THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT STAFF COUNCIL

Annual Retreat Tuesday, September 25, 2012

8:45 am – 12 noon Davis Center, Sugar Maple Ballroom

Members: Brendan Andrews, Ann Barlow, Renee Berteau, Michelle Chapman, Rodman Cory, Naima Dennis, Jacqueline Drouin, Isis Erb, Mark Hall, Scott Hipko, Laurie Juskiewicz, Troy Krahl, Gwen Landis, Karen Lemire, Robin Lockerby, Sharon Mone, Joanne Montanye, Mary Parent, Holly Pedrini, Parvin Pothiawala, Judy Riani, Ida Russin, Karmen Swim, Wayne Tetrick, Marie Tiemann, Nicole Todd, Lynn Tracy, Floyd Vilmont, and Susan Williford.

AGENDA

ITEM TIME

*Arrive a few minutes early and help yourself to coffee or tea. The Retreat will commence at 8:45 am.

Call To Order

8:45 am Introductions Exercise – Catherine Symans/Renee Berteau 30 minutes

9:15 am Leadership and Service: Defining Terms – Jeff Bukowski 60 minutes

10:15am Break 10 minutes

10:25 am Servant Leaders and Community Building at UVM – Jeff Bukowski 60 minutes

11:25 am Lunch 35 minutes

12:00 noon Retreat Concludes

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STAFF COUNCIL RETREAT - SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 – ACTIVITY SUMMARY

Arrival 8:15 am – 8:45 am (30 minutes)

Staff Council Representatives will arrive between 8:15 am – 8:45 am to sign in and enjoy coffee and tea.

Representatives will be assigned to specific tables ahead of time in order to facilitate discussions and getting to know other members of the Staff Council.

Introduction Exercise 8:45 am – 9:15 am (30 minutes) – Catherine Symans/Renee Berteau

Objective:

For Staff Council Representatives to get to know another Representative they do not know well and help introduce one another.

Activity:

We will go around the room and have everyone say there name and where they work.

After this we will ask each Staff Council Representative to partner with another Representative they do not know well. Those partnered together will take 5 minutes to get to know one another. After this getting to know one another period has ended, each individual will introduce the other to the larger group.

Leadership and Service: Understanding these Terms 9:15 am – 10:15 am (60 minutes) – Jeff Bukowski

Reading for Exercise:

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). The servant as leader. In Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of

legitimate power and greatness (pp. 7-48). New York: Paulist Press.

Objective:

Define the terms “leadership” and “leader” and relate the concept of “service” into these definitions. Make connections between servant leadership and the roles of Staff Council Representatives and other

leadership roles at the University of Vermont

Introduction of Activity:

Many of us would probably find it easy to identify an individual we know as a good leader within a particular context like at work, in our family, and in our community, but when it comes to actually defining what good leadership means in a more encompassing definition, it can often be a struggle. Leadership is not only personal it is extremely contextual. Who we are as leaders has much to do with who are as individuals (e.g., when and where we grew up, our beliefs, our cultural identity, etc.) but also the kinds of situations in which we find ourselves (e.g., work, family, community, etc.).

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For example, let’s say there is a Captain of a ship who has a distinct leadership style that works to maintain order, safety, and efficiency. This Captain may yell and shout and expects the crew to obey a command and respond accordingly. This may work very well for the crew and it may even be the kind of leadership the crew comes to expect and appreciate, but transport this same Captain into a classroom of middle schoolers and the demanding approach of telling these students what to do and when to do it will probably not help with achieving learning outcomes.

This exercise is designed to help us think about what the term “leadership” means for us as individuals, our society, our work as Staff Council, and what we expect to witness and experience from those who lead at UVM. We hope to come to some conclusions about what we see as defining characteristics of “leaders.”

We will then explore the role of service within the context of our definitions of “leadership” and “leaders” to make sense of how servant leadership impacts the way we see ourselves as leaders in the various contexts.

By developing a collective understanding of the relationship between leadership and service, we can better express our expectation to others about the type of leadership we are seeking in response to issues that affect not only the non-represented staff at UVM, but also the entire University community.

We will be doing small group work in this activity where groups will be asked to report out to the larger group. We will also have a small collective discussion at the end

Break 10:15 am – 10:25 am (10 minutes ) Servant Leadership and Community Building at the University of Vermont 10:25 am – 11:25 am (60 minutes) – Jeff Bukowski

Objective:

Recognize the impact of servant leadership models on organizational leadership and community building.

Introduction of Activity:

According to Greenleaf (1977), the servant leader “is servant first” and is an individual who has the “natural feeling that one wants to serve” (p. 13). This is different from one who desires to be a “leader-first” because the servant leader is called to lead based on the desire to serve others, whereas the “leader-first” is more concerned with power and authority. In this exercise we will discuss what a servant leader does to build community and connect those ideas to actions plans for building community at the University for staff as well as faculty, students, and administration. We will also investigate what servant leadership means for our roles as Staff Council Representatives and as members of the larger UVM community. We will be doing small group work in this activity where groups will be asked to report out to the larger group. We will also have a small collective discussion at the end.

Conclusion/Lunch 11:25am – 12 noon (35 minutes) Catherine Symans/Renee Berteau We will conclude the Retreat and enjoy lunch together and have the opportunity to socialize.

GROUP 1 Does as well as lead

Good listener

Give & take criticism

Confident

Treat others equally

Willingness to reassess

Empower others

Trust & support

Visionary

Ability to make hard decisions

Manage conflict

GROUP 2 Visionary

Thoughtful

By example

Compassionate

Good listener

Inspirational

Fair

Give credit to others

Accept responsibility (good & bad)

Integrity & honesty

Respect

Empathetic

Clear communicator

Responsive

Hard decisions

Team builder/member

See & grow values in others

Sense of humor

Humanistic

Humble

Say thank you!

GROUP 3 Inner strength/confidence

Passionate

Open minded/willing to be persuaded,

change mind

Set a good example

Active listener

Deep knowledge of field

Willing to take responsibility

Let others grow in their job

Willing to give credit

Give people ability (training) to do

larger/challenging jobs

Ability to delegate

Personal values

Able to see bigger picture/vision

Can convey mission to others to implement

Willing to make decisions

Willing to expand knowledge/educate self

Knowledge of others skills/job description

Mentor others/encourage them to lead

GROUP 4 Honesty

Consistency

Listening

Vision

Inspires trust

Dedicated

Leads by example

Coach

Fair

Open minded

Compassionate

Delegates appropriately

Lifts others up

Team builder

Communicator

Humble

Integrity

Has your back

Knowledgeable

Forgiving

Grounded

Thoughtful

WHAT IS A LEADER?

GROUP 1 Choose to:

o Server

o Volunteer

o Lead

o Do the best you can

Always searching and listening

Take initiative

Servant first – give first

Lead by example

Accept risk

GROUP 2 Doing something for others

Leading by example – good guidance

Value driven

Develop others – lift up and grow

See and articulate a vision

o Willing to listen &

compromise

Makes employees feel valued & part

of a vision (certainty to others)

Meeting other’s priorities

Purpose to others

Accepts & empathizes

Values shared leadership

GROUP 3 Fulfilling needs

Put others first – different priority

Treat others as you want to be

treated

Anticipating needs – listening

Trying to have people reach their

potential

Seek instruction and a positive role

model

Having the emotional intelligence to

know you need help and seek out

mentorship

Empathy and selflessness

Knowing your responsibilities

Leader knows they need their

complement (servant)

GROUP 4 Being vested in the service/industry

Representing a larger group

Being inclusive

Giving/building/facilitating

momentum

Keeping the vision

Humility

Taking chances

Standing up for what is right (social

justice)

Group gain – not personal gain

HOW DOES SERVICE FIT INTO

LEADERSHIP?

GROUP 1 Build community

o Staff Line – greater audience

o One event that is all inclusive

(administration, faculty, staff

& students)

o Volunteerism

Videos of servant

leadership

GROUP 2 Find ways to “toot our own horn” in

a humble way

Communicate with administration to

give Staff Council credit for what we

have accomplished

Educate supervisors to let

employees know value of Staff

Council and encourage them to give

time to volunteer

Reminders about what UVM does

have positive reinforcement

GROUP 3 Album of constituents

o Photo if possible

o Name, position, department,

physical address

Put picture in my email to make sure

people know what their

representative looks like

GROUP 4 Series of emails/representative

correspondence

o “Servant Leadership Series”

o Highlighting the “10

Essentials…”

o 1-2 per month, educating

about the model

o Real life examples within the

organization

o Success stories

HOW TO INCORPORATE

SERVANT LEADERSHIP:

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Servant Leadership Explained: 10 Essentials From http://www.theleadershiphub.com/userlog/servant-leadership-explained-10-essentials Using servant as a modifier of the word leadership, at first, sounds like a contradiction. However, since Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept in the 1970s, servant-leadership has been subjected to empirical investigation and has become an increasingly popular approach for the management of a wide range of organizations, including higher education institutions (Block, 1996; Greenleaf, 1977; Levering & Moskowitz, 2000; Spears, 1995).

Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership, describes servant-leadership "as a way of being in relationship with others." He goes on to provide a one sentence summary of the basic stance of servant leadership: "Servant-leadership seeks to involve others in decision making, is strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and it enhances the personal growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of organizational life."

Greenleaf's servant-leadership approach is part of the larger employee involvement movement of the past 30-40 years aimed at creating organizations where leaders remove barriers and obstacles that would prevent employees from growing as individuals and performing well in the workplace.

Greenleaf placed considerable emphasis on the sharing of power in decision-making and the promotion of a sense of community within an organization.

Although different proponents of servant leadership may emphasize slightly different features of servant leadership, the following characteristics are viewed by Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership, to be at the core of the servant-leadership approach.

1. Listening: Leaders have traditionally been valued for their communication and decision-making skills. Although these are also important skills for the servant-leader, they need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listening intently to others. The servant-leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps to clarify that will. He or she listens receptively to what is being said and unsaid. Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one's own inner voice. Listening, coupled with periods of reflection, is essential to the growth and well-being of the servant-leader.

2. Empathy: The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits. One assumes the good intentions of co-workers and colleagues and does not reject them as people, even when one may be forced to refuse to accept certain behaviors or performance. The most successful servant-leaders are those who have become skilled empathetic listeners.

3. Healing: The healing of relationships is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one's self and one's relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact. In his essay, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf writes, "There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share."

4. Awareness: General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Awareness helps one in understanding issues involving ethics, power and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations from a more integrated, holistic position. As Greenleaf observed: "Awareness is not a giver of solace--it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity."

5. Persuasion: Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a reliance on persuasion, rather than on one's positional authority, in making decisions within an organization. The servant-leader seeks to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant-leader is effective at building consensus within groups. This emphasis on persuasion over coercion finds its roots in the beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)--the denominational body to which Robert Greenleaf belonged.

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6. Conceptualization: Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to dream great dreams. The ability to look at a problem or an organization from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For many leaders, this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. The traditional leader is consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. The leader who wishes to also be a servant-leader must stretch his or her thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking. Within organizations, conceptualization is, by its very nature, the proper role of boards of trustees or directors. Unfortunately, boards can sometimes become involved in the day-to-day operations--something that should always be discouraged--and, thus, fail to provide the visionary concept for an institution. Trustees need to be mostly conceptual in their orientation, staffs need to be mostly operational in their perspective, and the most effective executive leaders probably need to develop both perspectives within themselves. Servant-leaders are called to seek a delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a day-to-day operational approach.

7. Foresight: Closely related to conceptualization, the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation is hard to define, but easier to identify. One knows foresight when one experiences it. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant-leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind. Foresight remains a largely unexplored area in leadership studies, but one most deserving of careful attention.

8. Stewardship: Peter Block (author of Stewardship and The Empowered Manager) has defined stewardship as "holding something in trust for another." Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was one in which CEO's, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control.

9. Commitment to the growth of people: Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within his or her organization. The servant-leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything in his or her power to nurture the personal and professional growth of employees and colleagues. In practice, this can include (but is not limited to) concrete actions such as making funds available for personal and professional development, taking a personal interest in the ideas and suggestions from everyone, encouraging worker involvement in decision-making, and actively assisting laid-off employees to find other positions.

10. Building community: The servant-leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said, "All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his or her unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group."

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6. Conceptualization: Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to dream great dreams. The ability to look at a problem or an organization from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For many leaders, this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. The traditional leader is consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. The leader who wishes to also be a servant-leader must stretch his or her thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking. Within organizations, conceptualization is, by its very nature, the proper role of boards of trustees or directors. Unfortunately, boards can sometimes become involved in the day-to-day operations--something that should always be discouraged--and, thus, fail to provide the visionary concept for an institution. Trustees need to be mostly conceptual in their orientation, staffs need to be mostly operational in their perspective, and the most effective executive leaders probably need to develop both perspectives within themselves. Servant-leaders are called to seek a delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a day-to-day operational approach.

7. Foresight: Closely related to conceptualization, the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation is hard to define, but easier to identify. One knows foresight when one experiences it. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant-leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind. Foresight remains a largely unexplored area in leadership studies, but one most deserving of careful attention.

8. Stewardship: Peter Block (author of Stewardship and The Empowered Manager) has defined stewardship as "holding something in trust for another." Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was one in which CEO's, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control.

9. Commitment to the growth of people: Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within his or her organization. The servant-leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything in his or her power to nurture the personal and professional growth of employees and colleagues. In practice, this can include (but is not limited to) concrete actions such as making funds available for personal and professional development, taking a personal interest in the ideas and suggestions from everyone, encouraging worker involvement in decision-making, and actively assisting laid-off employees to find other positions.

10. Building community: The servant-leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said, "All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his or her unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group."