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.

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

Almost everyone I know, including myself, have had some kind of event that has thrown us off track, hopefully temporarily.  It’s not always easy to resume, like pushing the button on speed control.  There are many reasons why it’s so difficult to regroup ones energy, purpose and drive to continue.  We can feel emotionally and physically drained, fuel tank on empty and no immediate relief in view.

These life events range from the death of a loved one, a serious illness of a family member or ones self, and less major occurrences that can include being disabled, laid low for awhile with a health issue and even something like losing a job or being rejected repeatedly while trying to get an application or a manuscript accepted or just changing jobs from one track to another.

A neighbor down the street recently had his leg amputated, at first just above the knee and then all the way to his hip.  His attitude appears to be I’m still alive and I intend to make the most of what I have left while I can.  He has made great progress on a walker, has been fitted with a prosthesis and he drives his truck with his left leg.  He is definitely getting back on track, maybe not with the same speed or ability but he is a great example of doing the best he can with what he has where he is.

A number of people who seem to lose a sense of purpose and the desire to continue have a hard time convincing themselves that the effort and energy required would be worthwhile and that it would be easier to just give up, give in and throw in the towel.  The truth is that it would be easier.  The encouragement and support of friends and family are well-intended, maybe even helpful sometimes, but they either don’t understand or if they do, their answers are what they would do, and those may or may not work for you.

It may be that we need to step back and “recalibrate,” a term I learned from an Intel employee who often used the term when she meant that we needed to have another look and see if our assessments were accurate and on track. Her experience from another industry helped us on numerous occasions to take another, different approach.  It fits the “on track” metaphor because trains run on tracks that are definitely calibrated and recalibrated frequently.  In the U.S. most tracks are exactly 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in or ​1,435 mm.  When I worked on the railroad, we spent a lot of time lining tracks and making sure they were the exact, correct width.  Now machines do that job.

So, what can we do to get back on track besides realigning the road ahead?

·      Take time and don’t rush it.  Step back and evaluate your choices.

·      Make sure you’re doing what you can for yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, meeting those needs for good health.

·      Talk to someone who might understand and appreciate your challenges and perceived obstacles.

·      Start with building a simple step-by-step plan and adjust it as needed. Take baby steps.  It’s the way to move forward.

·      Engage and connect.  We are social beings and isolation sometimes delays getting back on track.  However, there is also value in spending some time alone gathering your resources.

·      Rediscover a new purpose or explore something entirely different.  Consider giving some time as a volunteer.

·      Realize that each day is a gift and what you make of it is up to you.

·      Check in on your “attitude of gratitude” and how you might appreciate what you have in a different way.

·      Read, listen, watch and pay attention.  There are clues out there.

·      Be KIND to yourself.

There is no magic formula or recipe that works for everyone.  Each person has his or her own unique personality and figuring out what is going to work best for you is a process, not flip the switch and instantly be on a different track.  And remember, breathe deeply while you consider the road ahead.

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

LIFE WORKS: A WORK IN PROCESS

Like many of you, I write down my thoughts and experiences from time to time, keep a journal on occasion around travel, maintain a blog and use social media, mostly Twitter and LinkedIn, for a variety of purposes.  I have written several books, numerous articles, and have a web site, in need of an update and refresh.   Until recently, about five years ago, I never considered myself a writer although I may have morphed into that activity out of the encouragement and support of others in my network of colleagues and friends.  I wrote columns and contributed to newsletters considering those part of my work and career.

Now, at this later stage of my career, having begun professionally in 1962, I have the luxury of working part time. I respond only to those invitations and projects that interest me most, often having to do with change and transition, whether in organizations or in individuals.   While change is an all-embracing topic, I consider myself a life-long learner who is still willing to change what I do or how I do it if I believe it will be better than what I was doing previously.  And, I stick to some “tried and true” practices as well.

I began working outside of home in 1947 at age 10 when I set pins in a bowling alley. I always had jobs at home and still do!   I got my social security card and felt like a real grown-up worker guy. The Protestant work ethic was alive and well in our family from an early age onward.  Other jobs I had before I graduated from high school included working on the railroad in maintaining the tracks; being a grease monkey in my Dad’s auto dealership; helping my grandparents, one on a farm, the other in a general store in a small town; and being a camp counselor and cook for 300 Boy Scouts. Work in the college years included life guard; construction labor; and office experience.  Such a variety was most welcome especially as learning experiences and the pay was good too.

  
In 1959, I started driving buses and continued that through graduate school and beyond during summers, holidays and sometimes weekends. Last year, because I enjoy driving vehicles of any kind, I accepted a job driving an airport shuttle from Santa Fe to Albuquerque two mornings a week. It was fun and I met all kinds of interesting people from all over the world.  The stories of their lives and work are fascinating.  None of these other jobs have ever taken anything away from my main career as a teacher, administrator, leader and consultant.  If anything, those jobs of a different sort add a dimension of understanding and appreciation for the human condition.

I am deeply grateful for the immense opportunities that I have had to be an active participant in so many productive experiences.  My education contributed enormously to my career.  The K-12 journey followed by 4 years of undergraduate school, 7 years of two graduate programs in two different places resulting in 4 degrees have all played their respective parts.

The privilege of being selected to lead several schools in their growth and development as principal or headmaster was only successful because of all those other people who contributed to those experiences. It was truly a team effort.  Out of all of this came an invitation to serve as a consultant to both organizations and individuals that were considering transitions, significant growth and change.  I did that formally and professionally with a firm located in Boston, and I had the privilege of living in and working from Santa Fe although it required a fair amount of travel.  Now I do it on my own time when and where I choose.  I would not have dreamed of such even ten years ago but here we are.

What’s next as I look ahead?  I am continuing to learn more about technology and educational reforms, planning a few more writing projects, some more travel. I contribute to the professional development of others through seminars, workshops and symposia on several different topics and did two workshops last November, one in Santa Fe for Leadership and Design, and one in Barcelona for ECIS (European Council of International Schools) and another in London in January.

On the personal front, we have downsized (see blog entitled “When Downsizing is Right Sizing: Why Less is More”) and we are very connected to our seven children, thirteen grandchildren and several siblings.  I am blessed with good health, energy and enthusiasm for living fully.  We are looking forward to having all our children and theirs together next Thanksgving in Vermont for one of our ongoing reunions and they all have their own unfolding stories which are fascinating.  What a tribe and what a world!

If you've gotten this far and you consider yourself a fellow-traveler, lifelong learner, you might be interested in my brief catalogue of learning experiences that were a big influence in this life thus far:  
http://tinyurl.com/ngshjm4   Enjoy!

A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE - Taking a measure of days

Looking ahead to the start of my 80^th year in a few months. I am enormously grateful just to do that. I am healthy for the most part, still active physically and mentally, as far as I know, and I am enjoying wonderful opportunities for work and play, days of re-creation.  My days begin and end with gratitude for the gift of time, places to go, things to do and those are more available than I would have thought about previously since I live as fully as possible in the present.

We are currently in Mexico for several winter months enjoying the tropical environment along the Pacific coast.  Some might say that we are retired but I think quite the opposite, opposite being a place where I often find myself compared to what others think.  On my morning walk yesterday I saw a couple who are bird watchers and we stopped to chat about what they’ve seen.  In two months, here at the edge of the ocean and jungle, they have seen 70 different species in two months.  Among our favorites is the black-throated magpie jay.  This couple from Texas have lived “on the road” for 15 years, energetic, active, hikers and birders. He carries binoculars and she carries a camera.  They are a team.

In the past three months I have worked on short-term educational projects in Barcelona and London, continued this blog, worked on a manuscript for a book called “Pearls From An Irritated Mind,” traveled in our thirty-two foot motor home and am trying to learn Spanish albeit at a snail’s pace.  We will accelerate that a bit when we move from here inland to San Miguel Allende in a couple of weeks.  Lifelong learning is just part of who we are.  My wife, Susan, was “in class” last night with her teacher in Bolivia, a class on “Advanced Memoir Writing.”  

We look at this upcoming election with amusement and amazement, talk with each other about the candidates and the process, and debate with our friends about these people who say they want to be elected so they can make things better.  As the UK said to the U.S. recently, “What are you thinking?” I would like someone to explain why we spend (waste) so much time and money with this spectacle.

As a country we have had both time and opportunity to “make things better” and while there is evidence that we are better off now than we were ten or twenty years ago in some very specific areas, it's debatable for the larger picture.  Some other countries seem to have figured things out better than we have, at least from my perspective, on things like health care, education, the environment, and child care.  Many have not and are suffering greatly.  I am looking forward to Michael Moore’s new film, “Where Should We Invade Next.”

In my 75^th year I wrote an abbreviated memoir called, Seven Decades: A Learning Memoir and the following year, I published Your Child, Your Choice: Finding the Right School for Your Child. My first book, co-authored with a colleague, and published by Longman in1988, was Understanding and Enjoying Adolescence. It is both out of print and out of date.  I thought of revising and updating it but the number of changes in 28 years would require more than a revision.  Some developmental issues have not changed all that much but the world has changed significantly and rapidly.

We read continuously and I just finished Oliver Sacks’ memoir On the Move: A Life, as well as his recent work, Gratitude.  Other books we have enjoyed lately, in case you’re looking for one to read, include Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande; Circling the Sun by Paula McClain; Plainsong by Kent Haruf; and I am in the middle of Adventures in Being Human: A Grand Tour from the Cranium to the Calcaneum, by Gavin Francis.  Our weekly addictions include "The Huffington Post" and "The New Yorker Magazine."

We are connected digitally to the outside world via more than enough technology to suit our needs and interests. That helps us stay in touch with the world as a whole, with professional colleagues, our extended families of seven children, thirteen grandchildren, brothers, sister, their children and in-laws, plus Susie’s mother who celebrated reaching102 in January.  It’s quite a tribe all added together and we look forward to seeing many of them in the near future.  There is no substitute for face-to-face presence.

Life is not only good, it is full.  Our days begin early, before sunrise, and end early, soon after sunset. “You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. When you truly possess all you have been and done, which may take some time, you are fierce with reality.”   Florida Scott-Maxwell, The Measure of My Days.

Our hope for you, your families and ours. is a good measure of days, living joyfully, thankfully, engaged in those things that are challenging. rewarding, and satisfying. Every day presents choices and opportunities.  Try and make the most of what you will and if it fits, be fierce with reality.

PS - An earlier review "LIFE WORKS" is here: http://tinyurl.com/jn4rh2p

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.

LIFE LESSON FROM DAD

I was probably nine or ten years old and my parents had dragged me off to church as they usually did on Sunday mornings. After an hour in what was called Sunday School, singing, learning Bible verses, and going off to class with a small group of other kids my same age, we were invited upstairs to the sanctuary for another hour of worship.  More songs, more Bible verses, a sermon, a choir, and if you are familiar with this scene, you know the rest of the trappings.  If you're not familiar, imagine a very large room with big windows, some of them in stained glass, a kind of stage up front with a lectern and a pulpit and the choir of 30 or 40 people. There were rows of hard, oak benches or pews filling the sanctuary that held some 300 people.  The order of worship was pretty much the same every Sunday.  This was what was called then The First Congregational Christian Church in a small, western Ohio town.  I often wondered where the second, third orfourth might be, as I knew of banks in town that had names First National and Second National.

As the church service unfolded there came a point in time where the ushers - four, suited gentlemen - marched in step from the rear of the church to the front.  There they received four large brass plates from the pastor, after a short prayer asking people to give as they had been blessed in their own lives in order to help the lives of others.  Frank was the CEO of the church who was often called "the preacher" for that's what made him popular or so it seemed to me. He delivered sermons with a fairly high degree of passion and intensity that kept most people awake and listening fairly well.  However, as I looked around I could usually find one or two who had nodded off.  I looked around often, counting ceiling tiles, window panes, organ pipes, people, whatever I could find to keep my mind occupied.

As the ushers proceeded from front to back, row by row, they passed those large brass plates back and forth to each row so that people could put their "gifts" which meant money, into the plates.  Those gifts were in numbered, weekly envelopes or in hard, cold cash.  My parents put their envelopes in each week with the cash inside duly recorded after the service.  I watched this weekly ritual with great interest and one Sunday morning, I turned casually to my Dad, as this part of the service began and said, "Can I take some out?"  With his characteristic candor and wisdom, he leaned over and whispered back, "Yes, you can, but remember to always put in more than you take out."

Little did I know then the impact of what my Dad said which was also what he did in his own life.  Later on in my life this life lesson was renewed over and over as my career of learning, teaching, leading and serving unfolded and evolved over some fifty years. That aphorism was so imprinted on my mind and spirit that it became a constant guide for my work, my relationships and my goals.
I have not always lived up to it 100% as there have been times when I felt like I took out a little more than I put back although I may have tried to repay it later in another way.  Regardless, it's a lesson from Dad, one of many, that has stuck with me over the years and served me well.  For that, and much more, I am enormously grateful.

(Included in Seven Decades: A Learning Memoir (River House Press 2013)

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.

THREE BIG CHALLENGES IN TEAM LEADERSHIP

When these conditions are present to any significant degree, you and your team will definitely be blocked from being effective and productive.   These three obstacles are closely related through a common factor that, if dealt with separately, could resolve all three.  That common factor is FEAR.  Patrick Lencioni and Kensuke Okabayashi only use the word fear in the 2^nd level of their pyramid model in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: An Illustrated Leadership Fable. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia), 2008.  In reality, all five dysfunctions have a fear factor.

Let’s analyze fear as the paralyzing force that prevents the leader from taking action and the behavior that keeps team members from being engaged fully.  The first one is taken directly from Lencioni and Okabayashi’s work.

1.  FEAR OF CONFLICT –   There are numerous reasons why people do not want to engage in disagreement and in some cases feel like they cannot possibly do so without feeling even worse.  While this condition will keep an individual or a team from making any significant progress, the first thing to understand is that there is seldom any productive outcome without some debate, disagreement and open, honest discussion or better yet, dialogue.

David Bohm in his book, On Dialogue (1996) puts it this way.  He says that “Dialogue,” comes from the greek ‘dialogos.’  Logos means ‘the word’ or in this case, ‘the meaning of the word,’ and ‘dia’ means ‘through’ – it doesn’t mean ‘two.’ He goes on: “A dialogue can be among any number of people, not just two. Even one person can have a sense of dialogue with himself.” Bohm says dialogue “will make possible a flow of meaning…out of which may emerge some new understanding…which may not have been in the starting point at all.”

“Discussion,” Bohm says, “has the same root as ‘percussion’ and ‘concussion’ and really means to break things up.” Discussion, therefore, is a process of analyzing and breaking up and “will not get us far beyond our various points of view.” Rather, “the object of the game is to win or gain points for yourself.”   Dialogue helps everyone to win.

2. FEAR OF HOLDING OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE  -

This is related to the fear of conflict since that is what is “assumed” will happen if you confront another person with a legitimate question and genuine concern about that person’s (or group) behavior that appears to be contributing to the lack of progress.  It could be anything from inactive participation to outright negative comments that derail and deter forward movement.  That often comes from those opposed to change and who are wed to the status quo.  Understanding their motivation and what lies behind their behavior could be helpful.

A team leader needs the courage that will overcome the fear of wading into the water without feeling like he or she will be swamped with an incoming tide of disapproval and criticism.   Harry Truman is credited with the quote, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”  The implication is clear.  If you don’t deal well with criticism and disapproval and you do not have the confidence and self-esteem to hold your ground and take a stand, then you may not be the best person to lead the team.

It is also possible that others on the team can be allies in helping to hold fellow team members accountable so that the entire burden does not fall on just the leader.  And, if holding others accountable is not seen as a burden but as an opportunity to solve a problem, early intervention is a good strategy.

3.  FEAR OF FAILURE

It is easy to say, “Just get over it,” because at some point, every person and every team fails and it does not destroy the person nor the team.  The truth is that without a few failures, you might not know what doesn’t work and be very surprised when something does not meet your standard or your expectation.  As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed.  I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

A recent USC study shows failure is a rewarding experience when the brain has a chance to assess its options and mistakes.  In another study, Francesca Gino, Bradley Staats and Chris Myers examine individuals’ differing reactions to failure, finding that when individuals accept and internalize a failure, they learn and improve their performance significantly more than those who externalize or blame their failure on outside forces.  (Think sports’ teams!)

So for those that seek to promote a thriving, positive workplace, it’s critical to mind the environment to make sure that it is providing a developmental space for people to respond resiliently to failures, setbacks and other adversities (both big and small). Research by Gretchen Spreitzer at the University of Michigan reminds us that a key component of individuals’ thriving at work is related to the opportunity for ongoing learning and improvement embedded in their work environment.
If you can look at failure as an opportunity to learn, not as something to be avoided, that shift alone can help greatly to remove the fear.

CONCLUSION:  Fear is an obstacle and paralyzes people, at least most of the time.  On the other hand, there can be a positive aspect of fear such as the fear of an oncoming car in the wrong lane that precipitates a positive response and avoiding a collision.
“The land of excellence is safely guarded from unworthy intruders.  At the gates stand two fearsome sentries – risk and learning.  The keys to entry are faith and courage.”  Robert Quinn in Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within.  (1996)

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.)