Strengthsfinder

We’ve done a lot of work with Strengthsfinder in our district with the premise of “work from your strengths, not your deficiencies.” This makes a lot of sense as people (I) don’t generally like to keep working on things we’re (I’m) not good at. Once you take the assessment, you’ll be given a list of your top 5 strengths. Of the 34 possible strengths, there are 4 themes:

According to Gallup, it’s rare to find someone with strengths in all 4 categories. Normally, people’s strengths center in 2-3 categories. I fit this statistic: my strengths are all in the “Executing” and “Strategic Thinking” category.

Let me add this caveat now: Strengths are what come naturally to a person. It doesn’t mean that a person can’t do something else- it just means it’s not as natural as a strength. For example, just because I gravitate toward “Executing” and “Strategic Thinking” doesn’t mean I don’t build relationships or influence. It just means those aren’t as natural for me.

So, it’s helpful to know this about myself, but if my thinking ends there then I haven’t taken enough out of knowing strengths. I can say “Well, I don’t gravitate toward ‘relationship building’ or ‘influencing’, so when I work with people that have those categories I just can’t find common ground.” No! It means I have to be aware of this disparity and figure out how to maximize our differences.

I was recently talking to a colleague whose top three strengths are in the “Influencing” theme. She works with a group of 4. Out of the 20 strengths those 4 individuals have, 14 of their strengths are in the “Relationship Building” category- with one person having all 5 strengths in the ‘relationship building’ category. Wow!

My colleague could have easily said, “Yep. We definitely see the world differently” and moved on. But she realized that in order for them to truly complement each other as a team, they have to recognize and value their different views of the world.

If it doesn’t come naturally to her to work from the “Relationship Building” category, then she can prepare and remind herself how to use those strengths to maximize the team. Why? Because it is ultimately about the work of the team, not the individual.

Using the Strengthsfinder reference book, I skimmed through their strengths, jotting down notes. Each strength has a 1-3 page description, but the gold is in the last 2 paragraphs under the heading “Working with Other Who Have [Insert Strengths].” I made some notes, synthesized them, and created a visual:

How can she use this?

• Bring the reference sheet to meetings
• Before / after meetings, quickly skim the card as a refresher
• Share her thinking with the group, making sure to state she wants the most powerful group ever!
• Ask the group to look at it and add to it
• Use the left-hand column to develop a survey or have individuals rank how important those actions are- then adapt and proceed accordingly

The goal isn’t for her to not work from her strengths: it’s for her to maximize their strengths. Because of the unique dynamics of the group (so many strengths in the “Relationship Building” category), this will hopefully be a valuable resource for her.

Realization

A quick detour near Faneuil Hall
on our way to dinner
led me to six glass towers.

Four glass panels
enclose me as I step forward
steam rising from the grates.

The sidewalk is engraved with one word:
Majdanek.

There’s something written on this panel-
I squint.
It’s a small, white number- half an inch-
that used to be a person.

My view gets bigger- how many numbers on just this panel?
[17,280]
I look up, up, up- more numbers on panels going up 30 feet:
Majdanek.

Realization dawns as I figure out
what I’m look at.
I step forward- Chelmo.
Then Sobibor.
Treblinka.
Belzec.
Auschwitz-Birkenau.

132 panels in all
6 million names that have become numbers

A girl, maybe 10, asks her mother,
“Why didn’t they just hold their breath?”
Gently, her mom whispers a response.

I watch the girl’s eyes shift from confusion
to understanding.
It’s that moment- that shift-
even after what I’ve seen
that spill my unshed tears.

I see this moment through a parent’s eyes-
as she loses a part of her innocence
when she realizes it was deliberate,
systematic,
inescapable,
complete.

I leave Auschwitz-Birkenau
(6 days after Night has passed away),
read the famous words of Martin Niemoller,
And return to the Boston streets.

Collaboration

My favorite book club recently started Thomas Guskey’s On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting and, only 60 pages in, I find myself reading this book so slowly because I want to discuss the ideas on every page with the nearest person.

One idea I want to reflect on here is the purpose of grading and how that connects to student collaboration. Guskey distinguishes between two purposes (page 55):

Guskey builds his argument that normative grading, by its definition, breeds a competitive system- a system where students compete against one another.

This is nothing new.

But what caught my eye and interest is the connection that a competitive system discourages collaboration.

I know this world. This is the system I experienced in high school and college. And, to go one step further:

This seems to be in direct opposition with the proposed (not yet approved) learning standards in Texas for K-12 English Language Arts. Although not yet approved by the State Board of Education, the new ELA TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills), slated for 2018-2019 (K-8) and 2019-2020 (9-12) implementation have a strand solely devoted to collaboration. Click here and then “Strand 4” to see the proposed collaboration strand.

How much have we heard about the importance of collaboration as a 21st century skill? Interestingly, discussions I’ve had about collaboration have all revolved back to: “And how do we grade that?” PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) has developed a collaborative problem-solving collaboration assessment in which students work virtually to…..collaborate and solve problems.

To cut to the chase: this book and these ideas have continued my learning journey and are making me process, process, process our current practices.

————-

Reference:

Guskey, T.R. (2015). On your mark: Challenging the conventions of grading and reporting. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

“Google Time”

I recently read @MarkMcCord10’s blog The Devil is in the Differentiation and I had so many thoughts. One thing Mark discusses is differentiating learning- and he’s not only talking about how teachers differentiate in the classroom. He talks about how leaders need to personalize learning for educators. This reminded me of something I tried (and failed) last year.

I meet with English Language Arts Instructional Coaches about 2 times a month throughout the year. The bigger and more diverse our district gets, the more difficult it is to meet all instructional coaches’ needs. In my head, the perfect IC meeting involves learning and collaborating in small groups and as a large group. I didn’t know how to structure that in the fall of 2014.

In the fall of 2014 I knew I needed to try a different structure. I had read about Google Time which is the time Google gives its employees to pursue projects of interest. Google employees have 1/5 days of the week (or 20% of the time) to work on something job-related that they want to grow.

When I heard about this I thought this would be great to try with instructional coaches. Learning could be personalized.

So I tried it. I “pitched” the concept to coaches and they wanted to give it a go. We built in time in our agenda from August until March until I finally had to throw the towel in because it wasn’t working. Reflecting back, I know exactly why it didn’t work and I want to share my reflections and what I’ve learned.

Better Ways to Personalize Learning 

The funny thing is, when I look back at the mistakes I made, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes in the classroom. I assumed since I was working with adults that they didn’t need that level of support. However, I am an adult (most days) and I want that level of support! It was silly of me to think otherwise.

I’ve made some adjustments and learned from it and we have a different structure this year. I’m also lucky to work with professionals who give me chance and chance again. They are in it with me.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

If you’re familiar with Brene Brown’s Rising Strong or Patterson, Grenny, McMillian & Switzler’s  Crucial Conversations then you’ve heard of the idea of the stories we tell ourselves. The concept is that we see something and interpret it, often incorrectly.

For example, the other day my husband and I were trying to coordinate childcare in the morning. He had to leave the house before daycare opened and I had to be somewhere 10 minutes after daycare opened. I asked him, “What are we going to do?” and he shrugged his shoulders.

Here’s where the stories I told myself came in. I saw his shrug and interpreted it to mean “I don’t care- you figure it out.” That interpretation annoyed me and then I interpreted his apathy to mean he thought my job wasn’t important. This jump happened in less than a second. So, here I am, upset because I think my husband doesn’t value my job. Is that true? Of course not. Where did I go wrong?

According to Crucial Conversations, our thought process looks something like this:

I saw my husband shrug his shoulders. I told myself that he didn’t care about the situation and even worse, my job. I felt angry and frustrated so I snapped at him “My job matters to me, too.”

Obviously, my interpretation was way off. And luckily, he’s a good guy who balances me.  I had actually just finished that part in the book when this happened and it made me very aware that I was telling myself a story.

So what should I have done instead? I should have used this process:

Instead of snipping at him, I should have shared what I saw (“Honey, you just shrugged your shoulders”), told my story (“This makes me think I am on my own to figure this out”), asked for his path (“How do you see this?”) while talking tentatively and encouraging him to tell me my interpretation is wrong.

How often do we see something, interpret it, and NOT address it? And then, how often does that story becomes a part of how we see someone else or affect our relationship with that person?

Maya Angelou expressed it better than I can:

A Work in Progress

 Crucial Conversations

I’ve been recently reading two books that center on communication skills: Quiet Leadership by David Rock and Crucial Conversations by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, & Switzler.

I’ve never been someone to shy away from a confrontation. Actually, the word “confrontation” has a negative connotation and paints the picture of an abrasive conversation; what I mean is that I’m not afraid to have a difficult conversation and I don’t avoid them. I don’t seek them out, but when it’s inevitable to talk to someone about something, I do it. One leader I know calls them “courageous conversations.”

Let me set the scene: I finished reading Quiet Leadership and felt like I internalized some of the content, still needing practice for some areas. I’m about halfway through Crucial Conversations in anticipation for a 2 day workshop in March. I’m rolling along. A situation arose where a conversation was necessary and I thought, “Ok, I’ve got this.” So I initiated the conversation thinking I’ll use my newfound skills and we will both walk away with a clearer understanding of what should happen and life will be smoother. And that image was a possibility except for one thing:

I did everything wrong.

I mean, everything.

Really, everything.

One of the first steps in Quiet Leadership is asking permission for the conversation to occur. That’s as simple as, “Hey, we should talk about xyz. It should take about 20 minutes. What’s your schedule like on Tuesday or Wednesday?” I know this. This is a good practice because it’s just, well, respectful and nice. Instead, I started with, “I’d like to talk to you right now about something.” Terrible start, not to mention disrespectful and probably put the other person in a defensive mode almost immediately.

Once we were sitting down, according to Crucial Conversations I should have a clear purpose for the conversation and establish safety. Those two components keep the conversation from morphing into “everything and the kitchen sink” and helps both parties feel safe to express their thoughts. Instead, I was all over the place. The issue that I initially wanted to discuss got lost because I didn’t keep with a clear purpose. And as soon as I could feel us slipping out of “safety” I didn’t do anything to restore it. (Crucial Conversations suggests “contrasting statements” which acknowledge the struggle, but continue to emphasize the purpose, e.g. “It may seem like I’m nitpicking about everything, but what I’m trying to do is create a system that works for both of us.”)

The conversation went downhill from there and we did not leave with my preconceived image. I had made things worse.

I’ve spent time reflecting and I have realized there were 2 main reasons I failed in that conversation.

1. It was too soon.

I hadn’t had time to process through the situation before immediately jumping into “Ok, we should talk about this.” Because I didn’t take that time, I was ruled more by my emotions than logic. Had I reflected on the situation even a day, I would have come to a better conclusion and the conversation would have gone better. What disappoints me about my actions in this was I knew in my gut that I shouldn’t have initiated the conversation. I knew it and I ignored it. Because it was too soon, I wasn’t able to verbalize what I really wanted.

2. I didn’t listen to the other person.

I listened to what she said, but I didn’t listen to take it in and adjust myself. In other words, I heard what she said and immediately dismissed it. I did nothing to make that conversation safe because I was convinced I was right and I didn’t want to hear anything else. That is the absolute OPPPOSITE of how a respectful conversation is. How pompous of me to go into a conversation unwilling to hear- to really hear- the other person. As I reflect back on why, this goes hand-in- hand with the first reason: it was too soon to have the conversation.

Lessons Learned

First, I need more practice using some of these skills. Fortunately, I have a husband who is just as strong-willed as me, so there is ample time to practice. (On a side note, after the situation that prompted this blog, I have since had two successful crucial conversations with my husband!)

Second, I need to reflect on what went wrong, which is the purpose of this blog. I can’t have a crucial conversation when I haven’t processed though the situation or I’m not open to the other person.

Next Steps

Fortunately, I’m not yet finished reading Crucial Conversations so I still have content to learn! I’m lucky to be attending two days of professional development based on the book. Moving the skills from the pages of a text to hear and learn in professional development will ultimately make me a better leader.

Of course the most important next step is to have that conversation again and in a much better way. I need to have that clear purpose and be open to dialogue. I need to build safety throughout the conversation. And I need to start with “Hey, I’d like to follow up about our recent conversation. It should take about 20 minutes. What’s your schedule like on Tuesday or Wednesday?”

Information Overload

If you’ve ever been able to attend a professional conference, you know exactly what I’m talking about: you attend breakout sessions and keynotes, visit a multitude of vendors, and network with peers. By the end of the first day, you’re already on information overload and you realize you still have two more days left of the conference. 

I’ve been able to attend some really good conferences in the past two years: IRA (International Reading Association, now the International Literacy Association) in New Orleans, TALE (Texas Association for Literacy Educators), and, most recently, ASCD (Association for Supervisors and Curriculum Developers). The problem is, I don’t feel like I’ve taken enough from the sessions. Or that I’ve had a consistent way to take notes, categorize them, follow up on them, share information, etc.  

So the purpose of this blog it to help me process through what I think I need to do:

– Schedule time to do this. It might be a good end of the day thing, but it needs to be during the workday because it’s not going to happen at 8:45 pm. 

– Decide what session notes I want to download. Those will be available for a limited time (I’m assuming), so I need to get on that.

– Decide what I want to share, with who, and in what format (email, verbally, etc).

– Decide what I could use immediately and investigate it.

– Decide what I might use in the next 3 months and set up a schedule to investigate it/study it.

– Decide what would be good to use one day and set up a schedule to investigate it/study it.

– Scan my notes and put them in a folder. 

This sounds like a good plan where I do something with what I learned, share with people who care, and schedule some follow-up time. We’ll see how this goes.

What do I get in return?

Recent conversation with my colleagues left me with some questions: How is my life better because I read? What does reading add to my life?

Because I read…

– I learn about all sorts of topics. From biology (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to Garbology, which, yes, is still in progress!) to history to human behavior….I learn about a variety of topics. This gives me background knowledge.

– I understand people better. Recent studies (click) have found that people who read more tend to be more empathetic. I want a world of nice people. Don’t you?

– I escape. Sometimes my life isn’t going all that well. Reading a book provides me a break from reality. 

– I have a larger vocabulary. I still remember being in 3rd or 4th grade and reading aloud the word “chaos.” I didn’t know how to pronounce it, but I knew what it meant because I was a reader. Stephen Krashen did a meta-analysis of over 50 peer-reviewed research studies in his book The Power of Reading. Beck and McKeown have done countless studies on vocabulary. More reading = larger vocabulary.  

– I have a higher quality of life. I like talking to people about books. I like analyzing authors and their work. I like reading something and discussing it with someone else and hearing their point of view. I see things in ways I haven’t seen them and shouldn’t we all learn from others’ perspectives?

– I’m a better writer. 

– I have peace. There’s nothing quite like the peace (or frustration) after finishing the last page of an excellent book. It’s a reflective, quiet time that I need for my soul.

– I have a better relationship with my children. Having my children in my lap as they listen to a book is quiet time (which for boys is especially great) that bonds us. It always amazes me that my bouncing, jumping, running, leaping, daring children quiet and still and stare fasinated at books. Books hold that power.

– I have a better relationship with my husband. We are reading Unbroken together and it will take us months to get through it, but it’s much more quality time together than in front of the tv or watching a movie together. 

I don’t think I’m better than anyone else because I read and they might not. I think for my life and what feeds my soul, I cannot imagine not reading. Would I still be a happy person if I never was a reader? Probably. But with all that it adds to my life, why wouldn’t I read?

Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash

I’ve been reading a book for so long that I’m now actually paying for the opportunity to read it. How does this happen? I checked out the book for the first time in late November/December. I didn’t finish it within three weeks so I renewed it. I didn’t finish it within those three weeks. I tried to renew it, but I was past my limit. So, I went through the reservation request at the library. The book came in; I checked it out. I didn’t finish it. I renewed it. And now it’s due. I mean, it was due a week ago. So now I am paying 10 cents a day to read a book I haven’t finished in four months.

The point? I AM a reader. I can recognize that I’m being stubborn and probably should have stopped reading this book long ago. I know that I will eventually finish it (except I have to actually pick it UP and OPEN it to finish it, right?) and move on to another book. I have about 25 books on my Good Reads account to read next. I know that this is just a speedbump.

But for our students who aren’t readers, this isn’t a speedbump. This is their reading life. They only have these kinds of experiences. And by “these kinds” of experiences I mean struggling through books. For whatever reason (interest, ability, etc.) they struggle through them. Without a strong reading life to connect to, this becomes their only reading life. 

So as I finish up today and go and (possibly? miraculously?) read another chapter of this book I will pass over my desk with 3 books lined up ready to go, knowing they are on the other side, wondering if our students have their own stack.

The Power of FOMO

I recently heard a speaker* describe the most powerful motivator he knew for both teachers and students: FOMO. The “Fear of Missing Out” means simply that. He talked about how just telling people something is great will encourage the early adopters but FOMO is faster than just about anything.

I’m trying to think how this applies to my life and I think I, personally, am just so stubborn and strong-willed that FOMO has the exact opposite effect on me. Examples:

1. Popular movies and books: I was a HUGE fan of the big series- Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. and the single amazing books like The Fault in our Stars. However, once EVERYONE had read them and seen the movies, I just didn’t care anymore. It was like I enjoyed them but as soon as they became popular I was over them. On the other hand, maybe I just got tired of everyone talking about them.

2. Twitter: I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. I knew people were on it, but I couldn’t even begin to understand why. My social media use is really low, actually, in my opinion. I rarely post on Facebook and rarely even get on Facebook. The reason for that is in general I’m a private person (so this blog is a HUGE step outside of my comfort zone) and mostly, I just don’t have anything to say. I don’t want to talk about my kids online, I don’t want to post pictures of my dinner or what I did during the day, so what’s the point? 

So Twitter seemed especially useless to me. I can’t remember who changed my mind, but the idea of using it professionally shifted my thinking. And that’s what I use Twitter for 99% of the time. Every once in a while, I’ll follow a hashtag while watching a tv show, but it’s mostly something I’m on at conferences. (I recently read in the book Upstanders by Daniels and Ahmed the term for that is “backchanneling.” That’s not just Twitter, but responding to something via social media while it’s happpening). 

I do like Twitter with the ability to tag things with hashtags. I posted during big steps of my dissertation (#dianasdissertation) so it’s a nice electronic journal to go back to.

3. Instagram: I know everyone’s on it. I think I created an account, but never use it. I have zero point zero FOMO regarding Instagram.

I’m struggling through this concept because I’ve seen it in action. I’ve seen what happens at conferences when everyone gets on Twitter and there’s only a couple who aren’t. I’ve seen what happens when a majority are using something. So this leads me to my question to ponder: what’s the tipping point? At what point is it the majority or a large enough percent that FOMO comes into play? I recall from Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, it seemed like something hard to pinpoint. Coincidence, luck, and timing seemed to be decisive factors. 

If I can pinpoint what that tipping point is and what factors make it possible, then FOMO becomes such an integral part of how to motivate.

Future blog topics:

– soccer shots

– enjoying parenting

– spring break

*Steven Layne at TALE (Texas Association of Literacy Educators); excellent conference and speakers by the way