Category: Post 3.1

Post 4.1; ldrs501; Health & Education

1. Outline the best steps you envision for developing performance best practices across all areas of the organization where you work/worked previously; addressing the various components of the organization like.
   • Human resources (policies and procedures)

I do not know anything about human resources (HR) and what their policies or procedures are for the Langley School District 35. The HR department is located at the School board headquarters for Langley in Murrayville. The only way I have had any dealings with the school board is when I was hired. There was paperwork to be filled out and they helped me understand the teacher-on-call telephone system. As far as my day-to-day work goes, I rarely ever have contact with them, although I did call HR two weeks ago to verify that my days off work for last week had been accurately entered into the on-line system.

• Corporate identity (public)

The Langley School District public image has improved. When we first moved to the district back in 2010 I recall the school district being in the news quite frequently because of over spending issues and the district not having enough money. I think they had a reputation of having the least money out of all the school districts in the lower mainland. Not to mention, they had also fired some board members or something to that effect. The school board was put on the hot spot for really bad management of school funds. At least that is what I have in my memory, but at the time I was not working for the school district, so I did not have all the facts.  Eight months after moving to Langley our daughter started pre-school at Langley Christian (LCS) and then changed Christian schools in kindergarten moving to Pacific Academy (PA). Around that same time we received a phone call from the school board saying there was a spot for our daughter at one of the French Immersion schools in the district (Brookswood). So, I went for a tour and was flabbergasted at the poor state of the school. The school itself was neglected and in bad need of repairs. I recall walking through the halls and seeing bulletin boards falling off the wall and ceilings I could almost touch. The environment was not welcoming at all, but very dark, not much light. In my mind, I was comparing this to LCS, PA and former private schools where I had taught in the past. My expectations were very high but we only want the very best for our children and aside from this school not having a Christian mandate its environment was not welcoming.

More recently, while completing my Bachelor of Education at TWU I learned from one of my Profs what an amazing reputation the Langley School District has for its implementation of Aboriginal perspective and knowledge in the school curricu

 

• Organizational culture (internal)

Working for the Langley School District today I can say that I am proud to work for the district. Over the few years I have been employed by the district I feel like we are a family. It has helped by working as a teacher-on-call and being able to work at various schools within the district and then having done my practicum in one high school and having taught at two other high schools now within the district. At Pro D events we all come together and re-unite with each other. Likewise, if you are a coach then this is more constant as you keep re-connecting with other schools at all the sporting events throughout the year.

Teachers for the most part seem connected and happy, but at the same time, the new teachers might feel a bit lost and disconnected. I was talking to one of my colleagues who is also doing her Masters right now and she is looking at teacher health. Apparently, there are many teachers who feel they are over-worked and have no balance in their lives. She wants to address this in creating a new program at our school and perhaps going district wide with this initiative.

2. Identify some of the negative organizational renewal, execution and design challenges in the organization where you work/worked previously to address:
   • The biggest impact these principles have/had on the organization where you work/worked previously.

I have worked under ten different principals and have seen and experienced different styles of leadership in both Christian schools, secular private schools and the public system. I have experienced everything from the transformational servant leadership style which was demonstrated by a principal at a Christian school in Toronto to the micromanage style of management which was spear headed by a female principal. I have had principals who are never at school because they are always at the school board office attending meetings or travelling and representing the school. These kind of principals were at two IB schools. I have only worked under female leadership three times and only once was it in a high school setting, the other two times it was in elementary schools.

I cannot think of any really negative organizational renewal challenges with any of the principals I have worked under. Trying to think back over 25 years ago when I had my first part time job at McDonald’s and Superstore, I vaguely remember who my bosses were? My current principal seems to be doing a great job in his role. He’s certainly very experienced as he has been working in the district for 30 years and has been a principal at a few schools before being transferred to our school. He’s now going to probably remain at our school until he retires. Last year, was his first year and one thing I noticed, he was not very present that first year. He observed the happenings of our school but appeared to be observing more than initiating any changes. This aligns with what I have read in the literature (Hord and Roussin, 2013). This year however, has been very different. For one, our principal walks the halls frequently and visits our classes more often. At our last Pro D he had us all collaboratively have input into a SWAT for our school vision and mission. Hord and Roussin (2013) contend that “effective leaders continually check current performance against the vision” (p.16).  One thing I have noticed this principal do well is acknowledge when you are doing something well. Even last year, when I was knew my principal would frequently give praise to teachers for outstanding efforts. It was nice to be acknowledged in that way. Hord and Roussin (2013) state “Effective leaders also look for positive progress and directly and sincerely recognize and praise teachers (p.17).

• Three to five steps necessary to shift the negative impacts and help the organization where you work/worked previously refocus to reclaim organizational purpose, practice and procedures to a healthy level so they can move more effectively into the future.
• According to Hord and Roussin (2013) there are six strategies that can be employed by school leaders whose goal is to change the direction of a school culture, vision or mission:

Step 1 Creating an atmosphere and context for change

When I started teaching in the Langley School District change was in the air. The province had mandated that a new school curriculum should be employed. Of course this was a time of much friction as many teachers were not automatically sold by this new idea. Bringing teachers on board to collaboratively reflect on what has worked and what is not working sets the stage for change. Hord and Roussin (2013) purport “creating a context conducive to change one will see the entire professional staff coming together to reflect on how they are working to achieve goals for their students” (p.14).

Step 2 Developing and communicating a shared vision

As we have read and discussed, having a clear vision is necessary in order for everyone to be on the same page.  According to Hord and Roussin “(2013) having a clear vision “refers to mental pictures of what a school or a classroom might look like in a changed and improved state-a preferred image of the future” (p.14). They go on to say “effective leaders use every opportunity to refer to the vision of the school during school and community meetings, personal interactions, and written communications” (p.15). Likewise, Galbraith (2014) speaks about the importance of having a common culture which acts as the glue that holds everyone together (p. 200).

Step 3 Planning and providing resources

Hord and Roussin (2013) assert “In effective schools, resources are allocated, and reallocated, in ways that maximize teacher learning, organizational learning and, thus, student learning” (p.15). In order for teachers to do their job well they need to be equipped with the right resources. However, in a time with little funding and sparse school board budgets it can be very challenging.

Step 4 Investing in professional development

Whenever there is a curriculum change new resources are required along with training sessions for teachers. Hord and Roussin (2010) point out that effective leaders “encourage a deep understanding of new ideas through collegial learning opportunities” (p.16). They also go on to say how “enlightened districts are providing schedules where student early release days permits the professional staff to come together regularly and frequently for faculty study” (p.16). In school district 35 we have at least six early release days for teacher collaboration within the school calendar.

Step 5 Checking progress

Once a new curriculum has been employed it is necessary to check in to see how it is being implemented and received by students.  One thing effective leaders do is “continually check current performance against the vision” (p. 16). At my school this is done through Survey Monkey and departmental meeting discussions which are reported back to the principal.

Step 6 Continuing to give assistance

It is important that there is a long window of opportunity for teachers to receive support and peer coaching as they transition from the old method to the new. After dappling with WordPress for the past month and a bit, it is nice to know that Colin is still available for assistance. According to Hord and Roussin (2010) another thing effective schools do is “provide support for each other including peer coaching and mentoring” (p.17). Likewise, effective leaders recognize the value of “celebrating successes” and “praising teachers” for their efforts (p.17). This goes hand-in-hand with Lepsinger’s (2010) idea of “enhancing and maintaining employee self-esteem” (p.59).  Teachers who must make significant adaptations to their teaching methodology may feel incompetent to grasp the new concepts. I am feeling this way at the moment with WordPress and posting work that involves many steps and adding hashtags etc.. It’s all new and uncomfortable. A leader who can come along and “strengthen a person’s belief in his own competence is a foundation of effective management” (p.59).

 

3. Three things you do (3+3+3 = 9 altogether):
   • To promote the positive renewal, execution and organizational design principles in your career practice.

1. Pro D– All teachers are required to attend Professional development days which are planned on specific days throughout the school year. I attend these and look forward to collaborating and learning new teaching tools which will help enhance my lesson/unit plans and assessment.
2. Collaboration Days– Each school in the district offers its staff collaboration days. There are a number old such days scheduled in the calendar and this gives teachers and staff time to come together in-house and work collaboratively on something like cross unit planning or revising rubrics for a specific department. There is a Google doc list of sessions and all staff are free to pick and choose depending on their area of interest. This is one workshop which is cross-departmental in nature.
3. Staff Meetings– All staff are required to attend staff meetings. This is an opportunity to come together as a staff and re-group, focus on the vision/mission of the school and then to highlight what is happening in different departments as well as fun school initiatives.

• To promote the negative practice of these principles.

1. Complain-Sometimes when teachers come together they might start sharing their struggles and complain about the system rather than constructively working to fix it or make it better. Lepsinger (2010) says it is important to focus on what is working well.
2. Miss meetings/pro d/ school collaboration– Some staff intentionally find reasons to avoid attending meetings and being an integral part of the system.
3. Working solo– Some staff are like hermits. They never leave their room or their department. These teachers are not open to collaboration or working as a team and are thus a challenge to get on board.
   • To correct behaviors not conducive to your career health and the principles required to promote healthy strategic practice.
4. Assume Value

Good communication sets the tone for whether employees will perform to their best or not. According to Lepsinger (2010) it is called a “balanced response” or a “communication tool” (p.57).

2. Focus on What is done well

Lepsinger (2010) points out how leaders should take the time to find out what each employee does well and then set goals for them to achieve and provide coaching along the way.

3. Praise and encourage-enhance employee self-esteem

With so many new teachers in the school system it is important to let them know they are doing a good job. Lepsinger (2010) asserts “strengthening a person’s belief in his own competence is a foundation of effective management” (p.59). It really brightens my day when I receive some positive feedback or if I someone says an encouraging word. Employee self-esteem is important to take care of and foster.

References

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

Hord, S., & Roussin, J. (2013). Implementing change through learning: Concerns-based

concepts, tools and strategies for guiding change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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

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.

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.