Category: Unit 6

This week I had the privilege of having a conversation with Ryan and learning about him personally and his role as a principal at a Christian school in Chilliwack.

Ryan became a principal fairly young in his career, about 10 years ago and he mentioned it took him some time to really feel “legitimate” as a leader and learn to own his “leadership hat.” Ryan really enjoyed being in the classroom and directly teaching, so when he was asked to be the principal he knew it would mean significantly less classroom time. However, he responded to the challenge and through the role has developed as a leader and the school has grown in size as well!

I asked Ryan the following three questions and summarized his responses below:

1. When are you at your best? Describe a time when you performed really well, what were the circumstances during that time? 

Ryan has seen he is at his best when faced with challenges and needing to problem-solve. Though he admitted it is not always the most comfortable place to be in, he is thankful for the lessons he has learned and the growth he has experienced in those challenges.

One significant challenge Ryan faced two years ago, where he saw himself perform well, was when his school was undergoing a lot of drastic changes. They had moved to a new building and a staff member had to step away, which resulted in a vacant classroom with no one to fill it. He had no vice principal, so Ryan really had to learn to “own his position” and step up as a leader. At first Ryan could not see a way through, but then he pulled some key teachers together and problem solved. They put their heads together and with Ryan’s leadership came up with a brilliant solution for the circumstances! There were four aspects to the solution:

1) Ryan would increase his teaching time by 70%, along with some more limited principal duties.

2) They would hire some people for temporary positions to fill in the gaps.

3) They decided to merge their grade 6, 7, 8 and 9 classrooms into a cross-curricular/cross-grade program, that lasted 3 months.

4) Ryan, as he was more absent as a leader, due to having to teach so much more, made sure his communication was regular and clear. He communicated via email, through after school meetings, and impromptu meetings when necessary.

This experience caused Ryan to take a more daily and active leadership role. It was a difficult time, but it was a positive step. Ryan wisely stated that, “if we aren’t being challenged, we can settle into status quo.”

2. Where do you want to be in five years from now? Describe your idealize future as it were already happening. 

Ryan sees himself building a team of “lead teachers” at his school. He has discovered how much he loves working with and leading a team of leaders! He really wants to be able to work through teams. One thing he misses about not teaching students directly, since being a principal, is that he does not get to see their growth and development.

Ryan wants to start to see the teachers he oversees as “his students” and work towards developing their leadership. Ryan believes that he will be able to grow the school even more and have more impact, through building a team of “lead teachers.”

3. How can you get there? What are you ideas/action steps for realizing this preferred future?

Ryan had some solid ideas for steps he would take to get to his idealized future. One thing he mentioned was the reality of a huge lack of teachers at this time in B.C., so he recognized this could be a limiting factor for a time. He also recognized that in order for this future to happen, the school itself would have to grow in student and staff intake. Ryan thinks that as the school grows in size that positions of leadership will become a necessity.

In the meantime, he wants to strategically recognize some of his current staff who he sees leadership potential in and groom them. Also going forward he wants to hire people with this idea of “lead teachers” in mind. Lastly, Ryan wants to help by shifting the current culture and mindset of staff to being more of a “team mentality.”

Ryan also recognizes, that according to his Birkman, he struggles to delegate. Therefore, he knows in order for this all to happen, he need to learn to grow in delegation. Ryan knows that delegating is very important for working through teams and he wants to grow in learning to step back and trust the leaders he has set in place.

According to the Unit 6 Notes (2018), “Andragogy is the art and science of helping adults learn.” The concept of adult education is not something I have thought about extensively, though my ministry role does involve it, as I work with university students or “emerging adults.” This concept relates most to me in the context of working with my staff team and interns, as well as in my own experience of being an adult learner. Below are both experiences of working with adult learners and also personal experiences of growing as an adult learner:

1. “As a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

This has been evident in own personal development, especially in my role as a campus minister. When I first started ministry, I was definitely a “dependent personality”, although I tried to maintain an appearance of “independence.” My maturity was not where it is now. This was partially due to lower self-esteem, which led me to searching for affirmation from others.

Five and a half years later, though I still appreciate affirmation in my role, I have grown in self-confidence and do not need affirmation to know who I am or what I am good at. I have become more self-directed and self-led, through time, guidance and maturity.

2. “Adults accumulate a growing reservoir of experience, which is as rich resource for learning” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

It has been apparent to me personally and in the lives of others, that experience gives you a lot more “resources” to pull from. Much of my role is hearing about people’s lives and helping them learn to depend on and trust God in different situations. I have found with more time and experience, that listening and guiding people comes more naturally; as I have more personal experiences to relate to them on and draw from. I have found the teaching, sharing and guidance I offer people has become a lot “richer” and has more authority to it, rather than giving shallow advice with little experience.

3. “The readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her social role” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

I was not entirely sure how to interpret this statement, but from what I understand this means there is a connection between developing in a job role and the individual’s capacity to learn. Basically, how you train and develop your staff, will impact their capacity to learn and continue learning in the role.

I observe this in how I have worked with newer staff and interns on my team. It is important to start with higher structure and delegating smaller, but developmental tasks with expectations, that stretch them a little beyond where they are at. Also it is important to make time to give good feedback after a job is done.

It is important to continue this process to build confidence and a willingness to learn and grow by trying “new” things or tasks they have not done before. Over time newer staff will mature and do not need as much structure. Then they can be delegated more unfamiliar or complicated tasks, that require learning and they can be trusted to see them through.

4. “There is a change in time perspective as people mature–from future application of knowledge to immediacy of application. Thus, an adult is more problem than subject centred in learning (Unit 6 Notes, 2018). 

How I interpret this statement, is as people mature in adulthood, they apply lessons they learn easier and more efficiently to their life. When you are a kid or teenager, you are not yet fully responsible for yourself and your own actions, so often really learning application of things is less urgent.

However, when you are an adult, there is less to fall back on and an expectation to figure things out. People generally learn if you do not apply knowledge immediately, it can affect you a lot more readily. As a result, for adults problems become more central, as tangible and applicable solutions become a necessity.

5. “Adults are mostly driven by internal motivation, rather than external motivators” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

Personally, I see this statement to be very evident in my own life. When I was in high school, a lot of my motivation came from social or academic pressure, which do have some internal motivators, but are mostly triggered by external motivation.

Now, as I have matured, I noticed that external motivators from my organization or other pressures, do not motivate. The pressure to keep up with demands is less fear-inducing and I notice my staff and myself, prefer to work from a place of internal motivation, rather out of “duty”, “fear” or “incentives.” They look for a clear “why”, not just “because we have to.” Honestly, the best staff on my team and those who are the most encouraging to work with, are those who are the most internally motivated.

6. “Adults need to know the reason for learning something” (Merriam & Bierma, 2014, p. 47). 

I stated this above briefly, under point 5, but my staff and myself, we ask a lot of “why” questions, especially when it comes to things our greater organization is telling us to do or learn. Just “jumping through hoops and “ticking boxes” is frustrating for adults.

I have found as a ministry team leader it is very important to consistently cast a compelling vision and remind my staff team of the “why” of what we are doing, so there is good motivation and as a result better learning happens.

References

Merriam, S.B., & Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Unit 6 Notes. (2018). Retrieved Oct 29th, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-notes/