Response to Rob Tegelberg’s Post 4.1 Chances to make a difference
Hi Rob,
I like the metaphor of a bird looking down on an organization. Perhaps I missed this in my reflection on what I would do if I had the chance. After reading this metaphor, I would take the chance to just observe our organization, like a bird looking down. I would also like the chance to just be an observer of other, successful team environments, if only I had the chance…
I can relate to your posting about blue oceans. Although our school is not a private school, we identify as a Catholic school, however, the majority of our students are non-believers. In our town, there is a Catholic school system and a public system. The Catholic high-school contains 2/3 of the town’s population of high school aged students and the public system only contains 1/3. Although the majority of the students attending the Catholic school are not Catholic, they are still choosing to attend our school system. This tells me that we are experiencing success in the functioning of our teams, drawing in more and more students from diverse backgrounds. Ungerer et al., write
Creators of blue oceans, on the other hand, seek to create new market spaces that are untainted by competition, and that allow demand to be created rather than fought over. Blue ocean strategy assails competitors by moving around them rather than competing directly with them. This approach leads to opportunities for rapid and profitable growth, while creating clear barriers to imitation.
(Ungerer, Ungerer, & Herholdt, 2016, p. 290)
This has proven to be effective in my town. The high school has added programming to their school that targets a wide variety of learners. They have a full cosmetology school as well as a mechanical shop. Students can earn credits towards graduation through these programs. This has created a lot of new enrolment for our school system.
I strongly agree with what you write about being more intentional with praising students and staff. Prior to the readings in Lepsinger (2010), I thought I was good at offering praise and rewards to staff and students, however in my readings, I feel that I can improve. Specifically, Lepsinger (2010) tells us that rewards need to be sincere and varied so the effects do not diminish (p. 56). Lepsinger (2010) also tells us that we need to offer balanced praise that not only rewards strengths but also touches on weaknesses in order to see improvement. (Lepsinger, 2010). These are some key take-aways that have helped me envision changes I will make in my own organization. This also relates to the sandwich method that you talk about.
I am inspired by your comment about finding value in all ideas brought forth by students, even if we struggle to see the value. This is something I am conscious with in my classroom, but I can strongly improve in this area with staff. In my organization, there has been a lot of negativity in the time that I have worked there. Lepsinger (2010) writes, “by assuming value, focusing on what they do well, setting realistic but challenging goals, providing recognition and feedback, and creating a supportive environment where it is safe to try new things, we can enhance the self-esteem of our lower-performing or average employees” (p. 58). Perhaps there is negativity on my staff because of confidence and value issues. If I make it my mission to not only see the value in all staff members and their opinions, perhaps in time the negativity will diminish as there is an increase in self-efficacy among staff members.
Thanks for the inspiration and thoughts.
-Sadie
References
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the esecution gap: how great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating strategic possibilities: strategy formulation and execution practices to flourish.