Pyramid of RA Skill Sets

Earlier today I was talking with an AIMHO colleague who was seeking some insight about RA selection processes.  Near the end of our conversation she let me know that their department just loves my RA pyramid.  It actually made me speechless.  This is a pet project of mine that I've been fussing around with since I began working at the University of Arizona (UA) in 2008 and to see people start to find value in it is very humbling and invigorating.  To share my excitement I decided to do a blog post to share with others what has evolved into "The Pyramid of RA Skill Sets".  Before I unleash it I must share with everyone a few caveats.

1. This pyramid was not created using empirical evidence.  It was compiled through my anecdotal experiences, and collegial discussions with others, over my 6+ years of serving as the chief facilitator of RA selection processes at two different institutions.
2. This pyramid was created for the UA to harness our existing RA Competency list and help put some visual aid to what I see our overall, comprehensive, RA program at the UA can become. 
1. The experiences, skills and attributes we list in the pyramid are somewhat reflective of the general premise of the RA position, however have been selected intentionally to reflect our departments mission, vision and culture as well as the overall expectations placed upon RAs specifically at the UA
3. The terminology hierarchy has been thrown around now and then to describe the model.  This has some to do with the fact that there is some mirroring of Maslow's famed model of needs, but in no way is this as strictly hierarchical as his theory.
4. The overall premise is that when establishing a comprehensive RA program, some things are paramount:
1. The foundation of the program is having a process that can identify candidates who have experiences that set them up to have more success with the entry-level training program.  Face it, we don't have much time to train new RAs, so let's do all we can to get ahead of the training curve.
2. We will spend a lot of time evaluating, molding and shaping these new RAs to do some of the critical aspects of the position.  For some it comes naturally, for others it takes time - the constant is that if they were missing some of the foundational experiences it would be much more difficult.  That allows the fall training plan to be job responsibility specific and the ongoing evaluation and in-service program to help build on that training and provide further experience.
3. The top of the pyramid is reflective of the higher level attributes that some might possess naturally but that many will not attain without a specific and intentional program to help support their growth and development.

I would be remiss if I didn't take the time to acknowledge my good friend and colleague Julie Leos (@PhiMuJewls) for helping me shape the vision.  Julie served as my RA Selection Committee Co-Chair for two years and was instrumental in a) keeping me on track with this and b) using her maximizer to help us all maximize this idea.  She's a phenomenal professional and a phenomenal person who will do great, great things in this profession.

So please - feel free to use the idea and concept, or feel free to use the premise as a foundation for further discussion that can only help us all do a better job at finding our student staff members.