What is The Future of RDs? – Transformational Teambuilders And Relationship Experts

Guest Post by Dr. Tiffany Schmidtberger-Okolo, Residence Life Professional

In my current role, I am developing an assessment framework for residential life services.  This process has necessitated a thorough reflection on what students should know when they leave residential living experiences at the end of the academic year.  In this process I have compared the CAS standards with the EBI survey.  I notice a fundamental difference between measuring transactions and transformations, growth and satisfaction, and established services or opportunities for expansion.  This process has made me reflect on the vision I set for the department and the skills I teach to paraprofessional and professional staff.  As I select evaluation questions, I keep going back to words of wisdom mentors have passed down to me throughout my career.  This shapes my thoughts on the future of role of residential directors. 

1.  A trusted Chief Student Affairs Officer once told our division that we are the captains of redundancy. We repeat the same service or conversation over and over again with a multitude of students.  Over my 10+ year career in student affairs administration.  This statement has held true.  The question becomes what conversations are we having and what lessons are we teaching.  Today, tomorrow and always we need to be having relevant, intentional conversations grounded in the principles of relational, servant or transformational leadership principles.  
2. Through a series of conversations with multiple mentors, I learned that relationships are more important than being right.  People remember how you made them feel over what you did.  We are measured by our impact rather than our intent.  Now I intentionally train staff on the importance of prioritizing safety and trust in relationships.  My staff willing tell me about the lollipop moments they create on a regular basis.  The reach and impact of a residence director expands when student staff are empowered to prioritize relationships over transactions. 
3. We all learned about student development theory in graduate school or maybe through on the job training.  Kohlberg’s theory on moral reasoning provides us with a step-based framework for how students grow their skills in conflict resolution.  When I train staff on policy enforcement and roommate conflicts, I actually use the frameworks advanced by Crucial Conversations and Crucial Accountability.  Crucial conversations, a primer for high stakes conversations, provides a framework to minimize stress by promoting collaboration over competition.  When collaboration cannot be achieved, I encourage staff to use the ideas promoted in Crucial Accountability to address policy violations so as not to increase conflict and discord.  
4. Live-in/live-on positions are a lifestyle choice made by hearty individuals with intrinsic motivation.  As a profession, we need to embrace the utilization of the Passion Profiler and StrengthsQuest so we empower our most valuable players to do their best work.  To compliment these assessments, my team completes a Mindvue assessment that helps me select lessons that will build skills to help us overcome adversity, establish a shared purpose, increase authenticity, build confidence, and foster grit and perseverance.  

Our success hinges on the fact that residence directors are transformational teambuilders and relationship experts.  As a profession, I contend our whole goal should be to empower resident directors to be the best they can be given who they are and the values they hold.