Enhancing Your Credibility as a Student Affairs Professional
Duration: 1 hour
Facilitator: Dr. Aaron Hughey
Price: $50.00
“Credibility, like trust, can be hard to earn – but very easy to lose. Establishing your professional reputation and building credibility is about more than having a sharp website, well designed business cards, or numerous ebooks and webinars to your name. It’s about delivering value consistently, and always improving your skills.” – Devon Smiley, Negotiation Specialist
“Credibility is not something you automatically have, nor is it something you can bestow upon yourself — it's something others bestow upon you. And, like beauty, credibility is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, in order for others to view you as credible, you have to consistently and deliberately act your way into credibility.” – Jean Kelley, Executive Coach
Overview:
Maintaining professional credibility is extremely important to anyone who holds a leadership position in student affairs. Certainly, successfully navigating the current collegiate environment can be very challenging for seasoned professionals, and it can be especially daunting for those just entering higher education. New staff members often feel torn between doing what they think is best and what their supervisors feel is the appropriate course of action.
Although maintaining credibility becomes increasingly important as one assumes greater responsibility, it is also essential to moving efficiently up the proverbial ladder to success. Getting things done while remaining true to yourself is a balancing act; tips for walking that fine line between a creative, innovative professional and a team player will be provided. Specific examples and suggestions for accomplishing these goals will be presented in an entertaining manner, but the relevance of these insights to your career goals and professional relationships will be clear. Authenticity and how you communicate with others will be emphasized.
Outline:
- Politics: How Things Really Work in Student Affairs
- Personal Strengths/Weaknesses: Professional Building Blocks
- Your Reputation/Your Career: Protecting Both
- Integrity and Influence: Can’t Have One Without the Other
- Enhancing Relationships: Attitudes and Strategies
- Habits: What to Nurture/What to Discard
- Priorities and Potential Pitfalls: A Roadmap
Learning Outcomes:
Participants in this webinar will:
- Acquire a more realistic and accurate understanding of the political nature of student affairs and higher education
- Identify and acknowledge their strengths and areas for potential improvement as student affairs professionals
- Explore the importance of protecting their reputation in the face of multiple and often conflicting expectations
- Discover how to maintain their integrity and influence when adverse situations develop and evolve
- Investigate alternative ways of more effectively managing key professional relationships
- See how counterproductive practices and habits can negatively influence career development
- Analyze their personal/professional priorities in terms of their overall career goals
Who should attend:
This webinar is appropriate for student affairs professionals at all levels who are in positions of leadership; entry-level coordinators, managers and supervisors would find it especially helpful.
Presenter:
Dr. Aaron W. Hughey is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, where he oversees the graduate degree program in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Before joining the faculty in 1991, he spent 10 years in progressive administrative positions, including five years as the Associate Director of University Housing at WKU. He was also head of the department of Counseling and Student Affairs for five years before returning to the faculty full-time in 2008. Dr. Hughey has degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Western Kentucky University, and Northern Illinois University. He has authored (or co-authored) over 70 refereed publications on a wide range of issues including leadership and student development, standardized testing, diversity, legal issues (including compliance), technology, and educational administration. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and consults extensively with companies and schools. He also provides training and professional development programs on a variety of topics centered on collegiate leadership and management; maintaining your professional credibility is one of his specialties.