CEdO565 Week 5 - Completing the Change

This week we finished our change simutlation.  We also received several more handouts in the class work that helped us plan for better activities.  As a result our team made much better progress on the change board this week.  We were able to get everyone through the awareness phase, and several people made it all the way to the end of the board.  This game was a good simulation of some of the problems that we will run into when we try and implement changes in real life.  Among them:

• Involve the administration early and often.  Several times we tried to do an activity but were unable to because the administrator did not have enough knowledge of the situation.  When trying to change you can not over-communicate, especially to the people at the top of the ladder. 
• Don't waste too much time on the resistors.  We know early on who our resistors were, and we tried several activities to bring them along.  They would not move, and only changed once we had a cinved most of the others to move.  Then they had no choice, because the organization was changing without them.
• Know your social network.  Identify early who in the organization has the most contacts, and use them as early adopters.  Get them invovled and have them start talking about the change.  Then others will naturally follow.
• Plan your activities in a logical order.  You can not make a vision fo rthe future until you have looked at what is working now, what isn't, and compare it to best practices.  Then you can make an action plan based on your vision.

These are all lessons that I can apply to my job as I try and get changes enacted where I work.

CEdO565 Week 4 - The Change Games We Play

This week we tried a new activity in class.  It is a change simulation game where we try and influence the administration, principles, parents, and teachers of a school district to adopt new learning techniques.  I actually find the game very enjoyable, as it does demonstrate many of the experiences that you will have as you try to make change happen in your own environment.  First of all you need to be aware of the phases that people will go through on the way to a change.  These phases make up our game board, and as we do certain activities, people will advance through the stages:  Awareness, Preparation, Practice, Mastery, and Renewal.  Just like in real life, certain people will move through these changes faster than others, and some will resist you every step of the way.  We encountered this in our group when we tried to talk to some of the resistors directly, and made no progress on moving them at all.  You also need to plan for the communication paths that your audience uses.  Find the people who are the social hubs, and get them involved early.  They can influence others to come a long way.

Just like in real life, it is important to think about all of these things in advance, and to prepare a strategy for your change.  If there was one thing I would have liked to do differently, it would be to get the materials a few days before the game, instead of the day before.  Also it would have been nice to have a pre-meeting with our team, so we could plan our activities.  Trying to figure out how to work as a new group, while reading and absorbing all of the materials for the game, made it difficult to focus on the change strategy and identify the order that we wanted to do them, and the people we should involve.  One idea for next time is to have the cohort divided into their teams at the start of the class.  This would get the groups used to working with each other early.  Then they could also start reviewing the game materials a week or so in advance.

Overall I think the game is a great exercise, and it certainly will help drive home the strategies that need to be employed to get a change adopted in our jobs.

CEdO565 - Week 3 Generations of Cheese

There were two main topics covered in our work this week:  Change and How Generations Affect Leadership.

The Change portion included "Who Moved My Cheese".  I am very familiar with this book, since I first read it about 8 or 9 years ago.  It also started a trend in business and leadership publishing, and I have read several similar books since.  The formula is simple.  Find an easy metaphor, then use it to explain how even though change is scary, good things can come out of it.  Some other examples include "The Ring in the Rubble" and "Our Iceberg Is Melting".  In all of these books the message is similar:  Although Change can be difficult, it is through change that we grow and evolve as human beings, and many times the results of change are an improvement over where we started.  However the reason so many books like this exist is that most people still do not like change.  Once they are comfortable in a situation, they stop looking for alternatives.  Any event that requires them to shift out of that situation is viewed as a threat.  However these types of books can at least help them recognize this reaction in themselves, and hopefully get them to look beyond the immediate change.

Another part of our assignment was to read an article about generational differences.  While I agree that generations grow up with similar experiences that will produce some similar traits, I am always worried that these articles will be taken as gospel.  Even though a generation may have some similar experiences, the individuals in that generation will also have had many separate experiences.  Leaders should be careful not to use to broad a brush when making generalizations about their teams.  If you pay attention to the individuals, you will be able to spot their motivations and interests, regardless of what generation they come from.

CEdO565 Week 2 - Data Based Analysis

This week's assignments all revolved around using data to evaluate the performance of your school or business.  This is a key point, as if you do not have data, you might not even be looking at the right problem.  One way I have heard it expressed is "The problem you name is the problem you solve".  If you do not use data to correctly identify an issue that your school is experiencing, you might spend a lot of time working on the wrong issue.

I am very familiar with doing data based analysis from a project perspective, but since I am not a teacher, I did not have access to the same level of detailed data for the training in our business.  That right there is a problem, and one that I will start looking to solve.  We need to do a better job of measuring the effectiveness of the training we give, and measure that effectiveness over time. I know  very specifically what we spent on training, but we have much less data on whether that training was worthwhile.  Did we get our money's worth?

When it came time to do the Virtual Data Retreat, I decided to pretend I was a high school teacher from the Hamilton school district, which is where I live.  Fortunately there is a wealth of data available about the performance of our public schools.  I had never given much thought to how our school district performs, but thanks to the government websites provided in class, I was able to find many statistics.  In fact my biggest problem was learning to comb through the pike of information and find the statistics that really apply to the questions.  Once I had good data though it was easy to look through and find trends, such as the math and science proficiency scores are lagging behind the rest of the subjects, and had been for a number of years.  With this information I could now "name the problem", specifically that we needed to improve our science and math scores.  To this end I recommended that we visit other schools that have better records in this areas and learn from their success.  Their ideas can help improve the function of our school.

Week 1 of 565: Leadership in our Current Role

This is a class where I already have some background, as I have been a manager in my current company for the last six years.  I currently have a team of 6 people working for me, and in the past I have had as many as 10 direct reports.  However it is important to not confuse management with leadership.  Management is having direct authority over people, and being responsible for budgets, projects, and time lines.  However everyone has known people who are good at managing these things and no good at leading people.  Likewise there are many influential leaders who have no formal authority.  The best managers are the ones who recognize both the formal and informal aspects of leadership, so they can take care of their people as well as the details of projects.

Since I have been in a managers role, I have had to work on many aspects of my own leadership style.  One of the biggest challenges I have had is having the Difficult Conversation.  This is when someone is not performing well, and you have to tell them that their performance needs to change or else there will be consequences.  Too often those conversation start with "You know what you do wrong?" and go downhill from there.  One of the best suggestions I have heard for this is from Len Leritz, who wrote "No Fault Negotiating."  He suggested that you always have the conversation using the first person.  After all, you are the individual who has made the observations and who is asking for the change.  He then suggests that you use the following statements:
I See..... - State the facts about what you have observed, where has the performance been sub-optimal. No emotions at this point!
I Think..... - This is where you state why you think the behavior is occurring.  You have probably made some assumptions about the employee.  Make sure to state them and see if they are correct.  You could very well be wrong.
I Feel..... - Since all conversations have some emotional subtext, this is the place to state it.  Does the performance make you frustrated, irritated, embarrassed?  State it here.
I Want..... - This is the part of the conversation where you describe your desired outcome.  Give the person a picture of the future.
I Need..... - This is the meat of the conversation.  This is where you tell the person the new behavior that you need to see, as well as the consequences if it does not change.  The key here is to set some measurable goals for the person, and to provide the help they need to reach them. This has to come last, and if you have set the context with the previous statements, this should not be too difficult.

Hopefully some others will find some value in this approach, I know I have.

555 Week 4 - Finishing the portfolio

Over the last few weeks I have added to my portfolio.  One of the key steps was selecting the standards that I would base my instruction on.  This was actually more of a challenge for me than for others in the group.  K-12 education has emphasized standards for several years, but as a trainer of adults there are far fewer of these guidelines.  After looking through many internet sites for appropriate standards, I finally selected the Texas State standards for technology education.  Since most of the classes I have taught involve technology education, the standards seemed to fit.  More importantly they captured the elements that I feel should be in all technology education.  Students should not just be taught the specific details of a new computer or system, but should also understand the larger context of how the system will help their business, how it should be maintained, what it's proper use and care should be, and finally, how the technology fits in society as a whole.  I think there have been many examples where the big picture was ignored, and education just focused on the details.

Once I had selected the standards the rest was fairly simple.  Fortunately many of the classes I have taught have included the same topics as those outlined in the standards, so it was not hard to find examples of the standards to add to my portfolio.  With the standards addressed, I have begun to collect examples of my other class work and assignments from the Masters program.  Although there is still much to do, I think the portfolio is finally taking shape.

One of the key assignments for this portfolio is the creation of a project proposal that uses Personal Portfolios in an educational setting.  I found this assignment particularly interesting as I have had a plan that fits this perfectly.  I have talked in the past about the large software roll out that my company is undertaking, and about having some of the early adopters record their thoughts in a blog or video blog.  A personal portfolio would be a great way for these people to collect their thoughts.  And by making the portfolios searchable, others in the company who are having a problem can find people who had similar problems and posted a solution.  The key is to tap into the power of many individuals, rather than having the instructor try and produce all of the content.

Overall this has been a very useful class, and I look forward to extending my portfolio even after the conclusion of this session.

CEdO555 - Post 2 - Mission and Vision

This week we continued our investigation of ePortfolios.  One of the key ingredients of an ePortfolio is the Mission and Vision statements.  I admit that I have always struggled with the difference between these terms.  When I start to write one, I often end up bringing in elements from the other.  I think the definition that was given in class is one of the best explanations that I have heard.  A Vision is where you want to end up, and a Mission is how you will get there.  This really helped clarify the difference for me.  The Vision should just be about the end result or goal.  It should describe the ultimate purpose of your career or life, or what the world would look like if you complete your Mission.  The Mission on the other hand is what you will do to get to that place.  What actions are you taking now that will make your Vision into reality?  Is there a sequence of events that would get you there?

I think there is one characteristic of these statements that is often overlooked.  They need to be "real".  I have helped create Vision and Mission statements for companies and departments, but these often did not include language that could be translated into the real world.  To make the statements sound important, they use long words that will confuse more people than they will guide.  The phenomenon is so bad that Dilbert even created a "Mission Statement Generator".  While this tool is no longer available on the internet, here are some examples of its output:

"We have committed to synergistically fashion high-quality products so that we may collaboratively provide access to inexpensive leadership skills in order to solve business problems"

"It is our job to continually foster world-class infrastructures as well as to quickly create principle-centered sources to meet our customer's needs"

"Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based infrastructures"

My mission (for this assignment) is to create "Real" Vision and Mission statements, that simply and plainly explain my values in language that everyone can understand.