WHY WE TEACH

 

“Teaching may be the greatest of the arts because the medium is the human mind and spirit.”  John Steinbeck    

The original occasion for this piece was a gathering of thirty outstanding teachers from all over the United States.  They had been accorded that status by their district, county or state or in a few cases their own school.  They had been recognized as outstanding due to their achievements, their unflagging zeal and their commitments to the profession and to their students and colleagues.  They were star quality teachers.   They were each invited to come to Santa Fe, New Mexico because I wanted to know why they were outstanding and why they, among so many, had been singled out for this special reward and publicity.  What they told me was that they never gave up, that they believed they could always do and be better, that they worked hard. It was clear that they were conscientious, responsible, reliable and dependable and that they loved what they did.  It was also clear that they loved their students.   Here is what I told them.

We teach because we want to transcend that which holds us back…that and the sacred otherness of life are the most compelling reasons that we teach.  We all know the things that hold us back.  We have looked at and encountered some of the obstacles and barriers and they come in all forms, shapes and sizes.  Here is a partial list in no particular order: uncooperative or uninvolved parents; unrealistic and bureaucratic administrators; unmotivated and apathetic students; colleagues suffering from arteriosclerosis of the mind and heart; discouraging lack of progress as shown by where we are compared to other industrialized nations of the world; reading and writing proficiencies; math skills and general knowledge.

Realize that only one-third of eleventh graders in the United States could identify, on a multiple choice test, in which half century the Civil War was fought, less than 40% could identify the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation and fewer than two-thirds knew the significance of Brown versus the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas.  Appalling? I think it is inexcusable, irresponsible and the result of years of cowardice and caving in trying to please everyone by making it easy, comfortable and appealing, and trying to find shortcuts to success.

Real learning means that children inevitably find out that they are not the center of the universe, that they are not infallible or invincible and that pooled ignorance has no place in the classroom or a school, let along in our state and national governments.  Their group does not rule the ant hill and they will learn that their lives and ours, if lived honestly and with integrity, will be eked out in the valley of tears sometimes and that mastery of any academic subject demands hours, days and even years of hard work and maybe, just maybe a high degree of individual responsibility and accountability.

In one school where I worked we adopted our own three R’s, as we liked to call them, and while on the surface it sounds canned, like “Character Counts”, I think it went farther in terms of understanding the reasons and the values for adopting such a code of ethical behavior.  The three R’s were Respect, Responsibility and Restraint.  Most have often heard of the first two but seldom the last one, and all we need to do to know how much we need to exercise restraint before we speak is to sample some of the behavior of both children and adults in both the public and private domains.  Television, the movies and social media are filled with examples of the lack of restraint, often in the name of entertainment.  Who are the role models for our children today?  Fortunately for some of the students of these outstanding teachers, they have served as models for their students.

One of those outstanding teachers said to me that one of the biggest rewards she had was a student coming to her and saying, “I want to be just like you.”  That student may not know entirely what “just like you” means and what that teacher has done and what she does all the time to be who she is.  But there is something about teachers that is extremely valuable that often reaches students at more than a cognitive level.  We teach because we care and because we want to make a difference.  We teach because we want to change schools and communities and the world. Another of the outstanding teachers wore a pin that said she was changing the world, one student at a time.  It is about growth and change.  And here we have this magnificent and wonderful opportunity to teach kids the value of learning and knowing, of loving what you do, of being happy that we have been given a place where we can express the best that is within us.

We teach because we want our students to become active, lifelong learners, sharing ideas and experiences, telling stories and being affirmed and encouraged and supported to go on.  We want to challenge our students, lead and direct them and have them take on responsibility for their own learning and growth.  It’s why we like to see them graduate and continue their journey with whatever we have been able to add and contribute to the process.  We want them to be inspired by that which sustains life, that which enriches and makes it exciting, enjoyable and rewarding, that which makes it all worthwhile.  It is really an awesome and noble profession that you have chosen, or that has chosen you.

So, we teach, not because we can’t do something else but of all the things we could do, this act of teaching, this commitment and dedication to kids and families and schools and communities, this helping people to value themselves and others, and helping them to learn how to live productive, constructive, creative lives. This is what gives us all hope that the world will be better because we and they walked in it for awhile together.

EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

Making a tough decision and making it stick is but one challenge of a leader in charge.  An executive decision requires more than using that part of your brain called “executive functioning” which is officially defined as “a set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors. Executive functions are necessary for goal-directed behavior. They include the ability to initiate and stop actions, to monitor and change behavior as needed, and to plan future behavior when faced with novel tasks and situations. Executive functions allow us to anticipate outcomes and adapt to changing situations…” 

That all sounds accurate and desirable except that it’s from the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders!  It’s when that function is lacking or disabled that signs begin to appear that all is not well, thus some kind of malfunction, not what one wants to see in a CEO.

If you are going to be adept at solving problems and anticipating outcomes, one of the main functions of an effective leader, then it’s imperative that you have the ability to anticipate those problems before they become even larger. You might call that foresight, something beyond insight. There is even a Foresight Institute (www.foresight.org/) that promotes transformative technologies that promise to address how to capture the opportunities and avoid the risks of nanotechnology in the future.   Perhaps every organization should have a “foresight institute” or task force of some sort, capturing opportunities and avoiding risks. Or maybe that’s one more task for the executive in charge.

Two other main functions of an effective leader, from Nan Keohane, are making things happen and taking a stand.  An effective leader is a catalyst for actions that will have positive impact on people and the community that he or she leads.  Making things happen doesn’t just mean deciding what will happen or who will do what, but also understanding why you are doing what you’re doing and why you’re doing it that way. It is then easier to communicate your actions to others and ahead of the decision rather than ex post facto may be the better strategy.

Taking a stand is being able to articulate with clarity and consistency your core values and how they inform, direct and support programs and policies that are the infrastructure of your organization. And being able to do that even in the face of controversy.  Getting everyone on board as much as possible so that you can move forward with common vision and common purpose is easier when your constituents are subscribers to your mission and understand it sufficiently to repeat it often. 

Executive decisions need to be sound, wise and well-informed and in the best interests of those whom you lead and serve.  The most effective leaders understand the burden and blessing of responsibility that go with the position.  Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to exercise your executive authority with courage and conviction and perhaps most importantly with grace and generosity of spirit.

SCHOOLS and the " REAL WORLD"

Schools are already in the “real” world.  They just aren’t taking advantage of their external environments in creative and contemporary ways.  Instead they are still using old models for new learning.  Put new wine into old wine skins and what happens?  They burst, wasting the wine.  Too much energy, time and resources have been spent on correcting mistakes rather than getting it right the first time.

Educators must be clear about how to make things work and take it a step at a time and keep backing up before going forward into unknown territory.  Before you can play a piece of music, it helps to learn the notes, where the fingers go on certain instruments and then practice, practice, practice. 

It’s the same with sports.  Much more time is spent practicing than in playing the game.  Certain kinds of athletic skills are developed and finally mastered in order to play the game at the highest level.  I wonder if we make the mistake of trying to get to the performance too soon, before the skills are refined and there is a sufficient level of confidence in those skills to be effective?

School might be restructured more like the real world and organized according to areas of interest.  There are signs of that with magnet schools and some other specialized schools in science and the arts.  I would not have been particularly interested in mechanics and robotics but there are plenty of kids who are.

I would have been drawn to a school that focused on reading, writing and producing whether essays, books, plays and movies or in telling stories of people in different cultures.  But, I would not have wanted to miss an introduction to science, engineering, technology, math and the arts.  That sounds a lot like STEAM and PBL.

I think it’s time to reexamine why schools are structured the way they are and perhaps shift not only the paradigm for educating kids but building entirely different models for different kinds of schools for different kinds of kids.  The schools all look too much alike and smell the same.  Kids are different and schools need to be different too, much more so than they are.

In the real world there are there are engineering, scientific, manufacturing and distribution jobs.  There are the worlds of design, retail and entertainment.  There are unlimited opportunities in health care, public service and education itself.   Kids need to see all of those, and more, up close and personal. They know that there are huge problems in the world needing their talents and skills to solve.  That will require a complete overhaul of the system, not just introducing technology and updating methods and environments.   The focus on changing the delivery system is a good start but it’s only a beginning and there’s much more to be done.

Yes, kids need basic skills of effective communication and presentation and they need to understand the value of social interactions without depending wholly on the internet, cell phones, texts and face factories.  What keeps schools from radically altering their identities is not only their marriage to the status quo but also their lack of preparation to make the shift.

IF you were starting over, how would you do it?  What would you do differently and what is preventing you from doing that now?  Look at the obstacles and either dismantle them or leave the old behind and find a new wine skin.  One example among many others evolving currently is Big Picture Schools. Here the design components are based on three foundation principles: first, learning must be based on the interests and goals of each student; second, a student’s curriculum must be relevant to the people and places that exist in the real world; and finally, a student’s abilities must be authentically measured by the quality of her or his work.

Here's another new model that includes action-oriented research: 

http://leadsandserves.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-new-school-model-teaching-hospital.html

MAKING A CASE FOR THE BRIDGE YEAR

 

Most educators, and parents, know about the concept and practice of a gap year.  Often that year is taken between high school and college but not necessarily then.  It could be a junior or senior year abroad in either high school or college or it could be between the freshman and sophomore year of college.  The point is to consider the benefits and rewards of such a year or some other extended period of time outside of the regularly scheduled, progressive march toward a diploma.

My first point is to try and change both the concept and the term from gap year to bridge year because the notion of a bridge makes more sense and is far from a year off but rather a year on another path.  That path crosses the gap with a planned structure of design, engineering and construction that takes you from one place to another.   OK, enough said about that.  You get the point.

Secondly, think about all those kids who have spent 13 or more years in school, fairly well tied to a curriculum that has all kinds of good intentions for expanding the student’s world of knowledge, understanding and skills requisite for a good education.  You can address the question, “What are the marks of an educated person?”

Third, there are now numerous programs to assist students and their families who are interested in one of these experiences that might include an internship in a profession or business or the arts, travel and study abroad in a different country and culture, or a self-directed study in a field that the student is passionate about from technology to outer space to the inner spaces of human behavior.  Suffice to say that a year like this may well provide the student with a new and deeper level of understanding about the possibilities for careers as well as a renewed vigor for continuing formal studies in a college or university setting.  Colleges look favorably on such experiences.  For a fine, solid example of such a resource have a look:  http://www.uncollege.org

Finally, this kind of opportunity is also one that provides additional responsibilities and choices that can add a degree of maturity to the individual’s growth and development.  Not only does it give the student time “off” from the regular grind of school, but it also allows time for some serious reflection about addressing the question of why they are doing what they’re doing.  That alone would make this year of great value.

What I recommend is to engage in a conversation about the opportunity, the possibilities, the pros and cons and have a go at evaluating whether this might be a terrific opportunity for one of your students or children, knowing they are unlikely to be reading this post!

EPILOGUE:  This Bridge Year is not only for students but can also be for older adults who could use a bridge year for an important transition.  In the world of academia we instituted sabbatical years. In other professions and in business, people sometimes take a year to plan a significant change in careers.  And in life itself, there can be an event that has a tremendous impact such as an illness, an accident, a divorce or a death. A bridge from that previous experience to the next stage of life may be exactly what is needed to effect a desired change.

A GENIUS IN DESIGN, ENGINEERING and CONSTRUCTION

I watched two garden spiders yesterday, connected by the same web, work their magic. I sat there in amazement as they worked to restore and expand their web, eat or store a few insects along the way that had given the signal of their arrival.   You have no doubt seen a spider scamper across a few strands in order to wrap up this unsuspecting invader for a later meal.

These two spiders appeared to be of the same variety, small, yellow spots, long nimble legs, the larger one about 25 millimeters including large, jointed legs and the tiny one less than half that size.  At first I wondered if these two were from the same family, cooperating and collaborating, or if they were competitors, the larger ready to consume the smaller at any moment.  Or might it become a David and Goliath scenario?

You have probably heard that spiders eat their young and actually it turns out that a mother spider will often feed herself to her young in order for them to grow.  Talk about the ultimate sacrifice.  There is also a tremendous amount of research about spider webs as they are extremely strong and resilient.  Materials scientists have taken numerous lessons from what a spider web is and how it functions.

As the wind blew and the web seemed to stretch about 30 centimeters and spring back to its original form, I kept watching intently at both the web and the two spiders.  They would work very fast and precisely for a short time and then go back to a spot and wait, I thought possibly resting from their intense work.  Or maybe they were making more silk.  There are people who spend their lives studying these things.  I am just a casual observer.

While watching all of this activity, I kept thinking about how those of us who have worked with organizations could have a field day with this exercise.   Take your team to the garden, find a spider web, look carefully and quietly for at least half an hour to an hour and see what you might learn from the experience.  Let your minds wander, take notes, and then gather and share your observations and reactions.  And while you’re at it, you might check out some of the research.

By the way, I just went outside to check on my two spiders and sure enough, they are there, ready for this new day and so am I.   I think they might also have been working all night although they do have circadian rhythms that vary by species.

YOUR D.Q. in 3-D

No, it is not your Dairy Queen but your “Desire Quotient.”  We first had I.Q. and more recently E.Q. and now it’s time to introduce D.Q. to a wider audience.  In addition to the simple definition of “wish” or “want”, as a transitive verb, since action is usually required in order to fulfill a desire, a more complete definition might be “a conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment.”   For many people that means a successful outcome, goals achieved and time for celebrating the accomplishments.

Following are three dimensions of your D.Q. in terms that you can see, share, and enhance, in order to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.  Each dimension contributes to the work in progress according to what is needed at a given time. The work can be of any kind.  Think about a specific project, a piece of art or music, an article or a book, a relationship, a trip or your next adventure.

1.    Design

The recent activity in “design thinking” has taken planning off the drawing board and made it a more interactive process.  Instead of a solo activity by a designer taking a client’s desires and translating them into a plan, “design thinking” incorporates the clients into the activity in a more participatory manner.

In 2008, Tim Brown, in the “Harvard Business Review” said, “Design thinking can be described as a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible… “  Tim went on to say, “ On reflection this is a narrow description that focuses on design thinking’s role within business. The next sentence that I wrote ‘….design thinking converts need into demand’ , which I borrowed from Peter Drucker, broadens things out a bit but still assumes an economic motivation.”

Tim’s 2009 book, Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation is described as” a book for creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization‚ product‚ or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.”  That sounds like a tall order and yet that is a significant part of what is needed in order to move toward the desired change in any area of life and work.  That drive in this case is the design of the desire.   Whatever you call it, however you engineer it or design it, what comes out at a point in this process is nothing more or less than a good plan.  It will be one that is comprehensive, clear and compelling.  And it is not the end but another beginning.

2.    Dedication

In order to be dedicated one must have a commitment to purpose, focused on both the task at hand as well as the end game.  Here is where the proverbial rubber meets the road, where one gains traction and makes progress through hard work, where the so-called heavy lifting takes place.  If it’s a building or an organization, there are systems that must be coordinated, integrated and kept on track and on time and in many cases, within budget.  The dedication to each of these pieces and to the overall process requires effort, energy, resources and time. 

Being dedicated means being consistent and staying within agreed upon parameters without necessarily being limited and restricted by them.  If a change in direction is needed, there must be sufficient flexibility to make the adaptation.  A dedication is much like a promise, making the declaration that something in particular will (or will not) be done and holding to it.

Few would question the dedication of people such as Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Marie Curie, Margaret Sanger, or Susan B Anthony.  There are hundreds and thousands of other unsung heroes and heroines who have dedicated themselves to purpose and passion beyond themselves.  Goal-directed, task-oriented and results-focused behaviors are some of the essential ingredients of dedication as one of the three D’s in your D.Q. 

3.    Determination

In spite of obstacles, barriers, delays, frustrations, disappointments, or even failures, determination keeps us going. Determination is a characteristic that helps overcome adversity in many forms.  It is the fuel that feeds the fire, the energy that keeps us moving forward and the conscious intentions that are the bedrock that so many other actions are built upon.  Determination is marked by stability in the face of shifting tides and winds, being willing to change a course of action but without compromising the goal. 

When there is a significant challenge or a degree of difficulty with a particular piece of a project, it is determination that sees us through to the other side.  In the words of Winston Churchill, October 29, 1941,  he said. "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."  This was a clear expression of his determined commitment that he wanted to communicate with clarity and compassion.

Determination is more than a positive response to a negative situation.  It is the strength of the fiber in the character of every person and will not only be the test of pressing on when the going gets tough but will also be that which helps keep others on task, on target and on time.  Determination holds one self and others accountable and is thus a key ingredient in your “Desire Quotient.”

Questions:   What are your desires?   Beyond wishes and hopes what do you want to accomplish in 2016?  What are your specific goals and what are your plans to achieve them?  How would you measure and assess your levels of design, dedication and determination?    How will your D.Q. move you in that direction?

A NEW SCHOOL MODEL: The Teaching Hospital

I am indebted to the Knight Foundation and Eric Newton for their presentation in November, 2013, to a group of Dutch journalists in Amsterdam.  The content regarding K-12 schools is mine and I take responsibility for any mistakes, misunderstanding or errors in laying out a design for these kinds of schools*  

Gary R. Gruber, Ph.D.  © 2015

The teaching hospital is deeply rooted in community and so are schools.  In these hospitals, medical students, under the direct supervision of physicians and nurses learn how to read vital signs, draw blood, insert catheters, set broken bones, deliver babies, do surgery, read x-rays and MRI’s, interpret test results and conduct a range of other procedures. Why?

What a student learns from reading and listening and passing tests is not sufficient to teach you how to be a physician.  This is also true for engineers, mechanics, architects, software designers, pilots  scientists, race car drivers and many other professions.  Nothing has surpassed the apprentice model for learning by doing.  We know that and yet have still not adopted it across a broad spectrum of education, especially for younger students in K-12 schools.

In the United States, there are about 400 teaching hospitals. They develop new cures and treatments because they are action research oriented.  They set high standards for patient care. They treat the most difficult cases while serving the poor. At the same time, they train more than 100,000 new doctors and other health professionals every year.  Over 200,000 teachers are trained each year.

At this point in time, few if any, schools reflect a complete model of a teaching hospital .  Some have various components like student teachers and interns, or teacher directed research or laboratory and studio settings, or high touch, high tech approaches.  even gardens.  Some even have teaching and learning centers attached to the school.  Most either do not or cannot go far enough to be all-inclusive nor can a school be all things for all people.  Choices have to be made.

One of the more familiar models that some might think is similar to a teaching hospital is the classic Lab School, often in conjunction with a university such as the University of Chicago where the Lab School was started by John Dewey.  There are numerous others in various states connected to universities, often with a College of Education.   Stanford and UCLA in California are good examples as are Bank Street and Columbia in New York.  Here’s a description of the Horace Mann Lab School at Northwest Missouri University: “Horace Mann is one of only a small number of laboratory schools in the United States that provides a hands-on, project based learning, individualized approach that is only possible with small class sizes and multiple teachers…Master teachers provide a unique learning environment for all students that include technology, innovative best practices, and exemplary educational experiences.” 

Only about one-half of the states in the U.S. have these specific kinds of Lab Schools and the total number appears to be fewer than 100 in number. And, over time, many of these schools, for different reasons, struggled to maintain their progressive status and leadership positions within their own communities. 

The point here is not to try and replicate these very good Lab Schools but to see how a new model could take advantage of the best of both models – a teaching hospital and a university-based Lab School. 

The challenge is in combining the education expertise with the technological expertise, and combining the entrepreneurial spirit and the community service.  The goal should be to provide greater community engagement and service. Clinical trials should test new techniques and technologies, with results made widely known. The entire context of care has changed: Many of the current procedures, operations, and treatments were not performed a decade ago.

Being in a teaching hospital also means working with other parts of the university to import subject matter knowledge, including marketing, business, technological and entrepreneurial expertise. New revenue streams for business and nonprofit models can be tested. This kind of compelling case can be made for additional funding from a variety of sources including corporate and foundations sources.   We should ask tech companies and their foundations to consider it, too.

Research is the coin of the realm at universities. Spreading applied research throughout the teaching hospital would be a key to its acceptance in the rest of the university.  There are numerous schools experimenting with new models for delivering education today.  They do special community engagement projects. The hope is that those places and people who have almost all the elements will look around and see what they don’t have and add it if possible and appropriate. Constant iteration can lead to transformation.

It is time to move from reforming schools to transforming them.

To duplicate a teaching hospital, a community school would need to combine at least six different elements in one cohesive combination

1.     Students doing the work, i.e. learning as apprentices to great teachers.  Students may also be adults including graduate students.

2.     Exceptional teachers at every level guiding students in order to improve the quality and impact of the educational experience.

3.     Professors and other recognized education experts bringing in topic knowledge and raising issues to elevate the levels of teaching and learning.

4.     Innovators pioneering new tools and techniques.

5.     Academics and practitioners doing major research projects.

6.     Everyone working together with an emphasis of not just informing a community but engaging with it. This sixth element is not a type of person, it’s a way of doing things: working collaboratively with each other and a community.

You don’t have to build a new school as long as whatever you do has its own sense of wholeness. Experiments of any size that contain the six teaching hospital elements will move education forward. They will encourage real-world experience; the latest tools and techniques; best-practices; continuous experimentation;  applied research and an open, collaborative relationship with each other and a community The result is knowledge both to a single community and the larger world. As results multiply, many students, teachers and communities can be the beneficiaries.

(For those interested, a more detailed description of the teaching hospital model as applied to schools is available from the author.)

TEN LESSONS LEARNED IN A 50-YEAR CAREER

I was leveraged into a position of leadership in 1962 upon graduation from the first of two graduate school experiences and after a 50-year career, here are a few lessons I learned along the way.  The lifelong learning piece is further documented in my book, Seven Decades: A Learning Memoir (2013)  a brief collection of watershed learning experiences that shaped and influenced me and my work.

1  

•          Keep learning alive – Commit to becoming a life-long learner and whether or not you are an early adopter, consider how the world has changed and you along with it.  If you are not growing and changing you are falling behind because to stand still is to lose ground.  You can participate in learning challenges whether through webinars and courses offered online or actual, real time group learning by topic, subject and issue. Find the fuel for your passion and exercise mind, body and spirit to stay on the growing edge

• 2       Step out of your comfort zone – Whether in learning something new, understanding and appreciating the opposing point of view, or becoming more facile with technology, just do it.  Try an area outside of your expertise, something totally different from how you spend the majority of your time.  If you’re an engineer, consider something in the social sciences and if you’re in the world of business, have a look at art and science, unless that is your business.  Venture outside the confines of your profession.

• 4       Practice this until it is ingrained in the fabric of every day.  “Tell the truth, be kind and remember to say thank you.”   It is a simple, straightforward reminder and a litmus test to determine if you are on or off course with regard to your moral compass.  How you treat other people will help determine how they will respond to you.  You get what you give and sometimes you receive even more than you offer.  Courtesy is contagious.

• 6      Set realistic goals and empower others to help achieve them.  Success is achieved when people share a common vision, a common purpose and common goals.  There is strength in numbers and Margaret Mead had it right when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world, for it is the only thing that ever has.”

• 7     Attend to matters of your spirit, your soul, your psyche and make frequent deposits in your savings account.  If you haven’t needed to draw on those inner resources in a significant way, you will.  Because change is inevitable, and because there will be occasions of unwelcome and uncomfortable change, it’s best to be prepared with the mental, emotional and spiritual resources to deal with the change.

• 8   Consider each new day as a gift, to make of it what you will.  Neither you nor anyone else has walked in this new day and made any tracks.  The question is what kind of tracks would you like to make today?  How do you want to interact with others?  What will you say and what will you do to make a difference in their work or their lives?

          

• 9  Design and plan the change you want.  A clear and detailed action plan provides a strong foundation for moving forward.  A plan can be adapted to changing needs and desires and very often the results are no better than the plan that helped achieve them.  If you are not satisfied with an outcome, go back and look at where you might have gotten off track and recalibrate.  Pay attention to active verbs such as create, collaborate and communicate.  

• 10  Take care of yourself often so you are better able to care for others. Give yourself time to reflect on what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and recharge your energy, commitment and resolve.  Rest, breathe and learn from nature by getting closer to those seasons of growth and renewal. One word that sums it up well, recreate!

Personal Power, Influence and Changing the Status Quo

In most organizations there is a prevailing culture that is either receptive to creative change or resistant to it.  As someone who might wish to influence change that you believe would improve the overall performance and position of your organization, it might help you to know how best to do that.   Everyone has qualities and characteristics upon which you can draw to be a person of influence.  When you know which power sources are the most effective, you can invest more energy and skill in using those sources to effect positive change in your working environment.

Here are eleven power sources for your consideration with a brief definition of each one and then a few questions that might help inform you as to which are the most productive sources in bringing about desired change.  The first five are personal in nature and the second five are more organizational and institutionally related.  The last one, will power, is perhaps the most influential of all as it becomes the fuel and renewable source of energy for all the others.

1.    Knowledge – expertise that differentiates you from others, sometimes advanced study, training and certifications

2.    Expressiveness – how you communicate and verbalize your ideas to others and how they see/hear you and respond

3.    History – built up networks and relationships over time

4.    Attraction – care with appearance, enjoy being with others and vice-versa, charisma

5.    Character – honest, direct, sensitive, with integrity intact

6.    Role – position with some authority and power to affect others

7.    Resource – access to finances and other sources of support

8.    Information – able to present and interpret information others may not have

9.    Network – well-connected inside and outside and maintain important connections with others

10. Reputation – known as someone who gets results, high performing

11. Will – determined through appetite and desire, not easily discouraged, inwardly and outwardly strong

Personal power is relational and depends very much on the context in which you are working. Questions for you to consider include the following:

1.    Which sources of power are most important for you in your defined role in your particular organization?

2.    Which of these sources might you need to develop further in order to enhance and increase your influence?

3.    Which sources are your strengths, i.e. best assets, and how can you capitalize on those?

Much has been written about how to influence others without having the authority to do so.  Jesse Lyn Stoner wrote a short blog, “How to Influence Without Authority” and in addition to her eight portals of influence (http://seapointcenter.com/influence-without-authority) here are three guidelines she puts forth on a strategy for influencing other people.

“Put it out there. Communicate clearly what you want… make sure you’ve been understood correctly.

Be transparent. No hidden agendas. Don’t withhold information… People respect a sincere attempt at influence and resent being manipulated.

Do your best AND be willing to let go. If an appeal to logic doesn’t work, try a different source of influence such as an appeal to values, building a credible network of support, or obtaining financial resources…If you are too attached, you are less likely to be heard. At some point, if you have done your best and have not been successful, you need to let it go.”

The paradox of power, argues Dacher Keltner of Stanford, is this.  “True power requires modesty and empathy not force and coercion and… what people want is social intelligence.”  Many of us were not attuned to advancing ourselves nor promoting self-interest and yet that is exactly what is required if we are to use our personal power to influence others and the organizations where we invest ourselves in order to effect positive change.

Should you wish to attend a Symposium on "Understanding Personal Power" there are still spaces remaining in this workshop/seminar Nov 18-19 in Barcelona.  You may get in touch directly with ECIS in order to register:  http://tinyurl.com/nksqcsx 


(For some interesting research on personal power, see “The Power Differential and the Power Paradox” by Cedar Barstow)

RETIREMENT, REFLECTION, RENEWAL

About 6 years ago I wrote my “official” letter of retirement after 12 years of working in association with a fine and well-educated group of professional colleagues.  I had the liberty and benefit of a “home office” in northern New Mexico during that time although that required a fair amount of travel.  It’s the old cost/benefit ratio of take your choice and pay the price to get what you want. 

In December, 2010, I reviewed my work, looked ahead, and I believed the time was right to make the transition. The past five years have confirmed that it was a good decision. It was the conclusion of 50 years of full-time employment in several different settings. Each one was challenging and rewarding, and perhaps most of all, they contributed significantly to my experience of lifelong learning. I catalogued some of those in this piece: http://tinyurl.com/ngshjm4

During these past 5 years I have enjoyed the luxury of working very part-time, accepting only those invitations that interest me the most.  I have had more time to read, write, travel, fish, hike and be immersed in the natural world.  We made a move from a large house and property in the country to a much smaller and less expensive place in the city. We are more focused on convenience and comfort while remaining adventurous and engaged in the larger world.  We spent the past several months in Mexico, highly recommended.  For those worried about safety, don't go.  We feel very safe.

For many of us retirement does not mean what it sounds like but rather a shifting of gears, a different agenda of activities and continuing to be aware of our mental, physical, social, emotional and spiritual engagements. It seems like a new chapter in an unfolding and evolving life that is as interesting as we decide to make it.  There are a myriad of choices in the menu of opportunities and we are fortunate to enjoy good health and sufficient resources to make the most of each and every day.

I believe that among the many positive contributions to life at this stage is the freedom from stress and worry and taking whatever steps are necessary to address those issues when they do occur.  Our extended family is mostly in good shape with one remaining parent who decided, at 101, to move into a life care retirement community and she celebrated her 102^nd birthday in January.  Our seven children and thirteen grandchildren are scattered coast to coast.  The adults are gainfully employed, financially independent and we are very proud of their achievements and accomplishments.

These later years are rich with occasions to celebrate life, the benefits of freedom and time to enjoy it in many different venues. Un enorme gracias, mi amigos. 

LIVING AND DYING WELL

Assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients.  That is, after all, the case.”    Annie Dillard, On Writing, p. 68

At age 41 I had an epiphany about my own mortality. I was leaving my office, driving through a parking lot toward the main street.  I had to stop the car as I had an overwhelming sense of something that I can only call a revelation.  It was as if the world opened up to say “Here is something big.  Pay attention!”  The message was this: “I did not need to fear my own death.  It will come in its own due course.  Others you have known have died and others you know and love will also die but you are now free to live without any worry about when or how you might die.”  I sat there in stunned silence wondering why me, why now, why here?   The other question was all right, what am I to make of that?  Was this a classic mid-life opportunity rather than a crisis?  I am now in my 79^th year and living well, at least for now.

I was not aware that I had any deep concern about dying but in there somewhere must have been a residue of wondering, even if out of simple curiosity.  Part of my professional training had included some work in pastoral care and helping others through various life transitions, including dying and death. Being with those people and their families gave me some insight into how we as a culture and society avoided the topic most of the time.  That in itself was fascinating since it’s an experience everyone faces, usually more than once.  I have taken the position that whatever you can’t talk about will come up and bite you in the backside.

My interest in death and dying may stem from early experiences, first with animals and then from watching the adults around me deal with death.  The first death I recall in my own family was my paternal grandmother.  When she died, rather suddenly, I was about 12 years old.  I recall the farmhouse being prepared for a “viewing.”  I did not like the term then and still don’t, but I understand that it may fulfill a need on the part of the immediate family.  My thought then was that my grandmother, lying there, as if she were asleep, had no interest in being stared at by all these people.

The casket was placed in the formal dining room, people came to “pay their respects” and spoke softly in hushed voices as if a normal conversation might be disrespectful.  I couldn’t figure that out.  These practices of viewing the dead vary from culture to culture, often depending on religious traditions and practices.  A viewing (or wake as it is sometimes called) can be for one day or up to three days.  A visitation might just include the immediate family without any public display of the dead body. 

The morning of the funeral 40 to 50 people gathered in the dining room and sat in chairs facing the casket.  I remember my grandfather walking up to the casket and when he was coming back to his seat, I could see that he was crying.  It was the first and only time I saw him with tears in his eyes except when he laughed so hard he cried.  Then the entire group followed the hearse to the church for the service, then to the little cemetery in the country where both my parents and their families are buried.  I have no interest in taking any real estate for my remains and have made that known to my family.

There are enormous differences between a sudden death that is unexpected and one that comes following some illness or disease.  In either case the issues are loss and grief for the “survivors” and coming to terms with living, not dying.  Woody Allen is famous for saying “I am not afraid of death.  I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”    We know intellectually that life can change directions quickly.  We know that life is unpredictable, uncertain, fragile and precious.  We know death is certain, that every living person experiences it and yet we go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it.   We have, until more recently, even avoided having open and honest conversations about death and dying.

Of the 2.5 million deaths in the U.S. in 2012, approximately 175,000 were in the “unnatural” category; 122,000 deaths by accident, 38,200 by suicide and 14,600 by homicide.  Yet accidents ranked as the 5^th leading cause of death and suicide 10^th.   Numbers can be misleading because over 1.4 million deaths ranked ahead of accidents as a cause of death and these were from heart, cancer, and other diseases.  

The point here is not to draw any conclusions from the aggregated data but to understand that each one of these deaths is personal, regardless of the cause.  Every person faces death, whether you are the dying person or you are among those closest to that person.  And whether the death is anticipated or sudden, it must be dealt with one way or another.

One of my favorite stories is “Appointment in Samarra” as re-told by W. Somerset Maugham in 1933. It is an interesting commentary on how some  think they might escape death, even if for awhile.  Death is the speaker.

   “There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.  She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.  The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.  Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, 'Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?’  That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”

There is a tremendous amount of literature on death and dying, some from the medical community that deals with death on a daily basis one way or another; other treatises from writers and poets who try and soften the emotional traumas associated with the inevitable end of life; and only recently have people begun to focus on the choices available not only in the manner they wish to die but how they wish to live.

The medical community seems to be shifting its attitude from one of trying to keep people alive regardless of the physical, emotional and economic costs toward a more humane approach.  Hospice has made its positive presence felt among those families trying to help loved ones live out their last days with more dignity and comfort and several states, Oregon being a pioneer, have laws permitting people to die with dignity.

How each family deals with the loss of a loved one varies greatly. How we are prepared ahead of time will in some measure determine our ability to plan for, accept and embrace the final chapter.  There are now more resources available than ever before. If you or a member of your family are in one of those terminal but uncertain conditions, you can take control. With the help and support from others who have the experience to walk through this valley of the shadow without fear you can have the hope of as good an end as humanly possible.