Harvard takes a page from Biola University’s MOL

It wasn’t long ago that I received an email from my alma mater, Biola University, about it’s Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MOL) program. With the new president’s vision came the announcement that the program would go by the wayside.

Since I completed my MOL degree, I have often found myself answering the question: “What is that?” The fastest answer I have found is that it is like a MBA, but focused more on the people skills and the application of the concepts.

It turns out, Biola might have been on to something.

“The Economist” reported this week that Harvard will be testing a new concept for their MBA program, entitled FIELD.

FIELD incorporates a few new elements to the Harvard MBA program that are reminiscent of the MOL program at Biola.

As reported in the article published in The Economist on Dec. 3., “Asked what should be expected from someone with an MBA, [Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria], replies that “obviously, they should master a body of knowledge. But we should also expect them to apply that knowledge with some measure of judgment.” The elements being piloted by HBS include team-building exercises, working at existing companies for a week or longer, and starting a new business with $3,000 and 8 weeks provided by the program.

At first blush, these elements seemed exciting and novel. Then I realized why I connected so much with the article – I had done much of this through my MOL program with Biola.

Biola’s CSOL550: Leadership Challenge provided teambuilding in a framework of a weekend retreat; other classes incorporated hands-on projects that brought about the very outcomes of collaboration and feedback as are desired by Harvard.

The structured “learning by doing” strategy that Harvard is attempting to employ through their one-week internships at businesses. Biola’s model intentionally has students still in the workforce during their program so that they could immediately implement, test, practice, and refine the theories and practices they are learning in class.

The third piece of Harvard’s program is perhaps the most intriguing to me. Though starting a business sounds alluring, I wonder what will be done once the eight weeks is complete: will the businesses be viable enough to sell; will students continue to lead them while continuing their studies; or will they wither and die for lack of attention? This piece of the FIELD program may be the most ripe for innovation. In Biola’s MOL program, though the foundation for business was laid through projects that students completed, at least one student in my cohort sought funding to actively pursue the development of a plan he designed through the course.

Though Harvard’s application of these goals and teaching methods will look different from those implemented by Biola University, I am grateful that the educational strategies and outcomes that I have found useful in my career will continue in the absence of the Biola MOL program.

Thanks (but we don’t need your) giving

The meaning of holidays has somewhat shifted in recent years. Before, holidays brought about thoughts of rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. These days, between scheduling gatherings of friends and family, shopping, and balancing the other parts of life that don’t seem to realize that the holiday is upon us (yes, there is a reason why hospitals, police stations, and other places are open on holidays), retailers have decided that “Black Friday” isn’t good enough – holiday deals must start the evening of Thanksgiving.

In my world, holidays usually mean a scheduling nightmare. I start blocking off dates early so that I don’t mix up our events and double-book. Thankfully, I enjoy the events, so the stress ends as I step onto the host’s front porch.

That’s why I was at a loss this year when I discovered we only had one event planned for this week. One event? Where’s the challenge in that? And the kicker – it’s being held only 10 miles away from home and I wasn’t asked to bring any food. Even with a five-week-old daughter to add to the mix, I feel like I’m missing out on . . .something.

Oh, right. That “something” is stress and being overly scheduled.

Knowing that I had a few extra hours to play with this week, my husband and I decided to look into serving opportunities for Thanksgiving Day. My mom and dad even decided to join us. So Sunday, I started calling around.

My first stop was a friend who is a pastor at a rather well-connected church. He connected me with a family who holds Thanksgiving dinner for people who don’t have anywhere to go for the holiday. Perfect.

Well, not so perfect. The friends of that family were all taking part in Ventura’s One City, One Meal event, so the family (and hence, the dinner) wasn’t needed.

I broadened my search. After looking at One City, One Meal, a county-wide network of service opportunities, Craig’s List’s volunteer postings, searching the web for non-profit organizations in my area, and calling a few other churches, I was about to give up.

Then the phone rang.

It was a team member from my church; he was wondering if I could help a woman who holds Thanksgiving dinner at her home for people who don’t have anywhere to go. I was back to square one, just in a different setting.

The woman was very nice, grateful for the offer of help, and didn’t need anything because another church had given her most of the things she needed.

I hung up, deflated. How could it be this hard to find someone in need?

Then the woman called back. “My daughter can’t have regular pumpkin pie, and it would make her so happy to have it. But it’s $15.”

One of my core values is multiplication. If I could characterize my hobbies, ministry, and professional life with an image, it would be a stone making ripples in the water. Everything I do, I want to see it multiplied.

The pumpkin pie wasn’t multiplied. It didn’t create another pie, it wasn’t used to create a recipe to feed more families, it wasn’t served at an event that motivated people to go out and serve. But it made one girl happy and enabled one mom to see her child participate in an anticipated moment. And that is worth giving thanks.

Jamba Juice Organization & Learned Behaviors

Today was the hottest day on record in our area. I didn’t need the sign outside of Pierce College to tell me that it was 105 degrees; the sweat on my brow after sitting for twenty minutes in the shade was enough. On Saturday, my son and I took a brief reprieve from the heat by going to Jamba Juice.

Apparently so did half of Ventura County. The small storefront was packed. Yet, ever the curious and active toddler, Jonathan set to work exploring the displays of merchandise that adorned the counter. Within a few minutes, I noticed him picking up the assorted energy bars and snacks. He systematically worked his way from one side of the counter to the other, straightening the crooked bars and ensuring that the labels were all facing the same way.

That’s when it hit me: my son has some of me in him. In this case, a lot of me. After less than two years of observation of his parents, Jonathan is actively putting into practice some of our quirks and (okay, I admit it) obsessions.

What brought me pause in Jamba Juice, however, is wondering what else he is picking up from me.

There are definitely parts of our personalities that my husband and I would like to pass on. Yes, organization is on that list. My anxiety over organization, however, would not be one of those things. We have put relatively little effort into teaching Jonathan organization – we only taught him the “Clean Up” song about three weeks ago (he already hums it to himself while putting things away).

I wonder how much of my life and my character are built from my exposure to the people and things around me. It’s often said that character is caught, not taught, but the implications of this are further reaching than I’d like to admit. When I spend my evenings playing Solitaire, what am I catching? What about when our choice for dinner is the food court at the mall on a hot evening? Does this reinforce the consumerism that is so often associated with our culture? Or is it just a convenient alternative to cooking?

Tonight, with the air conditioning at home frantically trying (and failing) to keep up with the temperatures outside, the food court became our best option for dinner. We could have let the dozens of stores turn our attention to increasing our possessions, but instead we limited our intake to dinner and a candy for dessert. The kids’ play area became a place for relationship building with others in our community, and watching another child share with Jonathan enabled us to encourage and thank the parents of that child.

The situations that we find ourselves in often carry with them an assumed result, but ultimately we have the opportunity to influence our part of the world through our actions and the choice we make. And as we continue to be influenced by the things around us, we can intentionally attempt to catch character that is becoming of who we are in Christ.

Perfect Provision

Let’s revisit August 2009. I went to my boss’ office for a meeting that had been rescheduled. That weekend, I told my husband that I thought I was going to be laid off in that meeting, primarily because my boss had never rescheduled a meeting with me before. As it turns out, I was right.

Despite this thought, I was hurt when I got the news. I cried. I asked why. I asked for a commitment to carry on what I considered the most important of the work I had done for the organization. And I made one comment that I regret.

“I am not worried about me. I will be fine. I am worried about Jonathan.”

I used the baby card. Jonathan was less than a year old at the time. He is still the cutest baby in the world, and the part of me that was hurting wanted to hurt my boss right back. Knowing that my boss (er, former boss) had just adopted three kids of his own, I leaned on my son to inflict any amount of regret that I thought could be possible. I don’t know whether or not it affected him, but it certainly had that effect on me.

I regret making that comment not because it wasn’t true (it was), but because it came from a place intending to hurt and it came from a place of not trusting in God’s provision.

Now, nine months after I was laid off, I am days away from receiving my first paycheck from my new job. Just to see how we did financially over the last few months, I pulled out my bank statement to compare the totals from the day before I was laid off to the day that I found out that I was offered a new job. The difference?

$25.07

Through my severance package, a nice tax return, gifts from family and friends, my small part-time job on Sundays, and a few other sources of income, my household had a net gain of $25.07 over the nine months that I was unemployed.

I was trying to come up with a verse from the Bible to share that would explain God’s provision, but ultimately I couldn’t find a key verse that would do justice to God’s character as revealed in Scripture. Instead, I’ll share a few instances of God’s character being shown through how He interacts with His people. Please don’t just skim these and move on. If you click on the verse, you will be able to read the passage in context:

“The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain. . .” (Psalm 65).

“. . .from your bounty, oh God, you provided for the poor” (Psalm 68).

“He provides food for those who fear Him; he remembers his covenant forever” (Psalm 111).

These verses help paint a picture of who God is. They are snapshots of how He interacts with His people in time, and throughout the Bible we are given opportunities to hear stories of how God provided for specific people who were going through problems individually and as part of a community. Thankfully, His perfect provision allows me to add my story to those that came before us.

Perfect Timing

A couple weeks ago, I had a second interview with Tierra del Sol, a non-profit organization that is devoted to changing challenges to opportunities by helping adults with developmental disabilities gain the skills and experience necessary to find a job. I felt really good about the interview and was probably the least nervous out of any interview I have ever had. But I was still surprised when I was offered the position during the interview.

My mind raced as I tried to weigh the pros and cons of accepting the job. I never thought they would make an offer right then; I assumed that I would have a couple of days in between the interview and any possible offer to do a bit more research, determine any follow up questions I might have, and ultimately decide if I really wanted the job. When I was put on the spot, I said “yes.”

As moving into a full-time position became reality through pre-employment paperwork, physical, drug test, and fingerprinting, I began thinking about the other loose end possibility: a teaching job. I had already interviewed and taught a demonstration lesson. They had emailed me a week before to let me know that they were almost finished with the candidate process. I was hopeful that I might receive an offer, but having taken the position at Tierra del Sol, I found myself wondering if I had made the right decision. Would I have been happier waiting and accepting an offer from another organization?

I’ve found in my job search that there are many parameters that I use to weigh a possible position. The base is the amount of money that I will make; some positions are just not within my budget. Apart from that, I look at the distance the job is from my home, the number of hours and the time of day that I will be working, and the amount of challenge and personal satisfaction I will get from the job. Both of these “final two” jobs ranked high on all of these categories. Sure, it would be nice to have the summer off, but the Tierra job would give me a lot more responsibility and greater opportunity for professional growth.

I also had to take into consideration my career path. During my job search, I was able to present my skills very strongly in two different arenas: Education (specifically, Christian Education), and non-profit management. My education and work experience support each of these fields. However, I had a sense that whatever job I ended up with would cement my resume in one of these two fields. If I took the teaching position, it would have been hard to showcase consistency in management positions on future resumes. With my new position as Volunteer Services Coordinator for The Tierra del Sol Foundation, I am directing my career toward non-profit organization management. This is not a decision I made lightly, but ultimately I settled on the fact that my decision to accept the position at Tierra del Sol was the better of the two options.

As it turns out, I didn’t need to spend so much time weighing the possibilities; the decision was made for me. Two days after accepting my job with Tierra del Sol, I received a rejection letter for the teaching position. It was late enough time to give me satisfaction in my decision to take the job at Tierra del Sol, and early enough to ensure that I didn’t waffle in my commitment to Tierra. Perfect timing.

Eggs Scrambled with Others’ Thoughts

“How would you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled well. With brown on them.”

This conversation has played itself out more times than I can count. Usually when I answer the waitress’ question, she gives me a strange look. Brown on them? Really? Okay. . . It’s just the way I like my eggs. If they’re fluffy or even (horrors!) underdone, I can’t stand them. Which is why I always clarify my egg order with the waitress.

That’s also why I was shocked when I sat down to eat breakfast and realized that I had made myself scrambled eggs with cheese mixed in, fluffy and slightly undercooked.

This is my husband’s style of eggs. In less than four years of marriage, I had assimilated his egg order without even realizing it. Of course, once I noticed the change in the eggs, I put them back in the pan and cooked them to my liking.

I wonder if this is what happens in our lives as we build friendships and hobbies. Though time and time again we repeat our order to ourselves and make sure that we act in accordance with our morals and standards, eventually we find ourselves living in a way that mirrors the lives of those around us.

For some of us, this is a good thing. If we have built our close friendships with those who hold to the moral high ground, we can actually gain from this. But if our lives are in any way attached to perverse people, media, hobbies, or actions, then our own actions may begin to go downhill without our realization.

I think that’s one reason why we are admonished to “not be yoked together with unbelievers.” Okay, what’s a yoke? I’m not talking about my eggs anymore – that would be yolked (and no, the pun was not intentional). This phrase was written as a comparison to the efforts of oxen plowing a field or pulling a cart. When oxen are yoked together, they are united in their work efforts. When we spend that much time with other people, it makes sense that we would assimilate some of their habits, beliefs, and mannerisms – intentionally or unintentionally.

Transitioning from leadership

While it is my hope that everyone could be part of a Small Group, every group ebbs and flows; groups go on hiatus, disband, and leaders change. Here are a few tips to help you and your group make that transition well. Your Coach or Area Leader can also help to stand alongside you as you and your group make this transition, so be sure to call upon him or her for guidance.

1. Follow God’s guidance. There are seasons to everything in our lives. As you see the end or beginning of a season approaching, make sure to spend ample time in prayer to see where the Lord is guiding you and your group.

2. Look at the health and motivation of your group. Ask God to give you a clear picture your group: Are they committed? Excited? Lackadaisical? Contributing to the group or taking a ‘free ride’? Use this to plan for the upcoming transition.

3. Identify and develop an Apprentice. An Apprentice is someone in the group who is being developed to lead a new group. If you begin developing an Apprentice now, you’ll be ready whether the group continues with shared leadership, branches into two groups (your Apprentice may lead one), or continues with the Apprentice as the new leader.

4. Be transparent. Sometimes the reasons for the transition are obvious: you’re moving or your work schedule changed. But other times the reason may be a stall in momentum or a lack of motivation. Whatever the case, address it appropriately with your group. An issue of direction or motivation may be best addressed by talking through the issue with the group to find a solution.

5. Take advantage of the structure. Many Small Group programs are yearround but utilize seasons in order to help facilitate people joining groups and new groups starting. Use these seasons to take a break, set a goal for developing your Apprentice, or use the leader and participation sign-ups to help your group mates find or form a new group.

6. Consider continuing relationships. If the group continues with another leader, support that leader. If the group disbanded, have a reunion or celebrate birthdays together.

7. Celebrate what God has done. Just because a group ends does not mean that it was a failure. Go out to dinner together to celebrate what God did in the midst of your Small Group, and what He will continue to do in your friendships.

You know what my Father is doing. . .

A while ago I made a judgment call to explain the numerous vernacular changes I was making to a program. Though I did it in a way that allowed people to choose whether or not to pay attention, it set a standard for full disclosure when it came to programmatic changes. When I clicked “send” on that email, it was sent to thousands of people who were involved in a program that I ran. The email itself wasn’t that big of a deal – it just listed the changes and explained the leadership’s thinking for making the change. By explaining the reasoning behind it, I was hoping to engender a sense of ownership in the minds of the people who were already participating. If they know what we are using more inclusive terminology, maybe they would be more inclusive.

Though that may have been part of the results, I found that many people just had more questions. While using the term “host” instead of “leader” was meant to make new volunteers feel more comfortable with the role, it also undermined the amount of responsibility that existing volunteers had. The volunteers who felt challenged and responsible for leading a group into deeper understanding and application of the Scriptures, the switch made them feel like the only thing they had to have was a house. “If anyone can do this, then why am I spending my time doing it?”

Oops.

On the other side of the reaction was the number of people who inquired about hosting a Small Group. Instead of feeling intimidated by “leading” a group, they felt supported and equipped once they discovered what “hosting” meant. The job description was the same as that of a “leader,” but the volunteers had the chance to express interest and talk to staff about the details because we softened the language.

At least that worked out for us.

During my debrief of this experience, I found myself reflecting on the conversation that Jesus had with his disciples: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Jesus defined his relationship with the disciples based on the information that they knew about Him and the Father. They weren’t just following a few orders handed down from on high; they knew what was at stake by their actions. The things that Jesus told them pushed them to a different level. No longer were they just reading, doing, but not understanding. Instead, they had a playbook in front of them. They knew the end of the story, the character of the storyteller, and the role that they were given.

Though we are called to be like Christ, I was missing these pieces in my experience with the Small Groups. I had given them a glimpse of the greater story, but my fallibility was still in question (rightly so). I may have pulled the veil back on the overall story of Small Groups, but I didn’t have enough of the details of what was going on in the individual groups in order to ascertain what would happen when this was revealed.

A friend in my Small Group shared a story last night about a meeting that he had at a company he worked for. The president of the company called an “all hands” meeting. Everyone was wondering what it could be about. If it had happened right now, I’m sure that layoffs would have been in mind. Instead, the staff was greeted with a brief announcement that the company was going public. A few questions were answered, mainly along the lines of “How is this going to affect me?” The answer? “It won’t.” Basically, the meeting was a way to include the company in a celebration of the owner’s newfound fortune. My friend said that it wouldn’t have been any more surprising if they owner had walked in dressed up like the Monopoly man. The intention may have been good (to pull back the curtain), but the result wasn’t helpful (the staff morale went down, and productivity halted for that half hour).

A policy of full disclosure is helpful in some circumstances, but may be harmful in others. Before you are ready to pull back the curtain, make sure you are certain what is going to be on the other side.

Making the Most of a Bible Study Guide

1) “Introduce yourself” to the study guide. To understand the big picture of where the study guide will lead your group, skim through the study guide before your group begins to use it: look at the cover, table of contents, introduction, and headings, charts and maps throughout the guide.

2) Read the week’s study before your group meets. While study guides are helpful for leading discussion and making observations of the text, remember that each study guide is written with a different audience in mind. As you prepare, keep an eye out for questions that may not apply to your group, terminology that needs to be better defined or clarified, and tangents that may surface. Make notes in the margin to remind yourself of your discoveries.

3) Identify the type of question being asked. Most study guides will incorporate the following types of questions: observation (what does the text say?), interpretation (what does the text mean?), and application (what does the text mean to my life?). Being able to identify the type of question will allow you to be selective in your question-asking, without losing these three elements.

4) Contextualize the questions to your group as necessary. You may find that certain questions in the study guide do not apply to your group. Look for this as you prepare for your group meeting. If it becomes obvious during your group meeting that a question is redundant or does not apply, skip the question or ask a different question that will help your group reach the same end.

5) Be flexible—with purpose. Overall, realize that a study guide is meant to help your group. If the guide becomes a hindrance or it becomes obvious that the Holy Spirit is pointing your group in a different direction, be sensitive to that and follow Him.

Treading on tender moments

I love spending time out in public. As I write this, I am sitting at Starbucks with people surrounding me. Though I’m not actively engaged with them, the noise of people living their lives fuels me. The two ladies to my right are consulting about employment opportunities in the medical billing field. The lady to my left is working on a presentation on her laptop. My son is fast asleep in the stroller in front of me. The noise of a blender, drink orders, and ten different conversations at once fill my ears. And I love every moment of it.

Hanging out in a coffee shop assumes a few different things. It assumes that you will be sharing space with people, that there will be noise, and that passersby might watch you. It also provides tacit approval for friends or acquaintances to stop by and say hello if they see you. Other public places have different standards for conduct: Fancy restaurants assume a level of privacy through their lighting and the wall height in the booths; offices with low-walled cubicles imply more interaction by the employees; the common areas in the mall invite interaction.

This is why I found myself in an awkward situation when I was walking through the mall and came upon a couple. It didn’t appear like a special moment at first; they were sitting at a table in the middle of the walkway. I glanced in their direction as I passed by, and realized that the guy was putting a necklace around the woman’s neck. At that moment two things happened: I realized that this was an intimate moment, and the woman caught my eye.

I couldn’t look away now; it was obvious that I was watching them. So I just smiled. She didn’t smile back. In those few moments when our eyes met, I understood a lot more than what could have been communicated in words. I felt ashamed for having watched them, and even more awkward given that a stranger had interrupted this display of affection. And yet, I felt somewhat justified in seeing this exchange. After all, I was enjoying their love and I didn’t overtly interrupt it. The location also made a big difference; if they had wanted it to be private, they could have done it in a more private place.

Regardless of where it happened, though, I do think about my faux pas in watching. Even this post smacks of my sense of guilt; why am I spending so much time justifying my actions? How could I have apologized without further treading on their moment together?