Blog 2-Week 3 Response to Stella’s Post
A great post team Change Makers. Thank you Stella for your reflective thoughts this week. Having respect for each other in our diverse professional backgrounds is important just as it is to value one another’s perspectives. You wrote “We have a high degree of respect for each other and our roles, and we value each other’s perspectives.” In such a positive environment it sounds like your team has great potential to be successful. You also quoted Atha (2018) as saying, “As the old African proverb states, ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ so too does it take a team of people to understand and address the systems within an organization.” To add to this train of thought, there is much value in engaging everyone on staff and getting their feedback on various issues.
Recently, at one of our half-day school collaboration sessions, the principal, being new to the school last year had not yet shown us what his plans were for a new school vision. Before our collaboration, he sent out an email to all staff and asked us to do a SWAT analysis and that together we would create some Wordles describing our new vision together. You stated in your blog the importance of teams being able to take time to hear other’s perspectives” which I believe is a key ingredient for a team to be successful. Furthermore, to help us reflect back on the original vision for our school (now 30 years old) our principal invited those staff members who had been there at the school when it first opened to speak and share their stories and memories. This was a very fruitful decision on his part and the following week he walked around the school asking staff one by one what we thought of the collaboration session. This made me
“As a new member, I am learning to connect quickly with the team when a situation arises instead of thinking that I can do it on my own. The diverse perspectives bring richer ideas and deeper understandings, and the weight of the problem becomes less when it is shared among us four instead of alone.” Your words here reminded me of a verse in the Bible from Ecclesiastes 4:12 which high lights the effectiveness of working together as a team rather than going solo “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” According to Atha’s (2018) words, since we are not really ever alone, we can then be encouraged to know that “we are also never alone in any challenge we may be facing” (p.14).
Stella, you wrote “With all of the fires we put out each day, when do we have time for strategic leadership?” I like this question because I have been reflecting on this very point myself when I see how busy our own administrative team are and the number of meetings they attend on top of the discipline issues and all the other responsibilities that come with their job. In my own team, the Health and Safety Committee, we too have a surprisingly long to-do list and we are just one committee of many at the school. One of our four administrators is part of this committee. Usually the meetings go for an hour-hour and a half and usually we are just reviewing incidences that have occurred or things that have not been fixed yet. After sitting around after school for this length of time, we seem to run out of time for any long lasting future thinking strategizing.
“As far as I can see, getting ahead in my organization is about the heart of the person’s not their position.” In my school it is very different.
I also agree with you when you said “having a bigger picture that we are building leaders for the Kingdom of God, not just our school, releases this society to build into others for their sake.” According to Hughes, Beatty and Dinwoodie (2014) making time to consider the big picture is very beneficial for growth, “it is often helpful for these teams to step back and refocus, gain the big-picture perspective and bring it into the foreground again” (p.199).
Stella, I like the brave stance you took when you saw something that did not sit right with you, you shone a light on the situation and have peace now as you have surmounted one hurdle leadership hurdle “The other day I hesitated to bring something up because it directly involved the AP’s actions, which I did not think were right. I wanted to know what our policy was for the situation. The team was open to my inquiry, pulled out the policy to work through the issue and then to determine how not to repeat the action in question.” I think it is important for openness and trust to exist in a team or it will not be effective and fall apart like a pack of Jenga blocks (Atha, 2018). Hughes et al., 2014 state “if team members don’t trust each then mutual influence and effective collaboration become quite difficult” (p.209). Likewise, the literature also asserts how important trust is in the marketplace “deep customer relationships and customer-focused options are therefore able to create unassailable competitive advantages, as customers who have fostered a strong, trusting relationship with suppliers will not easily defect” (Ungerer, Ungerer and Herboldt, 2016,p.133).
Another good point you mentioned was how important it is to communicate with your team. “When we do not communicate clearly as a team, there are repercussions throughout the organization.” I experienced this today when I thought I had booked two of my classes in the library but somehow there was a breakdown in communication and when I showed up with my class the librarian was confused as she was under the impression that I had canceled my reservation. Atha (2018) also brings up another solid point on the topic of communication. We need to be extra vigilant in the way we use our tone of voice when speaking or communicating with others. Atha asserts “It is therefore important to realize, every word spoken or written, every plan made, every communication released and every explanation given, must be carefully reviewed before being released for public dissemination. The smallest changes can produce large results; to the positive or negative” (p.9). This is an area I really need to work on, staying calm and speaking in a level voice even when I am under pressure or stressed!
“Within the senior admin team, the limiting factors that prevent our work often boil down to time: do we have time to meet when something important comes up? Do we have time to cover all of the important issues in our once-a-week meetings? Do we have time to think bigger picture when we seem to be putting out fires all of the time?” I really relate to this statement as I struggle with time every day. From the time I wake up until I go to bed I am in a race and from the moment I get into the school building my heart is racing to do all the things I need to get done within the structured time limits that school places on me to work within. I have exactly 40 minutes to photo copy, and prep whatever things I need to have prepared for the entire day because as soon as the bell rings I have 5 minutes to be in my class ready to get the 69 minute period going and the rest of the day unfolds that way. Almost every lunch there is a meeting planned and most after schools there are meetings or I am rushing out the door to get my daughter to ballet. On the subject of adding something more to a teacher’s already packed schedule is tough. Just today, another colleague of mine who is doing her Masters has started up a Wellness Initiative for teachers to join. There are a variety of classes she is offering for teacher’s to help take the added stress off their shoulders: A book study, walking club, Social Support Groups, Fitness (low and high impact), and Art classes. I love the idea but the first thing my colleague and I thought was where could we add another commitment to our already over-the-top busy lives? Moreover, I see how precious time is at every single staff meeting I attend. After about 45 minutes teachers are looking at their watches and by the one hour mark, teachers quietly start leaving. It’s really challenging to keep teachers for more than one solid hour.
Thanks for a great post Stella. There’s a lot to consider.
References:
Atha, D. (2018). Learning activity unit 3. Course Learning Notes. Retrieved from
https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/unit-3-learning-activities/
Galbraith, J. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business
unit and enterprise levels. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Holy Bible: New International Version. (2001). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie D. (2014) Becoming a strategic leader.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G, & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating strategic possibilities: Strategy
formulation and execution practices to flourish. Randburg: KR Publishing.