Challenge:

As a higher education student affairs professional, the challenge I have chosen to approach involves  examining multiple student groups which share similar missions, strategies, and even some shared  membership. Often times, the groups inadvertently compete with each other (read: compete with  themselves) for membership, representation, and space to do their work.  As their advisor, I had some  questions about what things I could do to improve the efficiency of my time/work (what things am I  doing 2-3 times that I could be doing just once) AND the efficiency/success of their work (what things  are they doing separately, that could be improved by working more closely together?).  The analogy I  was thinking of, was that there were multiple roads here, going in opposite directions, moving towards  the same “endpoint” in different ways. What can I do to align these roads to become parallel lanes;  promote bridge-building between and among the student groups to be more efficient and successful?

Selection:

The tool I have selected to use here is “storytelling” … to help answer the question WHAT IF? I needed  to look beyond our statistical data, to explore these groups and their members as humans. I need to  listen to their stories, learn more about their motivations, and what is important to them -- push the  students themselves to challenge the status quo and reimagine what we could be. Considering the  George/Geoff scenario from this class, I needed to put myself in a growth mindset, but also set the stage  for the students to feel comfortable with that mindset as well.  Part of using the storytelling tool in this  scenario also involved me sharing more about the history of our student organizations with the students  so they could consider where we’ve been, where we are now, and imagine – where we could go.

Application:

To facilitate these conversations, I invited members of all of these student groups to participate in focus  groups, discussing our brand. It seemed like a non-threatening way for members of the groups to share  what’s important to them, their brand identity, and see what areas we might have in common. I  constantly reminded myself not to go into these meetings with what I think should be the “right”  answer, rather, to listen and take notes and reflect back what I’m hearing using active listening.

In all, I held six different focus groups with different combinations of student members and leaders  within the groups. I had a few very open ended questions to start off the conversations, but then just let  the students take it from there. As the main subject of the meetings was marketing/branding, it allowed  the opportunity to ask some more abstract questions about brand identity, in a non-assuming way.

Insight:

The tool of storytelling – and allowing the students to tell their own stories – works very nicely in  combination with the culture of “student self-governance” that we have here at UVA. That being said,  the idea of challenging the status quo, contradicts some of tendencies of valuing “tradition” at UVA as  well. Overall, this approach worked very well in allowing the students to come to some of these  conclusions on their own. They quickly identified what similarities they had with each other and how  some of our processes may be improved by working more closely together (and even “re-branding”  under some shared mission/identity).

Approach:

Moving forward, I’m excited to involve more students (stakeholders) in the design thinking process  through mind-mapping, testing these new ideas, and pushing towards more change. While part of the  student development process is allowing students the opportunity to fail in a safe space, I will continue  to encourage them to think outside the box and look beyond the next ‘logical’ step based on data. While  there’s always a time and a place for that, the idea of design thinking can really help to push them  beyond the predictable, ‘safe’ path.  While this step was allowing us to align our lanes to be more  parallel, I think it also sets the stage for us to cross those paths more frequently in a way that feels  comfortable (and advantageous) to all students involved.


Challenge : As a higher education student affairs professional , the challenge I have chosen to approach involves examining multiple student groups which share similar missions , strategies , and even some shared membership . Often times , the groups inadvertently compete with each other ( read : compete with themselves ) for membership , representation , and space to do their work . As their advisor , I had some questions about what things I could do to improve the efficiency of my time / work ( what things am I doing 2 - 3 times that I could be doing just once ) AND the efficiency / success of their work ( what things are they doing separately , that could be improved by working more closely together ? ) . The analogy I was thinking of , was that there were multiple roads here , going in opposite directions , moving towards the same “ endpoint ” in different ways . What can I do to align these roads to become parallel lanes ; promote bridge - building between and among the student groups to be more efficient and successful ? Selection : The tool I have selected to use here is “ storytelling ” … to help answer the question WHAT IF ? I needed to look beyond our statistical data , to explore these groups and their members as humans . I need to listen to their stories , learn more about their motivations , and what is important to them -- push the students themselves to challenge the status quo and reimagine what we could be . Considering the George / Geoff scenario from this class , I needed to put myself in a growth mindset , but also set the stage for the students to feel comfortable with that mindset as well . Part of using the storytelling tool in this scenario also involved me sharing more about the history of our student organizations with the students so they could consider where we ’ve been , where we are now , and imagine – where we could go . Application : To facilitate these conversations , I invited members of all of these student groups to participate in focus groups , discussing our brand . It seemed like a non - threatening way for members of the groups to share what ’s important to them , their brand identity , and see what areas we might have in common . I constantly reminded myself not to go into these meetings with what I think should be the “ right ” answer , rather , to listen and take notes and reflect back what I ’m hearing using active listening . In all , I held six different focus groups with different combinations of student members and leaders within the groups . I had a few very open ended questions to start off the conversations , but then just let the students take it from there . As the main subject of the meetings was marketing / branding , it allowed the opportunity to ask some more abstract questions about brand identity , in a non - assuming way . Insight : The tool of storytelling – and allowing the students to tell their own stories – works very nicely in combination with the culture of “ student self - governance ” that we have here at UVA . That being said , the idea of challenging the status quo , contradicts some of tendencies of valuing “ tradition ” at UVA as well . Overall , this approach worked very well in allowing the students to come to some of these conclusions on their own . They quickly identified what similarities they had with each other and how some of our processes may be improved by working more closely together ( and even “ re - branding ” under some shared mission / identity ) . Approach : Moving forward , I ’m excited to involve more students ( stakeholders ) in the design thinking process through mind - mapping , testing these new ideas , and pushing towards more change . While part of the student development process is allowing students the opportunity to fail in a safe space , I will continue to encourage them to think outside the box and look beyond the next ‘ logical ’ step based on data . While there ’s always a time and a place for that , the idea of design thinking can really help to push them beyond the predictable , ‘ safe ’ path . While this step was allowing us to align our lanes to be more parallel , I think it also sets the stage for us to cross those paths more frequently in a way that feels comfortable ( and advantageous ) to all students involved .