Category: ldrs501

Posted on

Response to Sally’s Favourite Things || Blog 8.1

In response to Sally’s original post found here.

Hello Sally! I hope you are surviving report card season?

I must say your writing is inspirational, all of it. I read you in awe. You are clear, articulate, and thought-provoking. You have a gift, and I pray you continue to use it even after your courses are complete. You need to write a book, seriously!

Thank you for your thoughts on strategic leadership competencies. I adore how you said “Investing in the strong teaching ability of my colleagues has no down side” (Hinksman, 2018). When a professional teaching environment becomes toxic, it is difficult to remember this adage. However, “in excellent schools things ‘hang together’; a sense of purpose rallies people to a common cause; work has meaning and life is significant; teachers and students work together and with spirit; and accomplishments are readily recognized” (Sergiovanni, 2007, p. 6). Though you may not be in formal leadership, your gifting towards natural leadership provides you with ample opportunity to impact school culture. This is evident when you write “It is easy to criticize decisions without full knowledge of the factors involved and many staff members do this from the comfortable position of knowing they have no accountability” (Hinksman, 2018). I think this is the number one learning I have had in my first three months of formal leadership. Confidentiality is essential in senior administrator roles, and while I may want to explain (or defend?!) my decisions, I can not. It creates the divide, and I can feel the “us versus them” mentality come up in staff when they misjudge the reasons behind our decisions. Thank you for bringing awareness to this.

You wrote, “Galbraith was the most difficult to adapt to education” (Hinksman, 2018). I completely concur with you on this, and I basically wrote as much in my post too. However, Pierre challenged me by asking “If you could start from scratch, to design an education system based on your ideas, would you find this book more useful? Do you think this thought experiment would help you come up with possible innovation for your current system?” (Florendo, 2018). When framing the Galbraith (2014) text in this way, how would you answer? Lepsinger (2010) concludes “Execution is not just about leader behavior. Organizational structure and management systems must support and reinforce that behaviour” and “To encourage innovation, you need a mechanism for screening and funding new ideas” (p. 206). I wonder when we have been functioning in a system as long as we have (i.e. our own K-12 experience, then university training, plus the decades in our own classrooms), if we can actually detach ourselves enough to get a detached, birds-eye view of our organizational systems? Fullan (2013) quotes Steve Jobs words “It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions” (p. 57). However, with your experience as well as your gift of systems thinking, can you imagine another way to create an education system? Have you pondered this at all? What say you?!

I wish you well in all of your endeavors, and I hope to run into you again! Blessings, sister.

Stella

References:

Florendo, P. (2018). Response to Stella’s strategic competencies || Blog 8.1: Interdependence.Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/11/23/response-to-stellas-strategic-competencies-blog-8-1-interdependence/

Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels.

Hinksman, S. (2018). These are a few of my favourite things. Weblog. Retrieved November 25, 2018, from https://create.twu.ca/sally81/2018/11/24/%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AA%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AA%E2%99%AA-these-are-a-few-of-my-favourite-things-%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AA%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AA%E2%99%AA-8-1-competencies/

Sergiovanni, T. (2007). Rethinking leadership: A collection of articles. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Posted on

Response to Pierre’s Challenge of “Stella’s Strategic Competencies || Blog 8.1: D’Oh!

Hi Pierre,

I appreciate your response to my post, as found here.

I believe there are two main factors to the growth in my school: the housing boom and the new curriculum. The year before these two things happened, we were working on a bare bones budget and wondering how long we could hold out. When the demand in Vancouver for affordable single detached dwellings went through the roof a few years back, many people moved further out to the eastern Greater Vancouver Regional District. My school had just sold land from our property to be developed, and so there was a windfall to pay off debts. The new housing starts also increased at that time, so the population pool who might be interested in Christian education increased. At the same time, many parents became increasingly worried about the changes in the new curriculum and sought a more predictable and “safe haven” in private education. It also happened at the same time we had hired a development coordinator to improve our brand and create a stronger connection to our  surrounding community.

It was a perfect storm for increased enrolment!

I feel humbled and honoured to have been called to lead in my community for a time such as this. Jesus’ perfect timing in my life brought me to the TWU MAL program, and every course has brought learning at the exact time I needed it for my school. Even taking LDRS 501, I was worried I would be too busy and overwhelmed with my new position to handle the course load. Yet, the amazing part is I have been enlightened at each new step by the learnings from the course! So yes, I’m too busy with it all (report cards this week on top of it all!) but I’m NOT overwhelmed because I have been encouraged to be strategic and to question everything. Thank you for your vote of confidence that I will be able to handle the challenges of rapid growth!

Thank you also for challenging me to look again at Galbraith (2014). You wrote “What are the different teams within your organization? Does each teacher work on his or her own? Do teachers of different subjects work together to determine the learning plans? What does the administration do concerning the teachers?” (Florendo, 2018). In my school, we have two teams: elementary team (K-7), lead by the Assistant Principal, and the high school team (8-12), led by the Vice Principal. The elementary team has one teacher per grade, along with a shared PE and music teacher. In the high school, we have smaller teams, such as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) team and the HUM (humanities) team. The HUM team might collaborate on how to integrate competencies within each grade level so a student will have developed a required set before graduating. There is also a special education team, composed of several education assistants (EAs), teacher assistants (TAs), and the special education coordinator. The EAs may be assigned to one child or work within a whole classroom, depending on the level of need. There is also an International Student Program, led by a coordinator, which has an ELL teacher and a Homestay Coordinator.

As I look at Figure 1.1 in Galbraith (2014) again, it would seem the “Pooled” structure would be the way an outsider might look at our school. “Other than sharing resources, these field units … perform their work completely separate” (Galbraith, 2014, p. 9). On one hand, as teachers, we are responsible for the domain of our classroom. Much of the day is composed of separate classes, beside one another, yet a completely different set of students, parents, teacher (s), etc. Yet there are pooled resources of synchronized recesses, administration support, special education support, etc.

However, what confuses me is that we do not truly “perform work completely separately” (Galbraith, 2014, p. 9). Maybe this is where your idea of a team (complex) would come in. In the reference you provided, they state “When care is not well coordinated, errors, omissions, and harms occur” (Cholette, Beasley, Abdiwahab, & Taplin, 2017). They also purport “Team researchers call this work interdependent and recognize that there is some variation in the degree to which the interaction and coordination of team members is required to complete the task.” I suppose, according to this definition of interdependence, that the senior administration team is the one doing the coordinating, thus we would be better represented in the team (complex) model.

You said “They use the example of creating a care plan for a patient with multiple chronic conditions; all the team members need to collaborate to make a comprehensive plan. Would this type of interdependence apply to a student with special circumstances?” (Florendo, 2018). Yes, this describes the process in place for the special education coordinator, who creates an Individualized Education Plan with a school-based team as well as a team of external supports for the student. The senior administrative team would also execute a procedure such as this for a student who is exhibiting worrisome behaviors by activating a Violent Threat Risk Assessment protocol and gathering a team.

From my explanation, maybe you could respond by explaining if my thinking falls into the description you gave from Figure 1.1 and Cholette et al. (2017)?

You also asked “If you could start from scratch, to design an education system based on your ideas, would you find this book more useful? Do you think this thought experiment would help you come up with possible innovation for your current system?” (Florendo, 2018). I appreciate your gentle provocation to go further than my frustration with the Galbraith (2014) text. Upon second perusal (don’t laugh at this next part), I now notice the title is “Designing Organizations,” so then the lens is to explore the possible ways an organization can be put together. Not an “aha!” moment on my end, but more of a “D’Oh!” I must admit to thinking some gleaming nugget of truth was going to jump out at me in this book, so because there was no epiphany, I must not be clicking in. Now I see it more like “Here are twenty pieces of lego… we can put them together like this, or like this, or like this. If you do this, then here are the implications. However, if you do that, you might end up with this.”  With this new framework, there might just be a new innovative way to look at my current system.  It’s worth a second look. THANK YOU!

Stella

References:

Chollette, V., Beasley, D. D., Abdiwahab, E., & Taplin, S. (2017). Health information systems approach to managing task interdependence in cancer care teams. Journal of Oncology Practice, 13(3), 154–156. https://doi.org/10.1200/jop.2016.020156

Florendo, P. (2018). Response to Stella’s strategic competencies || Blog 8.1: Interdependence.  Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://create.twu.ca/pierreflorendo/2018/11/23/response-to-stellas-strategic-competencies-blog-8-1-interdependence/

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels.

 

Posted on

Stella’s Strategic Competencies || Blog 8.1

To Implement or not to Implement, that is the Question….

This week’s readings focus on competencies a strategic leader can implement to improve their practice. The following blog articulates some ways to inspire strategic leadership praxis in my organization.

Integrate leader and manager roles!
Lepsinger (2010) purports “It appears that organizations that are better at execution have leaders who can look to the future and prepare the business to adapt to changes in the environment as well as skillfully attend to the granular issues of implementation” (p. 205). How will I implement this into my vice principal role? One thing I have started to do, as I read through the course literature, is note guiding questions about strategic thinking for the high school. I then add them to our team agendas (collaboration times as well as staff meetings), one question per meeting, to help us to hear the hopes and dreams of our colleagues for our school as well as focus on specific criteria we need to address to move forward. We have grown by 50% in two years, having almost reached our capacity in terms of the number of classrooms. We must be strategic in how we use our resources, space, and how to refine our programs. It’s an exciting time but we are also tired because the growth has us all working harder than ever. Staff members are in new positions this year as we expand programs. Our small hallway is bursting with teenagers. These factors equate to more interpersonal issues, parent communication, and teacher needs. As the leader, I must both attend to the increased needs but also cast vision forward to refine our program to sustain growth as well as our sanities!

Act Systemically!
Hughes, Colarelli-Beatty, and Dinwoodie (2014) encourage leaders to ask “To what extent do I understand the political nature of the organization and work appropriately within it?” This is a competency I need to develop as I learn to lead in my school. As a new administrator, there are dynamics I am not aware of. There is a history behind decisions that pre-date my employment at the school. I ‘step on people’s toes’ because I do not understand the political nature, and while I have been given grace because I am new, I must delve deeper when collaborative and strategic discussions are being had. To do this, I need to ask questions and enter conversations humbly. James 1:19 encourages us to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

Business Perspective
Hughes et al., (2014) encourage leaders to “understand the perspective of different areas in the business and have a firm grip of external conditions affecting the organization” (p. 268). This is not a competency which I feel is at the top of my list to implement at the moment. As the vice-principal, I am not intimately aware of financial decisions in the organization. My role is internally facing with running programs, and external facing with dealing with parents. The budgetary areas are not in my portfolio of responsibilities. I am aware there are budgets and financial considerations but my role is to present a rationale for spending, not to determine how much or approve spending.

Read and do (or throw out)!

The three most important principles come from the first chapter of the first book I read in this course. It is aptly named “What is Strategic Leadership?” (Hughes et al., 2014, p. vii). This chapter set the tone for the entire course for me, and possibly because I was just starting a new administrative position in my organization, I was already pondering the question “What should I be doing around here?” as I read the text. During most of the interactions with the strategic leadership team (SLT) in my school year thus far, I have come back to these three principles:

Strategy is a learning process
“Conceiving of strategy as a learning process requires a specific mind-set … that views successful strategy as operating in an ongoing state of formulation, implementation, reassessment, and revision ( Hughes et al., 2014, p. 23). The SLT in my organization, as noted in Blog 3.1, has new members and is thus learning to work together. With a new Lead Principal establishing direction and finding his own style of leadership, there is a hunger on the SLT to assess the current organizational practices. Questions we are asking are:  What works? What isn’t working? What are the patterns? What past decisions created the situation to occur? What do we want to see by this time next year? Five years from now? What do we need to do now to get where we want to be in the future?

Mission, vision, and values are drivers of strategy
“Organizational mission, vision, and values are important aspirational components that create meaning and purpose… they create a lens through which internal and external conditions are understood and evaluated” (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 25). This principle has guided many conversations in the past three months since I started the new administrator role. What is our organizational identity? What do we stand for? What is our reputation in the community? How do the adults in the organization create the learning environment that is transformational in the way we express our MVV? How does practice “A” match our MVV, and is there a better way? Does our MVV really negate practice “B”?

Identifying and prioritizing drivers
This competency was probably the most confusing to me but has also had the biggest impact. Hughes et al. (2014) describe drivers as:

  • the things that determine sustainable, competitive advantage; they allow differentiation from competition
  • the potential areas of investment that will have a significant impact on an organization
  • levels to pull; areas they will excel
  • the things an organization must choose, which can be challenging and cause conflict
  • the things that clarify what will and will not be done by an organization
  • the things that help to prevent overload of employees and personal agendas
  • the things leaders must be continuously in the discovery of them
  • unifying concepts that foster clear direction and alignment

I have learned in this course that I am a naturally strategic thinker. In my new role, I have spent the past few months watching, listening, and asking questions. I am looking for patterns, motivations, and hindrances. I also observe myself: what distracts me? What frustrates me? What do I wish I could change? What gives me joy in this position?

Just last week, I approached my principal with the question, “Now that we have increased our enrollment in the high school by 50%, what’s next? How do we sustain this? How do we deal with the constraints of too little space, stressed out teachers, and limited technology resources? What is our strategic plan… because the status quo in the high school will not work?”

Thus, the conversation of drivers is coming. As we are challenged to define our organizational drivers, it will impact the decisions we make for the future. I’m excited because it will help to relieve the “irritant” I feel right now, knowing things that cannot stay the same. I also wonder if I might lose some of my current staff because we may not make choices everyone wants to see as the high school goes forward. I am thankful to have a voice in this leadership opportunity, though!

The three least important principles from the course resources were from Galbraith (2014).  While the book was full of models, figures, and tables, I did not ever feel like it applied to my organizational context. For example, Figure 1.1 (p. 9) illustrates “Types of Interdependence.” While I understand the concept of organizational units affecting one another, the figure is completely greek to me. How would this apply to an educational context?  The author promotes the “Star Model” (p. 15) and describes it as a “holistic way of thinking about an organization as consisting of a structure, information decision processes, reward systems, and people” and that “different strategies lead to the different structures for implementing them” (p. 17). This principle that factors are controlled by leadership and you start with one part which will affect another is too obvious for me that I wonder if I’m missing something. Sorry, but not inspirational in the least.  Lastly, the principle of “Integrating Roles” (p. 99), where “disagreement and the inability to resolve it effectively can slow the company responses and turn the focus inward rather than on customer” is banal and tacit to me. As you will read in the next section, I feel like I’m missing something in this textbook.

As you have probably guessed, the least effective course text material, in my opinion, is Galbraith (2014).  However, you might be surprised Urgerer et al., (2014) to be a close second!

I found Galbraith (2014) boring because it was too technically focused on business aspects as opposed to being able to glean ideas for education settings. Most schools are structured similarly, so there are not a lot of opportunities to change the organizational structure as explored by Galbraith. There are many models and processes, but it all went over my head because it was not applicable to my work or my personal life. I wonder if the business stream cohort found this text helpful?

Ungerer et al., (2014) was a good source of information, when I could actually read it! I found the online aspect of it hampering because I do not scroll well (I get vertigo), and I like to be able to write all over my books. Yes, I could print some of it, but then I became confused about what I didn’t print, and how many pages I had left to print. Cutting and pasting was slow. In general, I struggled with this online text and often put it off to the last to read. If it were in print, I would have been very pleased with it. Due to the dis-functionality of it, it was one of the least effective text materials in this course for me 🙁

Healthcare & Education cohort, I want to thank you for the commitment to excellence you all have shown as we grappled with the concepts of this class. I learned a lot from you all! Blessings as you pursue your course work.

Stella

References:                                                                                                       

Galbraith, J. (2014). Designing organizations.  San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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, CA: Jossey-Bass.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (2009). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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

Posted on

Blog 7.1 Response to Sadieoberle’s Response to Seabreeze and Avisha

The post can be found here.

Hi Sadie! Thank you for articulating issues you see occurring in your organization. I know from learning with you in the summer that you have a heart for reform in your staff, and you raise some interesting points. For example, you note the correlation between staff who often use the most sick days are also the ones who least contribute to school events and activities. You write “The teachers or staff who refuse to help are also the ones who have poor attendance and take many sick days” (sadieoberle, 2018). Harris (2014) states there is a “simple but profound idea that organizational outcomes improve if professionals collaborate in a purposeful and disciplined way” (p. 13), and when we define professionals as having “a commitment to exemplary practice… professionals don’t need anyone to check on them, to push them… they are compelled from within” (Sergiovanni, 2007, p. x, italics added), it is obvious this issue affects the whole school community. You rightly note, “This causes conflict and a divide on our staff which in turn causes an unhealthy work environment” (sadieoberle, 2018).

You also note “The difficult part of this situation is that these kinds of things can’t really be any one person’s responsibility. These activities take place outside of working hours and outside of paid hours… This becomes even more difficult because all of these activities, committees or responsibilities are still expected. They are what give our school it’s identity” (sadieoberle, 2018). I totally agree. These events are expected by any parent and student community, and they truly are the memories that are generated for so many students. My staff struggles as well with the extra events, and they often question why we do things. As a new leader, I find it imperative to draw on the teachers’ passion for student success and the calling they have for teaching. Barth (2006) states, “The nature of relationships among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of that school and on student accomplishments than anything else” (p. 9).  If I go down into the “pit” of rationalizing with teachers about the need for them to step up, it becomes a battle of wills and it usually ends with a “pulling rank” solution, neither of which promotes positive working relationships.

With so much weight placed on relationships, what helps to build a positive culture? I was reminded of a past assignment where I listed characteristics. Here is what I found from these sources (Barth (2002); Barth (2006); Harris (2014); (Hord (2013); Sergiovanni (2007); Serrat (2009)):

CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY SCHOOL CULTURE:
1.     Members are willing to discuss the “non-discussables”
2.     Members have clear personal and collective vision
3.     There are healthy cultural norms: collegiality, experimentation, high expectations, trust and confidence, tangible support, reaching out to the knowledge bases, appreciation and recognition, caring celebration and humor, involvement in decision making, protection of what is important, traditions, and honest and open communication
4.     Members support rather than subvert the school’s purposes
5.     Formal administration has a visioning process to generate mutually developed goals
6.     Members put student learning first and work with relevant data to modify practices
7.     Members value collaborative problem solving, dialogue, and reflection
8.     Official and unofficial information are similar and reinforce each other
FACTORS THAT LEAD TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF A SCHOOL CULTURE:
1.     Having an awareness of the true school culture, by asking about ‘the way we do things around here’
2.     Having the courage and skill to address toxic elements
3.     Questioning how policies and practices might exclude certain student populations
4.     Fostering norms, purposes, values, professional socialization, collegiality, and natural interdependence
5.     Willingness to uncouple learning and punishment
6.     Becoming open to the strengths and expertise of others
7.     Allowing transparency and shared decision making
8.     Establishing trust in sharing ideas and improving instruction without fear of retribution
9.     Setting up conditions that allow others to establish goals
10.  Willingness to enhance personal credibility

Barth (2002) tells us “A school’s culture is a complex pattern of norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, values, ceremonies, traditions, and myths that are deeply ingrained in the very core of the organization” (p. 7).  The leadership must be committed to establishing the norms that will build instead of breaking down trust. Sergiovanni (2007) explains “Leadership by binding and bonding are the keys to an effective long-term leadership strategy for schools because they have the power to help schools transcend competence for excellence by inspiring extraordinary commitment and performance” (p. 68). It is so easy to fall into the ‘blame game’ and transactional relationships. I agree that with your assertion, “I truly believe that maybe the teachers who get the least recognition because it appears that they do not go above and beyond are the teachers that need it the most because it would encourage them to do more” (sadieoberle, 2018). As you follow your instincts in your leadership journey, you have more and more opportunities to implement changes in your school. Blessings as you transform your school community one step at a time!

References:

Barth, R. (2002). The culture builder. Education Leadership 59(8), 6-11.

Barth, R. (2006). Relationships within the schoolhouse. Education Leadership, 63(6), 9-13.

Dufour, R. and Fullan, M. (2013). Cultures built to last: Systemic PLCs at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Harris, A. (2014). Distributed leadership matters. Thousand Oaks: CA; Corwin.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

sadioberle. (2018). Blog 7.1 Response to Seabreeze ‘s response to Avisha’s 7.1 [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/2018/11/16/5634/

Seabreeze. (2018, November). Blog 7.1 Response to Avisha Advancing Organization by Conflict Resolution [Web log post]. Retrieved November 12, 2018, fromhttps://create.twu.ca/seabreeze/2018/11/16/blog-7-1-response-to-avisha-advancing-organization-by-conflict-resolution/

Sergiovanni, T. (2007). Rethinking leadership: a collection of articles. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Serrat, O. (2009). Building trust in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.adb.org/ publications/building-trust-workplace

Posted on

Response to Layla’s 7.1 Blog Post

Original post found here

Hello Layla! I enjoyed reading your post, especially since I just returned from an education conference in Jiangsu province a week ago. It was my first time in China and I enjoyed visiting very much. As an International Student Program Coordinator, I have many students from East Asia, so having a personal connection to my Chinese students’ homeland is important.

While we were treated very well as delegates, being put up in luxury hotels and served amazing food, I could not help but wonder what was behind the public face. We were shown a gorgeous school but it didn’t have students in it.

At another middle school, there were fifty-one students in one class but no classroom management issues.

 

There were many stories from the western delegates about the poverty that we weren’t shown. I noticed only a few women in leadership, and the ones we spoke to did not dream to become headmasters/ principals. I discovered a few vice-principals were actually connected to the leadership through marriage, and it caused me to wonder if this gave the ladies special status or preference. Would they have been promoted to such a position without the family connection? Your comment “female workers have no chance to get promoted… some of us have accepted this invisible “policy” after hopelessly waiting for many years” (Layla, 2018) makes me even more curious about the female vice-principals I met. Or perhaps it is different in the education realm in China. What do you think?

I also wonder if you will stay in Canada for the rest of your career or will you return to China? If you return, I wonder how you will manage re-entering the corporate world there after learning and experiencing reforms to the culture here, which has incorporated much more voice and choice? You wrote about waiting hopelessly for the gender bias to be dealt with, so I feel anxious for you as you grow in this MAEL program. Can you bring reform with you as you return to your home country? Reeves (2009) states “Deep and sustainable change … requires change in behavior among those who do not welcome the change” (p. 44). From your writing, “The common styles of conflict (Lepsinger, 2010) in my organization are avoiding concerning conflicts among staff from different departments, accommodating regarding the conflicts within one department, and compromising referring to the conflicts between managers of different departments” (Layla, 2018), it would seem the organizational system of your company would not yet be open to such change. I feel strongly to keep you in my prayers, as the passion igniting in you during your studies must be guarded. Sergiovanni (2007) writes “Workers are subordinate to the system and are expected to follow directions and procedures as prescribed by that system… professional by contrast, are superordinate to their work systems. Instead of the system using them, they use the system” (p. 74). As you grow in your professionalism, according to Sergiovanni (2007), you will be informed by guidelines and principles, not governed by them. Please take care as you walk carefully in your journey!

Blessings,

Stella

References:

Layla. (2018). Cooperation in a national company of China: Seems effective but conflicts lie underneath. Unpublished document. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/2018/11/12/cooperation-in-a-national-company-of-china-seems-effective-yet-conflicts-lie-underneath/

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Levi, D. (2014). Group dynamics for teams. (4th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Reeves, D. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment, and get results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Sergiovanni, T. (2007). Rethinking leadership: a collection of articles. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 

Posted on

Response to “Conflict and Cooperation” by Rob Tegelberg || ET 2 (Blog 7.1)

Hi Rob,

Original post here.

Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your workplace. It sounds like you are very happy working there, and after some of our discussions for our second team assignment, I am glad that you have found a great place to serve! I appreciate how you began by framing your discussion with the mission of your school, “Committed to Academic Excellence with Biblical Principles” (Tegelberg, 2018). “In all areas of communication the administration and staff members are transparent about their concerns and their desire to fulfill God’s plan for our school” (Tegelberg, 2018). I appreciate the way your organization has utilized the mission, vision, and values to concentrate and align everyone towards one goal. Levi (2014) states, “In a cooperative team, all team members are motivated by the team’s goals. This motivation is mutually reinforced or encouraged” (p. 89). I wonder, though, what happens when a staff member loses focus or becomes misaligned in your organization? Are there repercussions or stated consequences? Levi (2014) warns “Highly cooperative groups tend to become highly cohesive… however, this can also create problems because the team becomes too oriented toward itself” (p. 90).  His point, further along, is that a team can “demand conformity from its members…[making] the team resistant to outside influence and resistant to changing the way it operates” (p. 90). Have you seen any hints of this happening, and if so, how does the leadership deal with it? Or do they even notice, as sometimes these areas can be blindspots?

I, too, have worked for a school that is run by a single church, where the “administration is mostly made up of members of the founding church” (Tegelberg, 2018), whereas the staff comes from various churches. As I read this, I wondered if there have been any issues arising from this structure? For example, in my experience, there were seasons of time where the board ran the school but weren’t involved. They didn’t have a vision for the school other than a place for their members to send their children. It became insular and self-breeding, almost nepotism-like. It was difficult to get different points of view from the leadership because they hired their own. I wonder if you have run into this issue at your school yet?

“The development of the positive attitude of the staff came through prioritizing staff prayer times, staff worship times, and through modelling servant leadership on the part of the administration” (Tegelberg, 2018). This is a wonderful example of Lepsinger’s (2010) quote “If you or members of your team take the first step and model cooperative behavior, you’ll increase the likelihood that people you depend on to get work done will respond the same way” (p. 178).  The fact that you see your leadership as servants as inspiring. It causes me to wonder how my team views my leadership, and if they find me servant-hearted?  Maybe because I’m questioning it is a good sign that I wish to act in this way?! However, I wonder how the modelling of servant leadership cause you to serve others? Can you be specific? Sergiovanni (2007) states “Morally based leadership transforms schools from ordinary organizations to communities. This transformation can inspire the kind of commitment, devotion, and service that will make our school unequal among society’s institutions” (p. 39). The description of your school causes me to equate it with this type of ‘morally based leadership,’ especially when you write “The greatest skill I have drawn from in this environment, is before dealing with any conflict, meet in prayer with the parties involved” (Tegelberg, 2018).  The testimony of your workplace is inspirational to me, and causes me to aspire to this level of transformational servant leadership. Thank you for sharing!

References:

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.

Levi, D. (2014). Group dynamics for teams. (4th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

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

Sergiovanni, T. (2007). Rethinking leadership: a collection of articles. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Posted on

Response to Seabreeze’s Response – Post 4.1

Hi Seabreeze!

Thanks for your response to my post.

It is interesting how the events of a day can affect your perspective. On the day of writing my post, I was frustrated with my team. We had deadlines for interim reports, and being my first time as an administrator, I was called on by the office staff and lead principal about why my staff had not done them on time, or why they were not professionally written. Being in a transition from an educator to an administrator, I was not prepared for this tension. Just like a first-year teacher, where we developed a toolkit of strategies to deal with behaviours and situations we didn’t see coming, I am feeling ill-equipped in my new role. In my example here, I reflected on how I could’ve’ done things differently: had I given staff adequate notice? Yes, I emailed the deadline three times. Had I tried different modes of communication? Yes, I had used verbal and written. Is it my job to run after them to make their deadline? What precedent am I setting if I shield them from the negative impact of their actions? Who is truly accountable? What am I accountable for?

Upon reflection of this situation, I can now see that awarding a bonus for accomplishing what is required of a person is not the way to go. At the time, I felt the teachers who completed the reports on time were so responsible and professional. And yet, the flip side of these “responsible” personalities is that they require more attention, needing to know if they are doing things right, and are more prone to be stressed. This requires a different approach when leading, and again, I am questioning what my role is and how to hold people accountable.

Sergiovanni (2007) espouses “Professionalism has a virtuous aspect… there’s a commitment to exemplary practice. Professionals don’t need anybody to check on them, to lead them. They are compelled from within” (p. x).  As strategizers, we need to see the future impact of our current decisions (Hughes et al., 2014). My struggle at this moment is how to give people space to be professional, trusting them to do the right thing by the students and the organization, without jumping in to demand or save them from their unprofessional ways.

And then I ask how much of this has to do with my self-image, that a staff member’s actions (or lack thereof) reflect poorly on me as a leader? My motive, then, is self-serving and selfish. Dufour and Fullan (2013) note “People must be willing to look in the mirror for solutions, rather than out of the window while waiting for others in the system to save them” (p. 11). I recognize that when I wrote the post about bonuses, I was looking for an extrinsic motivator to get people to do what was required of them. However, as educators, we realize this tactic also does not always work for everybody. Taking the time to get to know my team and what motivates them individually is going to be the only way to sufficiently work through this process.

With regards to the compensation structure, what I meant is that the SCSBC compensation report only goes up to ten years on its scale. There is no monetary motivation for staff after their tenth year. A teacher of twenty years earns the same as a teacher of ten years. We do not have a TQS plus for those educators who want to move up a category. I personally feel that this creates a situation for some educators in which they do not feel the need to pursue professional development past that of their contract requirements. With the addition of another level (ie. 10+), there is an opportunity to create a structure where teachers wanting to pursue further certification (ie. PBL residency or graduate certificates) can be incentivized. We have a core group of teachers who have been at my school for over twenty years. They are master teachers, but they have lost their motivation to develop professionally. Hord and Roussin (2013) remind us “for learning and development to take place… individuals have to exercise their own personal agency, the ability to influence oneself and his or her environment” (p. 3).

You asked for me to clarify about new accountability processes I have implemented. The former vice principal was laid back in his style of leadership. He would mention the professional expectations but then didn’t follow up to ensure they were being done. I have been more direct about expectations, and I give deadlines for things to be done. The transition has been difficult for some staff members because they aren’t used to the level of accountability. I have been honest with them that I don’t always know what “I need to know” so we are working this out as it goes. However, I do also like to have a good grasp about what is going on at any given time, so this has caused some staff members to be stressed out. I am sure we will fall into a rhythm soon as I learn how to prioritize the demands and expectations of the position.

References:

Dufour, R., & Fullan, M. (2013). Cultures built to last: Systemic PLCs at work. Bloomington, IN. Solution Tree Press.

Hord, S., & Roussin, J. (2013). Implementing change through learning: Concerns-based concepts, tools, and strategies for guiding change. Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press.

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.

Posted on

Response to Pierre’s Post 4.1

Hi Pierre,

Excellent post and it is very nice to read you. I appreciate you providing links to your previous posts outlining the background of the service provider and care organization. Being an educator, I do not have a lot of understanding of health care systems. The links filled in the gaps for me.

I find interesting the juxtaposition of excellent quality service with the poor care of employees. It reminds me of the dysfunctional family dynamic I grew up in, where everything was a polished picture-perfect front but there was an emotionally abusive situation behind the scenes. Although you state you feel the need to work on self-reflection as part of your three corrective actions, I find your thought experiments (“Make things worse” and “Make things better”) to be highly metacognitive! Knowing you in person, I also find you to be questioning of your motives. (Just a note that I’m under a pseudonym but we sat beside each other all of 500, 591, and I saw you curl up in a ball during one of your presentations in 503 ?)

Back to you, though. I’m also fascinated that you point to the dominant employee culture as a significant factor for the perpetuation of dysfunction in the service provider organization, if I am reading you correctly. Linking to Marcelo’s work in Paraguay, you both refer to the dominant culture as being fatalistic, making it difficult for you both to implement servant leadership strategies. Do you find a similar trend in your current employment? If not, why?

“Frontline staff bring valuable insight invisible to me and can implement small changes which may lead to significant paradigm shifts.” Your comment reminds me of Northouse (2016), who notes, “a participative leader consults with followers, obtains their ideas and opinions, and integrates their suggestions into the decisions about how the group or organization will proceed” (P. 118). As a high school vice principal, I am in my office a lot. Small details which may not seem significant, can accumulate by others communicating with me, creating a fuller picture of what might be going on with a situation. These details are invaluable and imperative in providing interventions for students.  Like a compound eye of a bee, with the hundreds of ommatidia which catch just one part of the picture, like a pixel in a computer image. When they all work together, they form a single image for the bee. Like the manifold wisdom of God, represented by each person in the body of Christ (Eph. 3:10). Valuing your staff will ensure they continue to trust you with important details to provide excellent care for your patients.

“I tend to ‘dump and run’” Thank you for being honest and forthright about your areas requiring growth. If you read my 4.1 post, you will see how I also struggle with delegating. You rightly acknowledge “I assume everyone thinks the same way I do.”  I wonder, do you acknowledge this to your staff when you’ve done this? How have they responded? Have you learned anything new from this?

As a side, I also wonder why you don’t provide page numbers to your quotes? I want to find some of those nifty words you are citing!

Blessings! Again, I enjoyed reading you!

Stella

References:

Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. (7th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA. SAGE Publications

 

Posted on

If Only I Had the Chance… (Post 4.1)

Have you walked down the same halls, day in and day out, wishing you had the chance to change the painting on the wall that has hung there for years, or upgrade the website, or change a space that you’d rather not show during a tour for the public? “If only I had the chance to make a difference in how we do things around here,” you sigh. In my real world, I now have this opportunity, but there is so much of my organization that I don’t know about. Thankfully, our readings provide a framework to guide my thinking as I dream of what I might change and how.

What about perks?
Galbraith (2014) notes “Human resource policies are some of the most powerful culture builders. These policies are often aligned around building a common company identity and culture… using common culture as the glue that holds them together” (p. 200). At my school, human resource policies are from the Society of Christian Schools of British Columbia (SCSBC). Currently, we adhere to the compensation structure as published by SCSBC, which has a maximum of ten years experience on the pay scale. However, over three-quarters of our teaching staff have been at the school for over this ten-year period. Therefore, I would love to see the Board approve the addition of more tiers on the pay scale. As well, there is no bonus structure for our staff yet there are some employees who have an exemplary work ethic. I would love to create a bonus system for the staff members who meet the published expectations and also those who are informal leaders. Stipends for those who do more could provide recognition and incentive. Lepsinger (2010) suggests “Recognition should be given even if the person has not achieved the performance standard but has made significant improvements in performance” (p. 66). Currently, we have no recognition mechanism for any of our staff other than formal leadership stipends. Additionally, I would love to invest in “in-house professional development” where teachers swap positions for a few days or a week. Galbraith (2014) proposes “With common processes, compensation systems, and cultures, managers can move easily from one function to another and from one division to another” (p. 201). Challenging teachers to try out another grade level or a new subject can foster respect for colleagues and deepen the connection between students and their former teachers.

What about exposure?
In a recent tweet, Kevin Visscher wrote, “If our school would disappear tomorrow, would the community we are part of, miss us?” As independent schools, we are sometimes engulfed by the public sector around us, leaving us to wonder what mark we are making on the community as a whole. However, Ungerer et al. (2016) remind us “Blue ocean strategy never uses competition as a benchmark. Benchmarking prohibits an organisation’s ability to reconstruct industry boundaries as it causes organisations to be caught in the current industry paradigms of value creation” (p. 292). If we are in the world, but not of the world (John 15:19), then I would challenge my senior administration team to stop limiting ourselves by what we think schools do in a community and instead let our light shine. In a “Change Makers” team meeting, we recognized schools as being insular. How do we overcome this thinking? Ungerer et al. (2016) provide a ‘Four Actions Framework’ which includes these questions “Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard? Which factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard? Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered?” (p. 296). I would love for my SLT to ponder these questions.

What about morale?
Lepsinger (2010) is “surprised by how tolerant many managers are of people who exhibit below-standard performance” (p. 51). In my six weeks as a senior administrator, I’m surprised by how many people work at below-standard expectations. There has been a shock in my high school team with my new accountability practices. However, I find I must fight the desire to tolerate poor performance! Its easier to steer practices by those who are working within expectation, “to explain what the person did well and why it is important to the team or organization” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 67), but it is difficult to approach someone who is not even trying. I would love to have my entire staff in the performance review process, yet the school protocol is just a few people per year. Many teachers have slipped through the cracks without much accountability, and my new systems are causing anxiety in many. I must remember “A supportive environment encourages people and makes them more comfortable with trying new behaviors and taking on challenging assignments” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 64).  My desire to reform things must be tempered with creating strategies for gradual improvement in productivity rather than expecting everything from very little.

Turn this ship around!
If I could just add more hours onto a day, I think I could reverse the negative effects of poor organizational decisions from the past! Time, the limiting factor for most leaders, is required to implement new ways. Lepsinger (2010) purports, “Effective leaders spend time with direct reports and colleagues to get to know them better and related to them as individuals. In the process, there are opportunities to build mutual respect and trust that will provide the basis for a cooperative working relationship” (p. 64). So how does one build trust and cooperation when time is limited?

  1. Expect the best! “When a person in authority expects others to perform well, the people under him or her actually do rise to the occasion” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 51)
  2. Listen with both ears! Lepsinger (2010) encourages leaders to “Create a supportive environment” (p. 64). If you don’t listen, you can’t understand what the other person really needs.
  3. Applaud what you want to see! “Recognition should be given when a direct report does something you would like him to repeat” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 66)
  4. Be timely! “Timeliness and immediacy refers to meeting customers’ need for instant gratification. Time is a scarcity and immediacy is valuable (Ungerer, 2016, p. 307)
  5. Be balanced! Lepsinger (2010) promotes the idea of “a ‘balanced response’… is the best communication tool you will ever use… [it] identifies the ‘pluses’ and the concerns about performance or ideas in a way that encourages problem solving” (p. 57).

It’s my turn!
To promote positive renewal, execution and organizational design principles in my career practice, I do the following:

  •  I have a high expectation of others’ abilities. Lepsinger (2010) calls this the “expectation effect” (p. 53) and this “self-fulfilling prophesy…[of] having high expectations has a subconscious effect on leader behavior” (p. 54)
  • I believe in people. “Strengthening a person’s belief in his own competence is a foundation of effective management… when we enhance their self-esteem, their motivation to perform competently increases” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 59)
  • I love to “Catch people doing something right” since “providing recognition for a job well done has a powerful effect on people’s performance. It reinforces good work and shapes future behavior. It motivates, builds trust, and builds self-esteem” (Lepsinger,2010, p. 65)

Unfortunately, I also promote negative practices sometimes. These include:

  • I don’t delegate well. “Giving people a chance to work on tough assignments and setting challenging goals are concrete expressions of your confidence in them” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 61). Therefore, when I don’t trust others to do a task, I am expressing little confidence in them or their ability
  • I don’t give praise well. Lepsinger (2010) says “recognition should be given when a direct report accomplishes something that was difficult for him” (p. 66). I usually see a direct report accomplish something that would be difficult for me, and I praise them. However, I don’t always stop to ask how the process was for them. Some people make things look easy, so they don’t get the praise that is “specific, relevant, and timely” (p. 67).
  • I don’t always give balanced feedback, “meaning it includes strengths and weaknesses so that people understand what to keep doing and what to change” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 69). I tend to say “Good job!” without going into specifics due to lack of time.

Ways I can correct unhealthy practices include:

  • Make time. “The starting point of breaking the cycle of low expectations is to assume value and listen to the positives” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 57).  When I make time for my team members, I show that I value them above my own “to do” list.
  • Use SMART goals with my direct reports, as they are “an excellent way to ensure that the goals you establish are clear and high quality and that they motivate people to step up to the challenge” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 62). This will help me to delegate more effectively.
  • Implement the “Situation-Behaviour-Impact Model” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 70) which can reinforce the behaviors I am wanting my team members to do.

Thanks for reading!

References:

Galbraith, J. (2014). Designing organizations. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.

Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie  D. (2014) Becoming a strategic leader. San  Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.

Kevin Visscher. (2018, Oct. 18). [Tweet] Retrieved from https://twitter.com/KevinVisscher/status/1053150148333731840

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (2009). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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

Posted on

If I Only Had the Chance… (Blog 4.1)

Have you walked down the same halls, day in and day out, wishing you had the chance to change the painting on the wall that has hung there for years, or upgrade the website, or change a space that you’d rather not show during a tour for the public? “If only I had the chance to make a difference in how we do things around here,” you sigh. In my real world, I now have this opportunity, but there is so much of my organization that I don’t know about. Thankfully, our readings provide a framework to guide my thinking as I dream of what I might change and how.

What about perks?
Galbraith (2014) notes “Human resource policies are some of the most powerful culture builders. These policies are often aligned around building a common company identity and culture… using common culture as the glue that holds them together” (p. 200). At my school, human resource policies are from the Society of Christian Schools of British Columbia (SCSBC). Currently, we adhere to the compensation structure as published by SCSBC, which has a maximum of ten years experience on the pay scale. However, over three-quarters of our teaching staff have been at the school for over this ten-year period. Therefore, I would love to see the Board approve the addition of more tiers on the pay scale. As well, there is no bonus structure for our staff yet there are some employees who have an exemplary work ethic. I would love to create a bonus system for the staff members who meet the published expectations and also those who are informal leaders. Stipends for those who do more could provide recognition and incentive. Lepsinger (2010) suggests “Recognition should be given even if the person has not achieved the performance standard but has made significant improvements in performance” (p. 66). Currently, we have no recognition mechanism for any of our staff other than formal leadership stipends. Additionally, I would love to invest in “in-house professional development” where teachers swap positions for a few days or a week. Galbraith (2014) proposes “With common processes, compensation systems, and cultures, managers can move easily from one function to another and from one division to another” (p. 201). Challenging teachers to try out another grade level or a new subject can foster respect for colleagues and deepen the connection between students and their former teachers.

What about exposure?
In a recent tweet, Kevin Visscher wrote, “If our school would disappear tomorrow, would the community we are part of, miss us?” As independent schools, we are sometimes engulfed by the public sector around us, leaving us to wonder what mark we are making on the community as a whole. However, Ungerer et al. (2016) remind us “Blue ocean strategy never uses competition as a benchmark. Benchmarking prohibits an organisation’s ability to reconstruct industry boundaries as it causes organisations to be caught in the current industry paradigms of value creation” (p. 292). If we are in the world, but not of the world (John 15:19), then I would challenge my senior administration team to stop limiting ourselves by what we think schools do in a community and instead let our light shine. In a “Change Makers” team meeting, we recognized schools as being insular. How do we overcome this thinking? Ungerer et al. (2016) provide a ‘Four Actions Framework’ which includes these questions “Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard? Which factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard? Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered?” (p. 296). I would love for my SLT to ponder these questions.

What about morale?
Lepsinger (2010) is “surprised by how tolerant many managers are of people who exhibit below-standard performance” (p. 51). In my six weeks as a senior administrator, I’m surprised by how many people work at below-standard expectations. There has been a shock in my high school team with my new accountability practices. However, I find I must fight the desire to tolerate poor performance! Its easier to steer practices by those who are working within expectation, “to explain what the person did well and why it is important to the team or organization” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 67), but it is difficult to approach someone who is not even trying. I would love to have my entire staff in the performance review process, yet the school protocol is just a few people per year. Many teachers have slipped through the cracks without much accountability, and my new systems are causing anxiety in many. I must remember “A supportive environment encourages people and makes them more comfortable with trying new behaviors and taking on challenging assignments” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 64).  My desire to reform things must be tempered with creating strategies for gradual improvement in productivity rather than expecting everything from very little.

Turn this ship around!
If I could just add more hours onto a day, I think I could reverse the negative effects of poor organizational decisions from the past! Time, the limiting factor for most leaders, is required to implement new ways. Lepsinger (2010) purports, “Effective leaders spend time with direct reports and colleagues to get to know them better and related to them as individuals. In the process, there are opportunities to build mutual respect and trust that will provide the basis for a cooperative working relationship” (p. 64). So how does one build trust and cooperation when time is limited?

  1. Expect the best! “When a person in authority expects others to perform well, the people under him or her actually do rise to the occasion” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 51)
  2. Listen with both ears! Lepsinger (2010) encourages leaders to “Create a supportive environment” (p. 64). If you don’t listen, you can’t understand what the other person really needs.
  3. Applaud what you want to see! “Recognition should be given when a direct report does something you would like him to repeat” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 66)
  4. Be timely! “Timeliness and immediacy refers to meeting customers’ need for instant gratification. Time is a scarcity and immediacy is valuable (Ungerer, 2016, p. 307)
  5. Be balanced! Lepsinger (2010) promotes the idea of “a ‘balanced response’… is the best communication tool you will ever use… [it] identifies the ‘pluses’ and the concerns about performance or ideas in a way that encourages problem solving” (p. 57).

It’s my turn!
To promote positive renewal, execution and organizational design principles in my career practice, I do the following:

  •  I have a high expectation of others’ abilities. Lepsinger (2010) calls this the “expectation effect” (p. 53) and this “self-fulfilling prophesy…[of] having high expectations has a subconscious effect on leader behavior” (p. 54)
  • I believe in people. “Strengthening a person’s belief in his own competence is a foundation of effective management… when we enhance their self-esteem, their motivation to perform competently increases” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 59)
  • I love to “Catch people doing something right” since “providing recognition for a job well done has a powerful effect on people’s performance. It reinforces good work and shapes future behavior. It motivates, builds trust, and builds self-esteem” (Lepsinger,2010, p. 65)

Unfortunately, I also promote negative practices sometimes. These include:

  • I don’t delegate well. “Giving people a chance to work on tough assignments and setting challenging goals are concrete expressions of your confidence in them” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 61). Therefore, when I don’t trust others to do a task, I am expressing little confidence in them or their ability
  • I don’t give praise well. Lepsinger (2010) says “recognition should be given when a direct report accomplishes something that was difficult for him” (p. 66). I usually see a direct report accomplish something that would be difficult for me, and I praise them. However, I don’t always stop to ask how the process was for them. Some people make things look easy, so they don’t get the praise that is “specific, relevant, and timely” (p. 67).
  • I don’t always give balanced feedback, “meaning it includes strengths and weaknesses so that people understand what to keep doing and what to change” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 69). I tend to say “Good job!” without going into specifics due to lack of time.

Ways I can correct unhealthy practices include:

  • Make time. “The starting point of breaking the cycle of low expectations is to assume value and listen to the positives” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 57).  When I make time for my team members, I show that I value them above my own “to do” list.
  • Use SMART goals with my direct reports, as they are “an excellent way to ensure that the goals you establish are clear and high quality and that they motivate people to step up to the challenge” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 62). This will help me to delegate more effectively.
  • Implement the “Situation-Behaviour-Impact Model” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 70) which can reinforce the behaviors I am wanting my team members to do.

Thanks for reading!

References:

Galbraith, J. (2014). Designing organizations. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.

Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie  D. (2014) Becoming a strategic leader. San  Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.

Kevin Visscher. (2018, Oct. 18). [Tweet] Retrieved from https://twitter.com/KevinVisscher/status/1053150148333731840

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (2009). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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