Ron's 15 Questions

I want to share with you a tool that I am using to help me get to know the University Advancement division, get to know the people in the division (and them me), and get a sense of or confirm our direction. Below are 15 questions that I have asked each person to answer in preparation for my individual one-on-one meetings with them. My plan is to summarize the responses and look for consistent themes to share with everyone and to help inform our existing processes for setting goals, establishing priorities, making decisions, and measuring our successes.

Here’s a more generic version that is mostly borrowed from our own Police Chief, Ron Hackenberg (thanks Chief!), and slightly customized. I call them “Ron’s 15 Questions.”:
1. What are the strengths of [your department]?
2. What are the weaknesses?
3. If you were in my chair, what would you address first in [your department]?
4. [Your department]’s stated vision is “[your department’s vision].”
What does that mean to you and what is your vision for [your department]?
5. Are you aware of [your department]’s mission?
What do you LIKE to do, and what do you BEST? How can we use those likes and skills to further [your department]’s mission?
6. Are you familiar with your departmental goals or those of the division? Are we prepared to reach those goals?
7. Are we prepared to [begin our next big project]? What areas should we focus on first in order to become prepared?
8. When is the last time you were praised or recognized for doing a good job?
9. Are you currently working with someone here (or elsewhere) to develop your career?
10. What are your future goals?
11. What have you achieved in the area of your education, and what are your future educational plans?
12. Do you feel your opinion counts? Are you consulted for your expertise in strategy sessions or problem solving?
13. Do you feel part of a “team”? Why or why not?
14. What roles do CSUSM and [your department] play in the context of your career goals? What could be done to make you want to stay in [your department] at CSUSM?
15. What are our needs in the area of training?

It’s easy to see how these questions can prompt an open and candid conversation – a first step in the direction of developing mutual trust. Remembering that the best ideas come from those actually doing the work will highlight the importance of providing an outlet for those ideas; almost a brainstorming, unfiltered exchange sort of exercise.

Now I am going to share a secret with you (so I guess it won’t be a secret any longer) that will help you be successful when you enter any new situation. It’s called respect. I’ll close with one of my mantras that helps me focus on maintaining respect in a new environment while still moving forward – Honor the Legacy, Look Toward the Future.

How Full is Your Tank?

Well, it’s been a little more than a week and although it has gone by quickly, I have experienced some pretty amazing things…and some pretty amazing feelings. First, while placing the Finance and Administrative Services division (my division) in the hands of even very capable people is scary, what a sense of pride I have watching them keep moving forward (running actually). I shouldn’t be surprised – it’s just like them.

Sidebar: I recall my uncertainty and anxiety over my then teenage daughter’s well-being the first few times she drove away in her car with a fresh driver’s license. Would she remember all the lessons and values that were instilled in her? Would she know what to do if there was an emergency? Would she call if she needed help? Does she have enough gas?

Next, I need to express my gratitude for how welcoming and responsive everyone in University Advancement (my division) has been in the midst of great change. These folks that used to be just across the hall from me are dedicated to the University and passionate about doing a good job. I am discovering that it’s just like them.

So, out of one division and into another I am finding that neither division is really “my division”…it’s theirs…or more accurately, it’s ours. It’s made up of and belongs to the people that work there everyday and that choose to embrace change, choose to take it and run with it, choose to be welcoming and responsive; individuals making choices and accepting both the responsibility and the credit for their choices.

Finally, I have noticed that a few things in Finance and Administrative Services are working even better than they were a week ago. Hmmmm? What’s up with that? I guess the gas tank was full.

Transitions

Please note that I have been appointed as Vice President for University Advancement at Cal State San Marcos for a period of one year. Since many have asked me whether I will continue to blog, after some consideration, I have decided to continue; however, my offerings will be in a different context.

In positions of leadership, managing change is perhaps the single most encompassing role and certainly, that will be the case for me in my new position. So, it is my intention to chronicle the transitions; my own transition out of Finance and Administrative Services, my transition into University Advancement, and the transition of the University Advancement division over the next year.

I hope to see you on the blog and hope you will join me to advance us all in a positive and productive manner. The following excerpt is from an earlier message from me to the employees of Finance and Administrative Services.

Dear Finance and Administrative Services Employees:

As you read in the President’s message to the campus community, I have accepted a year-long appointment as Vice President for University Advancement. Perhaps a bit surprising (to me too), yet it is another exciting personal and professional challenge.

First, let me thank you, individually and collectively, for all that you have done in your various roles for the campus, for the division, and for me during the last three years (yes, I have been here for three years next week). FAS families, reorganizations, Lou Tice, blogging, and everything else – it has been an amazing and often very moving journey. I have learned so much and received so much; I hope that I have been able to give back a small portion of the genuine abundance with which I have been blessed. You have humbled me.

You should know that it is because of your growth and your strength that President Haynes is very comfortable, and I am very proud, to place you in the more than capable hands of Linda Hawk. I know that each of you will support her as she supports you and leads you in the year ahead.

I look forward to witnessing your many accomplishments and your remarkable good works from across the hall. To quote our own Governor Schwarzenegger in one of his other roles, “I’ll be back…”

My best to all of you,

Neal R. Hoss