Term Two Reflection

Wowsers! What a term.

It's harder to write about the successes - they are not the things that stick at the forefront of my mind. But they are important to look back on. 

The progresses/successes I have noticed this term:

Pipeline One

• Our team has gelled more and found our rhythm
• Maths has been massive learning for me (never taught these stages before!)
• Officially opening was magic and an awesome celebration of the (short) history but also the future
• Communicating Learning comments to parents

Pipeline Two

• Found some flow with the Innovation team and we're getting into the application of some the things we've been visioning
• I've been able to give some coaching to our TL around his goals
• I've done some serious reconsideration around the 'steps' I had recorded in order to get to my desired reality. This has brought me further into pipeline two
• Learning about the pipelines and having a session with Tony Burkin

Please find here the link to my updated steps towards my desired reality.

This term has been quite draining, with several factors relating to that. Having a team member away for an extended amount of time really makes you realise the importance relationships play in a team and the contribution each person makes. That, and some other events changing, meant changes to the release schedule and a shortage of relievers has put pressure on, on occasions. Planning ahead and being prepared for your non-contact time does not always bring the full sense of calmness you expected. 

Part of 'building a school' (not only the buildings) is to develop the school-based curriculum resources and references. This has been a great area of interest for me because I've always been held an interest in curriculum development. However, it comes with it's challenges, because there are still expectations to meet requirements such as forming OTJs and with some of those references and recording platforms still in the development stage it has made those tricky and time-consuming.

I'm looking forward to a well deserved break and to reassess and plan for the term ahead. I'm stoked to be working on the Innovation Incubator team and reflecting on my development in that. Our team is also looking to change things up for literacy next term, and that will hopefully bring back some of the literacy joy for me.

The Gap Map - Thanks for the Feedback

While doing my weekly reading today - the chapter was focused around 'The Gap Map'. This explains the gap between the way someone means to be seen and the way they are actually seen. Using the Gap Map, it allows us to see where our blind spots are.

We all have blindspots because we can't see our own faces and reactions, we can't hear our own tone of voice (Mehrabian, Non-Verbal Communication) and we are generally unaware of big patterns of behaviour.

Often when we get feedback we may focus on changing our behaviour (arrow 3), but our thoughts and feelings (arrow 1) remain unchanged. Thoughts and feelings are embedded in expectations and assumptions that have accrued over the years. This is a problem.

This, I believe, is where 'a team' would fail to meet the expectation of the 'a leader' and so if a leader does not act on feedback at the thoughts and feelings stage, those thoughts and feelings still leak through facial expressions, tone of voice and body language. These behaviours are still visible to the team.

There becomes a point where if the team sees a behaviour enough, it is amplified as a characteristic trait (rather than situational). It draws into the third arrow where the team will focus on how it impacts on them and the leader is still focused on their intentions. The team don't recognise the good intensions.

The only way to see these blindspots is to ask for feedback and if you find yourself questioning the feedback, you need to question 'Is this feedback actually sitting in my blindspot?' 

The type of feedback you need to receive is honest (rather than supportive) and specific:

• What do you see me doing, or failing to do, that is getting in my own way?

Respond with genuine curiosity and appreciation and you will be able to draw more out - especially if they have started timidly.

Finding inspiration from outside

I think it's important to draw inspiration (in whatever you do) from outside your normal circle. 
My principal often shares snippets of wisdom he has gained from watching or reading about the All Blacks. The All Blacks don't really do it for me, but I did really enjoy watching the interview with Rally NZ driver Hayden Paddon on Sunday.

Find the link here.

Three things I took away from this:
1) You might be the face (or leader) of something but you're only as good as your team.
2) Trust within a team is essential.
3) To achieve your dream you need planning and foresight (his co-driver described it as the 'video inside his head')

I would love to sit in his co-drivers seat for a squirt around the block!

Seeking Feedback

After recognising that I hadn't made much progress on actively seeking feedback) (one of my Three Great Steps, I decided to do something about it.

I sent out four emails to some of the attendees at the teacher meetings I co-lead and asked for some constructive feedback. I was really seeking something to work on. I got three responses back.

I have since met with the third person who asked me for some particular things that I wanted feedback on. (Aside: This is a great way to give some control to the person receiving feedback, particularly if they're not ready to hear some of their next steps - however, does this defeat the purpose???) They asked me to talk about what I thought went well and what I needed to work on and then they agreed with me. It's the notes - I have to let go of them!!! It was also nice to hear from this person that they thought one of my strengths was articulating my thoughts and appearing relaxed. 

It was great to get some pats on the back and some encouragement. My next step in working on this goal is getting day to day feedback. Perhaps I will start with asking my team leader to start noticing my classroom manner and then discussing it at one of our Monday catch-ups.

Am I moving towards my Desired Reality???

It's been a few weeks now since we set goals to reach our Desired Reality and it's time to check in on them. 


My 3 Great Steps:

1   Seek Feedback - constructive 70%/ positive 30%
The purpose of having this goal is to grow my capability as a leader. I have been getting some feedback, mostly in relation to co-leading the Innovation Incubator team, but I'm not really seeking feedback as the goal states. This one needs to become priority in Term 2. I have purchased a book called Thanks for the Feedback and I'm hoping I will dig into this over the holidays and get some inspiration. 

2   Honest conversations regarding priorities and balancing responsibilities
I have been persistent with some things and making my feeling known in habitat team meetings, sometimes without a result. Am I not being heard? Or is it that my priority is not a team priority? Hard to say - but working on my first great step could help with this. I am improving on saying no to things. In fact I can think of two examples where I have turned down 'extra' jobs because the timing and commitment wasn't right for me. 

I have found this term particularly busy. Before school was preparation time, non-duty lunchtimes and after school were basically meeting times. I have found it extremely difficult to find time to work with Emma on Innovation Incubator stuff, so it is essential that I continue to prioritise this goal.

3   Make time for professional reading (learning environment goal and Innovation Incubator)
At the beginning of the year I set myself a wee target of four professional development books over the year. I have already exceeded this! I have read 1) The Element 2) chapters from The Professional Practice of Teaching in NZ 3) Expansive Education 4) Show and Tell and I'm currently making my way through What's the Point of School? 


My One Line Job Description:
To lead learning (for students and colleagues) that adds value.

I had to look this up this morning, meaning it is not yet cognitively portable - this is something I need to remedy.
However - do I think I'm doing it? Everyday? Yes and no. 
For colleagues, every day that I have an opportunity to work with the Innovation Incubator team or leading on behalf the team - yes.
For students, I would hope so. I think so. But more time and daily reflection needs to go into this one. A screen shot and laptop wallpaper may help me with this.

Leadership

Leadership, like swimming, cannot be 

learned by reading about it.

- Henry Mintzberg

Putting on the presenters hat

Yesterday was a new milestone for me - co-running my first teacher meeting!

I was a bit nervous leading up to it, but actually it was more excitement as the topic is a passion and sharing that with others always brings a sense of joy. The actual presentation I felt went well mostly, apart from the odd fumbling of pages, making sure I hadn't forgotten to share any of my notes and the bit where I kicked the bucket of pens everywhere!

It felt really good be able to talk about and share what the team had been up to. Emma and I complement each other in many ways, and Emma (with far more experience in leadership) is doing a great job of extending me in my ability to both think about and articulate my ideas more clearly. 

It was wonderful to get some great feedback from teachers today - saying they enjoyed the meeting and appreciating the great deal of work that has gone into what seems like a very small slice of what is to be done. 

Getting nice feedback is always a good feeling, but it's the more specific stuff that will help me to grow and learn. 

One person said that they really liked my manner as I was presenting and sharing. 

Another gave me some more critical feedback (which was probably not intended this way, but was good to hear anyway). They said I had done a good job coping with co-presenting and that from their experience they knew how hard it is when presenting with someone who is good at talking off the cuff to an audience and how when you have your notes you want to go through in the planned order and make sure everything is covered. 

This unveiled a big realisation for me - something I think I already knew, except this was the moment of true-recognition: I have not yet developed confidence that I actually do know what I'm talking about. I rely too much my notes as though they are the only ones who can 'think' for me in a public situation. 

Next week, we have session two. I think I'm going to try to put the notes to the side, be more present in 'reading the room' and engage in the 'feeling' of the day.

Here I am clutching my notes as though my life depends on them!

Concept Curriculum

A few weeks back the teachers got together to discuss our Concept focus for 2016. 

I think it's important to think about why having a concept focus is important. The leadership team could probably add more to this, but I think the importance comes in consistency across the school (children having conversations about their learning with each other) and develops understanding of some quite complex things across a range of 'topics' and across the curriculum through an integrated approach.

This year our focus has been 'Change' - which was most appropriate as we embarked on the journey of our foundational year. Change is a huge concept to grasp, and across the two habitats, there has been some variation in the learning for the children. In the end though, it is evident that their understanding has changed a great deal.

At our meeting we were presented with a number of Pam Hook's Macroconcepts:

There is a number to choose from and we were able to select next years through a process of defining each one, 'selling' it to others and then voting.

However, it's not the children I want to talk about in this post... It dawned on me, that although we, as adults, have understandings of these things - developing our ideas around these is not a silly idea. One that really struck a chord with me is 'Structure'. As I grow and develop as a teacher and leader, I believe my ideas around structure are beginning to change.

The group defining structure came up with:

Structure in my head was the traditional model of hierarchy and control. It is only as I begin to understand models of leadership that I can see that although hierarchy remains as a technicality, the relationships, and the elements of the relationships (trust, compassion, etc.) allow structure to be much more complex. 

As I work through my journey of leadership, I will be keeping some focus on 'Structure' as my personal development in understanding this complex macroconcept. 

What Big Questions does it leave for me?
What is the impact of structure?
Where can you find structure?
How does structure form?
What would happen if we didn't have structure?
What causes structure to form?
What are the types of structure?
Why should we have structure?