Hi Kamal, I posted this earlier in the week but you never noticed it. Here it is again.
Blog 2 Response to Kamal
Hi Kamal, thank you for your reflections on the organization and system of Fraser Health. You mentioned how vital it is for our words to be communicated wisely as you stated “I believe the manager has to be careful how it is communicated to the employee without coming across as minimizing their effort and belittling them. Communication is one of the barriers at times and which leads to a negative outcome.” When I reflect on this I think of teachers as managers and how our tone of voice needs to come across in a positive and pleasant tone in order to motivate our learners. If we teachers sound agitated with our students they will tune out and stop learning. I’m wondering if it would be beneficial for teacher’s and in your case manager’s or perhaps even all employees got further training to learn how to better communicate. Communication is an important skill for life and it should be something everyone learns as part of their education.
“Team environment has a tremendous impact on the outcome of performance for both employees and leaders.” I like the idea of team retreats for staff to help build a better rapport. In my experience, staff retreats were much more common in the private school system than in the public. It was a great bonding opportunity for all teaching staff and helped all staff buy-in to the school mission and vision. I’m certain because those schools took the time and made staff retreats a priority, they ended up getting a very engaged staff. I would like to see staff retreats occur in the public system but I wonder how a new and aspiring leader could make something like this happen within the confines of the union and tight school budget? I wonder, how effective your management team is at bringing this about?
You mentioned how a supportive environment encourages people and makes them more comfortable with trying new behaviors and taking on challenging assignments.” My principal is great at being supportive. He always comes across as positive and encouraging. He has a “we can make this happen” and “trust me” kind of attitude. There have been moments where I have had to talk to him about an important problem and he does not stress at all but looks back with great calm and levelheadedness. I sense right away that his behavior is due to his 30 + years in education (both as a teacher and as an administrator). Hughes, Beatty and Dinwoodie (2014) note “People come together and bring multiple perspectives, different sets of data and information, and different experiences” (p.198). In this case, my principal brings a lifetime of teaching and administrating experience and is thus able to be an exemplary encourager and supporter.
After reading your blog it sounds like you have some great ideas but there has not been a chance for you to implement any of these ideas. I wonder why your management team is not making more of an effort to build up people. I agree with what you said “it is important to let employees know their opinion matters, their voice is being heard.” Words of affirmation are powerful. When I am affirmed it makes me feel renewed and ready to take on more challenges. Perhaps that is why I can work so well with our current administrative team. Do you think your management team could emulate the Costco method of success “Costco is successful because “it treats its store managers like entrepreneurs? They are allowed to make decisions and choices that meet the needs of the shoppers in their geographies” (Lepsinger, 2010, p.15). Lepsinger (2010) goes on to assert how important it is for leaders to ensure “everyone’s voice has been heard” (p.15).
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
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