Leadership Resources

Informational Interviews

• You’re not asking for a job; you’re interviewing to glean information and develop your personal network. This ultimately will help you find people who support you, perhaps through mentoring, in this process.
• Informational interviews are a very non-threatening, inviting prospect for the participant. They will be flattered you want their advice.
• Don’t ask them to sit down for an hour. Informational interviews should be brief, about 15-30 minutes. A good first step is to invite a contact for coffee.

Take Advantage of Purdue Resources

• You have convenient access to great resources on campus. Visit the Center for Career Opportunities.
• This comprehensive career center assists students from their first-year through graduate school.
• Explore your career direction, polish your resume, practice interviewing and connect with prospective employers.

Effective Communication with Professors

Get A Strong Start

• Visit a professor’s office hours at the beginning of the semester to form a relationship. Ask for tips on how you can better study for or succeed in this class? Do they have any advice? This helps them know your face right away, even in a mass lecture.
• Professors are more approachable than you think. If their door is open, they are eager to speak with you and assist you.
• Ask them about their careers and how they got to where they are now. This can help you formulate your educational and career path. In addition, it shows you respect their input and expertise. You may learn about opportunities, such as scholarships, grants and internships, you weren’t aware of.

Standout In Class

• Keep off your phone, focus on what the professor is presenting. You will find class much more engaging and enjoyable.
• Attentiveness shows the professor you truly care about their material and are driven to succeed.
• They will know your face and will be eager to help you if you have questions.

Know On A Personal Level

• Ask them about their research, tips or advice.
• Keep in mind, professors are people too. They have hobbies, passions and interests just like you, and would be happy to have conversations about non-academic subjects too.
• Ask them to get coffee, visit with them during floor dinners, or attend Torch Tuesday.

Email Appropriately

• Email is a great way to interact with your professors, but you need to keep that contact professional.
• Use their appropriate title in your greeting.
• Be interested in their work. Do a bit of background reading so you understand their research and can ask thoughtful, pertinent questions at an initial meeting with them.

Four Pillars of Good Collaboration

Psychological Safety

• Groups norms are routines and typical ways of engaging that work for everyone. Some groups like to chat first, some get to business, some get together outside of class. The most important thing is that the group identifies a standard for working together that works for everyone.
• Research shows that groups with equitable turn taking tend to have higher collective IQs and are more successful overall. This occurs because the group is benefiting from everyone’s unique perspective, knowledge base, and skills. Equitable participation often requires a concerted effort, though, including avoiding practices that might discourage some group members from participating.
• Embracing low levels of vulnerability can accelerate team bonding, lead to greater comfort and inclusivity, and promote better collaboration.

Communication

• Good active listening involves giving the speaker your full attention, focusing not just on their words but being aware of the whole person. This means paying attention to their body language or their tone of voice to really understand what they are saying and feeling. Good active listeners also ensure that the speaker sees them listening and confirms that they have heard what the speaker has said.
• Groups should be deliberate in choosing communication styles and strategies that best fit the context or task. Individuals should also take care to be deliberate with their words and make sure their actions, body language, and phrasing is set up in a way to achieve the maximum possible success.
• Some types of collaboration work best when put in writing or drawn out on a board. Writing out ideas or plans helps ensure shared understanding, allows for accountability, and can make it easier for multiple people to do complex thinking together - like drawing connections between each other’s ideas.

Team Roles and Strengths

• Groups work best when they take advantage of their members’ individual differences and strengths. Identifying individual roles based on personal interests ensures group members feel valued and stay committed to the group task.
• Roles are good, but only if they address what the team actually needs. Groups should consider their larger goals and what roles will ensure that those goals are reached in an effective manner. Not all roles should be task oriented, though - some roles should focus on maintaining a healthy group dynamic. Some roles can even be used to mitigate problem behaviors.