When faculty members from eight
Northeast Ohio institutions of
higher learning decided to develop a major project together, they first
had to put aside the differences of their
competing institutions and learn to work
together as a team.
Members of the Entrepreneurship
Education Consortium needed to build a
trusting relationship before they could
work together, something they did through
understanding and sharing goals, listening
to each other, and creating a clear vision,
says Phil Bessler, associate professor and
director of the Business Clinic at Baldwin-Wallace College.
“The sharing of goals is a critical first
step, so you can find a common objective,”
Bessler says.
Members had varying opinions and ideas,
so it was important that they listened to
each other. Bessler says that to work as
part of a team, you need to listen to other
people during a discussion and refrain
from telling others what to do. And if someone is having trouble with a concept, other
members of the team should jump in to
help that person understand the point.
“It’s not one person debating with another,
but rather a third, fourth or fifth individual
getting in, paraphrasing, maybe suggesting
an alternative way for moving forward that
makes sense to all parties,” he says.
Bessler says that too many times, people
in a conversation are thinking so hard
about their own next comment that they
aren’t really listening to what the speaker is
saying.
“The second speaker should respond to
the first speaker’s comments before they
add new information,” he says. “If a question is on the table, the question gets
answered before a new question is introduced.”
During the discussion, Bessler says you
need to follow the rules of brainstorming —
don’t evaluate, judge or critique — have just
one person facilitate the session and set the
amount of time you’re going to spend on the
issue. And don’t judge other people’s ideas,
even if you disagree with them.
“Some thoughts and ideas are going to be
way off base, and without that trust, you
end up being judgmental, and that gets in
the way,” Bessler says. “Some of the most
off-base ideas may trigger someone else’s idea that brings it right back in line with
what’s appropriate.”
The next step is to formulate a vision.
Bessler says a good vision is one that everyone can buy in to and that can be felt by
those listening to it.
“I want them to put me in that place three
to five years from now, so I could close my
eyes and, as they’re describing it, I’m painting the picture and I am moved to that
place,” he says. “I can place myself there
because they’ve articulated it in a way that
takes me from my present state to their
future state.”
Even on the best of teams, disagreements
will occur as individuals with differing opinions work together. When that happens,
Bessler says you should let the problem sit
for at least 24 hours, so that team members
can gather the necessary information on it.
“Time is a wonderful catalyst for creating
clearer perspectives, so if a resolution
could wait 24 hours, let it wait,” he says.
Bessler says it’s important to be a leader
and not a manager for a team to be successful.
“Be open to the valuable input from each
of the team members,” he says. “Build on
each other’s ideas. And have no hidden
agendas.”
HOW TO REACH: Baldwin-Wallace College, (440) 826-2083 or
www.bw.edu
The Entrepreneurship Education Consortium
Faculty from eight Northeast Ohio institutions of higher learning created the
Entrepreneurship Education Consortium
in 2006 after meeting to discuss each
person’s respective business departments. The consortium is made up of
faculty from the University of Akron,
Baldwin-Wallace College and Ashland,
Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State,
John Carroll, Kent State and Youngstown
State universities.
The goal of the consortium was to help
college students develop and launch
their own business in Northeast Ohio,
encouraging them to stay in the area following graduation and create more jobs
for the local economy, says Phil Bessler,
associate professor and director of the
Business Clinic at Baldwin-Wallace
College.
“We felt we needed to do something to
help them create opportunity here, look
at the infrastructure of the entrepreneurial community and the resources that
are available to them, and create an
experience for them that would encourage one or more groups of students to
launch new businesses,” he says.
The first program in August at
Cleveland State University was a success, Bessler says.
“We were unbelievably impressed with
how well this program went, and that’s a
result of our commitment and our
skills,” he says. “We pulled off a great
program. We could have made it better,
and we know there are things we will
change for next time.”
The consortium is committed to continuing the program, and this year
received a grant from the Burton D.
Morgan Foundation for funding, with a
commitment for funding the following
year.
