The original post which precipitated this response can be found at this link: https://create.twu.ca/robtegelberg/2018/11/12/post-7-1-conflict-and-cooperation/

Your post, Rob, was delightful yet difficult for me to read: delightful due to the revelation that a positive and supportive workplace exists in education; difficult because it widens the gap between the reality of my current work environment and the way it could be.  It is fascinating to know that a Christian school can bring so many faiths together (Tegelberg, 2018, line10) and create a supportive environment for staff and students alike!  “This is evident when listening to staff conversations, or interactions between staff and students” (Tegelberg, 2018, line 14). Bridge Builder 2 in Closing the Execution Gap promotes the idea of assuming value in people while we expect top performance from them in the areas of their strengths.  By focusing on what staff—and perhaps even students—do well, everyone’s self-esteem is bolstered to where they are all willing to put in more effort (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 72).

I was intrigued with your statement, “They use professional development as a tool to grow the various skills of the staff members to create a more diverse and well rounded team” (Tegelberg, 2018, para. 3).  Do you think there is an optimal amount of diversity before there is noticeable divergence from the MVV of your school (Galbraith, 2014, p. 238)? Public school teachers are always participating in professional development (pro-d) with five designated pro-d days each school year. We also have locally offered workshops after school to promote programs and resources that are District-approved.  Every second month we have a two-hour session with our own staff called After-School Collaboration which should be to create unified skill development on staff chosen by us. My school usually goes in a direction determined by our principal. Although it is important for everyone to learn new functional skills and processes (Galbraith, 2014, p.145), the relationships we need to build to work more cohesively would be a better focus for our staff at this point.

Addressing Some of the Discussion Questions

1. Beginning conflict resolution with prayer is not your every day practice in public schools even when there are many Christian teachers. We do have conversations and support each other through prayer and check-ins. Many of my administrators over the years have been Christians which is evident in how they interact with staff, how they plan for the growth and development of the school, and how they deal with recalcitrant students.

 (Udodiong, 2018)

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always” – 1 Chronicles 16:11

The last time I prayed together with staff at a school was about 6 years ago. Most of the intermediate staff (9 teachers) were Christians so we tried to meet every 2^nd week after school to talk and pray together. The principal saw us meeting one day and asked us why we were meeting.  She must have been insecure because the next time the teachers were at intermediate collaboration, she was antagonistic, negative, and yelled at them for not being supportive and encouraging with the rest of the staff.  In the Spring when jobs were posted for this school, she did not even interview me for the position I had held all year on a temporary contract, a prime example of relative power being applied to direct the outcomes (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 197).  It was after this experience that the District relocated me year-after-year to various high-needs schools. This way of teaching was in stark contrast to all my previous 20 years of teaching which made it difficult to keep a positive attitude in the changing circumstances.

At my current school, conflict resolution protocols would be helpful.  Divisions occur when people speak their minds at staff meetings as well as call out others openly under the guise of humour.  Treating each other respectfully seems challenging at this school and yet everyone can work together to achieve larger projects.  Hearing words of encouragement, support, or affirmations is rarer than it should be in a place where we are educating children to be caring, productive, solution-oriented members of society.  “The primary goal of Social Studies education is to give students the knowledge, skills, and competencies to be active, informed citizens who are able to think critically, understand and explain the perspectives of others, make judgments, and communicate ideas effectively” (BC, 2018, para. 1).

2. Dealing with negative school culture, gossip, and grumbling is challenging when the root is unknown. Since there are several staff members at my current school who have worked in this one location for over 10 years and I am just in my 4^th year, the actual development of some of the isolated styles of teaching are a mystery. However, in my short time there, the climate is continuing to deteriorate without a seeming awareness or effort to stem the decline.  “One of the most important elements of leadership strategy pertains to the desired culture in an organization, and that translates in an SLT to examining the influence processes within the team itself” (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 209).  Rapid growth and a significant increase in severe behaviour students in every classroom is adding to the stress and feelings of defeat. I am not confident I am making changes in my work place, but I do try to stop in on one or more colleagues each day to see how they are doing.  It changes my mindset and fosters a small sense of relationship built through trust (Bass & Riggio, 2006, p. 53).  Since my classroom is a in a portable this year, I must make an extra effort to connect with staff inside the school since they will not be swinging past my class to have chats.  Supporting, encouraging, and assisting my colleagues is part of my planned legacy at this point in my career; I don’t get to see the day-to-day functioning of the rest of the school, but I am also not caught up in all the drama.

References

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2^nd ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

BC Curriculum, (2018).  Core competencies: Introduction to social studies.  Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/core/introduction

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels (3^rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R., Beatty, K. & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success (2^nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Tegelberg, R. (2018). Conflict and Cooperation. [Blog Post] Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/robtegelberg/2018/11/12/post-7-1-conflict-and-cooperation/

Udodiong, I. (February 25, 2018) Prayer: 5 bible verses that prove that praying is truly the key. Retrieved from https://www.pulse.ng/communities/religion/5-bible-verses-that-prove-that-prayer-is-truly-the-key-id8035248.html

Enjoy reading the original post from Jessica Sawatzky here: https://create.twu.ca/jessicalaugsawatzky/2018/11/12/hc-1-leader-post-7-1/

(Retrieved from https://hitconsultant.net/2017/11/03/internet-things-digital-future-value-based-care/)

The description you provide of your work environment in your Week 7 post on Conflict and Cooperation creates a mental image of a smoothly operating work place, Jessica.  You mention the earlier friction while developing the mission, vision, and values but since that was before your arrival, you have no experience with that conflict. I appreciate your mention of the time it takes to allow the MVV become part of everyone’s daily practice (Sawatzky, 2018, para. 1).  In all our readings, discussion posts, and assignments, we present the MVV as able to cure many workplace issues and miraculously bring unanimous alignment among staff members. I have not found it to be this way; people still need to make the decisions to follow the principles of the MVV and make choices in line with the organizational policies. “SLTs generally can only be as strategically effective as the organization’s overall strategy itself is both well reasoned and clear” (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014, p. 208).

What happens when there are disagreements in your workplace?  Lepsinger (2010) says that “despite having shared goals in place, the people you depend on to get things done often have different perspectives” (p. 180).  You mention your department has “been very transparent in their attempts to enhance the corporate working environment” (Sawatzky, 2018, para. 3) but when there are differing opinions, does seniority play a part in resolving differing perspectives?  Working in a union environment always adds another layer of protocols and ethics to follow.  From your description, it does seem like your leadership is assuming value in all employees and providing balanced responses to potential issues (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 57).

When discussing synergy being the result of good decision-making, Galbraith acknowledges that “the challenge for the solution provider is to get all of its business units to work together” (2014, p. 266).  You shared a situation of conflict between two departments which was noticeably time consuming and your “productivity took a nosedive during that time” (Sawatzky, 2018, para. 5).  Is there another method you have learned through strategic leadership thinking and acting which may have resolved the interdepartmental issues in a more efficient manner?

You mention you are a visionary, Jessica and are working on developing your ability to deal with smaller details.  Hughes et al. discuss the need to focus on what employees do well and help them improve in areas where they may struggle (2014, p. 58).  How do you apply this to your employees?  Are you better able to see where some of your struggling colleagues and employees have strengths and then develop a plan for them to increase their skillset in a broader way?

Thank you, Jessica, for revealing some of the strategic problem solving and conflict resolution practices of your organization!

References

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R., Beatty, K. & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Sawatzky, J. (2018).  HC 1 leader post 7.1. [Blog Post] Retrieved November 13, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/jessicalaugsawatzky/2018/11/12/hc-1-leader-post-7-1/

Layla’s response can be found here: https://create.twu.ca/layla11/2018/10/26/response-to-sallys-the-three-questions/

Thank you for your generous words in responding to my post, Layla.  The information for strategic leadership is so applicable in many situations!  I believe developing a mindset for strategic thinking is done through daily decision choices when practicing the competencies described by Hughes, Beatty, and Dinwoodie (2014) as scanning, visioning, reframing, making common sense, and systems thinking (p. 72).  We work with core competencies and curricular competencies in our classrooms daily so the understanding of practicing competencies until they are a natural way of doing things is easy to understand.  If we want strong leaders in our organizations and our communities, shouldn’t we begin teaching strategic thinking skills to our students?  Preparing children to be strong members in society is part of our educational mandate in British Columbia (BC, 2018).  As you said, Layla, “leadership stems from our daily life” (Zhang, 2018, para. 1).

There is such a natural fit between children and servant leadership which was a delightful discovery when I took my first courses at TWU.  My premise is to instill transformational servant leadership foundational skills in my students so that the foundation of this approach toward people becomes part of their everyday thinking when they are making their own decisions. Why waste time?  Servant leadership includes such life skills as listening, empathy, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community (Northouse, 2013, pp. 221-223).  These are the same character traits we want in our classrooms and schools as we train our peer leaders; it seems appropriate to teach them directly to children.  Make the unconscious conscious to facilitate active learning of life-long skills (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 59).

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6, NIV).

References

BC New Curriculum. (2018). Career education. Retrieved October 29, 2018 from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/career-education

Hughes, R., Beatty, K., and Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Zhang, L. (October 26, 2018). Response to Sally’s “the three questions”. Retrieved October 27, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/layla11/2018/10/26/response-to-sallys-the-three-questions/

Sadie’s original post of Strategic Leadership and Me can be found at https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/2018/10/25/strategic-leadership-and-me/

The Beginning of Wisdom

 (Savant, 2018)

Sadie, your in-depth analysis of leadership as it pertains to your personal involvement is rich and specific!  How wonderful to know you are seeking opportunities to make a difference in your educational community in ways that build up your colleagues, find opportunities to serve, and develop your own practice through “building SMART goals and revisiting them often” (Oberle, 2018, para. 10).  I was surprised that the Independent Catholic schools is aligned with contract tenets of the Alberta Teacher’s Association(ATA).  The inherent tension that exists between the Ministry of Education in any province and the Teachers’ Union creates difficulties in practice and in pedagogical stability.  Since your province is undergoing curricular changes at this time as well (Alberta Education, 2018), there must be an increasing angst among elementary teachers who will be required to shift their practice yet again.  Sometimes it is as Solomon laments in Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief” (NIV, 1983).

Many of us are familiar with the scripture, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” found in Proverbs 9:10 (NIV, 1983).  In my opinion this fear and reverence instills in us a humility which allows us to be guided and used by God in areas where He needs us the most.  I have often found that small things make a significant impact in someone’s life though you may not discover that importance until years later.  Most of us look for large gestures and changes that are immediately noticeable; Dr. Atha’s reference to the power of the tongue—or more specifically, words—reiterated for me how my daily word choices with my colleagues can build up or tear down, encourage or discourage, build bridges of hope or chasms of despair.  “The tongue can introduce small changes to personal or organizational perspectives that can affect/effect the entire outcome of corporate of personal relations; positively or negatively (Atha, 2018, para. 11).

Real change begins on the inside! To instill in my students the understanding of the power of their words and how much control they have over the events in their every day lives, I tell them:

What you think, you will say;

What you say, you will do;

What you do becomes your behaviour,

And your behaviour shapes your character!

“Think before you speak” OR “Thoughts in the head are better than words that are said”.

(I have said these phrases for years but they may not be my original thoughts; I could not find any quotes to reference.)

As strategic leaders who are hoping to change the practice of many of our followers, we must always consider their mindset as well as our own mindset (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014, p. 54).  Strategic thinking takes practice and strategic acting follows the results of our thought processes which often require reframing (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 79).  Do you have an alternative narrative for your organization, Sadie?  Instead of focusing on everything that isn’t changing fast enough, have you created a new vision of “what the organization can and should become” (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 75)?  The Apostle Paul admonishes us to keep our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Cycles of Change

In your first five years of teaching, Sadie, you will have worked alongside many teachers of varying degrees of experience.  You are a motivator and can also be an innovator!  Your enthusiasm and energy to seek out best practices for yourself can be infectious and empowering to others. “Empowerment should be seen as an outcome, not a behaviour in and of itself…” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 102).  Are you prepared for others to make huge changes in their practice that may not quite fit your vision for your organization?  Since we are all on a continuous journey of change, we will encounter many evidences of growth that are different from our own.  This, too, will create friction and as strategic leaders we need to continue to help and encourage others even when we are frustrated and make those events a learning experience without making others feel defeated (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 91).

Change is a cycle.  What is new now will be old in another 5-7 years and a new group of graduating teachers will infuse our schools with their enthusiasm and energy, trying to show us all the latest strategies and teaching approaches.  In paragraph 7 of your blog post, Sadie, you address the resistance to change from those long-term staff in your organization (Oberle, 2018).  You made tremendous effort to change some of the culture and “after many failed attempts and a lot of heart and soul poured into the cause” you “felt hopeless” (Oberle, 2018, para. 7).  You also mention that a number of teachers “are confined to the walls of their classroom, leaving other staff members a much heavier workload in the school” (Oberle, 2018, para. 7).  You found some great strategies in assuming value, focusing on positive action, and making the unconscious conscious.

 “The amount of significant change in organisations has increased tremendously in the last few years, making it critical to understand the cycle of change” (Virtual Solutions, 2018).

As a teacher who is nearing the three-decade mark, I can attest to the reality for most of the long-term staff who were once where you are now and have performed many extra-curricular tasks which added to the entire school community: coaching, committees, clubs, concerts, courses, communions, meetings, fund-raisers, etc.  They may need to be built up after the onslaught of changes mandated in their careers.  When we look at the need for diversity in our organizations (Galbraith, 2014, pp. 237-241), we must consider the wealth of teaching experience, past life experiences, and expertise perhaps not readily observable in those classrooms.  Being an agent of change is exhausting and longer-serving teachers have been part of many more changes.  Really get to know the people and you may discover that their stories create a more complete picture of your organization.  Can you imagine how many students they have successfully taught to graduation?  Often a thankless task, right?  Are you changing structure, function, or people in your strategic planning?

Here is a link to a little song that I sing in the classroom when my students get impatient with certain other students: Patience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kn6Z2Mop5I (Agapeland, 2011).  Those of us who have taught awhile might seem to be moving as slow as Herbert the Snail, but we are still moving and sharing the journey.  You may gladly lead us in new directions; don’t let us slow you down or discourage you from your vision or your calling.  Thank you for giving me a fresh perspective on sharing my career with so many different educators, Sadie!

References

Agapeland Music. (2011).  Patience: Herbert the snail.  Retrieved from You Tube October 28, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kn6Z2Mop5I

Alberta Education. (October 10, 2018). Curriculum Review Timeline. Retrieved October 28, 2018 from https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=60779ADBF92D9-BC17-6738-EED797C3813AC9F0

Atha, D. (2018). A systems thinking primer: Seeing organizations in action. Retrieved from Course Notes October 28, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/unit-3-learning-activities/

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels (3^rd ed.).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R., Beatty, K., and Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Marilyn vos Savant Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/marilyn_vos_savant_121674

Oberle, S. (October 25, 2018). Strategic leadership and me!  Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/2018/10/25/strategic-leadership-and-me/

Virtual Business Solutions. (2018). Understanding the cycle of change. Retrieved October 28, 2018 from http://www.vbsl.co.nz/understanding-the-cycle-of-change/

The original post can be found here: https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/10/23/strategy-renewal-execution-and-organizational-design-principles-pierres-spin-post-4-1/

When is it Time to Walk Away?

“We were desperate to keep our one customer, so our bonds tightened” (Florendo, 2018C, para. 3) speaks to our ability to work hard for a goal or a leader!  I have been in this place a few times in my teaching career and realize my super powers of loyalty and faithfulness can be my undoing. Since I am constantly applying formative assessment strategies to my own practice while instructing others (Arella, 2016), I know this strength is also an evenly balanced weakness when left unchecked.  With your previous descriptions of career experience (Florendo, 2018A and Florendo, 2018B) as part of your developmental learning of sustainable and strategic leadership, Pierre, what measures would you recommend for ensuring you do not find yourself in this position again?  Have you designed a rubric or framework for determining clear vision of when to step away for your own growth and health?

Formative Assessment

(Arella, 2016)

Empowerment Essentials

I appreciate your efforts to invest and empower your employees, Pierre which you delineate in your “Three Positives” (Florendo C, 2018)!  Having worked for a number of administrators with varying leadership styles, I know the value of being supported and encouraged when the pressures of the workplace rise to incapacitating levels. Do you feel it is your responsibility to empower your employees or do you help them to understand how team-building peer support for each other can be without always waiting for the administrator?  Table 6.1 in Ulrich and Smallwood lists a few items to increase empowerment which emphasizes more initiation from team members and less from supervisors” (2013, p. 150).

Growth Mindset

(Lisney & Rankin-McCabe, 2014)

My understanding of empowerment changed somewhat while reading Lepsinger’s description of delegation and informing as core elements of real empowerment.  “Delegation involves giving people the discretion to determine how to do a task without interference” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 102).  How does an administrator develop the ability to trust employees enough to actually carry out real tasks with the power to make decisions?  Can you develop a Growth Mindset (Lisney & Rankin-McCabe, 2014) regarding employee development while understanding that learning includes failure and mistakes?  Ungerer, Ungerer, and Herholdt (2016) include a change-making tool which contains principles that “can be implemented regardless of the techniques you choose to enable people to implement proposed changes (p. 272).  Is this possible to implement in your facility as you move forward with your strategic leadership changes to reduce the negatives and implement your selected corrective actions?

You are a powerful planner, Pierre, as well as a charismatic, visionary leader!  Your strategic development plan for yourself will accrue huge dividends for your staff as you focus on empowering others and take the time to listen longer and know them more personally.  People will work tirelessly for leaders who invest in them and build relationships of trust.

References

Arella, F. (2016).  Formative assessments: Why, when & top 5 examples. [youtube video] Retrieved October 26, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RXYTpgvB5I

Florendo, P. (October 2018A). Strategic leadership teams – HC1 (post 3.1) (health care).  Retrieved October 27, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/10/16/strategic-leadership-teams-hc1/

Florendo, P. (2018B). Response to Samson’s response to strategic leadership teams – HC1 post leader. Retrieved October 27, 2018, from https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/10/17/response-to-samsons-response-to-strategic-leadership-teams-hc1-post-leader/

Florendo, P. (October 2018C). Strategy renewal, execution and organizational design principles – Pierre’s spin (post 4.1). Retrieved October 26, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/10/23/strategy-renewal-execution-and-organizational-design-principles-pierres-spin-post-4-1/

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lisney, C. and Rankin-Mccabe, J. (September 2014).  Growth mindset. [youtube video] Retrieved October 27, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oqghnxBmY

Ulrich, D. and Smallwood, N. (2013). Leadership sustainability: Seven disciplines to achieve the changes great leaders know they must make.  New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., and Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating strategic possibilities: Strategy formulation and execution practices to flourish. [electronic book] Randburg: KR Publishing.