Leadership Decisions

So I took the "C" model of Leadership in decision making (plus other key points from the class discussion) and shared it with my staff I supervise in the residence halls during our bi-weekly meeting.  I treated it like a TED.com lecture.  I entitled it a "Tiny Teach"---8 minutes, no questions, no interruptions.  I let them know that we could connect at a later date during a 1:1 meeting or via phone/email.  I addressed Command, Consult, Consensus, Convenience and the Constructive Conflict.  It went well.  Listening to this i realized how simple it can be to explain the work that I do, if I sit and think about what I do do.  Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with work (albeit enjoying the chaos) we forget to sit back and reflect on the meaning/learning.  Later in the week I was walking with the 3 youngest/greenest of my staff and asked them what their take-a-way was.  They loved the "Your ego will get you the job in the interview, but the moment it shows up again, YOU ARE TOAST!"  I could see this coming since the moment I made this simple comment in the lecture, the demeanor of the staff members changed, including the Master's Degree folks.  They also enjoyed the piece about choosing your attitude.  It reminded me that we at times, we take our young staffs intelligence for granted.  They tend to be very book smart, you know, SAT scores of 1600, 4.2 GPAs, but the little things that can make you a success or failure in the work force is not always shared enough....  the real world is experienced in the real world... not in a book.... but they are great tools to have in your leadership toolbox!