Service is... Grappling with Ideas - Day 1 & 2 - 6.18.10 & 6.19.10

On our journey this year we are asked to define our philosophy of service. This will be an especially hard quest for me because I'm not sure how to define service. In fact, as we started this venture 2 years ago, when we did our KWL (what we know, what we want to know, and what we learned), I had several things in the W column and not much anywhere else. Some of the questions I was seeking to get answers to:

• We know that there are styles of and types of leadership and different ways people learn, are there different "types" of service?
• Can service still be taking place, even if you are receiving monetary gains? 
• So often service is related to giving back to the community...isn't service also giving to your family and to those close to you when in need?
• Are some people more predisposed to serve? Is it a disposition?

When I came in to this program, I had a pretty good understanding of leadership (or so I thought), I knew some about learning, but service is a large area of question for me. 

Blair and Hipp (2010) talked about service as a personal journey, about understanding others and being open to serve their needs (rather than our own?). However, most times what we end up serving is already in alignment with our own value system. This helps us to meet our own needs at the same time. 

So I continually try to ascertain - 

Is service a project, serving on a board, providing community service, service to our children's school, it is a physical act?

OR

Is service really helping others in need in small ways? Can it be all the little things you do to help others achieve their goals?

Here is another example, at my children's school last year, they implemented mandatory service hours from the parents. This really struck me the wrong way, because if it is mandatory, how can it be service? In my mind, the way to encourage parents to be more active and find ways they can give back to the school community doesn't happen by mandating a certain number of hours that somebody "work" for the school. However, service is defined in so many different ways, that is really is hard to put a definition to it. 

Looking in a couple of different online dictionaries, they had 15-23 different definitions of the word service. That really made me think hard about what service is and what we are talking about when we say the word "service".

This year will be a great year to gain new meanings and understandings of service.

Stanford-Blair, N. & Hipp, K. (2010, June). The Service Year. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwuakee, WI

Research Classes Coming to Life!

After spending nearly two years immersed in the CSU doctoral program, there were times I'd wondered if I was really gaining enough knowledge to cover the thousands of dollars being paid to be in this program. Then the revelation hit!

I was asked to be part of a team that was put together in consideration of applying for an i3 grant (Investing in Innovation Fund from the federal government) with an area STEM group. I was pleased about the consideration because of implications it would have on the work I was doing with Engineering is Elementary for Wisconsin Education Innovations. I was also excited about the opportunity to continue to develop my grant writing skills. But the skills needed for this grant required more than that...

As the meeting began, the cast of characters told it's own story. Yes, we did have some K-12 school people, many involved in Project Lead the Way. There were several people from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a couple that were PhD's that either had been or currently were involved deep in research projects.

In front of us was placed a copy of the federal register that outlined the grant requirements. One of the biggest changes in this round of funding is the fed's priorities of funding are directly tied to research. The amount of funding you could apply for was directly tied to the amount of evidence (research) that had been done. This may annoy some of us in K-12 education, but the bottom line is we really need to find out what is working well, which is a harder task than one might first think. Evidence as defined in this grant application was something like this:

"Strong evidence means evidence from previous studies whose designs can support causal conclusions (e.e., studies with high internal validity)...more than one well-designed and well-implemented experimental study or well-design and well-implemented quasi-experimental study...or one large randomized controlled mulitsite trial that supports the effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program."

It goes on, but I think you get the "gist". Many of the people in our room could assume what those terms might mean, but it really felt good to REALLY know what those terms mean and have examples in my head of what that would look like. In fact, it was great to enter into discourse about some of the definitions with current researchers in the field about what studies would actually fit those descriptions. As I watched others in the room listen to the discourse, I could see myself a few years back, listening intently but not fully understanding what any of that meant. Most sat quiet and waited for the research discussion to be over to join the conversation. It was an enlightening experience!

Bottom Line:

I'm definitely getting my money's worth! :)

Chaos and Direction, Merging a dichotomy for Leadership, Learning, and Service

As I enter new opportunities that have presented themselves this year, I look forward to new challenges and opportunities that will come my way. As the Director of Professional Development at Messmer Catholic Schools, I am hopeful that I can have an impact on student achievement by helping all teachers become successful in their classrooms. First and foremost I want to see them succeed and have the knowledge needed to reach every student that they encounter. 

While I have my own mission and expectations, as I know having a clear direction, goal, or path is essential for successful leadership. However, I must also always remember that while I have that mission or goal, I must keep my mind open to the natural chaos that will occur. I must remain flexible in order to let the direction carve it's own path as well. It is always important to remember that what matters most is the small impacts that you can make. As those small impacts increase, the overall impact becomes larger and larger. It must start with genuine care and concern for each individual, teacher and students. 

As shared by Perez (2009, June), Robinson (2009, June), and Taulbert (2009, June), I will remember that my main focus must be on developing relationships with those I work with. Each and every interaction has the opportunity to bring us together and to work toward our common mission.  That interaction might also tweak or refine our understandings of the mission and lead us in new directions as well. 

Leadership really is a fine balance of two mutually exclusive events, having a clear direction and mission, and allowing the flexibility for chaos to occur and a new direction present itself. It really is like the understanding of our brain, our left brain focusing on order, and our right brain looking at big picture and pushing to let new realities and understandings emerge. 

Having a basic understanding of how our brains work and how people learn can no longer be ignored. In working with teachers to improve instruction, the relationship that is formed with be the basis for understanding what types of past experiences have shaped a teachers' thinking. It is only then that you can purposefully begin to build new neural networks for the teacher, in hopes that the information presented will become automatic enough that it will help students to achieve in that classroom. Many administrators think/feel that when professional development is presented, teachers should just be able to take that information and apply it to their classroom instruction. What we know now is that our brains just don't work that way. The new information has to connect to prior meanings and experiences (Wolfe, 2009; Estes, 2009). Since we all differ in those experiences, it is important to work with each teacher at a more individual level. Helping to shape their experiences, and to build the experiences for them.

It will be essential in moving forward that I remain true to what I want to accomplish, and at the same time leave enough room for random events to occur and take me in different directions.

• I must keep dreaming big at possibilities that didn't occur before (Wild Ideas about Education). 
• I must use what I know about learning (Learning is Essential to Leading).
  
• I must allow random events to occur in my life (Leadership as a Random Set of Events).
  
• I must take those leadership lessons and continually reflect on how I can put them into my practice (Leadership lessons).
  

It will be an exciting year full of opportunities. I can honestly say, I don't know what it will look like when I am done, but the journey will be full of new relationships built and new lessons learned!

Estes, D. (2009, June). Brain Power. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Perez, J. (2009, June). Power of diversity leadership. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Robinson, E. (2009, June). Four giant steps to leadership. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Taulbert, C. (2009, June). Leadership for the 21st century. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI. 

Wolfe, P. (2009, June). Brain research and education: The vital connection. Lecture delivered at Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Let our voices be heard! - Day 12 - 6.30.09

There really something to what Ben Merens (2009) described in his workshop as the "need for our voices to be heard." In working in large organizations, such as a school, and in a small non-profit organization, I have experienced this need to be heard.  We also know that our brains are constantly assimilating information, but when people are able to share that information with someone else, it continues to build their neural networks. We also know that if we are in a situation where we are not emotionally "safe", the neural networks will not work as efficiently as we might have hoped. 

Over and over in any leadership training program, you hear the importance of listening to people. It is one of those things that you may hear, believe, and know from the speaker side of things, becoming a great listener is harder than one might think. Even in a position like Ben's where he is listening to people on a daily basis for the radio show.  I must admit, however, in listening to Ben's show, there are times when I think...Ben, LISTEN TO THE CALLER! Even if we think we are great listeners, a honest check in should be done once in a while. 

It's funny how when you listen to someone speak about listening and wanting to be heard, how applicable it is to the audience right away. As an audience, we are all supposed to be listening. Which we were. In one case, the person who was sitting next to me happened to disagree somewhat with Ben's point that we should turn off our cell phones and try to be present in the moment when we are in a listening situation. The person next to me right away whispered, "But I have to have mine on in my situation. That just wouldn't work for me." When Ben came to the question and answer portion, this person kept raising their hand in order to make that point to Ben. If it were me, I would have just let it go. But this person needed to have their voice heard! It took a turn, stemmed by an emotional response, that turned the situation from a listening one to a "I need to be heard"  one. At that point, there wasn't much more listening going on. 

This experience made me wonder how many times I didn't take the time just to let other people let their voices be heard. Sometimes I'm sure I even predict what they will say and not wanting to hear that, do not allow them the time to speak. 

Relationships (Perez, 2009) are the most important aspect of leadership. We must make sure that we take the time to listen. To really listen. By being present. By allowing our minds to try to create new neural pathways with the information we are hearing. By seeking other perspectives and giving others an opportunity to be heard. Just 5 minutes, as Ben Merens (2009, June) described. Just 5 minutes!

Perez, J. (2009, June). Power of diversity leadership. Lecture delivered at the Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Merens, B. (2009, June). People are dying to be heard. Lecture delivered at the Summer Institute at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI.

Other resources:

http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article40.htm

http://www.benmerens.com/

Synthesized ideas for Leadership, Learning, and Service - Lens through Readings - Day 11 - 6.29.09

The underlying thread that connects the books is the process of moving from "personal centered" to ever-expanding inclusion in order to transform. Within this is the acceptance of risk and randomization.

In our intergenerational sharing groups (people in all three years in the program), we discussed all of the book readings for the summer. It was a fascinating discussion as the books are selected to specifically address each of the three years, leadership, learning, and service. The themes we identified that carried across all six books were:

• That leadership begins as a personal commitment to leading people or being committed to a certain cause.
  
• As people continue to transform as leaders, their role moves from that personal mission to an ever expanding inclusion or a vision greater than themselves. 
  
• Great leaders must always set goals and have purpose, but must balance that with the ability to transform as new experiences and opportunities present themselves.
  
• Most great leaders will tell a story of how important taking risks, building relationships, and allowing the flexibility to move in different directions has led them to their success.

The process of debriefing the books and thinking about how each were interrelated was amazing. It helped to synthesize and solidify what was learned throughout the first year and set the stage for years two and three. My understanding of our program crystalized after this experiences. It was surreal!

Super Heros of the Summer Institute! - Day 10 - 6.28.09

Many years ago in a land not too far from here Top Down Leadership, along
with his evil sidekick Status Quo, ruled the world

They joined together in an effort to stamp out innovation, end
transformational change and throw leadership, learning and service into
the trash can of theory...

Meanwhile, out of sight of the current regime, a group of rebels met in a
secret underground location laying the framework for the future. They
worked tirelessly under cover of night in fear that their work would be
discovered.

Unfortunately, the group was SO collaborative that they advertised their
efforts in a Summer Institute titled, "Ten Ways Rebels Should Oppose Top
Down Leadership."

Thus, they alerted their enemies to their efforts, and to the discovery of
their lair. Realizing this, the rebels quickly devised a plan to pass on
one piece of their special transformational code to each of their children
before they were captured and taken over.

They knew that alone and apart their children would go unnoticed but that
one fateful day all six children would reunite, collectively unleashing
their untapped potential to transform the world.

Merging Ideas on Leadership - Day 9 - 6.27.09

As the Summer Institute has continued, several emerging themes are beginning to come out about leadership. Many of these themes aren't new, they are ideas that have been around for a long time. However, moving those themes into our practice or really seeing the value of those in our practice is what can be hard. 

Where do these themes come from? Often they are from studying what we consider great leaders. We identify who these people are, then look at what they did in order to make them successful. Leadership is then defined by things such as being a gift from those you work with (Owen, 2009), how we build relationships with others (Perez, 2009), and how we draw and channel energy from others (Marshall, 2009). Building community, working with others, and developing relationships (Taulbert, 2009; Robinson, 2009) are also important traits of leaders. This all makes sense and really is difficult to argue. However, the definition of what leadership is brings about more complexity to leadership. 

Leadership for our program has been defined as the process of influencing others toward the achievement of a goal. Using this definition, almost anyone can be defined as a leader. At one time or another in our lives, it is likely that you would be in a position of influencing others toward the achievement of a goal. My son happened to convince the whole family tonight to go see the movie Transformers Rise of the Fallen. He sure influenced all of us toward his goal of going to see the movie! :)

It would be interesting to think of leadership in terms of what it isn't. How about we start at the characteristics that the people we don't consider leaders posses. What is it that keeps them from being a leader? Why wouldn't we consider them a leader? I think that would give us a very new theory on leadership. One that may (or may not) be more insightful. As we continue to search for leadership it may be easier to tell us what leadership isn't rather than trying to define what it is. 

Was Hitler a leader? If he isn't what you would consider a leader, what is it that he possessed leaders shouldn't have? Or are we sufficed to say that Hitler was a leader...just not one we think is worthy to follow. 

We should continue to contemplate leadership, what is it, what isn't it, and how can we use our leadership in service to others!