My Senior Fellowship experience

I have been awarded Senior Fellow status of Advance HE. While I started writing and thinking about Senior Fellowship just over a year ago, my Senior Fellowship experience began, although unknowingly at the time, at the Aurora programme I attended in 2016. At Aurora I defined my values, my strengths and my skills. This in turn led me to changing roles from an Academic Librarian to a Lecturer in Higher Education. This move allowed me to be less constrained by budget limitations and make more of an impact on teaching and learning development. In my interview for the role, I was asked to present my approach to helping staff develop their practices and it was here I first chose to define my coaching approach. It was this coaching approach I developed into my Senior Fellow application.

My reasons for applying

Primarily, it was a pre-requisite of my probation in my new role. however, having previously completed my Fellowship application in 2015 I was aware of the value of the process. This value is what I reiterate to those who have also been told they must achieve it - yes, there are boxes to be ticked, but the space and time to reflect and discover can, unfortunately, be a rare thing. This process provides that space and time.

My process

I started by looking at the criteria and considering my case studies. I had been on maternity leave just prior to writing it so was acutely aware that some of my experience may seem out of date. As part of my role at the University, I sit on panels where people who apply for Senior Fellowship are routinely referred as they don't fit specific criteria. This meant I was able to pick up tips, which helped. I  advise, coach and train others to achieve accreditation; however, taking your own advice, as so often in life, can be challenging. I also had a different format to follow as I applied directly to Advance HE to avoid any ethical conflicts. Advance HE currently requires two case studies, one reflective account, and two references which may be different to those who go through their University's accreditation schemes. 

While I had a loose plan, I actually took a different approach to usual and used Julia Cameron's morning pages method of just writing and writing, and writing some more without worrying about making sense - to the point that when I looked again at the word count I was shocked to discover I had double the total wordcount! I'm not sure I'd recommend this approach. While I found it to be quite cathartic, I really did feel like I was then killing my darlings as I omitted whole sections when editing.


Drafts, drafts, drafts - don't necessarily mean perfection

So many drafts to the point I was fed up of it and wanted to hand the whole thing in. I would strongly recommend getting other people's eyes on it; however, I'd advise not having too many. I received conflicting advice and at one point began to question my own judgment which added to the challenges. Ultimately, I am grateful for the people who took time out of their routines to read and offer their opinions and I gained from each of the interactions. My final draft was given to one of my references who told me that, yes, while small tweaks could be made, it was suitable for submission. My old self would have jumped on that comment and 'corrected' those areas; however, done is better than perfect, so I sent it in.

Waiting to hear

I knew it would be a long time to hear back, so I had almost forgotten about it until a fellow Auroran announced she'd received hers. I was hoping I had passed as I don't like revisiting and redrafting something once I have emotionally and psychologically said goodbye to it. I was relieved indeed to receive an email soon after which announced I could now use the SFHEA post nominals.

Going forwards

I continue to keep my teaching notebook for jotting down a few thoughts after my classes. I continue to be interested in how using a coaching approach in higher education can improve both practice and wellbeing simultaneously. I will shortly be speaking at both the Accredited Programme Leader's Network and the Advance HE learning and Teaching Conference on various aspects of this topic. I also have a few writing projects in the pipeline. Paying it forwards, I would be absolutely delighted to help, coach or mentor anyone whose goal it is to achieve FHEA or SFHEA accreditation.

And, just for my mum, - my full post-nominals are BA (Hons), MA (Lond) MCLIP SFHEA.

How I stay organised.

There has recently been lots of discussion on LinkedIn and Twitter about how to stay organised. I suspect it is because of the perfect storm that September brings: a new and busy term; new students; new modules and, possibly, new stationery.

Some people buy new clothes in September or a new pencil case. As I’m conscious of the environment and try to lead a fairly uncluttered existence (apart from my books, which is a different story – pun not intended), the only new item I purchase is a Leuchtterm 1917 dotted hardback journal* in a bright colour. This year’s is yellow.

I used to be all about the tech. I still am to some extent (I have a hybrid approach) but then I discovered the Bullet Journal. I’ve been using this method for about four years now since I returned to work after my first maternity leave. I don’t know if this was a coincidence or I just felt the need to physically write more.

The process: 

I started with an old Moleskine* I’d picked up from a conference to try out the method. You don’t need to go out and buy something new – I suspect many of you have many, many notebooks lying around. I’ve tried various habit trackers and layouts and have decided that simple is best. No beautiful, intricate drawings of weather formations for me sadly. Purely utilitarian with the occasional hint of washi tape when I’m feeling fancy. I think that’s why I like the bright colours as a compromise.

My notebook contains:

• A contents list 
• A future log (a layout of the 12 calendar months across two pages) 
• Numbered pages (Moleskine didn’t have these and there is no way I am going to number all the pages)

Each month has: 

• A gratitude list – I list one thing I’m grateful for each day (proven to improve happiness) 
• An overarching big to-do list
• A week plan which I create every Friday afternoon
• An end of month reflection where I ask myself questions such as – what was the most memorable part of this month, what were the three biggest lessons, how am I different this month compared to last, what am I grateful for and three things to improve (these questions were taken from the Passion Planner* pdf)

Each week has: 

• My overarching roles and goals so I can ensure I do something, no matter how small, towards them each week (this idea was taken from Stephen Covey’s 7 habits of effective people*) 
• My meetings transferred from Outlook 
• The tasks I want to work on 
• My favourite thing this week (this definitely helps when I think I’ve had a rubbish week)

At the end of the week, I will review it and plan the next one. I won’t plan any further than that if I can help it. Although recurring appointments do go in my Outlook. Longer term plans go on a separate page or in the Future Log. I use pages as I go along to take notes in meetings or collect ideas around a particular topic and make sure I log them all in the contents page. That’s what I like about the bullet journal – it’s so much more flexible and personal than any other type.





Some other organisation tools I use:

Evernote (I’ve gone down to the basic option now I use my bullet journal).
I use this to draft blog posts and capture the odd random thought that I have when I don’t have my bullet journal with me

Twitter Likes/Favourites 

If I see something I might come back to then I will ‘like’ it. It will be sent by IFTTT to Evernote where I will go through them periodically and categorise them.

Feedly

I’m signed up to blog posts on education, yoga, coaching and smallholding and can catch up with most of the posts in one place. As more people move towards sending newsletters this has become trickier and I find I am using it less.

LinkedIn and Facebook saved articles

I occasionally see something here and save it but often forget about it. Luckily it will often pop up somewhere else too!

iPhone calendar

I’ve just set up a shared calendar with my husband now that my eldest has started school. This lets us share when appointments are happening, when I am working from home so I can pick him up or vice versa, and general events happening. It means we don’t need to talk to each other as much. Just kidding, sort of!


Dropbox

This is great for when I’m working from home. It also means that when the laptop dies everything is still available from whatever device I am using. It’s also been useful in the past for sharing documents but I don’t need to do this very often now.

Trello

Inspired by Cathy Mazak, the Academic Writing Coach, I have started to log my Performance Development goals as projects. I hope to use it to help me write more too. I’ll let you know how it goes.

This currently works for me. When or if it stops I will gravitate towards something else. Just because something works for one person doesn't mean it will necessarily work for you but there's no harm in giving it a go.

How do you stay organised?

*affiliate link to keep me in chocolate and to see if this whole coaching academics and writing about it might bring new opportunities. I only recommend what I use and like.

What I learned from training to be a Performance Coach in Higher Education

What have you learned recently, either professionally or personally? Have you found there has been an overlap between the two?

This year I trained and qualified to be a performance coach with the Institute of Leadership and Management. This is something I’ve wanted for myself for a while now so I was thrilled to finally receive my certificate. I learned a lot during the course. I increased my knowledge of the skills, behaviours and techniques required to become an ethical, non-judgemental coach who could successfully support someone else in the achievement of their goals. I also learned a lot about myself. I’ve picked out a few things below which might resonate with you too:

I can be determined when it matters:

When something enters my life that I am passionate about, it is all consuming. My determination to succeed at this meant I was motivated and organised. This was on top of starting a new job and still waking up through the night to feed my youngest. I took on board feedback, kept my learning logs and diaries up to date as I went along and met all my deadlines. I made it work by incorporating it into every aspect of my life. I practised my coaching skills in almost every conversation I could, even with my kids. Especially with my kids.

I experience the same highs and lows as everyone else

I went from 'the peak of inflated expectations' to 'the trough of disillusionment' about a third way into the course. Prior to taking the course, I’d read books, journal articles, watched videos and attended workshops. I had thought I knew a lot about coaching. It turns out, unsurprisingly, that sustained practise is completely different and much more intense than I'd realised. I seriously started to doubt that I could do it in the way I had envisaged. I had wanted this for a long time and it felt really miserable that I might not actually be any good at it. I have been aware of the Gartner Hype Cycle for years now so going back to it helped me realise I would get there soon enough and this is something I sometimes share with my students and clients to help motivate them.

Gartner Hype Cycle

Connections are important and take effort

During the coaching, I worried that I couldn’t connect with people. This was a concern because it is a crucial element of forming a coaching relationship. I’ve always preferred to read rather than socialise. There were difficulties with having friends when I was younger. Then circumstances in my marriage also meant maintaining friendships was challenging. On the other hand, I’ve always had jobs where I listen to people and provide them with what they need, or at least the skills to find it for themselves. People will stop me in the street to talk to me. They tell me I am calming and make them feel better, listened to and motivated. Reading my testimonials has given me confidence in this area and I'm aware that there's nothing like being given undivided attention to make people feel special.

Self-consciousness is not self-awareness

As I progressed through the course, my self-consciousness gave way to self-awareness. I could knowingly use various skills, models and techniques in the appropriate context and enable that ‘aha’ moment to occur. I learned that environment is incredibly important - one of my clients became visibly uncomfortable when we had to use a lecture room - which to her was associated with stress and pressure. I won’t make that mistake again. I now try to go outside whenever possible though of course, in Britain, that has its own challenges. I have had people telling me I am good and recommending me. My supervisor told me I could look harsh when closed but when open I had a rapport that he wished he could bottle. I'm becoming aware of when I have unreasonable expectations of others and at the same time I am learning to put boundaries in place.

A coaching culture benefits everybody in an organisation, not just management

Everyone in my organisation is technically entitled to access a coach. This is amazing. Yet it isn't taken up in the quantities you would expect, perhaps because it is perceived as something for management or for remedial action. Yet, you don’t have to be a qualified coach to use the skills with other people. Supervisors can ask open questions to doctoral researchers to help them understand their topic more. Tutors can paraphrase and summarise a student’s comment to ensure they have understood it correctly and increase confidence. Managers can help their staff work towards purposeful and realistic goals. And everybody would benefit from improving their non-judgemental listening skills.

I have gained a lot both personally and professionally from becoming qualified as a Performance Coach and I would like to thank Bernie Croft of Brunel of Brunel University London and Don Greenwood of Metice Development Solutions for accepting me on the course.

What have you been learning recently and what impact has this made on you? Have you signed up for something that will be starting shortly? I'd be delighted if you shared your experiences in the comments

What are you proud of?

When people ask me what I’m proud of I usually think of how I’ve made others think and feel. I reflect on my coaching and teaching all the time – how can I improve it; what went right/wrong etc. When it comes to life events I don’t tend to celebrate but then I try not to ruminate either – it’s a protective mechanism. Inspired by a recent post I read, I started making a list:

• Getting into university despite those close to me saying I shouldn't and being homeless when taking my A Levels. I tanked my A Levels which my parents said they were happy about as it would ‘show me’ but the uni let me in anyway! 
• Moving to London from Yorkshire (yes it was to follow a boy but I still made the move ‘down south’ which I’d been warned about)
• I completed my Masters in my 20s when working full-time, suffering PTSD and severe depression while also being a carer for the boy (now husband).
• Being awarded an all-expenses paid trip to a conference in Chicago because of my work achievements. I found out on the same day I was offered a new job.
• Being named a Lis-Network Rising Star
• Being nominated for a student-led teaching award despite not being a year into my new role
• Presenting at two conferences on compassion and customer service while suffering morning sickness
• Presenting a talk about compassion for our colleagues and students on the big stage at Internet Librarian International while heavily pregnant – I teetered a bit too close to the edge 
• Passing my driving test at the third attempt when eight month’s pregnant (it was a busy year)
• Breastfeeding my two little ones, despite working full-time
• Starting a new job two weeks before going on maternity leave
• Receiving my coaching qualification

These all required bravery and resilience yet I’d forgotten some of them. So I’m partly writing this post as a reminder to myself that I am enough, but also to you. When you’re going through a tough patch it can be helpful to look back and think how you’ve done it all before.

Chicago!

What are you proud of?

Keeping up CPD when you've not had a decent night's sleep in years and have caring responsibilities

This is a post for all those who are unable to take part in conference season, for whatever reason. For those returning to work thinking 'how am I going to cope/prove I can do the job'. For those trying to balance work and caring responsibilities.

A major part of any professional role is to engage in continual professional development. It keeps skills, knowledge and behaviour up to date and to a standard, which is usually set by a professional body. For example:

• Part of the requirements for gaining a fellowship of the HEA are "successful engagement with continuing professional development in relation to teaching, learning, assessment and, where appropriate, related academic or professional practices".
• In librarianship, chartership is expected to be gained and revalidated continually.
• In coaching, a coach is expected to engage in coaching supervision.

Pre children: I went to conferences. I sat on committees. I organised conferences. I organised training and development for special interest groups. I trained and developed others in my spare time. I took part in Twitter chats. I sometimes got up at 4am on a Saturday (what was I thinking?!) to traipse across the country to attend 'unconferences'. I wrote articles. I blogged on my own blog and wrote guest blog posts. I read widely and deeply and wrote book reviews. I delivered guest lectures. I attended guest lectures. I networked. I was enthusiastic... and tired.

Presenting

I then had two children and changed jobs. I am still enthusiastic, and now even more tired.

We have been through some lovely ups and quite horrific downs with the children. But, good quality sleep, settling down with a good book, and networking till the wee small hours are all distant memories and unlikely to happen again for a while

Which brings me, finally, to my point. Is it still possible to engage in CPD when even a Twitterchat will most likely be interrupted by wailing and crying (sometimes from the children)?

This is how I sort of make it work.

Post children:

• I am much more strategic in my approach to what is necessary - so fewer things but better quality
• I still read professional books but much more slowly (I have book chapters marked out in my bullet journal that I am going to read that week)
• I still read journal articles (I use JournalTocs to keep me up to date with what's happening)
• I am growing a Twitter network of people in my slightly altered field which helps me to keep up to date and raise my own profile
• I read the Wakelets of the evening Twitterchats 
• I have started blogging again to aid my reflection and help others who wish to develop
• I talk to my colleagues rather than just put my head down and get my work done
• I attend lunch-time events where possible
• I have engaged in workplace training, including finally becoming a qualified Performance Coach

It's not glamorous and I miss dressing up for conference dinners (see below) but this is what it is - and it's more environmentally friendly! There's probably more I could be doing but for now this is enough. Whatever you're doing is enough.

How do you make it work?

Learning and Teaching Symposium: Collaboration, Active Learning and Identities

It's that time of year when all that can be heard is tapping of keyboards, the clink of a teacup absent-mindedly being laid to rest on whatever is to hand and the groan as stiff shoulders are rolled back from being hunched over a keyboard for too long. It's marking season!

A welcome break from all of that is the annual event which takes place (every year, surprisingly) at Brunel - the Learning and Teaching Symposium. They're always informative, engaging and I tend to leave with lots of ideas buzzing round my head. This year was no exception.

Professor Fiona Denney, Director of Brunel Educational Excellence Centre

The focus of this year's event was on engaging students actively in their learning. The Vice Chancellor opened the day by giving attendees some history regarding the change in class-sizes and reduction in small-group teaching and the impact this had on student-staff relationships. Her theory being that this was related to the increase in student mental health issues. Going forwards, campuses are designing new buildings with flexible spaces in mind which are designed to get some of this connectivity back.

Engaging keynotes from Dr Ian Turner and Dr Hannah Critchlow built on this aspect of student wellbeing and also the idea of students coming to university to see the lecturer perform and be engaging - a lecture as pantomime.. This ties in with the work we do in our Academic Practice team on teacher identities, philosophies and values.

Dr Hannah Critchlow

Dr Ian Turner

Fortunately, rather than just hearing all about students being active, I was able to experience some of this for myself so I've picked out a few highlights and themes below:

Games

In a workshop with Dr Ian Turner, we worked in teams to develop games for our students. I don't normally like the idea of games as evidence suggests it can remove intrinsic motivation already in place (Hanus & Fox, 2015). However, having a clear idea of the player/audience, their ultimate goal, and some structure to achieving that goal works for me as it connects to coaching methods as well as aligning learning objectives with activities. Seems obvious but you should never assume!


Teams:

The team-based learning workshop with Dr Simon Tweddell continued this theme of small groups, collaboration and interactivity. Individuals would assess their own knowledge then work as a group to come up with the right answers, while developing skills of negotiation and communication. Part of this activity included speaking up and defending their choices to the rest of the class so involved the use of critical thinking and the development of confidence in public speaking - all useful life skills.

Technologies and identities:

My favourite session involved the use of Padlet and lots of cutting and sticking. I'm not sure that our PgCAP students would appreciate what may seem like an old-school and childish activity or what it says about me that I enjoyed it so much! We created collages individually, upscaled them into a larger group piece and then shared them via Padlet with the rest of our class. I can see this working really well with distance-learning students or very large groups. I particularly like the idea of using it in a workshop on teaching identities and values for our HEA workshops.

Padlet

These sessions showcased how individual student expression could be combined with teamwork and collegiality. This was summed up perfectly by the panel at the end of the day discussing what educators could learn from comedy. From identifying disconnects, reducing stress and promoting risk-taking to improving dialogic learning  and critical thinking skills - comedy has many uses in the classroom. Plus, it can make learning fun!

Comedy in the Classroom

How do you encourage collaboration amongst those you teach? How do you engage them actively? Leave a comment below; I'd love to hear from you!

Hanus, Michael D. and Fox, Jesse (2015) 'Assessing the effects of gamification in the classroom: A longitudinal study on intrinsic motivation, social comparison, satisfaction, effort, and academic performance'. Computers & Education, Volume 80, pp 152-161.

What’s the difference between coaching and mentoring?

I lead workshops on mentoring as part of my role as an Academic Practice lecturer. All those trying to obtain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, whether that be through the PgCap or Open portfolio route are required to have a mentor. We recommend that all the mentors who take on this important and rewarding role come to one of the workshops.

I am also training to become a coach so I can become part of the University’s coaching community. Despite making it clear to my ‘clients’ that I am a coach, not a mentor, and therefore cannot give advice - there is still occasionally some confusion. And sometimes frustration too when I won’t tell people what to do.

There are some similarities which often leads to the two words being used interchangeably. However, there are some key differences which show that they shouldn’t. So what are these?

Firstly, definitions:

Coaching is a process which ‘works on improving the performance and wellbeing of an individual or group through setting goals, exploring values and beliefs, and facilitating… plans of action’. Within the wider organisational context this would involve a conversation based around workplace goals and objectives, with the support of the coachee’s line manager.

Mentoring is a process where people ‘impart their own experience, learning and advice to those who are newer to a particular field’. Within the wider organisational context this is a professional development activity which supports the development and learning of the mentee by providing advice and guidance from more experienced colleagues. 

For example, mentees can find out information about other departments and discover tips for coping with returning from long-term sick, carer’s or parental leave. With regards to Academic Practice, the mentor would observe their teaching and help them locate and understand discipline specific pedagogic literature.

Some key similarities: 

• Coaching and mentoring are both about the development of the individual - this could be their performance at work or their well-being overall. 

• They both usually feature 1-1 relationships. Group coaching can occur but is less common due to confidentially. 

• Both involve communication skills and body language. The ability to listen and demonstrate listening are key to both coaching and mentoring so the individual being coached or mentored feels able to talk freely.

• Both require trust and confidentiality is expected. Trust is fundamental to creating a rapport between those involved. 

• Both can enhance performance. An individual can explore ideas within a safe space with their coach or receive advice from their mentor - both of which, if put into practice, will lead to progress. 

Some key differences:

• Time.  They can differ in the amount of time they take. Coaching is solution-focussed with the duration and number of sessions being agreed at the start of the process. Mentoring is a much more fluid process and a relationship can last years as opposed to the weeks or months more common in coaching. 

• Process. A mentor will provide advice and solutions to their mentee, based on their experiences. A coach will not do this. They will help the coachee to explore ideas and uncover their own answers. This is based on the belief the coachee is more likely to take responsibility and ownership of their choices if they have come up with them. 

• Job relevance and seniority. A mentor’s experience may be very relevant to the mentee as this is what the advice given will be based on. As the coach is not giving advice and is a neutral force, their own experience of the coachee’s work is less relevant and, in some cases, could cloud the process.

• Trust. While this is also mentioned as a similarity, the types of trust may differ. There is the added trust the client has of their coach that they know how to coach effectively and will lead the process in an ethical, sensitive and challenging manner. 

In summary,

While there are a number of key similarities between the coaching and mentoring, I think it is important to maintain a distinction so as not to confuse clients. This can also avoid potentially upsetting them when they realise their expectations aren’t going to be met. Clear communication at the beginning of any arrangement is crucial. I also like to send people I am arranging to coach a link to this article by Blaire Palmer on How to be coached.

Related posts: 

• Using the GROW coaching model to help someone reach SFHEA status 
• Coaching: passions and practice. 
• Using career planning ideas to inform coaching and mentoring 
• Using coaching skills to help people GROW 
• Coaching or how to listen without judgement

Over to you. Those of you who coach do you find similar problems? How do you approach them? 


Quotes from Wilson, C (2014) Performance Coaching,

Identity, coaching and my new job.

So I'm still no wiser as to what I should be calling myself - educational developer, information professional, trainee coach, new mum, lapsed vegetable grower, wannabe yoga teacher or to quote Hannah Gadsby - tired, just tired. Ideas on a postcard please; (I'm not worried about this as they are all me but it is a messy way of introducing yourself).

Tired

What I've been up to this month

New job:

I am fully immersed in the new job and it has primarily involved getting up to speed with how things work - no mean feat halfway through term and it has been a whirlwind of teaching observations, providing feedback, and writing that up for those observed to reflect on. My persuasion skills have been put to the test as I've had to encourage academics to sign up for activities - some things never change! I am providing the mentoring workshops for more experienced academics who are interested in supporting those through the Fellowship (of the Higher Education Academy) process and putting together activities for this has helped me put my teaching hat back on.

I started the coaching course:

So far, I have had an induction day and we have completed the first module, bar assignments, learning logs, coaching diaries, collecting of testimonies - there's a lot of work involved! I am really enjoying it though and it is an amazing feeling when you see the person you are coaching have a moment of realisation about themselves and know that you helped them to do that. I have three people lined up to start working with and I am really looking forward to it.

What I've been reading:

Various bits on coaching, education and lifestyle

• Wild by Cheryl Strayed - remarkable book. I wanted to go hiking as soon as I put it down
• The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Personal Account and Reflection
• Beth Kempton's beautiful book, Wabi Sabi - one to keep referring back to
• Little bits of a coaching book I won years go - An introduction to coaching skills by Christian van Nieuwerburgh
• Ranieri, M., Raffaghelli, J. E., & Bruni, I. (2018). Game-based student response system: Revisiting its potentials and criticalities in large-size classes. Active Learning in Higher Education. Draeger, John. (2013) Why bother with the scholarship of teaching and learning? InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 8 p12-19.
• Shulman, Lee (2011) The scholarship of teaching and learning: a personal account and reflection. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Vol 5 (1).

Recommended site:

Duolingo - I've been using this free mobile language gaming app to practice French for ten minutes every day. I'll be going on holiday with some French relatives of my husband's next year and need to gain some language skills. It's really easy to fit into my life (I practise while feeding my youngest) and it is quite fun to use.


What have you been up to this month? Any comments or tips to share?

Future Skills: values, networks and lifelong-learning

"I believe the children students are our future

Teach them well and let them lead the way" 

(Whitney Houston - slightly amended)

I have recently completed the Aurora course (a development programme for female leaders in higher education) and I wanted to share one of the ways I have been passing on what I have learned. To hear more about the actual course, look out for a future article in CILIP Update as well as further blog posts!

In 2016, I was asked to provide a guest lecture for students on the Masters Library and Information Course at UCL as part of their management module. At the time, I was asked to talk about marketing, promotion and engagement activities. The session went well; I highlighted the great work we had done at my workplace as part of the Customer Service Excellence Standard process and our interactions with students via social media. There was a lot of discussion afterwards.

The proposal

This year, I was asked to do the same thing. I was tempted to just say yes as it was the easiest answer – I had the slides which I could easily update with new activities our Library had been involved in and it would have been straightforward to do. However, I am no longer involved in those activities to the same degree as before and it didn’t feel right to be doing it, even though I knew it would be received quite well. The other possible option was to say no.

The programme

The Aurora programme focuses on values, strengths and the importance of sharing what you know. I pondered this as I drafted my email response to the module leader. I could say no but I could also use my strengths and talk about something authentic to me which they would find useful. I had liked listening to other people’s experiences at the events I had attended and enjoyed their enthusiasm and optimism for the future, so inspired by this I took a risk and offered my alternative.

The workshop

My workshop looked at the future skills that students on the LIS course may need. We looked at tips from others who had done the course, then proceeded to look at passions, values, networks, having a purpose and the importance and means of continually developing and learning. I shared my own personal story with a number of its ups and downs as well as a number of things I wish I’d learned much earlier in life.

The tips (some of them)

• Consider your values and your passions - how do they fit in with where you are now and where you want to be?
• Never stop learning: there are ways to find accessible material or development opportunities. Use what your workplace offers but if they can’t or won’t use what you can to find somewhere better
• There are numerous special interest groups to be involved in with roles needing varying commitment and action – a lot of the social media training I currently provide would not have occurred without my own involvement in CILIP and LIKE
• Create networks/ safety nets – it took me far too long due to a whole history of personal baggage to allow people to help me. Try not to make the same mistake!

The slides from the workshop are available below:

Future skills and conclusions from Sarah Wolfenden

Approaches to staff development. Write up of #cpd25_rlt event

On 8th June I made my way down (pretty much) the entire length of the Metropolitan line to give a presentation at CPD25’s alternative approaches to library staff development and accreditation event. Cpd25 is the Staff Development and Training programme of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries which aims to provide training for library staff of institutions within the M25 region. The day was designed to give attendees a flavour of the various development routes staff working in higher education had taken that were considered out of the ‘norm’ or not specifically designed with librarians in mind. The norm being: attending University staff training days; LIS qualifications; CILIP chartership and qualifications; and conferences.

 

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with going down the usual route of staff development and in one way it seems perfectly sensible to do so because when applying for jobs others will recognise what you’ve done and the value implicit within it. However, staff developments budgets are getting smaller, even in higher education which normally has much more money to play around with than their poorer further education counterparts. As a result of this, it seems sensible to consider alternatives to see if these could be beneficial too. 

 

 

The day itself:

 

After lunch, attendees learned how Elizabeth Charles from Birkbeck University had become a CMALT (chartered membership of Association for Learning Technology) holder - a portfolio- based open to anyone with strong interest in learning technology, not only learning technologists. Marina Burroughs from UEL talking about Associate Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and how all library assistants, including shelvers, were able to complete this as they all met the criteria, despite not directly teaching students in workshop or lecture sessions. Finally, Paul Allchin, from the British Library, talked about his Erasmus work exchange to the Austrian National Library and how this had helped improve his German language skills. 

 

 

Flowers featured heavily in my presentation because.. well, PTTLs. Also, growing.

My bit:

 

I spoke about my experience doing a PTTLS (Preparing to teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector) in a previous job. It is a City and Guilds Course, now renamed as Level 3 Award in Teaching and Learning, and is aimed at those teaching adults. I completed this course because it was the only teaching qualification financially open to me at the time and I wanted to discover specific tips on teaching techniques, as well as a qualification to improve my job prospects. 

 

This practical, portfolio based course provided me with everything I set out to achieve, including ideas for lesson planning and structure. It improved my confidence and skills and provided my with the qualification I needed to land a job in higher education. Now, alongside my day to day offering of workshops and lectures to students and staff, I have a teaching and learning functional role and am working on my FHEA accreditation submission.

 

My presentation is available via HaikuDeck

 

What else is available?

 

Ultimately, these courses referred to were only a snapshot of some of the staff development opportunities available. While organisations have a responsibility to train their staff (and I’d recommend checking out what is on offer at your workplace as sometimes it can be quite hidden) , it is worth knowing what else is available that could be cheaper (or free) and more accessible than the ones mentioned, e.g. 

 

• CILIP’s special interest groups provide training opportunities as well as bursaries to more traditional events, including the CILIP Information Literacy Group version of the PTTLS course
• the excellent #UKLibChat is a great way of learn about a subject and network with peers while at home/on a train/wrangling small children/eating dinner
• reading blogs and journal articles
• Webinars, Youtube, groups on LinkedIn etc and, one I’ve personally found amazing, my peer group on Twitter

Embarking on Fellowship

"The road must be trod, but it will be very hard" -   J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.

As mentioned previously in my 2015 Reflection blog post, I am beginning the process of gaining FHEA accreditation. This means I would become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). I have been teaching in the academic sector for almost six years and I want this to be recognised, especially as it is becoming a prerequisite for many jobs. It means I would be on an equal footing when discussing teaching and learning with my academic colleagues.and, although it is not currently mentioned, there's always the possibility it could be one of the criteria for the proposed Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in future.

I do have a PTTLS teaching qualification but this is different in that it is not teaching you how to teach but is recognition that you teach at a standard that befits the Higher Education Academy. It is very similar in practice to other professional bodies who want a Masters, professional work experience and a portfolio before providing professional recognition. The portfolio process is very similar to that of CILIP Chartership, for those who have done that.

A seal of approval ;) Found on Flickrcc.net

I'm going to be blogging my progress of working towards the accreditation mainly for my own reflective purposes, but also for anyone else who might be considering doing it and wonders what it is like.

The HEA describes itself as 'the national body which champions teaching quality'. It provides a 'benchmark for standards' called the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) and it is made up of four categories designed to match a person's level of knowledge and teaching experience within Higher Education.

• Associate Fellow (AFHEA) - for those who don't teach much but do support students
• Fellow (FHEA) - for those who teach, on average, about six hours a week
• Senior Fellow (SFHEA) - for those who impact on students' learning through management of teaching teams
• Principal Fellow (PFHEA) - for those with substantial strategic responsibilities for teaching within higher education

There are several ways to gain accreditation:

You can apply directly to the HEA by completing an essay based on your professional practice, paying a fee, and including two references. Or, you can follow a route set by an accredited institution - which is what I am going to do.

My workplace is an accredited institution and it has a route called the Academic Practice and Professional Excellence Framework (APEX), which has several strands to choose from:

• APEX 1 - a one year programme for research postgraduates with a significant and ongoing teaching commitment. Participants are required to attend compulsory workshops and create a portfolio of evidence, including reflections on practice; reports on teaching observations; a case study; and a development plan. 
• APEX 2 - a two year programme for probationary academic staff who attend compulsory workshops and are required to produce a portfolio of evidence.
• APEX Open - for those who already contribute to learning and teaching - there is no set time-frame for this route; no compulsory workshops; and the same portfolio of evidence is required.

The APEX Open route to Fellow is the one most suitable to my experience and what I currently do so this is the one I have chosen and will be writing about. I have had my induction which broadly explained the purpose of APEX and the HEA. There weren't many attendees as new staff will choose APEX 2 and others already have the qualifications - we were told there are already 66,366 total UK fellows at September 2015, so I will be joining a very large cohort.

I have high hopes for this programme. I found that CILIP Chartership, and subsequent revalidations, helped me to raise my game and to continue with professional development in all the right areas, not just the ones I find easy. I trust that this, alongside recognising my current practice, will do the same.

Every time I think about Fellowship, I think of Tolkein's. The quote at the top seems fitting as I'm at the beginning of this journey (and I still remember what Chartership was like) but I've gone through a heck of a lot worse than creating a portfolio so I'm sure it won't be that bad!

People and plans: the key to successful project management.

I have led and been involved in several projects over the years and despite having no particular skills in this they all, generally, seem to have worked out okay. However, I thought it is high time I do something a little more professional than winging it and so decided to attend a course.

Luckily, my workplace was holding a two day course delivered by Metice Development Solutions. There were ten people in attendance with objectives ranging from gaining more confidence to tips on keeping to time. My objective was to get as many practical tips as possible so I was expecting lots of Gantt charts and other project related paraphernalia that I had heard about but had never got round to using

A project, according to Alan Reynolds our instructor, can be defined as “a series of interrelated activities undertaken to achieve a specific end result within a set time-frame” and usually contains the features listed below:

• A start and end point
• A specific projected goal or objective
• Linked interrelated activities
• A team  of people
• Involves change

And the key to a successful project is:

• A clear plan - to keep everyone on track
• Context – all project participants should understand how their roles and responsibilities fit in to the bigger picture
• Contingencies – have these in place for when plans go awry
• Appropriate reporting – this should be in place to check that everyone is keeping to time with the plan
• Enough people (and with different skillsets) to do the job to prevent overloading
• Enough budget
• Alignment with the organisation’s objectives

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  The main message that came out of this two day session was that this IS the easy part and that project management is not so much about Gantt charts but much more about relationships and the power to influence. So to run a successful project, the manager of it needs to have the following skills:

• Leadership
• Organisational
• Communication
• Motivational
• Ability to model best practice
• Strategic thinking/an overview
• Delegation - Ability to identify skills & match those with people
• Perseverance
• Positive attitude
• Knowledge of reasons for project
• Knowledge of key people to contact
• Promotes strong team building
• Resilience i.e. can be calm under pressure

For a project to be successful everyone needs to be moving in the same direction.  From FlickrCC.

Preventing milestones from turning into millstones
A point raised during one of the many group activities was about the necessity of milestones and we agreed that they are important as they break down the main task into manageable chunks, provide an opportunity to review progress while also offering a sense of achievement.

To make the milestones work for everybody they should be specific, measurable and with deadlines. They must also be agreed upon by everyone in the project team. Last but not least, they should be the right number, size and frequency for the project – too few and the project may run off course, too many (or too large) and they become unrealistic and turn into millstones.

Situational leadership
Because of this emphasis on leadership skills we spent a significant part of the workshop looking at the Hershey and Blanchard model of situational leadership.  Their theory being that the style of leadership depends on whereabouts in the situation you are, for example, a new group needs information and clear direction whereas an experienced team require trust rather than micromanaging.
According to Hersey and Blanchard, there are four main leadership styles:

• Telling (S1) – Leaders tell their people what to do and how to do it.
• Selling (S2) – Leaders provide information and direction, but there's more communication with followers. Leaders "sell" their message to get people on board.
• Participating (S3) – Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities.
• Delegating (S4) – Leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower or group. The leaders still monitor progress, but they're less involved in decisions.

We filled in a questionnaire to identify our leadership style in this context and according to the results I tend to use a mixture of S2 and S3 styles. I think this is generally because in the projects I’ve been involved in I haven’t been anyone’s line manager. Neither have I been tasked with getting other people to complete the project as it’s been much more of a team effort.
Day 2 of the workshop was even more focused on practical exercises and we started by identifying the lifespan of a project, namely:

• Project definition – checking the scope and how it aligns with organisational strategy and departmental goals
• Analysis and exploration – asking all the big questions such as who’s needed, what needs to be risk assessed etc
• Planning the project - very similar to analysis and exploration but in much more detail
• Implementation – putting all the plans into action at the scheduled time
• Review – producing a clear, transparent report suitable for external and internal parties with outcomes and recommendations for future opportunities

Final conclusions
Halfway through this workshop I had misgivings as we seemed to be primarily focused on people management and leadership. While it is always an interesting topic, I didn’t feel it was what I had signed up for. However, as the workshop progressed and we incorporated the practical elements of planning into the theoretical elements of relationship building it all started to mesh together into a worthwhile exercise.

Ultimately, what I learned is that while it's important to have a plan and it's important to have people and leadership skills, it's absolutely vital that the project manager uses both of these equally and simultaneously to be successful.

The marvellous medieval Perfect Information Conference

It was a Tuesday evening in early May and I found myself at Coombe Abbey, as you do, being led down a dark corridor by a silent hooded monk. Candles flickered, casting eerie shadows across the tall imposing doors and thick walls. Sumptuous tapestries and velvet curtains muffled the sound of heels clattering across the stone floors as we were led towards our seats to be entertained and fed. The occasional 'huzzah' rang out as soup, chicken legs and salad were passed down the long wooden communal tables. Mead flowed freely. A couple, rather incongruously, practised their ballroom dancing as the rest of us tried to work out how to eat our medieval banquet minus cutlery.

Coombe Abbey

An interesting venue is just one of the selling points the Perfect Information conference is known for. It also has a reputation for a combination of friendly people and an interesting programme. So, I was thrilled to find out I had won the PI and SLA Europe award to attend and to deliver a workshop about a project I have been involved in at my place of work.

The conference consisted of about 100 people so was much smaller than conferences I had attended in the past. As a result of this it felt much more intimate and I found it easier to talk to and get to know people. To complement this, the conference was very interactive; there were plenty of activities to do, small workshops to attend and online software to ask questions and answer polls with.

While I was the only academic librarian there, I found all of the sessions I attended relevant as they focused on various types of communication skills, continuous improvement, leadership, big data - all very transferable and applicable skills and topics. Each one led to much debate and discussion.

I was informed in one session of how people are moving away from using major search engines like Google to more specific sites such as BBC Good Food and TripAdvisor, leading to a more personalised service and responsive design, and inevitably to services like Everything.Me which promise to deliver information "at the right place and at the right time".

In another, I learned about Neuro-Linguistic Programming and how aligning yourself with (but not mimicking) the person you are with can help create rapport and trust. I also became acquainted in a subsequent lecture with some more Japanese improvement terms (mura and muri)  to add to my collection - I'm a fan of Kaizen -  which relate to processes and how they can continually be enhanced.

This last lecture tied in quite nicely with my workshop, especially the sections on capturing the voice of the customer, continual improvements and communicating value. My workshop, delivered twice, focused on the work that my institution, Brunel University Library, has done so far in trying to achieve the Customer Service Excellence Standard and many of these themes overlapped. I was rather nervous to start off with but both groups really engaged and it led to many interesting conversations both during and after the workshop.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Perfect Information conference: it was a beautiful venue, contained a good mix of informative sessions and I met some lovely people there. I would like to thank those who gave me this opportunity and I would definitely recommend this conference to others.

Effective influencing skills

The ability to influence is not just a management skill. It is a life skill. It means getting a result which meets the legitimate needs of both parties involved, changing a mindset in the process. It is a very useful skill to have.

I attended a day-long session on developing influencing skills on 10th July, led by Alan Richards from Metice. We were a small group of attendees, six in all, which gave us lots of opportunity to tell our stories, practise our newly developing skills and reflect on them. I attended this session, primarily, because I wanted some tips to enable me to encourage senior academic staff to get behind some reading list software we have introduced at the university, but also to help give me more confidence in doing so.

Influencing, we were told, is not about using Machiavellian techniques nor is it about being a bully. Using either of these styles when managing can often get things done but does not influence, does not 'bring people along' and often means the person in charge won't get the full picture of what's going on as people are wary of engaging in a full discussion. Influencing is much more about instilling trust and cooperation.

Throughout the day we took part in several exercises, below are three which particularly stood out for me:

The Push/Pull exercise - in pairs with palms facing each other, one person would push the other and then vice versa. Then both partners would push each other.  This exercise not only got us out of our seats moving around but demonstrated the push and pull flow in a conversation. To influence effectively, Alan explained, there has to be some push (stating what you want, expressing views, opinions and feelings and using pressures and incentives) and pull (actively listening, encouraging and questioning, being open to suggestions and building rapport). If both parties are being assertive, both pushing, then it is more difficult for progress to be made. I liked this exercise for its simplicity in making this point - it's easy to talk about it but when you're physically pushing against someone the process is instantly recognisable.

Some examples of language to use in these situations:

If someone is being too aggressive or assertive, say "can I just stop you there" . This will then give you space to be assertive in response

To build rapport:

• "what do you need from me?"
• "tell me a little bit more"
• "what difficulties are you facing?"
• "how can we work together?"

Active listening - in turn we listened to our partners speaking about a particular topic of interest to them and then had to relate it back to the room. I've done similar exercise before, most recently at LIKE 43, however, despite listening intently and caring I don't always remember the details. Active listening comprises:

• giving full attention
• reflecting data
• reflecting feelings
• interpreting
• encouraging
• summarising

While I tend to give my full attention, reflect feelings and encourage, I realised I could perhaps reflect, interpret and summarise a bit more. In the exercise, I was able to re-call quite detailed information, which I still haven't forgotten, so I'm looking forward to trying this out more often.

Found on flickrcc.net

Saying 'I want' and 'No' - Due to spending lots of time with my nanan and her friends when I was younger and because my family weren't well off, I was brought up to mind my ps and qs, to respect my elders, to do as I was told,  and to never ask for anything. So saying 'I want' and 'no' in the group sounded very impolite to me. However, they are direct, clear and decisive statements and don't need to be said aggressively - tone is important here. I often say 'I'd like', 'I'd be grateful if' or  'it would be really nice if' and while these are still the polite thing to say in a conversation, when I want to get a task done they are far too passive to use.

This all may seem very obvious to some people, none of it is revolutionary and I'm sure we've all heard it before at some point or another, however, how many of us actually do it? Despite attending this session for a specific purpose, I discovered tips I could use on a daily basis and it encouraged me to reflect on the way I communicate with people.

LIKE 33 - Copyright, Hargreaves & Digital Economy Act

Copyright, Hargreaves & Digital Economy Act - Intellectual Property fit for the digital age

This was the question posed by Prof Charles Oppenheim at Like33 on Thursday 23^rd February. I rarely have any dealings with copyright rules and regulations and only briefly covered it in my library Masters several years ago so know relatively little about them. The only time it crosses my path is when I am occasionally asked by my boss to track something down and ask permission to use it hence I thought it time to brush up my knowledge.

LIKE33 was chaired by James Andrews who introduced the guest speaker. Prof Charles Oppenheim opened up his lecture by talking about orphan works and the problems people who wish to digitise them face in tracking down the copyright owners. Quite often they will not be digitised either because the authors cannot be tracked or because it is too costly and time consuming to do so. This leaves huge gaps in what is being digitised and is a real risk for the national heritage and digitisation industries.

The Professor informed us that there was a digital directive put forward by the EU which tried to address this issue and to relax some of the very restrictive rules. He also informed us that Google founders had told David Cameron that they would never have started their digitisation project in the UK due to its comparable restrictiveness to the US. Although, as the linked article states, there are some indications that this would not have occurred anyway due to lack of funding.

The Hargreaves Report

The Hargreaves Report commissioned by David Cameron and chaired by Ian Hargreaves, the professor of digital economy at Cardiff University, suggests that current copyright rules and regulations are put in place by lobbying rather than hard evidence, for example, the film and music industry lobby hard to prevent people freely downloading their material claiming it hurts their profits despite evidence that this is not the case. It also suggests many exemptions, for example connecting works (works which have been integrated to create a new piece) should be exempt from copyright law if they are being used for non-commercial purposes.It states that copyright contractual agreements cannot override the law and it suggests that a small fee is charged for every orphan work digitised so that if the owner were to turn up, there would be some compensation. Hargreaves recommends many current restrictions are lifted, for example on digital items for distance learning and for general educational uses. Some industries, like Elsevier, are not happy about this at all.

Charles predicted that many of the recommendations made by Ian Hargreaves, for example, regulating UK copyright collection societies, won't be implemented although the societies themselves may be a little more careful in future and not start petty cases. Another prediction was that the goverment would backtrack on the report due to intensive lobbying and that it would not be evidence based, like the report suggests it should be.

So altogether not very positive.

The Digital Economy Act

The Digital Economy Act was hastily passed in 2010 by the Labour Party, although much of it has not been fully implemented yet. There is controversy over it because it operates on a three strikes and you're out principle, although it is currently frozen because penalties cannot be agreed upon. You might think this is all very well if someone is doing something illegal (although I can't see it working in action as internet service providers are going to be unwilling to lose money over this - they are already bringing forward a judicial review of the Act) however because of its loose wording it also seems to apply to anyone who provides wi-fi including libraries and internet cafes. There are obvious problems to this, not least the slight infringement to civil liberties.

Having known very little about the Digital Economy Act and the Hargreaves Report thanks to LIKE and Prof Charles Oppenheim I feel am a bit more up to date. It all still looks very complicated and I haven't fully made up up my mind regarding what I agree or disagree should happen - although for that matter it seems like the politicians haven't either as it doesn't seem like any of the arguments raised will be dealt with soon!

One to watch out for.

My first webinar...alternative careers

On Thursday evening 12th Jan, I attended a webinar led by Bethan Ruddock entitled Alternative Careers. This was my first webinar so I wasn't quite sure what to expect and didn't really know what to do. I had an initial panic as the time for the event to start came and went and nothing happened but then, a couple of minutes later it was underway.

While I enjoy my job and the sector I work in I am always curious to know what else I could do with my skills and qualifications and having vowed to utilise my membership of SLA more in my New Year blog post , this seemed like a good place to start. Bethan introduced the webinar by explaining what she meant by an alternative career, stating that anywhere that handles information, and this is a lot of places, needs a librarian. She described her role as Content Development Officer for Mimas and it was very interesting to find out what the job entails. Her role comprises a mixture of teaching, research and using technology - my current role is a combination of all these things too though it couldn't be more different, completely making her point that the skills we learn as librarians are utterly transferable. She also referred to some case studies of librarians in alternative careers, for example, Jo Alcock who works as a researcher for Evidence Base at Birmingham City University. I liked the sound of this as the job entails constantly meeting new people, establishing what the current and future trends are and will be and working on new projects. I think I might miss the training/teaching element though.

Like Bethan (and all the other librarians on Twitter), I am also learning to code with the Codeacademy. While I wouldn't want this to be the main part of any future job, I do agree with Bethan that it will help me to understand how things work behind the scenes and will take away some of the mystery behind it.

She also mentioned how she works on professional stalls at conferences and encouraged the listeners to talk to people like her at these events to find out more about their careers and backgrounds. I've always been too nervous in the past to approach these people as I've not been in a position to purchase anything, or sometimes talk with enough knowledge about the product being showcased, however, with this recommendation in my ears I will endeavour to do this next time I have the opportunity.

Bethan recommended completing a skills audit to establish not only skills and qualifications but also to help decide a future path. The last time I did one of these was for the beginning of my Chartership, and I found this to be advantageous. I think this may prove to be a useful exercise to do regularly perhaps annually or even biannually; it will also help to keep my CV updated.

Another tip I am going to take away from me is to read the job adverts more carefully. I am guilty of often dismissing an advert because it initially sounds too techie or not for me but I will endeavour to be more thorough in the future.

Finally, I was really impressed by the webinar as it not only reminded me of things I should be doing but also gave me new tips to try out and a fresh perspective on the information profession. I will definitely be keeping watch for more SLA webinars and activities.