2012 NASPA CONFERENCE
March 13, 2012 Phoenix, Arizona
Professional Competency or Complacency:
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Presented by
Norm Roberts
Sarah Westerberg
Jonathan Kau
Brigham Young University
Dean of Students Office
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Professional Competency or Complacency?
• Student Affairs’ Aspirational Climate
• Human Performance & the “OK Plateau”
• Functional Fixedness
• Expectations in Everyday Performance – How are
we doing and how does this matter?
• Moving beyond the “OK Plateau”
– Experience as individuals, with colleagues
– Strategies and Interventions
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
STUDENT AFFAIRS
The Aspirational Climate
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Aspirational Expressions
Ignite Leadership Influence Change
“Now is the time to expand the capacity of our institutions,
our colleagues, and ourselves.”
“We are challenged to alter the way we approach our work,
if we are to stay relevant in a changing environment.”
Larry D. Roper
2012 NASPA Conference chair
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Aspirsational Expressions:
• The Purpose of Student Affairs
• NASPA Competency Areas
• The organizations and philosophies under
which we work
• When ambitions reach the OK Plateau
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Josh Foer
2006 National Memory Champion,
author of Moonwalking with Einstein
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
ASPIRATION V. REALITY
Human Performance and the OK Plateau
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Fitts & Posner’s Three Stage Model
New behaviors become
routine and patterns.
Errors begin to reduce.
Cognitive
Associative
Attempt to understand
task. Patchwork of old
habits & new routinesMoving Beyond the OK Plateau
Process become
autonomous; rate of
performance increases.
Autonomous
Three Stage Model & Cognitive Skills
Study problems with
feedback. Acquire
heuristics.
Cognitive
Solve problems without
conceptual errors. Improve
speed & accuracy
Associative
Understand without
application. Information
acquisition.
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Autonomous
Fitts & Posner Observations
• To improve performance, motivation,
feedback and opportunities for improvement
must exist.
• Hypothesis of Par:
 People tend to set a standard of excellence & are
content to meet but not exceed the standard.
 The aspiration level is habitually set below the level
one is capable of achieving.
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Becoming Experts?
• “Most individuals who start as active
professionals…increase their performance for
a limited time until they reach an acceptable
level.”
• “Once performance is autonomous
individuals no longer
attempt…improvements… typically [leading]
to a stable plateau of performance…”
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS
Daniel Pink Video Segment
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
How are we doing and how does this matter?
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Roger Bannister
May 6, 1954
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
AVOIDING COMPLACENCY AND
ROUTINE
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
SPLAT Goal
Seek
Persistent
Learning over
Autonomous
Tendencies
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Your Experiences?
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Igniting Leadership Influencing Change
Remaining motivated
Practical opportunities for engagement
Intellectual Curiosity
Problem Solving Mentality
Fostering an ethic of progress
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Mentoring, Supervision and Coaching
• Encourage mentoring and coaching by
colleagues within Student Affairs
• Carrot and stick style supervision
• Encourage informal coaching
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Job Description and Performance Review
• Read job description regularly
• Add detail to job descriptions
• Use Annual Performance Review as an
opportunity to nurture and reflect
• Read Annual Performance Review report
regularly throughout the year
• Conduct self assessment of own work behaviors
and practices on regular basis
• Openly discuss career development
opportunities
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Reading and Exploration of Literature
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Identify the “best books”
Internalize ideas from the “best books”
Establish a reading schedule
Make reading articles on professional practice
and issues an expectation rather than an extra,
e.g. departmental reading list
• Apply literature to real work
• Support staff in quest for higher degrees/training
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
Professional Organizations and
Conference Presentations
• Allow yourself to be inspired by others
• Be willing to share ideas and move beyond
comfort zone
• Always seek to be a leader in your field
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
NASPA Competencies
• Understand professional standards and how
your work measures up
• Implement institutional norms for achieving
NASPA competencies
• Validate/reward those who achieve NASPA
competency
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau
“No service that matters can be given over a lifetime
by those who stop learning. A great teacher is always
studying. …the workplace in every industry is changing
so rapidly that what we know today will not be enough
for tomorrow.
“Our education must never stop.”
President Henry B. Eyring
Education for Real Life
Moving Beyond the OK Plateau