'Planning is guessing' - Plans are inconsistent with improvisation. You have to be able to improvise - pick up opportunities as they come. You have the most information when you are doing something, not before it. Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality is even scarier!
A message I have shared with my team is that we do not to plan but it certainly should be for the first few days and depending on how the lessons/workshops go should mould/guide the lessons through the week. It is a worry if someone works through a weekly plan exactly - can they know the outcome that well?
'Workaholism' - Working more doesn't mean you care more or get more done. It means you work more. Working like that isn't sustainable over time. Make the people who don't stay feel inadequate for 'merely' working reasonable hours. Leads to guilt and poor morale. The real hero is already home because she/he figured out a faster way to get things done.
This is not a problem with our team at the moment. I have learnt over the years that if team member are working day and night to plan or other things outside their teaching, I'm worried. You should be at your absolute best when you are working with your students. If you are tired or not motivated with your students that needs to be addressed. I am certainly appreciating that argument working with 6/7 year olds! You have to have incredible energy to keep those guys engaged and on track during the entire day.
'Draw a line in the sand' - As you get going, keep in mind why you're doing what you're doing. You have to believe in something. You need to have a backbone. You need to know what you're willing to fight for. When you don't know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.
As a team we have building our Beliefs Principles Practices (BPP's) and this has been a powerful tool to bring us together with our shared expectations in the habitat. A particular belief that immediately presented itself was the idea of achieving Attention Level State 2 (based on Kevin Knight's workshop). The team were all behind this belief and how it impacts on the children's work. We consequently put into place strategies/practices to ensure we reach this attention level and so far we are all insisting on those level. There was absolute clarity of why this was so important and we have a wholeheartedly got behind it. The challenge is now to create a similar strength behind other beliefs.
Live it or Leave it! - Standing for something isn't just about writing it down. It's about believing it and living it.
So far the team have been focused on establishing routines and believe in the importance of embedding this culture for learning. It's obvious to see, this would be the same in a single cell environment. The real challenge comes with the more problematic areas of powerful learning. Providing the students with choice and agency - do they really believe it works? For us to live this belief and ensure it happens will require a lot of deep thinking and support.
You often can't recognise the details that matter most until after you start building. That's when you see what needs more attention. You feel what's missing.
This is a quote that defines the way I work very well. Our team have set-up a structure fairly quickly with the intention to help us cope with the day-to-day rigor of teaching in this environment. However, what's most powerful is that by having daily reflections we are questioning every facet of our practice and what matters most - the students and their learning. We are currently tinkering what we do, the biggest challenge will be when we may have to make more significant changes.
Decisions are Progress - You want to get into the rhythm of making choices. When you get in that flow of making decision after decision, you build momentum and boost morale. Decisions are progress. Each one you make is a brick in your foundation. You can't build on top of 'We'll decide later,' but you can build on top of 'Done.'
I do not believe that all decisions should be made quickly, especially the ones that need deeper thinking. However, we have many smaller decisions that seem to be lingering around at the moment and not sure if they have not happened as I am new to the school etc. Reading this has made realise I/we need to push on these more managerial decisions and build on these quickly. There are couple of things that should be in place now and they are not. This has caused a few unnecessary stresses which could have be avoided. Hence, our agenda for tomorrow has been up-dated - time to build on the 'Done.'
Quick Wins - Momentum fuels motivation. It keeps you going. It drives you. Get in the habit of accomplishing small victories along the way. Even a tiny improvement can give you a good jolt of momentum.
Something I have added to our BPP about working together as a team is acknowledging/celebrating the progress we make. Every 3 weeks we reflect on
what is happening and what is not based on our goals and what we have put in place. Interestingly, we were very focused on on what is not happening and made many changes. However, there was a big victory with looking and gaining consistent full attention from the whole team.
Long Lists Don't Get Done - Start making smaller to-do lists. Long lists collect dust. Long lists are guilt trips. The longer the list of unfinished items, the worse you feel about it. Break that long list down into smaller lists. Whenever you can, divide problems into smaller and smaller pieces until you're able to deal with them completely and quickly. Prioritize visually. Put the most important thing at the top. When you are done with that, the next thing on the list becomes the next most important thing. That way you'll only have a single next most important thing to do at a time. And that's enough.
I initially had a ridiculous to-do list which evaporated into nothing. I completed a handful of things and felt guilty about what I should have done. Although, life has continued on without too many people dying. I have followed the simple above approach with a smaller list and working on the top thing at a time most of the time. I have another 'list' on our Team Agenda and other less urgent things are placed on the agenda for other weeks later on in the term. Interestingly, when I review these items at a later date sometimes they get deleted as they have been dealt with or a simply not needed. It seems to be a system that works well in that I do not panic as much when a bulk of things to do arrive.
Make Tiny Decisions - Big decisions are hard to make and hard to change. Make choices that are small enough that they're effectively temporary. When you make tiny decisions, you can't make big mistakes. These small decisions mean you can afford to make change. There's no big penalty if you mess up. You just fix it. Achieve big things with one tiny decision at a time.
A liked this chapter as it reinforced what I am trying to do with Coronet. I am frequently tempted to go right that's it, let's completely change everything. However, this has inspired me to create and clarify our vision and put in place those 'tiny' decision that will lead us to a 'big' decision. I will share this development plan with my team and gather their thoughts and 'tiny' decisions to get there. The team also need clarification that what we are doing is going places to.
Copying skips understanding and understanding is how you grow. You have to understand why something works or why something is the way it is. Be influenced, but don't steal.
This chapter was perfect timing for me/us. I am wanting us to create tracking sheets based around our teaching and the temptation is to give everyone a copy of one and follow it. However, it will be far more powerful if team members create their own based on the needs of their students and what they are teaching. There will be meaning and relevance to 'their' work as opposed to following mine.
Say no by default - 'If'd listened to customers, I'd have given them a faster horse.' - Henry Ford
It's easy to say yes. Use the power of no to get your priorities straight. People avoid saying no because confrontation makes them uncomfortable. But the alternative is even worse. Making a few vocal customers happy (parents) isn't worth it if it ruins the product for everyone else.
In Coronet, its not about saying no but ensuring we question any decisions and think deeply about them. We are meeting at a a crucial crossroad soon and there will be some huge decisions to make about our next step. Some ideas will be easy to say yes to but ultimately are not the right decision if you think about our vision. It is important that the reason why is explored and what we are ultimately trying to achieve by making these decisions. We shouldn't be afraid to say 'no' to ensure we stop and think about it first. I have found myself saying yes a few times to get through 'now,' is that wrong? Many of the 'yes' decisions help build trust and empathy within the team, which will help create faith in 'bigger' decisions later on. I don't regret it at this stage and I don't believe it has held us back, although I/we are about to find out!
Go behind the scenes - Even seemingly boring jobs can be fascinating when presented right. People love finding out the little secrets of all kinds of businesses. People are curious about how things are made. They want to know how and why other people make decisions. Letting people behind the curtain changes your relationship with them. They'll feel a bond with you. They'll see the sweat and effort that goes into what you sell (do). They'll develop a deeper level of understanding and appreciation for what you do.
This chapter highlighted the importance of teamwork and collaborative planning. In fact, reading it has got me excited as I sincerely miss it from last year. Next term we will be working this way and it can't come soon enough. I have struggled more than I have ever done before in my career, which is a little scary so it can't come soon enough for me, personally. There have been a few moments where I have helped other mentors and was surprised how quickly they adopted some things and I wished I had shared 'behind my scenes' a bit more. However, I/we can look forward to doing this a lot more next term. We should also look forward to bonding with each other a lot more and ultimately, helping the students learn more powerfully.
Fake, Fake, Fake - Nobody likes plastic flowers - Don't be afraid to show your flaws. Imperfections are real and people respond to real. Reveal things that others are unwilling to discuss. Be upfront about your shortcomings. You might not seem as professional, but you will seem a lot more genuine.
Throughout my career I have always been very honest about my practice and that has certainly helped me gain the trust of my team. I have continued this characteristic in Coronet but a little concerned about how much I reveal I'm getting wrong, in the sense you start to come across incompetent. I am choosing to reveal certain things that I believe they may not reveal themselves to help stimulate discussion towards other pressing issues. It has certainly worked a few times but I am being mindful of not revealing too much!
Press releases (newsletters/group emails) are spam - Instead, call someone. Write a personal note. Do something meaningful. Be remarkable. Stand out. Be unforgettable.
The reason I included this quote was to highlight the importance of communicating learning in a meaningful. We have recently received some very positive emails about our communication and moving away from the traditional communication is definitely helping. Sending not one but two newsletters with links to the blog and including frequent updates on the blog about what we are doing has made a mark. Our recent parent conferences based around our communication of learning for individual students was extremely personalised and did not feel generic at all, it was very satisfying and looks like it will be extremely effective in the future. The parents certainly appreciated it, particularly having an image to compliment the comment so the student can then talk about what was going on. It was meaningful.
Everything is marketing - Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24/7/365. Marketing is - answering the phone, sending an email, every word you write on the web. Recognise that all of these little things are important. Marketing isn't just a few individual events. It's the sum total of everything you do.
I totally understand the importance of SPS's philosophy of greeting people around the school. In fact, two parents commented on how wonderful this approach was as it was so noticeable that the students were following this approach. This kind of marketing is making an impact not just around the school but the Wakatipu Basin. This highlights the importance of everything else we do and I believe listening and communicating with parents tops that list. Rachel picked up on this early on and noted how we must listen to parents and if they need a little personal attention of sending an extra book home, why not? We did it one time and they haven't done it again and have accepted what Coronet is doing as a whole. We listened. Parents talk and that marketing is fundamental to the community embracing our philosophies. Homework is not great example of meeting individual needs of families and comprising initially. We are certainly not sending lots home but if a parent asks for something, through a discussion about what we are doing and allowing a comprise to go home, we have listened and valued their opinion whilst defining and clarifying our philosophy also. Each time this has happened, it has only happened once maybe twice before it settles down.
Strangers at a cocktail party - if you go to a cocktail party where everyone is a stranger, the conversation is dull and stiff. You shy away from serious conversations and controversial opinions. You need an environment where everyone feels safe enough to be honest when things get tough. You need to know how far you can push someone. You need to know what people really mean whey they say something.
I love the analogy of 'strangers at a cocktail party.' It so true and reminds me that there is a still an element of that with us at the moment because at times our meetings do feel a little 'dull and stiff.' However, in time that will change and our professional discussions will become more honest and we will can unpack in more depth what is going on. It highlighted the importance of taking things slow as dealing with certain things will be easier further down the track when we can have a more 'small, intimate dinner.' ;)
Hire great writers - Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They know what to omit. Writing is making a comeback. Communication via instant messaging, blogging. Writing is today's currency for good ideas.
This chapter got me thinking about how we can communicate ideas as a team. Obviously a lot of discussion and thinking can be done together, but certain members of the team work or communicate more effectively through writing such as on a Google Doc. I will give time to team to reflect on our thinking and add information at a later date via a Google Doc as many ideas could/will come at a late date.
Speed Changes Everything - Getting back to people quickly is probably the most important thing you can do when it comes to customer service. It's amazing how much that can defuse a bad situation and turn it into a good one. Once you answer quickly, they light up. They become extra polite, often they that you profusely. Even if you don't have a perfect answer, say something like, 'Let me do some research and get back to you' can work wonders.
This chapter simply confirmed my beliefs, particularly getting back to say that we are looking into it and we will get it sorted asap. In my twenty years of experience, quick responses have kept a lot of parents content. The more personal it can be, the better. If I can speak to them then all the better, which is why I celebrate the SPS approach to communication. Spending time at the habitat to speak to parents means you can even deal with problems before they happen, you can see the relief on parents' faces from a one minute conversation. It shows you care and value their concerns.
Take a deep breath - When you rock the boat, there will be waves. When people complain, let things simmer for a while. Let them know you are listening. Show them you are aware of what they're saying. But explain that you're going to let it go for a while and see what happens.
I am preparing myself for a deep breath! Establishing the document of reviewing what is happening and what is not happening will certainly help things 'simmer' for a while and then give others the opportunity to review what has happened. Having this system in place will help the team give new initiatives the time so they can understand and embrace new things. Also, if this new approach is not helping students learn then we need to be honest and make changes.
Culture is the by-product of consistent behaviour - You don't create culture. It happens. If you encourage people to share, then sharing will be built into your culture. If you reward trust, then trust will be built in. Culture is action, not words. Like a fine scotch, you've got to give it time to develop.
This chapter highlighted the importance of consistently emphasising the importance of shared expectations. It has been a challenge to keep on top of this and we have definitely dropped off on some things and by leading through example have kept things going. What's interesting is that in time I have noticed that we all individually have days where we are not doing things but someone else in the team leads in that situation which is fantastic. It is definitely happening more than it was, which highlights the fact that we understand its purpose and importance - we just have moments where situation or tiredness gets in the way.
