Conference Connection
STN EXPO Keynote Asks, ‘Are You a Cave Dweller or a Bear Fighter?’
BY CLAUDIA NEWTON |
CLAUDIA@STNONLINE.COM F
or millions around the country, school buses are the picture of reliability and routine, so oftentimes the industry reflects that. Tings are done a certain tried-and-true way and the focus is on getting the job done right as well as safely. But what if there was a way to be faster or more efficient just by changing the way you see things and how you interact with others? Tere is—and it’s called “savvy.” “It takes more than hard work, talent and a positive attitude to play the work game well. You’ve got to be savvy about people, systems, products and places,” said Billi Lee, motivational speaker and keynote presenter at the STN EXPO in July. “People are often frustrated by the way that they think the workplace should be instead of being able to just read it and go ‘Aha! I get it—I know what I need to do.’”
Lee is not like most motivational speakers. Her
degrees are in French and speech pathology, not psy- chology or organizational leadership like many of her counterparts. She became a small business owner at the age of 19, and has since travelled the world to present to audiences as diverse as the Republic of Buryat in Siberia, IBM, the Bank of Australia, the FBI, and the CIA. Her hard-hitting yet humorous message is one that is crucial for any worker to hear. She said she developed
her content when she was a small business owner and wanted “something more practical and useful than just the standard training programs” for her employees. Her definition of the critical component Savvy is the “innate and acquired ability to respond successfully in any environment.” It’s also required to play the game of office politics. Don’t like playing office politics? You already are, said Lee. “You’re already playing by the choices you make,” she explained. “You’re already deciding whose team you’re on, how you’re going to play, what your strategies are. You just may not be aware of it.” Lee’s STN EXPO keynote session on Monday, July 16, will feature her “Bear Story,” which is designed to help listeners determine which camp they fall into: Cave Dweller or Bear Fighter. Te story and her larger talk are funny and will elicit plenty of laughs, she promised. But more importantly, she said, attendees will come away with an increased awareness of the two systems in play in any situation: Te impersonal work system and the personal system of home, family and friends. Under- standing this concept, Lee said, is the crucial first step to determining who you are, where you stand in terms of principles and habits, what system you’re currently working in, and how to interact with it. Lee identified the school system as being a “Cave,” a safe haven for students. Meanwhile, she said most people in the student transportation industry are Cave Dwellers—nice, amicable people who appreciate comfort and security, want to do their jobs well and can see the workplace as a familial setting. However, Cave Dwellers need to be able to display
Bear Fighter tendencies such as dedication to student safety, a sharp business sense and effective management. Every person has both Cave Dweller and Bear Fighter within their personality, Lee explained, and a savvy person will realize which angle is required for each unique situation. For instance, managers must be able to immediately rid the organization of a bad bus driver because the goal of getting students to school safely is more important than not hurting someone’s feelings. “You can’t have a great leader, even a team leader, be
effective without being really good at the games that person needs to play within the system,” Lee explained.
24 School Transportation News • APRIL 2018
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