What does Trust Taste Like?

The title of this post is attributed to the book I am currently reading by William Powell and Ochan Kusuma-Powell. A timely read at the end of a term that has been contemplating relationships, trust and assumptions... 

I am reading this "Teacher Self-Supervision" as a recommended text to help me evaluate where we are at with our teacher appraisal model. However, I have got stuck on the section that delves into "Trust"...  About 4 weeks ago (inadvertently, before things got busy) I asked a random selection of colleagues how much trust they had in me. The response included "unconditional trust" at the upper end. I included this in the measurement as I hoped to stretch people's thinking and understanding around trust. 

The responses supported me in my leadership role and I felt somewhat affirmed in my role as a trusted leader. The comments were especially helpful and gave me feedback to think about and next steps to act upon.  

Needless to say, the wee outlier caused initial wondering followed by genuine curiosity... I would like to have a coffee with that person as their perspective could help me no end. 

Typically, we do not normally address "trust" unless something has broken it. It is not something that is given a great deal of attention until it is lost... Powell and Powell suggest that the absence of trust, particularly over  and extended period of time can lead to "toxic organisational cultures". I have been trying to decide what this means for us as a new little school that is focussed on building our own culture...  

• Is trust present enough for us as a staff? 
• Will we spot any emerging toxicity? 
• What are we doing as a collective to grow a trusting working environment?

Powell and Powell talk to the fact that schools easily establish themselves as an "habitual culture of praise" which is obviously nicer than a culture of criticism and negativity. Having said that, the authors point out that both a culture of praise and a culture of judgement.

It is often easier to see how criticism can contribute to a culture of mistrust but I now realise that this can also come from a culture that is dependant on praise. Both forms of feedback are evaluative and subsequently suggest some sort of hierarchical response. 

So, what does trust taste like? Trust is something we feel intuitively. Conversations can reflect trust especially when individuals disagree.... Their conversations are animated, reflective and cognitive. There are assertive words but no signs of aggression... People are prepared to be transparent and open with their thoughts, knowing that their colleagues are there to support/ challenge their growth. 

Powell and Powell refer to this kind of environment as "psychologically safe". My question (I'd love feedback on this one... ) Do each of us feel psychologically safe enough to venture out of our cognitive and emotional comfort zones on a daily basis?

My feedback survey elicited some interesting discussion around trust. Many of my colleagues felt that this was something you bring to the table and only when the trust is damaged or broken do you not trust. Others on my team felt that trust takes time... 

I was interested to read (Bryk and Schneider, 2002) that there are three types of social trust. These resonated with me because the discussions we have had around trust in our pockets could be classified into each of these "trust" criterion:

1. Organic Trust: this trust does not come from prior experience. It is 'felt' rather than based on experience or reason. 
2. Contractual Trust: the kind of trust you need in an 'expert' as in a builder or a plumber to get the job done that you can't. 
3. Relational Trust: this trust recognises our dependence on each other. 

The latter can lead to a sense of vulnerability and feelings of anxiety... The trust really unfolds when we remain vulnerable but do not feel anxious. 

Trust at Shotover will grow from respect, personal regard, competence and integrity..

My 'to do' items for term 3 that I think directly relate to developing and maintaining 'trust' in our school include:

• asking myself daily, how I can contribute towards building the culture of trust?
• ensuring that 'trust' does not get lost in the 'busyness' of the school day. 

 

Evaluating My Emotional Intelligence

Total = 59

Score Interpretation

Self-Awareness: (Questions 1, 8, 11)

Your score is 13 out of 15

Self-Regulation: (Questions 2, 4, 7)

Your score is 11 out of 15

Motivation: (Questions 6, 10, 12)

Your score is 14 out of 15       

Empathy: (Questions 3, 13, 15)

Your score is 12 out of 15

Social Skills: (Questions 5, 9, 14)

Your score is 9 out of 15

This framework was developed by Daniel Goleman. I am not at all surprised where I came out on the framework. When I read the description below I think it gives a fairly accurate description of me and almost reflects my quadrants in the HBDI. The fact that "Social Skills" is my lowest area reinforces my goal on developing my communication skills in my leadership role.

I asked Joe, Muireann and Darran to grade me using the same tool. These scores came out in the mid sixties. I will need to talk further with them about this. 

The outline below of the framework and the test is from this site. 

1. Self-Awareness – People with high EI are usually very self-aware . They understand their emotions, and because of this, they don't let their feelings rule them. They're confident – because they trust their intuition and don't let their emotions get out of control.
   They're also willing to take an honest look at themselves. They know their strengths and weaknesses, and they work on these areas so they can perform better. Many people believe that this self-awareness is the most important part of EI.
2. Self-Regulation – This is the ability to control emotions  and impulses. People who self-regulate typically don't allow themselves to become too angry or jealous, and they don't make impulsive, careless decisions. They think before they act. Characteristics of self-regulation are thoughtfulness, comfort with change, integrity , and the ability to say no.
3. Motivation – People with a high degree of EI are usually motivated . They're willing to defer immediate results for long-term success. They're highly productive, love a challenge, and are very effective in whatever they do.
4. Empathy – This is perhaps the second-most important element of EI. Empathy  is the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around you. People with empathy are good at recognising the feelings of others, even when those feelings may not be obvious. As a result, empathetic people are usually excellent at managing relationships , listening , and relating to others. They avoid stereotyping and judging too quickly, and they live their lives in a very open, honest way.
5. Social Skills – It's usually easy to talk to and like people with good social skills, another sign of high EI. Those with strong social skills are typically team players. Rather than focus on their own success first, they help others develop and shine. They can manage disputes, are excellent communicators, and are masters at building and maintaining relationships.

Thinking About Effectivenes

This year, I am really thinking about my impact in our school. How effective am I as a leader? What does it actually mean to be effective in our school?

Covey suggests that it is a combination of performance and production combined with the culture, the  well-being of the collective. Individuals often drive hard for results but are often unable to sustain their performance which can ultimately impact on the well-being of the collective organisation. Alternatively, the culture and well-being of the group may well be outstanding but they fail to perform and produce what they intend to... They just simply have potential. They are not effective.

I've been re-reading about Covey's seven habits that lead to effectiveness and reflecting on my own effectiveness, or lack of it: 

Effective leaders operate in certain ways:

1. They are proactive: Therefore, what is my greatest influence and how can I work from this? This is something I am constantly seeking to develop.

2. They begin with the End in Mind:   For this to happen the beliefs and principles need to be cognitively portable. Conversations need to reflect these and practices that do not align need to be challenged. The why of what we do is the emerging culture at school.

3. They put first things first: What is urgent and what is important? Some days it is really hard to focus on leadership when it feels that there is much to manage... 

Effective leaders work with others in certain ways:

4. They think Win-Win: Only Covey says this well.... "Win/Win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It's not your way or my way; it's a better way, a higher way". It's a real balancing act for me...Empathy can be a strength but I am not anywhere near as brave or as confident as I would like to be.... yet. 

5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: This habit is about communicating with others. I am developing the habit of listening carefully and really understanding the other person before I give my thoughts. 

6. Synergize: Two heads are better than one... we know that.  Covey directs our attention to the power of effective relationships. We can achieve so much more when we engage in effective relationships with others than if we acted alone. Out of diversity grows strength as opposed to conflict. 

Effective leaders continually self improve their influence both personally and interpersonally:

7. Sharpen the Saw: This is something that does not come naturally. I have never really had a good work/ life balance but it is something that I am really working on this year. I am walking, enjoying the outdoors, endeavouring to find time to read and watching my nutrition. Watch this work in progress... Ultimately, to get this right will help me to develop further in all of the above... 

Communication and Leadership

I am mindful of how well I am communicating daily as this is an area that is a continual focus for me.  There are areas of communication that I know I am improving in but there is much to be done here. 

I was asked to watch and respond to this video this week. The key questions were "what has gone wrong with regards to communication? How could it have been avoided. 

Personally, I think here that all parties communicating have failed to establish any form of relationship prior to communication. Assumptions have been made by both parties. I think the lighthouse needed to identify itself immediately and perhaps a common language could have been decided upon... it seems that there is a real sense of self importance by both parties. 

Mark Reding pointed out to me last year, that we talk in words but hear in pictures... By this he meant that all of our conversations are influenced by our past experiences and what we bring to the conversation... I have found this is something to be mindful of on a daily basis.

I think this article shared via Twitter last week, is quite timely for me and fits nicely with this discussion.

I also read Ramsay's article about the 20 biggest communication mistakes we can make as leaders. I think that my biggest take-away is that this article reinforces how important effective communication is. I have to confess here that in a former life, I was actually a bit of a jargon junkie. I have absolutely flown with terms such as "ubiquitous", "agency", "connected"' and "ILE". (The list is endless.) Fortunately, I have been challenged to drop the jargon. The reality was that with a team of teachers starting out fresh from a range of backgrounds and diverse schools, we didn't even totally understand what each other was saying!!! I am working really hard at the KISS approach. I do have to admit here... dropping the jargon has added to my communication woes. Ensuring that we are all talking about the same thing was so much easier with jargon... (or, so I thought).

No. 6 really got me thinking about the place of large group gatherings. Ramsay states that there is a difference between teaching and preaching. He also says that "kids tune out, pontificating". This quote supports my wonderings about the level of full attention achieved in such large groups.

So where to from here?

1. Seek coaching and feedback from my peers
2. Focus on bigger picture communication: how can I ensure that I am opening communication channels up to the staff and the community.
3. Some of our families obviously need ongoing education re our vision and values: what might this look like?
4. Drop the jargon... build it collectively with the community. (Shotoverise our dialogue
5. Start challenging as appropriate the start and end of days... 

Learning to Lead #2

'It takes guts to do what a leader does, to make decisions and lead with values. 

So what values drive me to become comfortable with the uncomfortable? ...to raise the heat on myself and others?'

At the heart of what I do each day is "well-being". This includes ensuring that the  whole team's well-being is being looked after and that we are collectively providing a culture of well-being in the school. By this I mean that everyone needs to feel safe, respected, supported and that we have developed an environment focussed on learning that is supported by everyone's preparedness to become risk taking learners. 

This is the culture that underpins school interactions and helps the staff, the children and their whanau to feel valued, safe and able to achieve.

Interactions (interventions, strategies, activities, relationships, planning and practices) need to be underpinned by the school’s culture and values. All staff need to be committed to the well-being of everyone on our site and visitors to the school should see our values in action within both the learning and social contexts.

Positive relationships and school values are evident in the school’s:

- curriculum and operations

- leadership, resourcing and decision making - curriculum priorities and delivery

- pastoral care processes and systems

- interpersonal relationships and celebrations - professional learning programmes.

Leaders as Role Modellers

Leaders are role models in their commitment to well-being and establish clear goals and expectations that ensure supportive environments for students. Mentors are well supported by the Senior Leadership Team and Team leaders in their social skill development work with children.

Partnerships are key

Leaders and mentors work in partnership with each other, the children, parents, whanau, community and external agencies to promote student well-being. Students contribute to the review of school tone and well-being. Mentors collaborate to enhance student and staff wellbeing, through seeking and sharing knowledge of what works for all individuals.

Innovation and Creativity

As we begin our second year, I am wondering about how we could go about establishing an innovative and creative culture. I believe this takes energy but also out it will come more energy.

Sir Ken states that creativity can be planned for systematically. He makes the point that we need to make innovation a habit and systematic. How can creativity be planned for systematically in schools like literacy and maths?

To be interested in innovation, we need to nurture imagination. Being creative is the process off putting the imagination to work. Often the idea that is ended up with is most likely not the idea that was at the start of the process. Some ideas are highly imaginative but useless.

The definition of creativity is.... the process of having original ideas that have value.

What processes can we put in place?

Back in January, we began our team induction. It involved amongst other things; our first face to face, a jet boat, frisbee golf and some competitive geo-caching....
I set up 4 tags representing our house colours and assigned them to the foundation team and the houses they were to affiliate to. 

The car rally got competitive but also opened up the world of caching and the use of digital devices in totally new ways for the team.

It's a fun time to look back on. It was a huge privilege being a part of this team and absolute magic to see everyone come together for the first time.  It was an event that would launch such awesome learning. We were focussed on developing trusting relationships that would allow for transparency and open conversations. These have both allowed for fantastic but challenging conversations and massive growth within/ across the pipelines. 



The tags sat in the cache for a wee while. In fact two are still there! The purple tag is MIA somewhere in the States and to be honest, we completely disengaged from trying to follow the tags.  But magic happened when we got this message...

We were somewhat excited when we checked out the photos and found this...

There was doubt in the room. Needless to say, we are wondering who actually is taking our red truck to the UK this month! 

The wonderful outcome of this wee adventure is that it has opened up another realm of possibilities to the team in our globally connected world!

Technical and Adaptive Leadership

Tony's board work.

I began thinking about 'Technical' and 'Adaptive' challenges in a reflection last term.  Truth be told
though, I didn't really make the connection to leadership though until today during our session with Tony Burkin. I realised that part of being in a new school, much of the adaptive stuff we are doing requires a technical solution and I guess that defined for me why I have struggled with the move from pipeline 2 to pipeline 3 of leadership. 

Much of my previous work as an educator has been adaptive and built on iterative inquiries. While I am still adaptive in my role, much of my day is filled with drafting and implementing technical solutions. 

I believe my biggest area of growth so far this year has been in my ability to lead coaching conversations. I have also become far more comfortable with the unknown. How can I ensure that the people I am with feel similarly comfortable with the unknown? 

My main take-away from this part of our leadership day was that if the team is truly comfortable with the unknown, I need to ensure that I:

• give voice which will subsequently lead to choice,
• maintain a productive zone of disturbance, we're a new school - we need to work hard and smart but keeping focus is key.
• maintain engagement with minimal distractions, our mentors just need to be able to teach, collaborate with each other.... they do not need to spend unnecessary time on administrative tasks... I need to buffer them from stuff that will actually distract them from doing the best job they can in the habitat.
• develop a collective responsibility of our evolution - I do not profess to have the answers and it is important that we are able to look to each other to move forward..

Vision

People who know me, know that I keep coming back to Michael Fullan's work. He's a bit of an inspiration and motivator in "these messy times". In his article "Visions That Blind" Fullan states the need to,  "Extend what you value". He focusses here on the need for school leaders to concentrate on building collaborative cultures rather than "charging in with heavy agendas for change". 

Melmak from Pixabay

The crucial question he challenges us with is "whose vision is it?" This is fantastic affirmation for our slow but steady journey into the establishment of a brand new school. We keep talking about the vision, our beliefs and our principles with regards to everything we do. If these are not collectively owned then the way forward will not be sustainable nor will it allow for organic growth within the school. 

I like that Fullan provokes our thinking around professional development. He suggests that the school vision needs to be central to any teacher PD both short and longterm. This approach will lead to a collective understanding of a school's learning vision. This kind of approach can come from collaborative teaching inquiries, reflective practice and increasing teachers' technical expertise. 

Fullan goes on to quote Shein, (1985) observation "The process of developing collaborative work cultures is complex. It requires great sophistication for school leaders: to express their own values without being imposing; to draw out other peoples values and concerns; to manage conflict and problem solving; to give direction and to be open at the same time".

This helps me to clarify my role a little bit more. It still feels like a role that is very much under construction and for that reason, I keep second guessing myself... But I think, the potential of this role is becoming clearer and the possibilities that can come from being one of two walking APs ...

While we are structured the way we are, my role allows for many possibilities including the development of my ability to lead professional learning and e-learning/ blended learning throughout the school. It allows for the possibility of effectively mapping professional learning, curriculum and ICT use in the school. 

Ben, I think I am getting it.... finally!!! 

Reflecting: 6 Months Down

We are at the end of the second term of our first year. It's a good time to do some thinking and reflecting in our teams, with the children and with the community. I decided to try to capture the real richness of what we've been doing while we have been focussed on the building of the foundation of our school.

It's a privilege to be working with such an amazing team in such a wonderful place!

Leadership Reflection

There has been nothing in all of my time in teaching like finding myself in a brand new school with the unique opportunity to lead from a blank canvas. 6 months into our first year, it's fair to say that there have been times that this has felt somewhat overwhelming.  But, it is also a huge, huge privilege.  

It seems that education has been on a fast/slow journey over the past two decades that I have been teaching and most of the change has happened by osmosis... We have been teaching ourselves and sometimes we have not always got it right but it's felt right because no one else has done it better.... yet!


In the school setting, I have previously felt like I was often on a treadmill... repeating the systems and programmes put in place by those who had gone before us. Being in a new school has given us licence to go slow and to keep continually asking 'Why?' and being entirely clear on that before anything needs to happen. 

Work that we have done with Julia Atkin has helped me to continually focus on the development of our shared beliefs. It has taken time to develop these but it has been important to go slow and build a solid foundation at our school. We have unpacked the principles of our beliefs together and again, this has taken time but has been key to every conversation, decision and purchase we make. 

The measure of these beliefs and principles are the emerging practices that can be seen when you walk around the school.  Practices that are not in line with our collective beliefs just 'feel wrong' and give cause for powerful conversations and reflection. 

I have found the shift from pipeline 2 leadership to pipeline 3 exceptionally challenging. There have been times that the 'pit' has felt like an all too familiar place but I have found myself developing greater resilience and a genuine enjoyment of the new learning in this role. The climate of possibilities that come from the 'blank canvas' was once overwhelming but I am genuinely excited by it now. 

Reflecting half way through our first year, I thought we would be further on than where we actually are. I was not ready for the time that was needed for building relationships. (Needless to say, this was a complete oversight on my part. A brand new team coming together, for goodness sake!)  I am very aware that the biggest investment we have made so far is in the development of relationships. Karen Seashore Louis (2007) showed that school leaders must conceptualise "...trust as the bridge that reform must be carried over, but rather than being solid, that bridge is built on changing emotions". Karen goes on to suggest that without a strong focus on developing or strengthening trusting relationships the reality will be that little change will occur. She also suggests that the absence of trust works to the detriment of the children who need newer pedagogies to thrive. 

I have also learnt that it is key to really understand where people have come from and what they bring to the team. This is their threshold and knowing more about the schools that they have come from could help eliminate so many assumptions about people, their beliefs and their practices.

Tonight, I read a post about leading through change. I need to delve through this a bit more but I was quite taken by Rob Willis' link to organisational change management. I could see how this fits with our thinking but also keeps me focussed in my leadership role... I have transferred his notes onto the concentric circle model that we have been working with this past year. 

What it reinforces to me is that it is essential that everything we do and the culture that we establish is centralised by our vision and our beliefs. My role as a leader is to focus on the people, the thresholds that they come from and to make no assumptions about their beliefs, principles or practices. All stakeholders need to feel enabled to take a lead in developing our culture and that their leadership ensures that the school reaches its potential/ vision over time. 

FYI - Watch it Again....

I truly enjoy the 'FYI's' that come in each Sunday from Ben. Tonight I am reminded to watch this again. It underpins our vision and who we are as a school...

While there is currently so much discussion about the fact that the shift needed in education is about the pedagogy rather than the buildings, there is something very unique about the beginnings of a brand new school. When you sign up for a new school, you sign up to a blank canvas. There is no manual to guide you and there is no one leading the team forward other than the team itself. Each team member comes from a different threshold on every level of practice. They have their individual expectations and vision. It really is a chance to innovate education and lead our kids towards the '22nd Century'.

It is this blank canvas that totally drives me. Sometimes, it is all a bit overwhelming but most of the time it is exciting and challenging.  You see, I have been teaching for (more than) twenty years. I began just at the time that the 'new' curriculum draft was being rolled out and when Tomorrow's Schools became today's with their own governance in the form of Boards of Trustees. In my second year of teaching I was lucky enough to get my own classroom computer that sat in the corner and took 25 minutes to start up each morning.

In the time that I have been fortunate enough to be in teaching, change has been constant and it has been my driver. The reality though is that the change happened by osmosis and in most cases, we were self-taught, self-driven, making lots of mistakes and either learning from them or disappearing into the pit.

I think that is exactly why Sir Ken's talk about the climate of possibilities resonates for me. We can go into this journey with a blank canvas and bring with us a wisdom and an awareness of all of the possibilities. We need to remember what to leave behind and what to bring. We also need to remember that we can do things better than ever....

Honoured to have had Sir Ken himself read this post! 

I am really loving the possibilities of this journey.... but it can be exhausting at times!

Adaptive Change

"The single biggest failure of leadership is to treat adaptive challenges like technical problems." Ron Heifetz

As a leader, I have learnt a lot about three barriers in particular. (Don't get me wrong... everyday has presented new learning and unforeseen challenges - most of which I have absolutely enjoyed!) To be totally  honest I had not even considered these areas and hence it is fair to say that this is where my biggest learning in leadership has been so far.

1. Assumptions: of myself and others.
2. Thresholds: the different places, practices, beliefs, mantra that we have come from.
3. Change: adaptation is a major challenge even when it is a change that we were looking for.

I have just spent some time dipping in and out of Heifetz's book, "Leadership Without the Answers" and have been thinking about the challenge of change... 

Heifetz identifies two types of challenges: adaptive and technical. The technical challenges are solved by experts ie. there is a known fix for the challenge. Technical change occurs when the problem is easy to define, a solution is obvious and implementation is clear. Adaptive challenges require new learning and the change must come from the collective intelligence of the team. This, says Heifetz, is key to learning the way  towards solutions. 

Fullan's wrote of "Three forces converging to break open prodigious possibilities" in  "A Rich Seam; How New Pedagogies find Rich Learning" last year. Amongst the three was his reference to change leadership merges top-down, bottom-up and sideways energies to generate change that is faster and easier than anything seen in the past efforts at reform. 

With some reflection, I think that many of us came to the point we are at right now expecting to face technical change. After all, we have this magnificent building and a team of passionate people. Having said that, there is no manual for this pedagogical shift, there are very few who have made significant changes and it is fair to say that no one has got it yet... We are surrounded by a change that cannot be fixed or lead by technical change. 

I am hugely mindful that we need to grow our organisation from within. We do not need to actively seek external expertise but instead, must keep asking ourselves the 'why' so that we have a shared understanding of the belief and the principles and practices will evolve collectively. It is also important that the team has a belief that we have the capacity to change because of the systems in place such as TAI and possibly design thinking (something I would like to explore and possibly implement into our professional learning meetings).

Heifitz suggests five strategic principles for leading adaptive change:

1. Take a look at the 'big picture' and identify the adaptive change so that is can be addressed. He also make mention of Jim Collins here and the need to, " confront the brutal facts".
2. Ensure that the climate maintains in the productive zone of disturbance so that the team is able to maintain functionality but also learn new things and think creatively about the possible solutions. I liked his metaphor: "keep the heat up without blowing up the vessel".
3. Make sure that everyone is engaged and minimise the distractions including scapegoating, denial or blaming people as opposed to the issue. It is interesting that Heifitz also mentions here that it is easy to pretend that the challenge is technical rather than adaptive and also that people have a tendency to slip back into old behaviours unless the focus is kept at the forefront.
4. Share the load; allow others to take responsibility for the challenge and the change but at a rate that they can handle it. Change happens best when confidence is instilled with encouragement and support and if everyone is a part of the change. 
5. Encourage voice; everyone needs to be heard including the 'dissenters'. Celebrate the input and suggestions from every team player.