I am a Student Again

I started back at school today. It was interesting how much it hadn't changed, though I haven't been to a junior college since 1998. Everything in JCs seem to be locked into a time warp where they don't appear to keep up with the times. I am taking a creative writing class right now, and the entire first class was taken up going over the syllabus. And the instructor wasn't very creative with the syllabus itself. It will be interesting to see what the actual class is like. I crave good feedback, a discipline to wright, and a challenge. I lack all of those things currently. The first half of the class is going to be focused on poetry. I suck at poetry. Perhaps I will post my attempts here when I get to that point.

Another point of fascination for me is the term length. Sixteen weeks! It seems that in that time, we should be able to produce an entire portfolio of work. Instead, we are expected to be able to complete a couple of poems and two short stories, no more than 3000 words. I think I have twice that many words on this blog alone in one week, including drafts. When I completed both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, we were on a quarterly system. I got used to producing all the time. I know keep wondering if I will be able to sustain interest for 16 weeks.

It was interesting looking around at the students. I think I may very well be the oldest person in the class, though it is a tough call between the instructor and myself. Each of the students managed the perfect syllabus glaze after about three seconds. Their eyes get this slightly moist, far off look, they have the aura of an inanimate object and they await the end of the class signal for a chance at reanimation. "Oh, I guess I only have five minutes left" suddenly turns each of the objects into living breathing things again. Not engaged students, necessarily, rather animate objects that suddenly have an intense focus on their belongings. All of the crashers suddenly look anxious and ready to bolt to the front of the class.

"I know you said that you didn't take anyone beyond the 32 max students, but let me explain why I am special. My lack of preparedness and inability to register for classes on time shouldn't be held against me. I really am a nice person that wants so badly to sing praises upon your name. I want to be in this class, plus I need it, or I won't have enough units to be covered under my parents insurance."

"I am sorry, but it is for the benefit of the students that I keep my limit to 32. If some of the students who didn't show up today don't show up for the next class and don't contact me, then I will consider adding each of you on a first come first serve basis, but you must attend class in the mean time."

"Oh, don't worry, I will. I really want this class. I am telling you this, because I won't be here for the next class and you won't see me again until I am ill prepared and trying to add a class next semester. But if you suddenly feel generous to give out that add code right now, then I will stay in the class. Maybe. And because you didn't add me today, I am about to tell all my friends about how much of a jerk you are."

Then all of the special "I have to talk to you so that you know that I am a unique individual that needs exemption from the attendance and late work rules plus I want to do my own thing instead of what you assign" people show up for their two cents. They are never the first in line for the instructor, because they have to have the very special privelege of speaking with the instructor in as private a setting as possible. "No please, go ahead of me, I am too special for you to hear what I have to say."

Of course, then there is the walk across campus. Here things have changed slightly since I was last in JC. Obviously clothing styles have changed a bit. The death of the nineties has mostly brought about the end of the grunge look. Yay personal hygiene!

Now, instead of everyone talking loudly to the people around them, they are talking loudly into a cell phone. Apparently, I am the only person on Earth that has the magic power to talk at a low or normal volume into my cell phone and still be heard. Truly I am a unique individual!

As I meandered across campus, I noticed something about myself. I suddenly can not read a map. I stared at three maps today of my new school. In each instance, I looked at where I was, looked at where I wanted to go, figured out landmarks, then walked across campus in the entirely wrong direction. I would like to think of myself as an intelligent person, but apparently even my graduate degree can't save me from my idiocy. The school isn't that large, why can't I find the f'ing bookstore? Finally I asked a staffer which direction to the bookstore so that I could be laughed at and pointed in the right direction.

Other observations:

College parking lots are all the same. Too few spots, too many people, security w/attitude.

There is never a working air conditioner in classrooms during the hot months. (And usually no heater during the cold months.)

Bookstore employees are never happy, especially during the first two weeks of school.

The cost of texts is inversely proportional to the likelihood of usability.

A previous edition of a text is never good enough for the instructor.

Angst

I'm moving! From the hell hole that has been Ramona for the last four years to Hillcrest. My new commute is going to be a whopping 2.6 miles one way. I will be able to reclaim two hours of my day every day, instead of spending it on the road learning to hate human kind with every mile driven. I am beginning to think that drive time is destroying America. If it isn't the incessant chatter of idiots on the radio or pundits declaring us in a state of liberal or conservative emergency, it is the fuckwits next to me. Whether talking on their cell phones or putting on make-up or reading, eating, watching television, I find that I loathe them more and more every time I have to spend road time with them. Instead of shut up and drive bumper stickers, there should be FOCUS! bumper stickers. The freeway is not where I want to see great examples of how multi-tasking results in each task being less complete. The freeway should be like sex. It is okay to talk to the person (or for the lucky few, I suppose, persons) that you are with and you should be singularly focused on the task at hand. The task should require all of your attention and involve some creativity in ensuring that it is brought to a successful fruition for all parties involved. The act should not be overly prolonged, nor should it be approached with too much of a zeal to get to the end.

In my own personal universe, almost everyone I have to share the road with goes through a ceremony of putting on a white bandanda with a big red circle on it before they leave the house. They only have enough gas in the tank to get them where they are going and they are determined to make sure that they take down some destroyer of a SUV along the way. But that is about to go away. I will only be sharing the road with people for five minutes a day. This is where my angst comes in.

Am I going to find other outlets for all of the rage that builds inside me for my eighty mile round trip? Will I suddenly find that screaming my head off at all the morons on the road needs to be replaced with screaming my head off where I can be heard? Or will I suddenly begin to gain respect for human kind as a whole again? Will I suddenly see human beings around me rather than Kamikaze pilots hell bent on the destruction of their Honda Zeros? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The rage or the road? It is my hope that the road gave birth to my rage and the elimination of that rage medium is going to reverse my cynicism. And with the extra two hours a day, I will suddenly become a productive, meaningful member of the human race rather than a rat in a meaningless race.

Grandmas that drop F bombs

I swear that I have the coolest Grandma. She drops f-bombs like no one I know. It is actually a goal of mine and my sister's to get an F-bomb within the first five minutes of conversation. Usually succes comes from giving her a hard time about the man next door that is kind of sweet on her. Asking when they are getting married will usually get a "That'll be fucking right!" Maybe it's the Scottish culture. In Scotland, the f word is less of a word, and more of a pause between words. I think that Scots are imbedded with the word at birth and compulsively use it, rather than are conscious of it. Take the great British saying Fucks Sake! Here in the good old USA, we would say "for goodness sake" or "for God's sake", but the brits put an ever so sweet exclamation on it by changing it to Fucks Sake. Says it all, doesn't it? Suddenly there is no guessing as to the seriousness of the comment.

Now in Granny's defense, she sometimes uses the contraction f'ing. "That'll be f'ing right!" I think that this is an attempt at being proper. And for all intents and purposes, it is being proper considering the people as a whole. We are talking about a group of people who take pride in their men wearing skirts with nothing underneath. (After getting married in a kilt, I can honestly say that I understand why they wear nothing underneath. 9 yards of wool wrapped around your waist makes you very happy to have the ventilation even in the coldest weather.)We are talking about warriors who went to battle completely naked and painted in blue in order to frighten their enemy. Fuck's Sake, we're talking about a society that eats Hagus. F'ing is almost polite society in these circumstances. Still, I love Granny and her f-bombs.

Chaos Isn't

Here's the beauty of Chaos. It isn't really Chaos. As defined by Dictionary.com, Chaos is:

A condition or place of great disorder or confusion.
A disorderly mass; a jumble.

Neither of these actually define Chaos. Chaos is the ultimate order. Pardon the pun, but Chaos is merely an oderly system that is on an order of magnitude that is not understood by the observer. The butterfly effect. What appears to be randomness is merely the inabilty to see the larger system at work.

If this is true, (and I firmly believe that it is) then we must adopt a systemic approach to life in order to move through it with understanding. Nothing is truly cause and effect, rather it is cause and effect and effect and effect and effect and effect and effect and effect. If we are to be the cause, we must consider the effects we will have in the system. We must take a look at the system at large and see what leverage we have in that system.

The thought of each cause (or action) having possibly exponentially increasing effects can scare even the most jaded of us into inactivity. However, I believe that we must use our powers for good. If we consider that we have the power to effect the lives of others, we should consider using that power to make those lives better. As I stated in my previous log, nothing is truly ours, we merely hold it in trust. Take care with that trust. Don't abuse the power given to you. Whether we speak of our children (I have none and the thought of raising them frightens me to death) or co-workers, or friends, or the person we pass on the street, we inherently want them to think of us as making them somewhat better for the experience. However, we rarely actively act in a way that will help bring about that outcome.

This is partially due to our centrisms. Whether ethno, cultural, clique, or self, when we are centric, our stewardship goes completely out the window. Suddenly we become worried about our own. This creates soccer moms that damn near kill to get into and out of school parking lots before anyone else. (I am beginning to think that elementary school parking lots are more dangerous than oil well repairs.) This is why businessmen start reading the Art of War to get ahead in business. For that matter, this is why everyone on the road drives the way they do. In Southern California, even the car pool lanes are jokes most of the time, because Fastrak allows single drivers to make use of them for a cost. Drivers are so selfcentric that they can't handle the sacrifice it might cause to have to wait for a co-worker to get off work.

So what does all this mean? Basically, in the immortal words of the world renowned Bill and Ted, "Be excellent to each other". You never know what kind of future you might create.

Leadership, it's simple really

Five tips to being an effective leader.

Leadership has been a buzzword for more than a decade now and can be interpreted in multiple ways. Some believe that there is no such thing as a leadership position, rather leadership is an action. Others believe that leaders require charisma and innate ability to really be effective. This is not necessarily true. There are things that everyone in the workplace can do to bring enhance their leadership capabilities. Making use of these five steps will help you on the road to being more effective at leading others.

1. Listen. This sounds redundant, and has been so much a part of every leadership theory that it is almost a cliché. However, listening is essential to any communication. The key to effective listening is making sure you are an active participant in the exchange. Hearing is not enough. We hear in our sleep, however, we cannot actively listen in our sleep. When someone wants to speak to you, turn away from your computer or work area, and really focus on the individual. Don’t look beyond them to see what is happening around you. Don’t think about what you are going to say next, as often times listening with all of our senses requires all of our processing power. We need to learn to listen to what is being said, how it is being said, who is saying it, and what is not being said. All of these things will help to bring a better understanding of the individual and their needs.
2. Accountability. One of the ways to really impress your co-workers, bosses, direct reports, etc. is to hold yourself accountable for your actions. If you make a mistake, the best way to handle this situation is to admit the mistake, how you have rectified the mistake or a recommendation on how it can be resolved and then how you will prevent it from occurring again. This response will be appreciated by others for as first, you are seen as genuinely honest and that you are taking responsibility for your actions. Second, you are being proactive in your approach to a problem or mistake by coming up with a solution and preventative steps for the future. Lastly, you earn respect for choosing the difficult path of admitting you did something wrong. When you take this approach, you make it easier for the people who report to you to admit their own faults and mistakes and to grow as individuals by taking responsibility for themselves. In fact, you should expect this from your direct reports. Doing so helps to eliminate groupthink and to have open dialogues that benefit you, the company, and the employees who report to you.
3. Be a Steward. This is not your job. They are not your employees. So take the hiker’s approach and leave everything better than you found it. Even if you have been with a company for 20 years, you are still not in possession of your position. Rather you are holding it in trust for someone else. Even the owners of businesses will not own the business until the end of time. Either they will eventually sell it to someone else or pass it on to the next generation. So if we are not in possession of our positions, what should we do with them? Improve them for the person who comes next. If you are a manager of employees and you see them as being in your trust, you are more likely to have a more engaged approach in their development. And so you should. Developing employees to be better employees, better individuals makes you look better at the same time. And anyone you help to be a better person is more likely to give more of themselves to you and the company. (I would add something here because while this sounds good – in the workplace, people are all about themselves and what’s in it for them. Maybe talk about the fact that some employees feel entitlement but that the reality is that all we are entitled to is a safe and fair workplace. Everything else that makes a company a great place to work are the people in it and that you are only responsible for yourself. If everyone took responsibility to create an environment of mutual respect and professionalism, then the company will be more successful as a result).
Be Candid. No one is going to benefit by beating around the bush. It is important early on to share expectations with all employees. That way, if you have an employee who is doing a great job, you can let them know just how well they are doing. On the other side of the coin, if you have an employee who is not meeting expectations, you can refer back to the expectations. e candid about how they are not meeting their goals and (as a good Steward) offer to help them improve their performance. Clarify if needed what your expectations are and a timeline for meeting those expectations. Also, in very difficult cases, this may require that you include the accountability aspect. . .
Understand Motivation. Understanding motivation is not nearly as easy as it sounds. You need to work with what motivates the invidivual. If the department is meeting its goals, it is important that you give credit where it is due. This is usually not with you, rather with the people who are doing the work in the trenches. Some individuals prefer monetary rewards, others a day off with pay, others want public recognition in front of peers and superieors. If you can reward them in a way that motivates, that will go a long way in building good will and loyalty to the company

Too often, companies try to motivate based on a blanket approach and this usually leads to failure. For example, I had some challenges with a front line employee who had his Master’s degree, was probably a paper millionaire, and had had at least three successful careers. His motivation for working was definitely not the paycheck. I asked my employee why he bothered to work at a low paying, front line job and his response was that it gave him the opportunity for socialization and the ability to use his problem solving skills with relatively little stress. Dangling cash in front of him wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Instead, with this employee, I used his desire to solve problems as a tool for improving performance and asked him to look at his goals as problems to be resolved. That employee went from being one of my poorest performers to being one of the best.

The hard part about this approach to motivation is that it requires you to make use of all four of the other tips. You need to set clear, candid expectations, listen to what is important to the employee, help the employee improve, and hold both of you accountable for the outcome
In conclusion, while defining leadership is neither easy, nor absolute, by doing these five things, you can effectively improve your own ability to lead others. And in doing so, you will see the people who report to you grow as individuals. You will see the people you report to gain respect for you. And you will see your own abilities to lead others increase by an order of magnitude.