This past week I had the opportunity to spend one-week with our Doctor of Education cohort in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. This trip was truly a remarkable experience that encouraged me to grow in both my professional and spiritual understandings of leadership and public policy. Specifically, there were three experiences during this trip that I wanted to share:

American Council for Trustees and Alumni (ACTA)

On Thursday, May 28th I had a wonderful opportunity to visit the American Council for Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). The ACTA is an independent, non-profit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at American’s colleges and universities. Over the past 10 years, there have been a number of papers and research developing on the topic of higher education accreditation reform. It is my view that the ACTA has written two of the most influential papers on this topic: Can College Accreditation Live Up to It’s Promise? (2002) and Why Accreditation Doesn’t Work and What Policymakers Can Do About It (2007). In light of this research, the purpose of my visit to ACTA was to discuss higher education accreditation and to see how they consider accreditation reform will continue to develop in the future.

At the ACTA, I was able to visit with Dr. Michael B. Polikoff, Vice President of Policy. From my conversation with Dr. Polikoff, he outlined a few key points of why ACTA believes higher education accreditation needs to be actively reformed:

  • Higher education accreditation gives a facade of quality with its “stamp of approval”. When in fact, there are some accredited schools with abysmal graduation rates, sky-rotting debt for their students, and poor academic programming. Yet, just like Harvard, Pepperdine, or DBU, who all have wonderful programs, there are still poor schools which are accredited.
  • Higher education accreditors are considered to be the “gatekeeper” of federal financial aid funds for universities. Schools who are not accredited are not able to receive these funds for their students. This gives accreditors tremendous power to dictate what goes in terms of performance, programs, and requirements at these schools.
  • Higher education accreditors have a monopoly on their regions and their schools. This monopoly makes it very difficult or near impossible for universities to change to another (potentially better) accreditation agency. Schools are forced to follow the accreditation process for their accreditations with little or no question.
  • Higher education accreditors is stifling education innovation, prohibiting all together, or making it extremely difficult for universities to experiment with other education models such as competency based education.

Dr. Polikoff further discussed two primary recommendations that ACTA is advocating for in higher education accreditation reform:

  • Break the “gatekeeper” role that accreditors have for federal financial aid funds. The availability of Title IV funds should not be determined by accreditors, but by better measurable outcomes from the schools such as graduation rates, job placement rates, financial health measures, etc.
  • Create competition for higher education accreditors. Allow schools to shop for and select a higher education accreditor, regardless of their region. This will allow schools to create competition for accreditors, and voluntary select their accreditation agency.

In summary, Dr. Polikoff expressed that by severing the financial aid “gatekeeper” role, and creating competition for accreditors, only the agencies which stood for quality, real evidence for student learning, and required strong measures of financial health in schools, would be able to thrive. Furthermore, if institutions voluntary wanted to seek accreditation from agencies that are well respected for their standards, they could do that. However, Dr. Polikoff and ACTA believe that this should not be a requirement for schools to do in order to measure quality and receive financial aid funds.

Senate Chaplain Reverend Dr. Barry Black

On Friday morning, May 29th I visited the Office of the Reverend Dr. Barry Black. Dr. Black as the Chaplain of the United States Senate. As Chaplain, Dr. Black serves as a spiritual advisor and counselor to the members of the United States Senate and their families. This visit with Dr. Black was undoubtedly the most inspirational and encouraging meeting during our visit to Washington, D.C.

During our time, Dr. Black challenged us from the book of Daniel in the bible. In this book, Daniel underwent three years of traning from the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the training program, Daniel and three other Israelites were brought before the king to be tested. Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniel and these men, that he found them to be ten times more capable than any others who were trained in his kingdom. As a result, Daniel and these men received high positions serving in the royal court.

Dr. Black continued in saying that if we believe the bible to be the truth of God, and that the Holy Spirit has power over us and the world around us, then without the Holy Spirit we may be limiting ourselves in professional, emotional, and spiritual growth as leaders. Here in Daniel, with the help of the Holy Spirit, men were able to grow to become ten times greater than others around them. It is this challenge that Dr. Black brought before us, to grow ten times greater through our doctoral journey, in our careers, and in our serve to others! We have an untapped reserve in us to grow ten times greater!

Personal Time at the Library of Congress

On Friday afternoon, May 29th, after my time with Dr. Black, I was able to spend time reading and reflecting in the reading room of the Library of Congress (pictures below):

Library of Congress Lobby

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I spent about two hours with my computer, my journal, and the book For This I Was Born: Aligning Your Vision to God’s Cause by Pastor Brian Houston. There was specifically one section of this book that came alive to me in the Library of Congress reading room, and after hearing the encouraging words from Dr. Black to become ten times greater.

“Your life will unfold according to a certain pattern that is determined by your convictions (what you believe), your desires (what you want), and your affections (what you love). Those whose priorities are centered on Christ’s cause will see the rewards of their commitment emerging in their lives. When Jesus is your priority, he holds your life together” (Houston, 2008). He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. – Colossians 1:17

This private time I had the Library of Congress brought the Washington, D.C. trip to its apex. This time was a reminder to me of my purpose for this doctorial program and the work that I do in higher education. This trip, the visits with ACTA, and Dr. Black, as well as my personal time in the Library of Congress had a profoundly encouraging and inspirational affect on myself. I am truly blessed by The Lord for having to have seen and visited Washington, D.C. this past week.

I am lastly reminded of one my favorite quotes from our sixth President John Quincy Adams; “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” It is my sincerest desire to help others find their purpose, in order to “become more”, and positively affect their circles of influence. This is the lens that I look through as I personally aspire to grow as a leader. To me, leadership is about serving others, and I want to continually do exactly that.

God Bless,

Grey

——–

Works Cited

American Council for Trustees and Alumni (2002). Can College Accreditation Live Up to It’s Promise? Council for Higher Education Accreditation Website. Retrieved from: http://www.chea.org/pdf/CanAccreditationFulfillPromise.pdf

American Council for Trustees and Alumni (2007). Why Accreditation Doesn’t Work. ACTA Website. Retrieved from: https://www.goacta.org/images/download/why_accreditation_doesnt_work.pdf

Houston, B., 2008. For This I was Born: Aligning Your Vision to God’s Cause. Nashville: Thomas Nelson

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If you are reading this post, then I assume you are interested in being productive and growing in a positive direction for 2015. That is great!

Last year, I received a good amount of feedback on the blog about goal setting titled; Target Practice: Being a High Achiever in 2014. Therefore, I wanted to “dust off” that post and share some additional perspective that I learned from this past year. This post summarizes how I personally am effective in establishing yearly goals. Please choose what is most valuable for you.

Each year, I continue to spend a week or so before and after the New Year for goal setting. I think about all sorts of ideas, tasks, plans, and desires I would like to be apart of in the future. I set this time aside so that I can focus my energy and time productively during the future year. Most importantly, I spend consistent time in prayer bringing these thoughts to God; asking Him for direction in the upcoming year.

Here are a couple of very important reasons why goal setting is valuable:

First, high achievers are goal oriented. People who achieve, create goals, and plan. We are a great deal more effective in our personal, professional, and even spiritual lives when we set goals for ourselves. This is a plain and simple truth, if you want to make the most of your year and really achieve great results, SET GOALS! 

Second, We tend to get what we focus on. I want to focus my energy on good, timeless, and God-honoring goals that are beneficial for myself, my circles of influence, and those I care about. I have found that if you do not set your sights to focus on good things, you will get distracted by things that aren’t. You get what you focus on — focus on the Lord and the plans He has for you. If you do not set your sights on a good target, you will decrease the likelihood of hitting anything worthwhile.

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When setting your goals for this next year, here are a couple of important things to keep in mind:

1) Make SMART goals.

SMART goals are SpecificMeasurableAssignableRealistic, and Time Related (SMART)Make your goals with SMART in mind.

After I start thinking through my ideas for the next year, I make sure that all of my goals eventually fit these characteristics. Here are few examples of my 2015 goals using the SMART guidelines:

  • Become a basic conversationalist in Spanish by completing the level 1 and 2 courses by Rosetta Stone (carried over from 2014).
  • Maintain a regular exercise pattern by working out a minimum of three times a week (carried over from 2014).
  • Continue to maintain my Website and Blog, actively post new knowledge and engaging content bi-weekly (carried over from 2014).
  • Develop as a teacher of the bible; evaluate and commit to preaching  at 5 different church services, opportunities, or events this year (New Goal).

2) Write down your goals.

By writing down your goals you engage yourself to really think about what is important to you during the next year. If you do not take the time to write out your goals, you will be less likely to achieve them.

Michael Hyatt shared on his blog last year about a conclusive research study by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California. Her study on goal-setting with 267 participants found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.

3) Get accountability and regularly discuss your goals with others you trust.

After I develop my goals for the year, I share them with a group of close men whom I trust. One of them is my good friend Sam, who shared with me last year the following reminder about goals setting and accountability:

“The ultimate outcome we want is to go through life together and get each other’s back so that we can successfully keep moving in the direction God is calling us to. So, spend some time just thinking and praying about this next year … Remember, Community is God’s answer to defeat. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Remember, you can try, but you can’t live life well on your own. We all need other people to walk with us, work with us, and watch out for us. In fact you Be sure you share you goals with someone you trust and ask for accountability in how you are working to achieve your goals throughout the year.

4) Do not get discouraged when you feel that you’re not meeting some of your goals.

This past year I personally missed achieving about half of my 2014 goals. That does not discourage me, most high achievers frequently miss their goals. Think how many goals I would have achieved if I did not set any yearly goals? Probably little or none. Goal setting for the year is key; but realize you may not achieve all that you set your sites. Do not get discouraged.

5) Do not be afraid to re-prioritize your goals throughout the year.

An exciting part of goals setting is that they can be changed. Frequently I will go through the year, stumble upon some additional information or be led by God in another direction. During these times some of my yearly goals will change. Given that we desire to constantly learn more, our aim or goals will frequently change. Do not be afraid to tweak your goals, this is not admitting defeat, but rather applying additional knowledge that you received to improve your aim.

6) Make sure your yearly goals build your purpose in life.

Purpose in life is largely derived from the belief that you have valued activities in which to engage.

You do not wake up one morning and simply accomplish your purpose in life. It is a constant, consistent, and committed set of activities that you will complete each day, week, and year. They compound into a long-term impact for those around you, and ultimately for the glory of God. Setting your yearly goals is deciding upon which activities are most important and most beneficial for you to accomplish, which build your purpose in life.

If you are still breathing (which I assume you are if you are reading this), then you have a purpose in life. There are important things that God is wanting to use you for, to make positive impact in our circles of influence, serve others, build His Kingdom and glorify Him. How you are going to achieve your purpose in life without knowing what that is, asking him for direction, and then working on those things through the year?

Remember, if you do not pick up your arrow and set your sights on the target, you will miss 100% of the time. If you wish to be a high achiever for 2015, be sure you take time to set your yearly goals!

God Bless in 2015!

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I love the quote from Tom Peters, “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

I have thought about this quote often while at Dallas Baptist University. There are a number of questions that I ask myself about producing other leaders:

“How do we create other leaders at DBU?”
“How are we creating a culture of leadership development in our office?”
“How is my office a leader making factory?”

One way that I believe a leader can create other leaders is through delegation of responsibility. For a leader, delegation is essentially asking someone else to complete a task. That may sound strange, but I promise it has everything to do with leadership development. Let me explain:

1) Think about delegation and training as complementary. They go hand and hand.

When I assign a task onto a colleague I have much more in mind than just getting that task accomplished. I consider delegation (or asking someone else to complete a task) a method of training as well. When it comes to delegation, I am thinking about the experience that employee with go through, what skills they will pick up, and the opportunities they will have to learn to improve their professional development.

Hands Passing Baton

I am looking to train our team through the tasks or projects we assign. There is a good amount of effort we go through to look at our team, as well as the work we need to complete, when it comes to delegation. We attempt to meet some of our training needs through delegation at DBU.

2) Connect the delegation (task) to the person.

When you start thinking about delegation as not just trying to get the work done, but also as an opportunity to develop your employees, it changes the way you will assign tasks.

Let me give you an example; when I look at large projects or tasks to be completed in our office, I routinely think about our team. A couple of routine questions that I ask them along the way are:

“What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Why?”
“What do you need to learn to be effective in that role?”
“What tasks or projects would you like to be apart of in this office? Why?”
“What are the tasks or projects that you have enjoyed in this office? Why?”
“What are the tasks or projects that you have not liked doing in this office? Why?”

The reason I ask these questions is because I want to understand further about our team. I think about what professional experiences they have and also what their future career aspirations are. I am searching to learn more about their calling and the purpose that God has for them.

In the end, I am seeking to connect their callings and professional development to the tasks or projects I assign them. I am hoping to make the work relevant, valuable, and practical for them.

My desire is to help others reach their full potential in front of God so that He can use them to their maximum potential. I want our office to be a leader making factory.

For Hayden, who says he wants to learn more about finance and desires be an analyst, I am assigning him the tasks that afford him opportunities to grow this skill set. Plus, we tend to get excellent work done from him.

Not only have I found this to be very effective in their professional development, their future callings, but I have also found that job performance and job satisfaction seem to be higher as well.

3) The value is not in the task, but in the trust.

It is essential to have high trust relationships with those you work with. Having a high performing team, that is making a positive impact on your clients, department, and organization, is all about establishing and maintaining high levels of trust. You cannot work well with someone who you do not trust.

So, what does delegation have to do with trust?

Well, consistent delegation to employees by way of not only completing the work, but also by assigning tasks that enable growth and experience, will help to engender trust.

When it comes delegation, it’s much more than just the work you are trying to accomplish. It’s the imparting of the skills and habits that will transform the behavior, and eventually the character of the person you are delegating to. As a leader, it’s about helping to produce other leaders.

Once your team understands that it is just as much about their development as it is about completing the work, trust will soon follow. Your team will learn you have good interests for them, that you care for them, and they will follow you for it.

Higher performance will also soon follow, and you will have a group of people that will quite literally pour their hearts and efforts out for you and the organization.

4) Discipline produces habits, habits eventually transform into character. Character builds trust.

Trust in your team is also critical to you as a leader. You have to trust your team. You have to confidently know that they are capable, able, and are completing their work.

Have you ever assigned a task and then wondered if it ever got done? Well, that is not trusting your employees.

Through delegating tasks, you can create an environment for building trust. Experience by experience, delegation by delegation, the leader should coach employees to follow through and follow up with assignments. This is especially important with new employees, it is important to help develop a discipline, which will turn into habits, and eventually a character that builds trust.

The long-term value of having an employee you can implicitly trust is much greater than the time you will give in delegating work and training them.

When you do this, you can assign a task and know confidently that the work is completed well. For the leader, this is such a great situation and peace of mind.

By engendering these four suggestions, consistently modeling this behavior, I believe this is one practical way for you as a leader to produce other leaders in your organization.

Give it a shot. You may just see some incredible things happen!

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In your mind, picture for a moment your perfect dream house. Imagine that you are able to build the perfect custom home of your dreams. Complete in every exact detail and way you would like. Think about how many rooms you would have. Would it be one-story or two-stories? Will your house have a circle driveway, a pool? Will it be made of redbrick, or stone? What will be special or unique about your dream home?

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Ok, now that you have that picture perfect dream home in your mind. How do you go about making that home a reality? Well, I often think about building a dream home in a similar way that I conduct project planning and long-term strategy for my organization.

Strategy is defined as a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. I often equate my dream home to a desired state or positive outcome I am looking for in my organization.

Over the past few months, I have encountered multiple situations where I was discussing strategy or project planning at my organization, so I felt compelled to write a blog post using this “dream house” analogy (credit is also due to Mr. Trey Hudgens at DBU, without whom this wonderful analogy would not be possible):

5-Step Process to Building a Dream Home (aka Strategy):

  • It starts with a Vision – Picture your dream home! In the end, what is the desired state or goal you are looking for at your organization? It starts with a clear vision of the desired result that you are looking for at your organization. You can’t even begin to build your dream home, or begin working on a project or strategy until you first know what the end or vision will look like. To read more about Vision, check out the blog titled: Exceptional Leaders Know How to Share their Dreams
  • Draw up your Blueprint – Once you know what you would like for your dream house, or desired end goal at your organization, it’s time to start drawing up your blueprint plans. You would not dare begin building your house without first having a set of good blue prints. This goes the same way for executing a project or strategy for your organization; you simply can’t move forward without a plan.
  • Identify Resources – Specifically, think about who and what you will need to actually build your dream house. Using the dream house analogy, this means identifying your general contractor, your electrician, concrete works, framers, and so on. For your organization, this means taking time to identify the people (or stakeholders) who will be involved in the strategy, project, or task. Think about who needs to know about this plan, and spend time to include them early on in the planning process.
  • Stick to the Plan – A dream home does not come overnight. It takes time and usually a specific order of tasks that need to occur for the home to be properly built. Using the house analogy again, you first need to pour your concrete foundation, let that dry, put up your wooden frame, roofing, draw wall, and so on. For us guys, one thing is for certain, we will all have a 55” inch high definition plasma TV hanging on the wall of our living room, complete with a custom-made surround system. However, as cool as this TV will be, we would not dare try to hang it up until the walls are up, roof is completed, and the house is ready. Stick to the plan, identify the step-by-step process you need to successfully build your dream house, and do not get ahead of yourself!
  • Buy Insurance and Maintain the Home – Once you complete building your home, the first thing homeowners do is buy insurance. Incase of flood, fire, or other disaster, they want to be sure their house is protected. Furthermore, the homeowner will take great care to maintain their home to keep it in the best shape possible. The same way, a good strategy is maintained and reviewed periodically. Sometimes the environment around you, or within your organization will change. You will need to have a good sense of this to determine if you need to add on other elements to your strategy, or decide to start building a second lake-house. Strategy is continual, just like maintaining and protecting your dream home.

I hope this was a helpful reminder for you. God Bless in building your dream home! Also, remember Joshua 24:15 – For me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

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Over the years I have served in variety managerial roles for over ten different departments at Dallas Baptist University. I believe that hiring is one of the most important things that I do for my institution. I have supervised and hired part-time student workers, adjunct professors, and also seasoned full-time staff. During this time, I have participated in hundreds of interviews and reviewed countless resumes for would be job seekers within higher education.

Hiring can be pretty scary business at times. In the end, the leader’s hire decisions will either make or break your team — when you hire great, you get great results. Just the same, when you don’t hire great, the work environment can be a pretty gloomy place.

As a leader, the ability for me to locate, attract, place, and develop exceptional employees is and will always be a critical part of my responsibility. I endeavor to grow and in my ability to hire exceptional people and I have a strong commitment to my team to only hire the best.

Based on my time as a hiring manager, I would like to impart a few practical pieces of advice on resume building. The resume is an important tool that you will need to communicate who you are, what you have done, and what value or impact you can potentially make for an employer or organization.

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These concepts are not meant to be the end all, be all, of resume tips, just an overview for what I consider when developing a resume:

Start with the End in Mind

First and foremost, get a very clear idea in mind of your objective, the job you are applying for, or your career goals. This is sometimes a very challenging part of resume building — but picture for you what the end looks like.

If it’s a job, then start by researching that particular job. Research and identify the skills, knowledge, experience, and values that are needed for that particular job. If it’s a college or other career goal, then the same goes for that too, what does the end look like and what is valued once you are there. Think about the job skills that are needed for that particular job.

As a reminder on job skills, check out the blog titled: The Top Job Skills Needed for Future Graduates

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes for a while and think about what they will be looking for in an ideal candidate. This will also help you later when you focus your resume on the target audience — IE: the people you convince that you are the ideal candidate for the job.

Build a Resume with Purpose

After you have a clear idea of the goal, and what is needed, then it’s time to work backwards from there.

First, before sitting down to write-out a resume, it is wise to get out a note pad and start jotting down your skills, knowledge, and experience. I think you can best do this by taking the time to reflect on who you are, where you will be going, and what you will be doing in your job or career. I call this taking the time to build a resume with purpose.

The bible tells us in Psalm 139:13-16 that God “created my inmost being; He knit us together in our mother’s womb … we are fearfully and wonderfully made; His works are wonderful … All the days ordained for us were written in His book before one of them came to be.” Also, Ephesians 2:10 says “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I have mentioned before, they we each have been made with purpose and have a reason for living; the fact that we are breathing and living on this planet is because the Lord has prepared us in advance to do good works.

That being said, you have a purpose, and you are special. The resume is simply another medium that you can use to communicate who God made you to be, how you can serve others, and impact His kingdom!

Second, after you get yourself in this mindset, start listing out (1) your skills and talents, (2) your work experience or internships, (3) your education, training, or professional development (4) extracurricular activities, volunteering, and awards or special recognition received. This will be the core content, and it really helps to have a list of these items when you actually start to create sentences and build your resume.

Communicate Value

Now that you have your clear objective in mind, and a good list of skills in hand, it’s time to connect these dots together. This is probably one of the most important parts of resume building. It’s about developing the content and action statements that will communicate to the employer the value you will bring to their organization.

As discussed in the first section, you have a your objective in mind and have a good understanding for what is valued in the type of job you are applying, start crafting sentences based on your experience and skills that nicely fit in line with your target job or career path. These are to be action statements — simple, tight, clear, and powerful action sentences that emphasize the results benefited to your employer or organization.

VERY IMPORTANT – Don’t just tell me what you did, tell me how you contributed and brought value to your previous employer. What did you do, and how was it helpful? 

Here are examples of a bad and a good action statement:

BAD – Oversaw operations for study abroad office.

GOOD – Supervised and trained a staff of four work-study students to courteously and efficiently respond to inquiries regarding the university’s study aboard program.

By developing clear, powerful action statements you communicate that you added value to your job and understand the results of your work. Additionally, you demonstrate the contribution you made to your previous organization, and also outline the potential value that you can add to your potential new employer.

Make it Special

You have a clear objective, a purpose in mind with listed out content, excellent action statements, now is about catching the eye of the hiring manager. Let’s make your resume special. This means having a resume that is (1) relevant, (2) unique, and (3) the best thing you have ever written in your life?

First, your resume is not a “one-resume-fits-all” document and needs to be made relevant and targeted to the unique audience, target job or college you are applying. As we discussed earlier, you need to start with the end in mind and communicate value with your resume. With each job you apply for, and at each company, the target audience and values change a bit.

I’m not saying that you should create a resume for each job that you apply, but I am saying there are tweaks that you will need to make for each resume you complete. It needs to most relevant for your target audience.

Second, make sure your resume is “eye catching” for the employer. The average hiring manager spends two minutes or less reading your resume. In fact, there will be many times that the manager will simply glance over your content or skim read. So, what makes them want to put your resume in the “to call pile” and not the “throw away pile”?

This is where I think formatting and resume design plays a big part. Choose a resume format that is professional and clean, but also do not make it boring like everyone else’s. I suggest using bullet points, artfully bolded text, underlining, or italics to highlight specific areas or action words. Also, consider using other formatting techniques like blocking off specific sections with a text box, or even using a gold paperclip instead of a silver one to catch attention.

Remember, you have less than two minutes to catch the eye of the manager. What is unique or special about your resume?

Lastly, if your resume is not the best thing you’ve ever written, then do not turn it in. It needs to be crafted, with absolutely no grammar or spelling errors in it. You need to be proud, confident, and excited about turning in your resume.

For the employee, the resume is one of the most important communication tools you use to assure the hiring manager that you are the right hire. The resume helps take the uncertainty out of the hire decision. This is why having an exceptional resume is absolutely necessary!

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About a week ago I was attending a conference on international education in San Diego, California. Universities and educators from all over the world, all together more than 10,000 people, came together to talk about the development and internationalization of higher education. During one of the sessions I was able to listen to the thoughts of Jeffery Selingo, author of the book College Unbound, where he spoke about the future of higher education and what it means for students and internationalization.

There were many interesting points that Selingo made, but one particular point stood out to me that I was compelled to share with you here. Do you know what the top job skills are that employers want out of graduates from college?

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Over the years, both as a student and also as a higher education administrator, I have heard many people ask this question; “What do I need to learn in order to get a good job?”. It comes in many forms, but in the end it always has to do with the student’s (and their parents for that matter) desire to land a job after they graduate.

Well, without further a due and based on plenty of research, here are to the top job skills that employers are currently saying they want from the graduates coming out of college:

Top Job Skills Needed

1) Written & Oral Communication – Communication is central to the world of work, when communication is poor or inadequate, the quality of that work – be it a product or service – will suffer as a result. This skills involves being able to demonstrate the ability to write concisely and with clarity to convey information and ideas in a logical and clear manner. In addition, you must have the ability to converse in a confident and effective manner with others from a wide range of backgrounds, emotions and prospective.

2) Managing Multiple Priorities (Time Management) – This skill involves the ability to “juggle” the urgent and the important within a world that is constantly moving. Managing busy workloads with heavy deadlines and lots of pressure is though, but it is an important requirement for being effective in the workplace.

3) Collaborating with Others (Ability to work in Teams) – This skill requires a great deal of interpersonal ability and emotional intelligence. You must have the experience and ability to work well with a diverse group of people, each with differing opinions/beliefs, and can successfully find commonality to work effectively in order to complete tasks on-time, within budget and based upon the desired deliverable.

4) Solving Problems (Conceptual Thinking) – This is the ability to understand a situation or problem by identifying patterns or connections, and addressing key underlying issues. You must understand the integration of issues and factors into a conceptual framework, experience, creativity, inductive reasoning, and intuitive processes that lead to solutions or alternatives that may not be obviously related or easily identified.

* Attention College Students – If you want a good job after you graduate, you had better be developing these skills and getting plenty of practice doing it! What is the hardest job skill for you to learn?

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Have you ever had a stressful day at work? How about one of those extraordinarily frustrating days where it feels like every second there is someone or something coming to you with an urgent crisis? Fires are popping up everywhere around the office, and it would seem like the entire world is focused on giving you the urgent task, which if not solved, will result in the end of the human race. Well, at least, a very upset employee or customer.

On these days there is absolutely no hope in getting anything than you want accomplished. You are a slave to the urgent, not the important. These days are incredibly frustrating, draining and stressful to say the least. We have all been here. In fact, I had one of these days this past week.

When I experience days like this, I often think of Surfing.

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With surfing, there are some days where you get knocked off each and every wave you try to ride. When you jump on your surf board, you immediately get knocked off. The harder you try, the harder you fall back into the water … it’s this over and over again throughout the entire day.

The only thing you can do on days like this is to just ride the wave. Meaning go with the flow and let the waves take you where they may. The harder you fight it, the more stressful and frustrating the day will become. Let the day pass, then come back tomorrow morning, with your surf board in hand, and hit the waves again!

Here are a couple of good things to remember when you are getting nailed by some intense waves:

1)    Struggling with the waves builds your strength and surfing experience.

Fail often so you can succeed sooner. The best surfers in the world are not only great at riding waves, but also at wiping out. Remember, there is always something to learn and grow by having a stressful day at work. Difficult days periodically lead to times of reflection and self-thought after day is over. Ask yourself, what could I have done differently today? How else might I have better managed my time, or what pieces of good insight did I learn today?

2)    You need a “leg rope” or a “safety net”.

Surf boards come with what’s called a “leg rope” or “leash” that attaches your ankle to the board. This way when you get knocked off your board it keeps the board from being swept away. Just the same, when you have your crazy, stressful days at work. Make sure you have a “leg rope” or what I call a “safety net”; this is a system to keep track of all your tasks in easy access for when your stressful day passes.

I personally keep lists of all of the items that I will need to follow up with once the urgent has passed. I use a combination of a task manager called Wunderlist and also Outlook e-mail. This way I don’t forget what I will need to complete the following day. This could also be as easy as sending yourself e-mails of tasks to complete. Regardless, you need a safety need to help you remember and to follow up later.

3)    Take time to find an experienced surfer and debrief.

Often times beginning surfers will hang around other more experienced surfers to pick up the “art of surfing”. More experienced surfers add great value for the young surfer; they can help them to develop their form, show them the best spots to surf, where the best waves are hitting, and also the how the determine the best weather to head to the beach.

Just as in the work place, more experienced friends and mentors will provide encouragement to you on and after the stressful days. Remember, we are not meant to do life alone, this includes work, you need to find good people you can trust to share experiences with and learn from theirs.

4)    If you keep getting knocked off your board every day, you may need to rethink your form and start taking surf lessons again.

If your daily routine becomes getting nailed by the waves every day, it may be time to trying something new at the office. Work should not feel like a continual assault day after day. If this describes the majority of your days at work, then you may need to rethink your planning or organization. As an idea, rethink how you plan you day. Do you write down goals? If not, start. Do you have a safety net? If no, try it out. Talk with others and observe more experienced surfers. From what you observe, experiment with new possibilities and more efficient ways to complete your work. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

5) Don’t let a few days of having rough waves discourage you.

Remember, nothing worth doing is easy. Part of surfing, or working in a meaningful job, is that it’s exciting to have a challenge and then growing to overcome it! You’re going to have good days and also stressful days, but don’t let that discourage you from going back out again the following day. Who knows, the most beautiful ocean and best waves could be waiting for you.

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Why should we have a high priority to focus on goal setting for 2014?

Well, it’s all about setting your sight and hitting the target. Here are a couple of very important reasons why goal setting is valuable.

First, studies show that we are grossly more effective in our personal, professional and even spiritual lives when we have a target or goal that is set in front of us. High achievers are goal oriented. If you want to make the most of your year and really achieve great results, this is a simple truth, SET GOALS!

Second, we tend to get what we focus on. When we focus on timeless goals that make an impact in our development, we tend to see positive transformational growth for our personal, professional and or spiritual lives. Think of this as setting your sights on a target. If you do not set your sight on a good target, you will decrease the likelihood of hitting anything.

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Each year, I spend a week or so before and after the new year to reflect on the previous year’s goals as well as what I need to focus my energy on in the future year. It is during this time where my mind is flooded with all sorts of items, tasks and desires for the future. It’s during this time that I spend consistent time in prayer bringing these ideas to God asking Him to outline for me how he would like me to grow this next year.

When setting your goals for this next year, here are a couple of important things to keep in mind:

1) Make SMART goals.

When I mean SMART goals, I mean the frequently used acronym for goals setting which are Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time Related (SMART). Make your goals with SMART in mind.

After I start thinking through my ideas for the next year, I make sure that all of my goals eventually fit these characteristics. Here are few examples of my 2014 goals for this year using the SMART guidelines:

  • Become a basic conversationalist in Spanish by completing the level 1 and 2 courses by Rosetta Stone.
  • Loose 30lbs and be in the best shape of my life.
  • Develop and grow as a teacher of the bible by leading a Men’s bible Study for College Students and young men at DBU.
  • Maintain my Website and Blog, actively post new knowledge and engaging content weekly.
  • Develop as a Public Speaker; evaluate and commit to speaking at 6 different public speaking events this year.

2) Write down your goals.

By writing down your goals you engage yourself to really think about what is important to you during the next year. If you do not take the time to write out your goals, you will be less likely to achieve them.

Michael Hyatt shared on his blog this week about a conclusive research study by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California. Her study on goal-setting with 267 participants found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.

3) Get accountability and regularly discuss your goals with others you trust.

After I develop my goals for the year, I share them with a group of close men whom I trust. One of them is my friend Sam, who recently shared with me the following reminder about goals setting and accountability:

“The ultimate outcome we want is to go through life together and get each other’s back so that we can successfully keep moving in the direction God is calling us to. So, spend some time just thinking and praying about this next year … Remember, Community is God’s answer to defeat. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Remember, you can try, but you can’t live life well on your own. We all need other people to walk with us, work with us, and watch out for us. Be sure you share you goals with someone you trust and ask for accountability in how you are working to achieve your goals throughout the year.

4) Do not get discouraged when you feel that you’re not meeting some of your goals.

This past year I personally missed achieving about half of my 2013 goals I set for myself. In fact, most high achievers frequently miss their goals, but think of how many goals they would have achieved if they did not set a yearly goal and put an action plan in place? Probably none. Goal setting for the year is key; but realize you may not achieve all that you set your sites on and do not get discouraged.

5) Do not be afraid to re-prioritize your goals throughout the year.

An exciting part of goals setting is that they can be changed. Frequently I will go through the year, stumble upon some additional information or be led by God in another direction. During these times some of my yearly goals will change.

Given that we desire to constantly learn more, our aim or goals will frequently change. Do not be afraid to tweak your goals, this is not admitting defeat, but rather applying additional knowledge that you received to improve your aim.

Remember, if you do not pick up the bow to set your sights on the target, you will miss the mark 100% of the time. If you wish to be a high achiever for 2014, be sure you take time to set your yearly goals.

God Bless in 2014!

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In our lives we have been told to focus on externals. By externals, I mean anything outside of your body, ie: Money, Possessions, Power, Accomplishment, aka. Stuff.

The problem with externals is that they will never bring you happiness, meaning or purpose. For generations psychologists, philosophers and religious leaders have all been “preaching” the same thing (pun intended). There is no-doubt that by focusing on externals, we will never find meaning.

You are therefore are left with a choice, we can either (1) choose to ignore these warnings and focus on STUFF, or (2) choose to REVERSE YOUR THINKING  and focus on something else. The only thing left besides the external is the internal. We can look inward to find purpose, meaning and happiness.

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Recently, we listed a quote of the week from Laura Goodrich, “You get more of whatever you focus on”. 

This quote is a helpful reminder for us that whatever we dwell on, chase after, or achieve for, is usually what we get. Whatever we focus on affects our attitude, behavior, lifestyle and relationships with others. When we focus on negative consequences, we tend to think in a negative context. When we focus on externals, we become driven by them and are often devastated when they either do not materialize, or are left with a void after their limited gratification wears off.

This quote also has application when looking at your Purpose in Life.

In the years prior to my graduation from College, I preoccupied myself with finding a good job. The great majority of my efforts were focused externally on one thing, a great job upon graduation. I focused so heavily on this one thing, I eventually drove myself sick trying to land the perfect job. In the end I was utterly confused about my career path.

It was not until I focused on my internal self; through an intimate, self-awareness journey to learn what my God-given skills & abilities were, my personality and behavior, and my passions and desires, did I begin to understand how and what I was made for. I began to understand my Purpose in Life.

I reversed my thinking by not focusing on the job, but focusing on who I was and what came naturally to me. I then would find vocations that fit these areas of my life.

Focusing on me resulted in receiving a great job offer upon my graduation as a by-product of my understanding of whom and what I was. Focusing on my Purpose in Life made the job process an authentic and natural extension of who I was. I reversed my thinking by not focusing on the job, but focusing on who I was and what came naturally to me. I then would find vocations that fit these areas of my life.

As another example, the bible tells us that our focus should be on Christ. Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness, and all else shall be added. Understanding that “We tend to get what we focus on”. We are to develop a reliance on Christ and relentlessly pursue Him. By doing this, all else in a fulfilled life and a life of purpose will be added. Christ is not only vertically above us, but as a Christian, he also lives inside of us through the Holy Spirit.

We need to change our focus. We need to reverse our thinking.

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