Administrative Retreat Committee
Significant learning points:
As
chair of the 2015 Administrative Retreat committee, I learned that coordinating
an event like this requires an incredible amount of teamwork, trust, and
meticulous attention to detail. Since we
were given the opportunity to choose our own topic, we decided to focus our day
on critical thinking and decision making.
By comparison, choosing the topic was the easy part. We also had to identify key resources,
develop meaningful presentations, create engaging activities, and deliver a
product that would be useful to both new and current administrators. This experience enabled me to practice
managing both up and down in order to keep our project on task, on time, and on
budget.
This was definitely the most challenging, but also the most rewarding activity in the program. Beyond creating a day that everyone seemed to enjoy, I made new and enduring friendships with seven amazing people.
This was definitely the most challenging, but also the most rewarding activity in the program. Beyond creating a day that everyone seemed to enjoy, I made new and enduring friendships with seven amazing people.
Leadership characteristics enhanced:
#3 - Has excellent
interpersonal and communication skills – As the chair, I was responsible for
presenting monthly updates to President’s Council. In preparation for these updates, I had
conferences with Judi Sciple in order to review both the report and script. This
process highlighted for me the importance of preparing what you want to say in
advance so that you can ensure clarity.
#5 - Has excellent management skills – As the chair, I had to organize the process, develop the timeline, coordinate with different divisions, keep everyone on track, manage the budget, and communicate with President’s Council.
#6 - Exhibits a strong sense of team spirit –Some of our committee meetings were cancelled because of snow, but I still called or held video conferences with each of the groups to help them work through issues or edit their presentations.
#8 - Is able to see the "Big Picture" – We had a vision of what we wanted participants to learn from the day, and the role each presentation/activity would play in that process. It is this vision that helped us continuously refine and improve on what we were doing until we had achieved the desired result.
#15 - Treats people with respect, dignity, and fairness – It was extremely important to give honest and constructive feedback to improve both the presentation content and delivery. I was impressed with everyone’s ability to both give and receive feedback in such a positive and professional manner.
#16 - Strives to "get it right" – This day would be a defining moment in each of our careers, so we made sure our revisions continuously incorporated feedback.
#19 - Empowers others – Each group was responsible for their presentation content and activities, but as the retreat got closer, I was able to delegate responsibility for various aspects of the day to the team members. For example, Dana was responsible for coordinating the room and equipment set-up, Cory was responsible for setting up and testing the clicker questions, Steve was in charge of updating and maintaining back-up copies of the presentations, Kristen was in charge of the centerpieces, and Debra was in charge of the folders.
#5 - Has excellent management skills – As the chair, I had to organize the process, develop the timeline, coordinate with different divisions, keep everyone on track, manage the budget, and communicate with President’s Council.
#6 - Exhibits a strong sense of team spirit –Some of our committee meetings were cancelled because of snow, but I still called or held video conferences with each of the groups to help them work through issues or edit their presentations.
#8 - Is able to see the "Big Picture" – We had a vision of what we wanted participants to learn from the day, and the role each presentation/activity would play in that process. It is this vision that helped us continuously refine and improve on what we were doing until we had achieved the desired result.
#15 - Treats people with respect, dignity, and fairness – It was extremely important to give honest and constructive feedback to improve both the presentation content and delivery. I was impressed with everyone’s ability to both give and receive feedback in such a positive and professional manner.
#16 - Strives to "get it right" – This day would be a defining moment in each of our careers, so we made sure our revisions continuously incorporated feedback.
#19 - Empowers others – Each group was responsible for their presentation content and activities, but as the retreat got closer, I was able to delegate responsibility for various aspects of the day to the team members. For example, Dana was responsible for coordinating the room and equipment set-up, Cory was responsible for setting up and testing the clicker questions, Steve was in charge of updating and maintaining back-up copies of the presentations, Kristen was in charge of the centerpieces, and Debra was in charge of the folders.