Cool Careers - Educator and Consultant, International Negotiations

Interview with Steve Weiss, PhD.: Educator, International Business with focus on International Negotiations, Schulich School of Buisness, York University, Toronto, ON

"I remain fascinated with the impact of individuals’ personalities on negotiation and with the dynamic interaction of individuals’ behaviours."

1. How would you describe what you do?

I work in education or what you could call learning and human development. Substantively what I do is help individuals and groups acquire knowledge and develop skills, particularly in the fields of international business and negotiation.
By title, I’m a university professor and consultant. My work as a professor involves a combination of three “jobs”: research, teaching and service. Service is generally work not covered in the first two jobs. For example, it includes participating in university or school committees, holding office in a professional organization, and reviewing manuscripts for journals and publishers. Most of my time, however, is spent on teaching and research

2. How did you get started?

 I think I just got lucky. When I was young I thought I would go into diplomacy or government service. I always loved learning and appreciated good teachers. As I moved from high school to higher learning, the idea of academics grew on me. I entered graduate school still thinking about a diplomatic career, but while I was studying I was offered a job to teach and loved it! I never left it. I feel very lucky to have found this career – but I have to say, it was not planned.

3. What do you like and dislike about what you do?

 This is an easy question. What I like most about education is the opportunity for continuous growth – both in myself and in helping others to grow. I think it is really cool to continue on the path of discovery. There is always more to learn, especially if you choose a large subject area like International Business. There is also a lot of flexibility. Class time is fixed, but otherwise, you get to schedule your own activities. I love the multi-dimensional aspects of the job as well.

I love to teach Negotiations because I am a firm believer in people trying to work out their problems by themselves. Negotiation is a process that enables parties to retain complete control over how they interact and work together. The parties decide how they will negotiate, how they will resolve their conflict and what type of relationship they will proceed with. The process is open to all sorts of creativity. Just because the management and union teams in one negotiation come up with a particular solution does not mean other teams need to adopt that same process or solution. It is a wonderfully open process where teams create the parameters themselves, unlike litigation or mediation scenarios. I remain fascinated with the impact of individuals’ personalities on negotiation and with the dynamic interaction of individuals’ behaviours. I can run the same simulation or exercise every year for 10 years and get different results because of who is on each of the teams. I think negotiation is a great skill for individuals to master and for society to use to solve complex relationship problems.

Number one on my list of things that I dislike is grading! It is great when you see students perform well. But when they don’t perform well or you have to draw fine distinctions between several students’ pieces of work, it can be nerve-wracking. I would also say that I dislike “make-work” and the bureaucracy which comes with the position. I prefer a more entrepreneurial environment.

4. How do you make money/or how are you compensated?

I am compensated by a salary from the school. We are unionized, so increases are standardized. Business School professors are also allowed to do some freelance consulting. In general, we are allowed up to 1 day a week or 50 days a year to do this kind of work. My clients pay me either a lump sum or daily fee. There is also some ad hoc work available at the School’s Executive Centre; it’s compensated above base salary.

5. What education or skills are needed to do this?

Let’s divide the job in two ways: (a) tenure track faculty positions and (b) part-time or contract faculty. For tenure track positions, you need a PhD. For part-time work, you do not need a PhD – but you do need to have knowledge of a specific subject, through experience or study, and excellent communication skills. Both tracks require effective teaching methods and acceptable performance evaluations from your students.
Tenured faculty are also expected to publish. For that, you need subject matter expertise and familiarity with research methods that you can gain through your PhD studies or by partnering with other faculty.

6.What is most challenging about what you do?

With respect to the multiple dimensions of the job, it is challenging to allocate appropriate amounts of time to each of the spheres and multi-task effectively. It is up to me to schedule my time effectively. Sometimes I do it well, and other times, I feel pinched. I suppose this is common in many professions where people are relatively independent.
On the substantive side, the challenge is the scope of my field. International Business covers the gamut: all countries, industries, companies as well as business functions. When it comes to my intro course on International Business, the challenge is what to select to cover in the only 13 weeks of class time. One of the things that I think makes my Negotiation course stand out is an 8 hour “simulation” where multiple teams of students negotiate concurrently. I bring in additional faculty to observe each simulation run. The challenge here is tracking all that’s going on and later providing individual students with all of the personalized feedback they want. But I would still say it is a great teaching—and learning--experience.

7. What is most rewarding?

Hands down, watching people improve over the course of a semester or course. Watching them perform really well is great – but seeing improvement is even better. Also, seeing people realize that they’ve improved and seeing the impact of that on their confidence is very rewarding and satisfying. There are other rewards – but this is what keeps me coming back to the classroom again and again.

8. What advice would you offer someone considering this career?

Talk to people who are already in this field. This is generic advice, but it makes a lot of sense. See if you can shadow them and see the job “in action.” Even more beneficial is to track or shadow a few people from different universities. Schools and universities can have very different cultures, missions and goals. I caution people against making conclusions about the profession based on exposure to a single school. It is important to find a place where you have a good fit with the institution and with what other faculty are trying to accomplish.
For people looking for advice regarding the field of Negotiations I would offer two pieces of advice:

1. Know what you are looking to gain from the process. I am amazed by the number of people who enter negotiations with the hope to get direction from the process or the other side. You should come into the process with some specific and concrete goals. 
2. Take some responsibility for the process. A lot of first-timers think that a negotiation “happens to them”. 

Since the process is entirely up to the parties, you can and should think about how you want the discussion to unfold and take the initiative to influence the process rather than just receive it.

9. What is a common misconception people have about what you do?

That it is an eight-month job... and that a teacher who isn’t in the classroom isn’t working. It takes a lot of time to prepare to teach a class – and university professors do a lot of other things besides teaching. As I mentioned earlier, we do research, committee work, consulting, etc. It is not just about the time we spend in the classroom.

10. What are your goals/dreams for the future?

In general, my career goal is to keep learning and growing. I am interested in learning new skills, exploring subjects I have not explored before, and continuing to improve my craft. Do I have a “bucket list?” No, but I’ve thought about one. On the personal side, I would love to try new activities and interests (which is what Challenge Factory is all about) but I haven’t narrowed them down yet in specific plans. I would like to write a book at some point.

11. What else would you like people to know about what you do?
For more details about me and my thoughts on education, your readers can take a look at my website. I am very willing to talk to people who are interested in going into education. I’d like to put in a “plug” here for teachers -- for the profession in general. Teaching has an important role in society, and we need good teachers. For people who want to make a contribution, it is definitely a career worth exploring. It could be a second or third career – or something people do part-time while continuing their primary work. People teach part- time because they like the opportunity to get fresh perspectives and try out their ideas. It also provides opportunities for them to reflect on what they do and why they do it. Feedback from the classroom can help them make improvements in their professional work. In my view, teaching is not a one-way transfer or “bestowing” of wisdom. Even as a teacher, I am constantly learning from (and with) students in the classroom. In a good class, learning goes both ways.

Thank you, Steve, for your insight and perspective on what it is like to be an educator, professor and consultant! Steve is a Challenge Factory expert available to provide a day-in-the-life immersion experience to Challenge Factory clients considering an academic career.  You can also read about other careers in the Cool Careers interview series.