Competencies

Staff & Faculty

• Committed to SHSU’s vision & mission
  • Understand the mission and your place in it
  • Understand SHSU’s role in the community
  • Support the goals of the university
  • Work effectively with people from all backgrounds
  • Treat others with dignity and respect
• Innovative in thinking
  • Think “outside the box” when problem-solving
  • Take calculated risks on new and unusual ideas
  • Take an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things
  • While respecting traditions, don’t be bound by traditional approaches for their own sake
  • Actively seek to improve programs or services
• Effective in communications
  • Speak and write clearly and effectively
  • Listen constructively
  • Practice appropriate telephone and email protocol
  • Ask questions
  • Share information with those who need it
  • Understand and utilize different communication methods for different audiences
  • Understand you are the face of the university and act accordingly
• Accountable for ourselves and to others
  • Honor commitments
  • Take ownership for all assigned responsibilities
  • Operate in compliance with university policy and state regulations
  • Hold yourself accountable for accomplishing departmental goals and meeting standards
  • Hold yourself to a higher standard of public accountability
  • Actively engage in teambuilding activities
• Dedicated to life-long learning
  • Keep abreast of new developments in your own occupation or profession
  • Actively seek to develop yourself professionally and personally
  • Contribute to learning opportunities for teammates and colleagues
  • Show a willingness to learn from others
  • Seek feedback for continuous improvement
  • Take advantage of Just-in-Time training to improve your skill set
• Efficient in operations
  • Deliver on time, within budget, and with the expected quality
  • Set goals and prioritize your work
  • Be flexible; adjust to changing circumstances
  • Use time wisely and efficiently
  • Develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed-upon strategies
  • Maintain work/life balance
  • Manage health and stress, adjusting habits to avoid foreseeable risks which may impact your ability to work

Supervisors

• Support the strategic plan
  • Understand the Big Picture and communicate it to your team
  • Think globally
  • Manage change
  • Be flexible
• Provide leadership
  • Let people know where they stand
  • Acknowledge and celebrate team accomplishments
  • Lead with courage—make decisions and stand behind them
  • Face up to problems quickly and directly
  • Don’t be afraid to take negative action when necessary (probation, firing, etc.)
• Empower others
  • Hire good people and let them do their jobs
  • Use delegation as a developmental tool
  • Provide constructive feedback that helps people to learn from their mistakes
  • Invite input; share ownership, visibility, and responsibility
  • Be aware of each employee’s career goals
  • Encourage people to develop their gifts/skills – even if it means they may eventually leave you or the university
• Comply legally and ethically
  • Keep up with the legal implications of various management practices
  • Make sure your management practices are well within legal parameters
  • Keep abreast of university policies and fulfill your responsibilities accordingly
  • Use fair and legal hiring practices
• Manage performance
  • Hold yourself and your employees accountable for accomplishing departmental goals and meeting standards
  • Establish clear expectations and directions
  • Communicate priorities that will help people monitor their performance
  • Use coaching, mentoring, and feedback to help people perform well
  • Organize resources and processes to accomplish the work of the department effectively and efficiently
  • Take action to improve performance deficiencies
  • Recognize and reward good performance
  • Utilize contributions of people from diverse backgrounds and different behavioral styles
  • Promote team cohesiveness
  • Share information
• Build trust
  • Use fair and legal management practices
  • Don’t discriminate
  • Avoid even the appearance of favoritism or impropriety
  • Do what’s right
  • Tell the truth and be direct
  • Be approachable