A Note From Our Director
A Strategic Leadership Perspective
We have been discussing and using the "StrengthsFinder" materials in the Leadership program this year. An important strength I want to focus on is "strategic perspective." Their definition of strategic is:
People exceptionally talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
A strategic leadership perspective is a wider rather than a narrower lens that takes the "here and now" into consideration within the arc of the "then and there." It has goals and ignores noise.
The Eight Ball Principle
My personal definition of a strategic perspective is something I call the "eight ball principle." In the game of eight ball
imagine that it is your shot and your cue is perfectly lined up to sink a straight shot into the side pocket. An easy shot; many would take it. Not the strategic thinker. She notices a ball further away down toward the corner pocket; a slightly tougher shot. Taking this shot would not only give you the chance to sink that ball, but also line it up to sink a second. Two for one. THAT is strategic perspective.
Effective leaders are always trying to get two-for-one (or more). For example, many decision making teams, from boards on down, exclude women. Including more women can enhance the teams "brand" but women often bring special perspectives and strengths to the decision making process, as Therese Huston discuss in her 2014 article "Are Women Better Decision Makers?"
There she cites, among other researchers, the U-Ms Stephanie Preston.
Strategic leaders do not wait for opportunity, they make opportunity.
Consider these strategic thinkers:
- Our MSW graduate, Gabby D'Angelo is using social work skills as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. She gave a lunchtime talk earlier this term.
Gabby uses her position as a financial advisor to not only impact her clients, but also convenes professionals from various sectors to brainstorm ideas for economic impact. She positions her expertise to be able to achieve multiple goals for herself, other professionals, and the community as a whole.
- Christie Smith, Director of Inclusion for Deloitte Consulting and a MSW from Rutgers and a PhD in Social Work and Psychology. Here is something she has to share: "Never lose your authentic self, be fearless, and never compromise who you are, your values, or your passion. This is as true for men as for women, but is especially relevant for those who may face artificial barriers in the workplace. I'd also recommend using mentors and seeking sponsors who can advocate on your behalf and help you navigate the path toward leadership and opportunity. Once you reach a leadership position, be a role model for others and a champion for an inclusive culture." Check out her TED Talk Here.
- Nancy Lubin started texting teenagers to help with her social advocacy organization, what she found was shocking - they started texting back about their own problems, from bullying to depression to abuse. So she's setting up a text-only crisis line, and the results might be even more important than she expected.She set up an organization that teens can text to about their pressing problems. They have processed 15.5 million messages since August 1, 2014! That was amazing enough but she did a couple more things. She developed an algorithm that sorted the incoming texts for urgency on certain words AND the program gives a list of possible phrases which might be helpful to use. The program also locates referral services near the phone the texter is using. Finally she aggregated the information into a big data set, available at CrisisTrends.org. Take a look.
Each of these women has strategic perspective. They are leading every day. They are leading in their job and positioning themselves for other leadership opportunities.
Strategic leadership opportunities are all around us.
All of you have the skills to put on your "strategic perspective" thinking cap and apply those skills to the work ahead. Good luck.
Director, Leadership in Community Benefit Organizations
Professor of Social Work
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Jump Start Your Career Exploration!
Janice Williams Miller is available for in
dividual and group consultation
around your nontraditional and macro career goals.
Follow this link to sign up for Office Hours.
Looking forward to supporting your Leadership and Career Journey!
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Bossed Up is a research-based, results-oriented training and coaching organization for women facing transition to help them craft happy, healthy, and sustainable careers. Their mission includes promoting a work-life balance, creating a community of female leaders through mutual empowerment, and data-driven testing to create effective programming.
Sign up for Bossed Up emails and receive a free self-guided LifeTracker to focus and direct your career goals. Additionally, you'll hear about free webinars like the "Boss Better Have my Money" salary negotiation webinar and other professional development resources through their emails and social media.
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Interested in being connected to a management
position
through a recruitment firm?
Check
this document out for a list of recruitment firms on and off campus.
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Dan Mulhern: Everyday Leadership
Dan Mulhern is a Distinguished Practitioner of Business and Law at UC Berkeley, President of Granholm Mulhern Associates, Expert on Leadership and Organizational Development, and former First Gentleman of Michigan.
His website has great blog posts and resources for leaders such as "Managing a Challenging Manager," "One Way to Know How Excellent You Have Become," and "Pursue Presence--Forget Charisma."
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Leadership and Management Events
Understanding Licensure
Wednesday, April 6 12:00-1:00 PM, B780
Michelle Woods, Director of Career Services, will discuss the general rules for social work licensure and discuss what exams are utilized during the licensure process. Participants will learn about the licensure rules for Mi and other key states.
Participants are encouraged to bring their laptop or tablet to the workshop.
RSVP Here.
Careers in Aging-- Panel Presentation
Tuesday, April 12, 12:00-2:00 PM, SW 1840
You are invited to join the Geriatric Learning Community and Sigma Phi Omega
(geriatric honor society) at the SSW to learn more about our aging world. Professionals who share the common goal of serving older adults will discuss ageism and how it manifests in our society. Specific topics include: working with TGLBQI elders, elder abuse & neglect, and more. Lunch will be provided. For more information and to Register, click here.
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Additional Upcoming Events
Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 2:00-3:30 PM, Reception to follow.
Robertson Auditorium, Ross Business School
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and leader of BRAC, once known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, will deliver the Francis Lecture April 6 titled "Empowering Communities for Health." All members of the U-M community and their guests are invited to attended. BRAC's programs include education, microfinance, skills and job training, health care, and empowerment to give people, particularly women and children, the tools and resources they need to overcome poverty.U-M honors Abed for his lifetime achievement reaching millions living in poverty in Bangladesh and 11 other countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. His organization is built on the belief that poverty does not have one cause and therefore requires many solutions. A panel presentation will follow. Click here for more information.
Thursday, April 7, 2016 3:00-4:30 PM
Lurie Engineering Center // 4th Floor // GM Room
We all manage projects - but few of us are formally trained in strategies and philosophies to make our efforts the most efficient and effective. Join us to learn about scope, risk, time, resource management and more. The discussion will also unpack challenges of gender dynamics when managing projects and teams. This is a part of the partnership between
The Center for Entrepreneurship and the Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE) who are hosting a series of workshops and discussions
to showcase entrepreneurship's power in tackling challenges of gender equality
. To RSVP and get more information on this event and future workshops, click here.
Join the Social Work and Sport Association (SWSA) for an interdisciplinary panel
event
featuring various perspectives of mental health in college sports!
Join us
as we discuss topics in collegiate athletics and mental health encompassing:
Mental health and stigma amongst college athletes;
Mitigating the effects of mental health related to sports;
Challenges and successes of addressing mental health;
Advocating for the integration of mental health and sports
Panelists will include:
Barb Hanson, LMSW, U-M Athletic Counselor
Will Heininger, Program Director of Athletes Connected and Former U-M Football Player
Tom George, U-M Assistant Professor, Sport Psychology
Kent Bernard, Olympic Medalist and Former U-M Athlete/Track Coach
Refreshments inclusive of dietary restrictions will be served at the event, so please RSVP so we know how much to provide. If you have any questions, you can reach SWSA leadership at:
[email protected]
Positive Links Speaker Series
The Colloquium, 6th Floor, Ross Building, Stephen M. Ross School of Business
The prevailing wisdom on crisis management is that crises and their aftermaths are best addressed by a small team of people that carefully manages and controls information and that operates with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. In this session, Davis-Blake will explore the recovery of the Ross School of Business from a significant crisis that included strategic, financial, and academic elements. By inverting the rules of crisis management (e.g., sharing information widely, including many people, allowing roles and responsibilities to be emergent), the Ross School achieved seemingly impossible results. Davis-Blake will explore the potential generalizability of the case of the Ross School to other organizations.
For more information and to register, click here.
Are we there yet?: The promise, perils, and politics of prison reform
Wednesday, April 13, 4:00-5:30 PM
Annenberg Auditorium, Ford School of Public Policy
Dr. Marie Gottschalk is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in American politics, with a focus on criminal justice, health policy, race, the development of the welfare state, and business-labor relations. In her presentation, Dr. Gottschalk will examine why the carceral state, with its growing number of outcasts, remains so tenacious in the United States.
Click here for more information.
BuzzFeed's Another Round at University of Michigan
Thursday, April 14, 6:30 PM,
Rogel Ballroom, Michigan Union
The SSW People of Color Collective is thrilled to host a live recording of BuzzFeed podcast Another Round with Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton. These co-hosts cover everything from race, gender and pop culture to squirrels, mangoes, and bad jokes on their weekly podcast. They've interviewed a number of esteemed guests, including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Hillary Clinton. Now they're taking the show on the road! Join the ladies of Another Round for a LIVE SHOW on U-M's campus. Doors open at 6:30 for resource fair showcasing campus and community organizations. Show starts at 7:30. For more information,
click here.
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Still looking for good courses for next semester?
Check out our
course guide for leadership and management courses that might be of interest!
We also developed a
Google Sheet
to communicate with your peers about courses they have taken outside of the SSW. For any courses you have taken, fill out what you thought about the CONTENT and the WORK LOAD and to those interested, take a look at what other students have said!
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Lean Out: The Dangers for Women Who Negotiate
by Maria Konnikova
Despite the recent push for women to be more assertive in hiring and salary negotiation, studies still show that women who do so are less liked, and this assertiveness is still backfiring for some women in spite of others' encouragement to negotiate for adequate compensation.
Konnikova writes that "when women are already in the hiring or promotion process-that is, when their credentials have already been screened and they are in the interview phase-the focus shifts away from their competence and toward their social skills. That effect is absent for male candidates."
A woman's choice to not negotiate may not be due to their personality, but due to a real fear, supported with data, that the negotiation will backfire. It is not simply enough to call out these issues anymore, studies have shown that telling people of these stereotypical behaviors only reinforces them.
Is there a solution? Konnikova suggests increased transparency in companies' hiring and promotion processes and for women to give legitimate reasoning behind their negotiating offers. It is unfortunate that these biases are still very real, but "to suggest that women should be wary of asserting themselves in the workplace would be like telling Rosa Parks not to sit in the front of a bus. But, for now, any negotiation in which gender is involved remains a careful, precarious balancing act."
Click here for the full article.
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Top 10 Oddball Interview Questions for 2016
Prepping for job interviews? Take a look at these curve balls to make sure you're prepared for anything!
- "When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why?"
- "Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?"
- "If you're the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up?"
- "What would the name of your debut album be?"
- "How would you sell hot coco in Florida?
To see the other five questions and example answers, click here!
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The Secret to Giving Your "Salary Requirements"
by Victoria Pynchon
When asked to include a salary requirement in your application or cover letter, Pynchon with the help of empirical research, urges for you to put the highest number you can justify.
How?
1. Do your research, find out what people are making in similar positions in that geographic area. 2. f you come up with a range, select the highest number in that range. 3. Include a line mentioning the number is negotiable or flexible
Why?
A high salary requirement will focus employers on the positive qualities of an application. They will think "this person deserves that salary because they are educated, experienced, and creative."
A low salary requirement will focus employers on the negative qualities of an application. They will think "this person deserves that salary because they don't have much job experience, they've never worked in a management position, etc."
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Professional Memberships & Networks
Network for Social Work Management
Independent Sector
Young Leaders Society - United Way of Washtenaw
County
Young Nonprofit Professionals of Washtenaw County
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Network with University of Michigan Business Cards
Leave a lasting impression and contact information for that next great opportunity.
U-M students can order business cards at
$13 for 100 cards through the
School of Social Work Student Union
!
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Contact Us
| John Tropman, Director |
SSWB 3734 |
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(734) 763.6275 |
| Rachael Wiener |
SSWB 3751 |
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(734) 764.4903 |
| Janice Williams Miller |
SSWB 3751 |
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(734) 763.9211 |
If you would like to submit items for the Leadership in Community Benefit Organizations' Newsletter (events, op-eds, resources, etc.), please email Rachael.
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