How to Prepare

Building the Relationship

• First meeting tips – TO COME (Check out Team Building Capacity in the Learning Framework)
• Discuss goals and mutual expectations in the first group meeting and individual meeting. Explore what people envision for the Navigator-Participant relationship (group and individual).
• Lead an icebreaker for people to get to know one another and build rapport in the group.
• Outline how communication will work for the group and individual (i.e. future meetings, staying in touch). Be proactive about how conflict and difficult conversations will be facilitated and how people can engage in that space.
• Review tools and resources with the group.
• Set expectations around confidentiality. Discuss how both you and participants can feel safe to share challenges or sensitive information while maintaining professional ethics. If someone asks you to sign a confidentiality agreement, take a step back and ask if there’s another way to discuss the issue without breaching protocol on their part.

Questions for the First Meeting

Getting to Know You

• Tell me a bit about yourself and your background.
• What are some experiences that have shaped who you are today?
• What are your core values or principles that guide your decisions?
• What are you most passionate about — professionally or personally?

Understanding Goals and Aspirations

• What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
• Where do you see yourself in one year? In five years?
• What skills or knowledge do you want to develop most right now?
• Are there any specific challenges you’re currently facing in your role or career?
• What does success look like for you in this Navigator relationship and program?

Setting Expectations in the Relationship

• How often would you like us to meet, and what format works best for you (Zoom/Teams, phone, in-person, etc.)?
• How do you like to communicate (email, IM, text)?
• Have you been in a relationship similar to this one before? What worked well or didn’t work in that relationship?
• How do you prefer to receive feedback — direct, gentle, written, verbal?
• Are there any boundaries or preferences I should be aware of to support you better?

Exploring Growth and Development

• What’s one area you feel confident in, and one where you’d like to grow?
• What’s a recent accomplishment you’re proud of?
• What’s something you’ve always wanted to try or learn but haven’t yet?
• How do you like to celebrate progress or milestones?

Deepening the Relationship

• Review goals, track progress, and identify roadblocks
• Discuss areas for growth and suggest resources
• When appropriate, share personal experiences (i.e. ask yourself — how would this personal experience contribute to the learning of others?). Both successes and mistakes or failures are helpful for others to hear to encourage a growth mindset. The vulnerability of sharing mistakes/ or failures also shows your humanity as a leader and works to build trust with others.
• Ask first, then offer guidance and connections as needed.
• Explore long-term aspirations and connection opportunities.
• Acknowledge achievements, big and small, to motivate others.
• Provide mechanisms for feedback to the Navigator and to CUPA-HR.

Group Meetings

• Ask the group what would be helpful in terms of a format (i.e. bring a specific topic?  Keep it free form? A little of both?).
• Ensure all voices are heard — calling on those who are quieter than others while also encouraging a “challenge by choice” environment.
• Use the wisdom of the group when questions arise. Before jumping in with a response, ask if anyone in the group has ideas. Then fill in the gaps after others share.
• Follow up with recommended books, articles, podcasts and online courses that align with emerging topics — this can be from the Navigator and others in the group.

Individual Meetings

• Ask the individual what would be helpful in terms of a format (i.e. bring a specific topic?  Keep it free form? A little of both?). This can also be determined at the beginning of a meeting.
• Check in about something personal that the participant might have shared in a previous meeting (i.e. How’s your child’s big art project coming along? How was your vacation last month?).
• Check in about personal goals — celebrate BOTH successes and failures, what detours occurred, what happened unexpectedly that led to a good outcome, etc.
• Potential topics to explore during regular meetings or integrated with other topics: https://www.cfachicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/mentor_suggested_topics.pdf. (These topics might be focused on goal setting/review, problem-solving, knowledge sharing, skill building, or a combination of all https://www.wudpecker.io/blog/mentor-meeting-tips-for-mentors-and-mentees-with-agenda-template.)
  • Professional Growth – 5- to 10-year goals; ongoing professional development; what success/successful looks like
  • Work/Life Balance – Challenges and/or successes with balance; what does balance look like/mean (i.e. not always a 50-50 balance at all times); plan for balance
  • Leadership – What this means to you as a CHRO; leadership philosophy; personal values; challenges and strengths; areas for development
  • Upcoming Professional Challenges – What’s on the horizon; lessons learned from leadership; other emerging topics

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Navigator Presence

Create a Supportive and Nonjudgmental Environment That Promotes Listening, Learning and Connection

Guidelines for Creating and Maintaining Trust and Discretion

• Following the lead of the program participants will ensure that their needs are being met. Navigators were recruited because of their expertise and connections in CUPA-HR and higher ed HR. It is exciting to have a forum to share that valuable expertise — and it’s helpful to start from a place of listening and acknowledging people’s experiences.
• Navigators can initiate outreach and conversations based on current events, key CUPA-HR communications, upcoming webinar topics, and other conversations with sitting CHROs.
• To best meet the needs of the participants, Navigators can create a list of questions to help dig into what is really going on. When a Navigator asks probing questions, the participant will sometimes find that what they need support for is actually a symptom of a deeper issue (or a completely different topic altogether). For example:
  • What’s important to you about “x”?
  • How does this impact you and your team?
  • What do you think the root of the issue is?

Encourage Follow-Through and Accountability

When appropriate, ask participants what they plan to do with their learning from your time together.  Ask for details such as when they will begin, what might get in the way and how they will overcome barriers, how motivated are they to follow through, what additional supports they need to be successful, etc.

Be Perceptive of Productive v. Non-Productive Dialogue

• Create a “safe space” for candor and concern regarding their role, key leader relationships, and current team capabilities. We all like to vent sometimes, and it’s helpful to know that you are not alone in certain situations. However, when venting is all that is happening, it can become a barrier to solutions. If individuals or the group needs space to vent, set a specific time for it to happen and then create a boundary to move on towards productive dialogue. For example: If the group needs to vent, set a time limit for each individual (i.e. 30-60 seconds each). Each person will have the set amount of time to dump whatever they need to on the table. Others in the group (including the Navigator) will be compassionate and be “on the side” of the person venting. Once the time is up, the next person goes (as needed). After everyone who wants to go has gone, move into the rest of your time together.
• Be aware of the presence of bias and microaggressions in comments. Assist with reframing and understanding the impact of these perspectives on their role as CHRO and as a higher ed HR professional.
• If unconscious bias or microaggressions surface, acknowledge them in a way that fosters learning. Encourage participants to reflect on intent versus impact and consider how their words or assumptions may affect others.

Suspend Judgment While Engaging

• Each person brings with them their own context, including lived experiences; political, religious and cultural affiliations; as well as institutional characteristics and structures they are working within. Don’t make assumptions about point of view and perspective as you engage with individuals to ensure they are able to fully share with you and the group.
• It’s helpful to reflect on different types of bias that may influence behaviors and interactions with program participants.  https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/about/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/conscious-inclusion/understanding-different-types-of-bias/  or https://www.verywellmind.com/cognitive-biases-distort-thinking-2794763
• You might also need to suspend judgment of yourself. A participant may have questions or need support in an area that you feel underequipped to handle, and that’s OK! Acknowledge your own limitations and offer whatever guidance or resources you do have. 

Be Prepared and Present

• As HR leaders, you are juggling a lot. When you are facilitating the individual and group meetings, be present (phone away, not checking emails, door closed, etc.).
• For group meetings, check what was covered last time. Remember people’s names and universities (or have a cheat sheet). If there is a specific topic of interest for the group, be prepared with some resources (i.e. from the CUPA-HR website) and reflect in advance how to navigate the topic.
• For individual meetings, review the person’s goals. Remind the participant what they committed to during your last meeting and be prepared to ask questions and celebrate successes and failures. 

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Potential Challenges

How will the initial communications to potential participants work and how can I frame these communications to encourage the participant to respond to a conversation?

CUPA-HR will be providing materials to support your outreach to participants. COMING SOON

One of the participants I’m working with is not showing up. What should I do?

If one of the CHROs you’re working with did not show up for a monthly meeting or group meeting, please reach out to them individually to ensure they are OK. When building relationships, it’s helpful to set norms for communicating with one another if a meeting can’t happen (i.e. 24-hour advance notice). Of course, emergencies do come up, so please provide grace to participants.

If a CHRO is consistently not participating or if you do not hear back from them at all, please reach out to CUPA-HR for support.

One of the CHRO’s I’m working with is always rescheduling our 1:1 meetings. It’s challenging for my schedule. How can I manage this?

We appreciate your time and commitment to this program and would like participants to value your time as well. When building the relationship, set expectations about your schedule, what works best, and how to manage rescheduling. Also articulate how it might impact you if the participant frequently reschedules. Revisit these expectations if need be. Please reach out to CUPA-HR for additional support if the issue persists.

Tensions are coming up during difficult group conversations. What are skills to navigate these situations?

First, it’s helpful to acknowledge that this might happen with the group and to articulate expectations for how everyone can be in a respectful community with one another.

Although tension can be uncomfortable, if everyone is respectful, it can be an opportunity to work through difficult issues or divergent points of view. Encourage participants to be open to listening to others and asking questions (even if they disagree). 

If someone in the group is becoming disrespectful, take time for a break and check in with the individual 1:1 during the break to understand their perspective, remind them of the group’s expectations, and encourage a more constructive approach to the discussion. If needed, help them reframe their concerns in a way that fosters healthy dialogue

I feel like I’m not on the same page as one of the CHRO participants. How can I increase my communication effectiveness?

Sometimes we have different communication styles than those we work with. To begin with, it might be helpful to be transparent about your concerns and see if the participant feels the same way (i.e. “I feel like I’m not always meeting your communication needs. Can you share with me what is and isn’t working in terms of how I’m communicating with you?”). This approach not only models humility as a leader, but will help to surface any assumptions you may have about the relationship and how it’s going. 

If misalignment persists, clarify goals and priorities to ensure that differences in communication don’t hinder the experience.

If the Navigator-Participant match is simply not a good fit, please reach out to CUPA-HR to discuss next steps. We will transition the participant to a new Navigator.

My role and/or workload with the university has changed, and I’m not sure I can continue with the program. What should I do?

If your role or workload is going to shift or has shifted, please reach out to CUPA-HR to discuss next steps.

How can I be responsive in meeting participant expectations?

The best place to start in meeting participant expectations is to ask questions and check for understanding. As a Navigator, you can also ask for feedback from the participants you are working with to see if you are meeting expectations and, if not, discuss how to shift your approach or the information being shared.

I have contacts within higher ed HR, but I’d like to expand my circle and knowledge base in order to support my cohort. What are some first steps for this?

Some first steps for this include understanding what HR function areas you want to meet or expand into as a Navigator. What content areas or types of connections are you missing? This will help to narrow your focus. Then review CUPA-HR offerings to see if there are ways you can grow your circle — for example, through CUPA-HR Connect channels, attending or presenting at interactive workshops, or asking Mark Coldren, because he knows everyone. 

What is not part of my role as Navigator, and how can I create boundaries around this?

The primary expectation of the Navigator role is to connect with individuals in your cohort one time per month and facilitate group cohort meetings quarterly. As participants get to know and trust you, they may start reaching out more for resources or support. To establish healthy boundaries, communicate your role clearly from the start. Frame the conversation around supporting the participant’s growth while maintaining balance with your own higher ed HR workload. If a participant is reaching out more than you can manage, you can revisit expectations by saying “I really value our connection, and to keep it effective, I need to set some limits around my availability.”

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