mushroom People by Charles R. Gray, who is CEO of the new publishing operation. He started the company due to a lack of diversity in stories and fairytales for African-American children.