What’s More Important – Comfort Within a Team or Opportunity for Individual Growth? - The DeAndre Factor

Looking at different situations and being recruited, sometimes you can get enchanted with it all. There's nothing wrong with that. But you also have the right to look at it again and change your mind - Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers

This isn’t a trick question. It’s actually one of the most important questions that will guide your professional career in student affairs as it determines what you’re looking for in a position, or in the case of young NBA star DeAndre Jordan, what he thought he was looking for. DeAndre was in a situation not too dissimilar to what many of us have or will face. Even if you have no interest in basketball or sports, it’s a fascinating story told in detail here.

DeAndre (26) is a young professional who recently “came into his own” in his work as an NBA player, and found he was capable of doing more than being the third best player on his own team, he could forge his own path and be the superstar of his own team. There were definite perks to his current situation. He had a defined role that he was good at, had unwavering support from his head coach who built his confidence and made sure others knew of his exploits, and the benefit of playing with two other superstars.

But there were definite drawbacks to the position – he would never be considered the “featured” guy, in other words, there was a ceiling to how much he would grow in that environment and with his relevance to the team. He played with a demanding team captain, Chris Paul, whose harsh and brazen tactics were wearing thin on DeAndre. In short, his career had plateaued and he wasn’t feeling appreciated.

In swoops the Dallas Mavericks who court and dazzle DeAndre promising him everything he asked for, which must have been exciting and overwhelming for him. This was the first time he was being courted in such a way – like the guy who grows out of his awkward phase in high school and has to choose between his best friend who’s been there for him or the flashy girl suddenly giving him attention (i.e. the synopsis for Teen Wolf). Eventually, DeAndre verbally accepted Dallas’s offer, but had a sudden change of heart to return to LA.

At the very least, DeAndre, still young and impressionable, allowed himself to get swept up in the process, and the same will happen to many of you. You’ll be promised everything you asked for and feel wanted, but your head and heart have to work together on making the decision. I’ve gotten swept up in the promise, and unfortunately wasn’t able to go back like DeAndre. Few of us have that choice, which makes the time you start considering other options vital by thinking about a few factors.

The biggest school/department isn’t necessarily the best for you

They may offer the most in salary and amenities. Their big offices, on-campus living, dining options, and overall “wow” factors will dazzle you, but it’s important to keep perspective. How much of that plays into what you do and how you want to live (especially If you are a live-on professional)

The school that likes/wants you the most isn’t necessarily the best for you

Just because someone has a crush on you, you’re not obligated to feel the same way. They may see fireworks, while you may not see fireworks. The attraction should be two-sided. It may be flattering to be wanted, but you don’t have to buy everything that’s sold to you

The DeAndre Factor – what is your role on the team?

Is it most important to be in a position to have all your skills come to the forefront or are you comfortable in a niche role that you do well? It’s ok to not want more, to not want the former over the latter. The former brings more pressure and sometimes more risk. The latter brings stability and comfort. In short, the reward is whatever you want it to be.

Owning your name: the importance of an online presence

Now more than ever it is critical that individuals have some presence online. An online presence, be it on social media platforms, a personal website, or an online portfolio, allows individuals to identify and integrate others into their personal learning network. Below are three tips you can use to learn more about your current online presence and ways in which you can build your digital footprint.

1. Google yourself
   • When you Google yourself, what do you find. Ideally you should make up the entire first page of results; however, if you have perhaps a more common name that may not be the case. A simple way to increase your visibility online is to not only have a Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but to also make those platforms public. Additionally, utilizing resources such as About.me, Squarespace, or Wordpress are great ways of producing your own unique website and generate content to tell your story.
2. Consistency is key
   • Consistence in your own personal brand is a huge piece of your digital story. You want to remain authentic but also recognizable across all platforms. For me, a way that I do this is ensure my brief bio on various platforms is similar and that my photo is the same across platform. In doing so, when people search my name or find me one any platform they see a recognizable photo and bio. In addition to visible consistency, consistence in voice or messaging is also critical. While you may utilize various platforms for different purposes, a consistency in voice is important to bring your personality to these otherwise emotionless platforms.
3. Connections = currency
   • The real power of creating and maintaining an online presence is the connections you can make. The ability to connect with an individual without ever meeting them is incredible! Take, for example, my recent encounter with the Niche Movement’s very own, Kevin O’Connell. Just about two weeks ago a colleague I’ve met in real life but initially became connected to through twitter, Amma Marfo, shared a photo of her copy of the Niche Movement. I looked into the book and it peaked my interest so I bought a copy. After reading the first few chapters I found out that the Niche Movement team is actually based out of D.C. Working in D.C. myself, I thought to reach out to Kevin on Twitter and he subsequently followed up with an email inviting me to meet up. We met up for coffee and had a great conversation about the work each of us were doing.  It’s this type of action, taking online connections offline, that exemplify the power of an online presence.

It’s no longer acceptable to say that you “don’t do social media”  - that’s not an excuse. If you’re hesitant about how you would use it, read some blog post or reach out to friends you know who are online to get advice! Owning your name and having a presence can have a profound impact on your career search. Reaching out to recruiters or companies directly through social media can lead to opportunies you never knew existed; however, companies won’t invest in you if you don’t have a proven history of online presence and a clear story to tell.

Owning your name is about more than simply being online. It is about your willingness to put yourself out there, make connections, ensure your content is visible and take online interactions offline. As you move throughout your week, I challenge you to think about individuals you’re connected to online and reach out to just one of them for a conversation about whatever interests you about them. In doing so you will begin to build your network broadly, which will inevitably provide a number of opportunities for you.

Episode 6 - Up's & Down's of Entrepreneurship - Part 1

In this episode, I get real. This may be the most transparent set of episodes I will share in the beginning of this podcast series. Through the launch of my new book, I had a lot of stress, a lot of win's and a lot on my plate. I knew I needed some clarity and to re-focus before I hit a wall so I set up a call with my good friend and life coach, Stacy Campesi. Entrepreneurship is trying to learn not to get to high and not to low and that's exactly what Stacy helps me with. This is part 1 but tune into the next 2 episodes to see how Stacy helps me get clarity and reduces my stress all under an hour.

Contact Kevin: @koco83 kevin@thenichemovement.com

Contact Stacy: @stacycampesi stacy@slccoaching.net

Ask your questions: @nichemovement

Episodes every Tuesday (and sometimes Thursday).

Coming to iTunes & Sticher soon.

Managing Downtime: A Practical Guide to Dealing with Office Hour Boredom

I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I’m working…I’d say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work. -Peter Gibbons, Office Space (1998)

Everyone has been there. If you understand the mission of this site, you may be there, trying to find a way out right now. Whether the job is boring or just not challenging, eight hours of your day, 40 hours of your week, 160 hours of your month, and 1920 hours of your year may be wasted because you’re ultimately unfulfilled at your work. These numbers may be exaggerations, as for some people, they may just go through periods of slow time or unproductivity due to the ebbs and flows of the nature of their work, while others just hit a rut. This is more so for those in the latter category as opposed to those for whom this is a constant reality, but even you are in the former, hopefully there is something here to make your days just a little brighter. This isn’t going to be a reiteration of the fish philosophy about just having a better attitude at work. Although that is the simplest way, and a prerequisite for approaching any unideal situation in life, this article assumes you know the importance of such. Instead, this whittles down to one piece of practical advice – connect what you like to do, to what you’re currently doing. This involves some creative thinking in that you need to find a connection to what you like doing within the context and confines of having office hours. For a student affairs professional, especially a residence life professional who has the opportunity to collaborate with any office on campus, all this takes is initiative.

For me, writing has become a great passion of mine. So I take the time to write about what I like and don’t like about what I do in the hopes that it resonates with others. So it’s not completely self-serving and taking away from honoring the position I have, some of that writing is research-based: reading articles from scholarly journals about student affairs practices and coming up with new ideas and theories that can be applied today. It’s being productive, even if it’s a bit outside of the purview of my job description, but one that can contribute to the department or field at large. The idea is productivity. For you, it could be dancing, cooking, singing, running or a myriad of other interests, but the point is – there’s something in life that excites you and gets you up. So focus on that, while you have to be there on the job. It could be starting an organization/office on campus, volunteering with a coach, or acting as a teaching assistant for a topic you really enjoy. You’re still interacting with students, which is the crux of any student affairs professional’s job, but it’s being done on your terms. Above all, it’s recognizing that there are ways to exercise control over what you do have control of, so don’t waste that power.

See What Sticks: Innovation Lessons from Eddie Murphy

At nearly 29 years old, there aren't many things I can say I've been doing reliably for twenty years. But one of them is, "watch Saturday Night Live." Each Saturday around 11:25, my whole family gathered in the living room (sometimes playing Scrabble too, sometimes not), and we laughed together. The Marfos are a funny family, and memories like this always serve as a good reminder of that fact.

So I dove into Live From New York, the 2002 anthology of the show with the same fervor and excitement with which someone might explore their own family history. I expected to learn more about the interpersonal relationships between clast members, the frenetic pace and schedule of the writing, and the experiences of several hosts during their "tours of duty" in Studio 8H. But I also learned something exceptional about what hard work and team play can get you.

I've always had a difficult time balancing impulses to innovate and creating, with the need to be able to "fit" into a corporate, hierarchical structure. The more I foster the former side of my personality, the harder complying with the latter seems to be. But I've learned from several years of practice: you earn the ride to bend the rules when you spend time following and learning within them. SNL has had no greater beneficiary of this strategy than Eddie Murphy.

Brought on during Lorne Michaels' five-year absence as showrunner, Eddie Murphy proved a bright talent from the start, but struggled from underutilization (in large part because the showrunners in place had little experience with comedy). Though he was young (hardly twenty), he worked hard to get noticed and contributed strongly to the success of the fill cast. As we know, he went on to become one of the show's most successful alumni, with franchises such as Beverly Hills Cop, The Nutty Professor, and Shrek to his name, as well as a notable dramatic turn in Dreamgirls.

So what can we learn from Eddie Murphy's meteoric rise, even during what was considered a time of creative crisis for the show?

Work Hard. One of my current favorite motivational quotes is, "The dream is free. The hustle costs extra." It's not Shakespeare, but it gets the point across: wanting anything of significance requires hard work. Eddie Murphy wanted to be successful, and everyone on the show knew it. Talent coordinator Neil Levy noticed an interesting relic of Murphy's desire: bathroom graffiti saying "Eddie Murphy, No. 1." The more success he gained on the show, and eventually in movies, the bigger the words got. He erased, he wrote larger, he switched to pen. That belief in his talent extended to the full-time writers, who spent the most time with him:

All you had to do with eddie at that time was be a real good stenographer. Because you'd get him in the office and he'd have the character down, and he'd have the voice down and then if you had a good ear, you could figure it out and give him the stuff right back and he would just kick ass.

Lesson: dreams don't work unless you do. And even when he wasn't his very happiest, Murphy put in the time and energy to earn the camera time. Most would say it paid off!

Create Strong Alliances. Part of Eddie's rise to reliable utility player didn't come until he found the right writers to partner with. David Sheffield and Barry Blaustein. After a strong start transforming a random idea of Sheffield's into a sketch that, as he put it, "jumped off screen," they kept the relationship going-a relationship that spawned iconic characters like Buckwheat and Mr. Robinson.

But his dedication to creating strong characters didn't end with himself. Having spent time feeling underused on the show, he stood up in the writers room for castmates who were feeling the same way. Even as his starpower rose, cast members like Brad Hall remember him for his commitment to ensuring it wasn't all about him.

Lesson: who are the people around you that have the blend of talent and personality to elevate your work? Seek out these people, ally yourself, and create a product where you all can shine. Then, find the people who need you in a role to elevate their work, and do that too.

Then, Push. Once you've done the hard work to get established and learned the organization, and added value for those around you, then you can start to bend some established rules. Some organizations, the more attentive ones that will recognize this in you, may help you in that bending of the rules. In Murphy's final year as a cast member, he was being wooed away with major movie deals and film shoots. But as a strong producer and collaborator, NBC brass wanted to keep him. So he was offered an unprecedented deal to work on only half the season, filling in gaps with pre-recorded segments that would stretch his presence. Additionally, he remains the only cast member to serve as host in the same season that he was a cast member, taking over the role after a previously scheduled host backed out.

Lesson: once your value is proven, you can start to gently buck the norms that have been set for you in your role. as long as you can prove that value to the organization.

Another one of my favorite work-fueling quotes is, "Work hard and be nice to people." My desire to balance a challenging and creative work schedule, while appreciating the people that help me make it happen, strongly informs my definition of success. While Eddie Murphy's returns to SNL are infrequent, he truly does credit and appreciate the show's role in his stardom. And it was that combination of work, collaboration, and gratitude that helped him break free from the show's standard operating procedure- and could do the same for you!