"It’s my mistake” is one thing you won’t hear most people say unless they’re truly accountable. In part 1 of the Pinnacle Series with Dr. Fardad Fateri discusses the reality of what being accountable and taking ownership entails.
Transcript:
I'm not going to talk about all of our
values because we have lots of them but
I want to talk about four specifically
today and I wouldn't say all four are my
favorites but they're in the top five
the first one is accountability and
ownership surprise I tell you to me this
is by far our most important value being
accountable and owning your business
when I say be the CEO of your position I
mean imagine you owning your business
and your business is being an admissions
professional being in student finance
being a business office manager being a
Sam being an instructor being a career
services professional being it directory
in any of those departments and acting
and behaving and positioning yourself as
the true owner of that function you have
to be able to visualize it first right
because sometimes what I do when I talk
to people about various things I say
well how you doing how's everything
coming along in your department and
campus you know what everything is doing
great you know one of the reasons I you
know missed my target last month is
because he said she said this person was
late that person doesn't care people are
all around me they want me to fail
nobody listens to me nobody comes
through but I am I own it
I am fully accountable no you're not
you are not accountable when you blame
everybody except yourself it all starts
with you owning it
ownership is the most important but you
know this is so hard to do you know why
it's hard to do because all of us are
socialized from the time we're kids to
find out what's wrong with the world
around us and we become experts at it we
become experts at figuring out what's
wrong with people and things and
organizations around us we're experts
we're articulate we're eloquent when it
comes to finding faults in people how
many of you have spouses cousins nephews
sisters brothers how many of you have oh
okay I guarantee you I guarantee it if I
give you a tablet of a hundred pages for
you to list
what's wrong with every member of your
family including your kids your spouse's
your cousins you will fill out the
hundred pages and you are very you will
be very articulate because you've
thought about it before right you see my
wife is nodding in the back yes I'm
writing without you right now as we were
speaking that's what people do because
we are socialized as kids to find what's
wrong with the people around us so by
the time you enter the workforce that's
the expertise you have right if I asked
you to do that counter exercise to write
about
the amazing personality traits and
attributes off your spouse's your kids
your cousin's your brother's your
sisters your friends if you really work
hard you will maybe complete two pages
with large fonts right you know it's
true so developing the skill to say it's
all me I influence the world around me I
own I own the journey I own the
accountability I make every mistake
myself that's when you will truly and
authentically be liberated as a human
being so try this once try it when
somebody at your campus some departments
some when they do something wrong you
raise your hand say it's my mistake I
did it I own it
even if you don't have anything to do
with that function do you know what's
going to happen immediately you will
earn everybody's respect again you
shouldn't just say it for fun you should
mean it you should mean it
you should mean it because you know why
because people who truly authentically
own problems will solve them because
what we want to do we want to spend five
to ten percent of our time finding
problems because you want to find out
the problem right not talk about it
because you know everybody's an expert
you don't expertise it all of your
experts at this I am an expert too
what's wrong because from the time I was
two I've been trained and socialized to
find out what's wrong
second thing who did it
oh did it because once you find out who
did it
super you feel better as long as you
didn't do it life is good right remember
everybody's expertise what's wrong and
who did it
imagine a world you find out what's the
problem and I did it then you spend 90%
of your time focusing on solutions and
when you focus on solutions because this
is a problem owners have if you're a
true owner and all of you here are
owners right if you're a true owner you
know what you want to do you want to
solve the problem but that's not the
best way the best way is identify the
problem take personal responsibility and
accountability for it and then involve
your entire community to help solve it
be inclusive people want to be part of
something bigger than themselves be
included so people feel respected so
people feel they belong so people feel
they matter look at all like you all of
you are amazing I tell you if I've
worked with you on every day every day
all of you are going to be solving my
problems seriously right who knows how
to solve the problem better than the
people doing the work every day if you
want to solve problems in education ask
instructors ask your best instructors to
help you improve student retention
that's how it's going to happen again it
comes with ownership and accountability
but you have to fight this
incredible urge how many feel like ice
cream I don't see Sanjay and my wife's
hand yeah yeah okay ice cream is a lot
of people's kryptonite right so your
urge when you see something you like is
to gravitate toward it right that's what
you do right so you have to fight that
urge our finding fault and what's wrong
with the world around you right don't
see what everybody's problems are
because once they're on your team they
are there for a specific reason they are
there to solve problems let them do it
but you have to own it regardless of
your position right if you're an
instructor if you're an admissions
professional or if you're in student
finance if you're in the business office
if you're in Career Services you've got
to own their responsibility nobody's got
to do your work
if you fail just say I failed but mean
it because if you mean it then you'll do
something about it
as an owner if you just say it because
it's cool and it's part of our culture
we'll know you know after ten times if
you fail and they say oh oh I own it no
I don't believe you
you know like I'm not that smart
but I didn't fall off a turnip truck
either so when you say you own it I want
to know what you're doing to exhibit and
demonstrate accountability and ownership
what are you doing
owners ask for help
accountable people always raise their
hand and say help me owners make
difficult decisions
difficult decisions for difficult
problems that's true ownership you all
know what I'm talking about
deal I'm not feeling it
do you understand what I'm saying
I can't hear you I can't hear you
now I hear you you know what I'm saying
right
through accountability true ownership
requires you every single one of you
regardless of your title your title
doesn't make you better or worse your
title just separates functions in our
organization all of you can be more if
you want to but you need to accept that
there is a solution to the most
difficult problems right you know do you
want me to give you a funny and career
services example okay you heard the good
ones right what Taylor did in South
Florida right that's a fantastic one
that's true ownership along with the
amazing Eadie's and and Michael Cole in
South Florida they said you know we're
better than this we have this problem
we're going to be as good as the best
career services campus with an icy and
they got there because they accepted
responsibility for it they didn't set
limits they had they did what they had
to do because you know why because they
know our students deserve better always
think about the obsession with the
student right and again you know I've
been in this business 30 years I was
like 2 years old
little fart out here going into a
classroom 30 years I have heard it all I
have to tell you I can write a book of
excuses um and water but I have
favorites I have favorites with excuses
and stuff and this involves the
Bakersfield campus which is which is one
of our best campuses every year every
year because of who Chris gets though
Chris Callisto so all of you know I real
of Chris you all of you know that right
I'll do all of you know that I love
Chris Chris and I go way back
so I love Chris because he's amazing he
never returns my emails he never
responds and you know and sometimes I
think I send them an email and Ali says
you know doctor for Terry sent an email
it's not it's rude to not to respond to
him after a month so so I send them an
email a month ago
who responds to me yesterday and of
course you know he doesn't reply all he
doesn't reply all oh I'm sorry I ignored
your email it wasn't important enough
for me but I want to tell you I hear you
and I will participate well very kind of
you
Chris and of course this was the most
recent we have a few situations going
back but you know back in the day this
is I want to say like it's six years ago
seven years ago maybe so I was on this
call I used to kind of do these stealth
things on calls I used to go on calls
all the time and back then people
couldn't tell now people norm at the
call I don't know what it is I have to
complain to IT everybody knows when I'm
on the call everybody says dr. Terry
welcome sure you're not supposed to know
him here how does that happen but back
then you know you know RIT wasn't as
good as it was today or people just
didn't even care or whatever so I used
to go on those calls all the time just
because I love being on calls just on
the background because that's how I
learn right I'm
and you know people like me you know
like I'm not as smart as other people so
what I have to work that much harder to
learn so I have to go on calls you learn
a lot on these calls admissions
financial aid Career Services education
they're amazing
Samantha's career services call with the
director of career services in
Bakersfield it's way back when you know
right now they're amazing this is that's
why I'm bringing up the example historic
so I don't offend anybody so Chris is on
the call director of career services and
they're having this incredible problem
placing medical assistant graduates and
therefore behind all the other programs
are fine this one is problematic so our
regional at that point is asking well
what's going on with your MA
you know you're short you know 15 people
your placement is low the telethon it's
going on and the director of career
services run out of excuses because
there were a few ones I've heard you
know students are not interested you
know they don't want a job they don't
want to get a job you know the usual all
a few in career services have hurt right
and then the director of career served
at regional wasn't buying excuses and
I'm learning right I'm listening and the
director of career services said well
what happens between the months of March
through May is that our graduates
because we live in the Central Valley
Bakersfield is in the Central Valley
it's grape picking season and all of
them in are involved in picking grapes
and so they're not coming for their
interviews with employers so I
immediately my interest was ignited
because I had never in my at that point
25 years had never heard that excuse so
I take that mute thing off and I said
excuse me excuse me hi this is for that
tell me a little bit about your grape
picking season so she then she says oh
yeah from March through May and Chris is
on the call right March through May is
grape picking season and our students
don't come for interviews because
they're our families and they're all
involved in grape picking season I said
just I'm a graduates she says oh yeah
well yes it just happens that so I said
okay thank you I didn't want to make her
feel uncomfortable as you know I don't
like to make people uncomfortable so I
get done and I called Chris immediately
I said mr. Callisto is that sir Sir
don't saying I know exactly what ha ha
ha
so I want to let you know like there are
a million legitimate excuses and trigger
pointing a gun can't go on right from
the incredibly ridiculous and funny like
grape picking - we lost the students
phone number but to me there's no excuse
right not all of our students graduate
it's hard to graduate from our programs
for the million reasons you know so for
me it is so hard it's almost impossible
to believe our students pay $19,000 go
through an eight or nine months or two
years through all that struggle with
childcare transportation four hours a
day five days a week to pick grapes I
miss an interview you know how that's
gonna be hard to believe right or to say
my ride oh they don't want a job they
just wanted to finish the program and
just sit home and do whatever they were
you know how hard it is to believe that
right it's not that I won't I don't I
don't trust but our students come to us
for employment right
so again ownership accountability own it
like that director of career services
should have said okay we missed it we're
gonna fix it and this is how I'm going
to do it but if you believe great
picking season is real you will never
find a solution because you are gonna
drown yourself in that blame does that
make sense so all of you I'm sure have
similar grape picking season excuses
that you hear from different people
right I do campuses right I mean I
Career Service is far advanced now I
mean Joan if she hears that on a call
probably would go to Bakersfield and
shoot somebody but but of course
Bakersfield right now is one of our best
performing placement departments not
just placement but everything everything
I mean I think everybody from
Bakersfield is here right yes well
Bakersfield
where are you get please stand up
[Applause]
well see I've director of career
services Alex for this year one of the
best we have in the company now
so from great picking season - Alex Lord
doesn't get any better right but it
comes with ownership right so you know
sometimes your community doesn't have
enough positions for certain programs
Chris told us three years ago we have X
number of positions for pharmacy
technician graduates we cannot accept
more than X number of stars in PT we
said yes sir
let's not except for Nana but you will
need to own it
I don't know Bakersfield Chris does well
Chris does now he was new to Bakersfield
Oh seven years ago but but you have to
tell us that we want to secure
employment for our students who graduate
so if there aren't enough jobs in the
community
let's cap enrollment and the front-end
and Chris had the ownership to do that
right so again you've got to own it does
that make sense
die Jett please that spend time to
digest this and make it a part of you
because and and please make sure
everybody at your campuses and your
departments understand this but it needs
to become a part of their psyche because
it will help you not just professionally
but also personally remember remember
your objective in lies has to be to make
that 100 page booklet full of positives
attributes and personality traits and
not a hundred pages of negatives and
blames and finger-pointing once you
achieve that then that means you have
transformed yourself right okay where's
Jackie Jackie is easier I would ask
Jackie to share about her experiences on
the IEC culture
Thank You tact of Terry congratulations
to all of you for being here
such a nice nice to see so many faces
for 26 years I have been lucky to call
this company and definitely my campus my
home the very first moment I stepped
into Yui I I was excited about what Yui
I has had to offer and definitely
hopeful for the future
Yui I culture revolves around the
ability to help our students to achieve
the highest success possible we all know
our student success is our success their
hardship is definitely our hardship and
their failure is definitely our failure
this mentality for years helped me to
get closer to the community therefore
resulting the best outcome for my campus
and definitely for my students each day
I walk into my campus excited nervous
ready with a positive attitude and ready
for challenges that will be thrown my
way and we all know there's many however
at the end of the day my goal is to
leave knowing one thing I made a
difference in someone's life and that's
very important to me
we're very very lucky to be rooted to
have our career rooted in education as I
push my kids to succeed and I do all of
you guys know that I do the same for my
students it's very important for me and
I urge my team to uphold what's really
important to get us closer together to
definitely achieve top talent that dr.
Terry always talks about it I've been in
all positions customer service
coordinator director of admissions
admission representative director of
education and today as
campus president but one thing I know my
team the supportive team the supportive
backbone and definitely motivating
future has helped me to be where I am
and definitely Who I am thank you thank
you dr. Fateri Wow you know when you
hear Jackie what do you feel in her what
else yes love passion ownership what
else what pride pride right Jackie has a
lot of pride
About the Author: Fardad Fateri
Dedicated to the advancement of student success, leadership development, and organizational excellence, Dr. Fardad Fateri has devoted his 30-year career to catalyzing innovation and transformation in American higher education.
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