Let?s AMP It Up!

It is no surprise to my team that I enjoy professional development opportunities – conferences, workshops, book clubs, networking events and brown bag lunches. You name it, I’m there! However, when I’m in the middle of a busy season and the next organized event isn’t on my schedule for another month, it can be a challenge to carve out time for professional development. If I don’t schedule professional development on my calendar each week – and stick to it – it simply doesn’t happen. Alpha Xi Delta alumnae are busy building careers, raising sweet children and “adulting,” but it is still critically important for us to make room to reflect, refresh and reframe. Don’t have time? Yeah, we know. But if it is important, we make time…and Sisters, this is important.

My husband’s office doesn’t let these weekly development opportunities slip by – in fact, it’s a regular part of their week. What his supervisor refers to as AMP time, is built-in professional development. Team members are expected to spend a few hours each week on thinking creatively about their work. I sat down
with Dr. Todd Deal, Executive Director of the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement at Georgia Southern University, to learn more about AMP time and what this means for their office.

Dr. Todd Deal

Malerie Payne: What does AMP time mean, and where did this idea come from?

Dr. Todd Deal: The concept comes from Daniel Pink’s “Drive”, where he discusses motivation. In the text, Pink argues that human motivation is largely intrinsic. In “Drive”, Pink reveals the three elements of true motivation: autonomy (the desire to direct our own lives), mastery (the urge to get better and better at something that matters), and purpose (the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves) or AMP.

Payne: How did you introduce this to your team?

Deal: The idea came directly from the book! A few years ago we were reading “Drive” together for our weekly professional development activity, and we found the ideas [from the book] interesting. During discussion, I suggested that it would be neat to try something like this within our own team, and the idea took off from there.

Payne: What was their overall response? 

Deal: There have been mixed reviews. Some are really invested and others struggle with carving out time for AMP, sharing that there is no time. But I know how important this is to overall success.

Payne: What are benefits you’ve noticed – for you and your team?

Deal: AMP Time is energizing and enjoyable – people enjoy doing what they want to do, especially if they’re good at it.

Payne: What has your team done in the past for AMP time?

Deal: Several great projects have come from AMP time – creating and editing videos, development of a peer-coaching program, learning more about assessment and Strengths-based training. AMP time is time to create:

Collaboration with new partner – a different department, community agency, business or colleague
Reinvent yourself, your program or an exciting venture
Explore new areas of learning, new strategies or different ways of thinking
Affect change
Transform your career, responsibilities or attitude
Envision an engaging, exciting, improved future

Payne: What would you recommend to someone who was interested in implementing AMP Time but does not know where to begin?

Deal: Make some space to dream. If you could do anything, and cost was not a factor, what would that thing be? Think about what it is that you’ve always wanted to know or do that would benefit you and your team. Discuss it with your supervisor: “I really want to do _____ with my AMP time because _____.” Then, make it a part of your workweek. You need to schedule it, actually block the time. Show that you are committed and then follow through.

Payne: How much time per week do you recommend setting aside?

Deal: In the past, we have worked with a four-hour block of time. This year we are trying two hours, but four really is ideal. And block out this time either in the beginning of the day or at the end – the middle of the day has too many variables and unknowns, it’s easier to get off track.

When I think of the word AMP, my mind immediately jumps to the word, “amplify,” which means to make louder, turn up, magnify, intensify, increase, boost, raise. Sisters, wouldn’t it be incredible if we could magnify, increase or boost our motivation? If we had the freedom to be creative in our work? If we were intentional about our professional development?

What is it that you’ve always wanted to know or do that would benefit you and your team? If you could do anything – cost and time was no barrier, what would that “thing” be? If you could learn about anything, what would you explore?

 

Malerie Payne is an Academic Advisor at Georgia Southern University. As an initiate of our Delta Lambda Chapter at Rochester Institute of Technology, Malerie volunteers her time as the Purpose Wellbeing Coordinator for A Clear Vision of Life: The Wellbeing Program. Learn more about this challenge and others by visiting the link above.

 

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A recent participant in A Clear Vision of Life: The Wellbeing Program, Cecelia Abshire, Theta Tau at Marian University, shared a picture of herself and her prize.  She was gifted the book “Drive” as part of her incentive for completing a Challenge. She also shows off her new puppy!