To Trust or Not to Trust

Trust is something that has gotten my attention recently. I went out to a school to do some consulting in rural Michigan (they didn't think of themselves as rural but I will challenge that and have pix to back it up). We were working on enhancing the organizational culture at the school. What I found at this small beautiful school were problems that were nearly carbon copy examples of the challenges at the urban schools I normally frequent; there is a serious lack of organizational trust between faculty and administration. I think it is a question that begs attention and I hope to continue to use this space as a thinking board regarding what is happening with trust and how trust seems to deteriorate. Why, in schools, where trust is tantamount to success...is it that trust is so noticeably absent?

Financial Stress is crippling schools

So, the stock market is showing signs of life and housing trends in various areas seem to be indicating that the recession is starting to change. In fact, President Obama said just yesterday that the worst is behind us. I am hoping this isn't similar call to arms as "Mission Accomplished." The systems appear to moving in a forward slant but the schools are crippled and left like homes after a hurricane.
This is a time for schools to rally and become creative to help secure the programs they desperately need. One of the pieces I have been looking at is the idea of bringing corporations (or wealthy individuals) that need altruistic tax related exemptions to the need of our schools by adopting a school to receive one or more of a series of trainings and/or services. We need to rethink our services as principals are losing assistant principals and some of the best young teachers are out of work.
As I try to restart this blog, and keep my mind moving, I hope people read these words and reach out to find out how they can help the schools in a direct, meaningful way.

Stress and Work Production

So...many schools embarked on the annual rite of passage known as standardized testing today. Personally, my girls don't start until next Monday. This is a time when schools are judged by the general public...housing prices are affected by test scores, kids self-views (self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy) will be influenced by these tests. Most dramatically, however, the general judgment of the quality of our public school teachers will be in play. This truly is, as it is referred to, high stakes testing.
Before jumping into the deep end to look at the relationship between stress and work, let's look for a minute at educational evaluations through this lens. For one week (and change), students around the state (and the country) take a series of standardized tests that provide information about their ability in mathematics and language arts. Certain other subjects are tested but math and language arts comprise the focus of our attention. As a former public school teacher, I can attest to the tension that goes on during this week. Everybody knows that reputations are on the line. Let's take a look, for a minute, at a few other industries and see how they would relate if standardized testing were in play...and see if we can draw conclusions to the validity of the testing issue.
I am not a salesperson but have several people in my inner circle that are. When I read books about sales techniques, or search the internet for sales seminars, trainings, workshops etc... I NEVER see trainings or advice that targets the absolute critical need to have product knowledge. Sales techniques such as "opens" and "closing techniques" suggest that relationship building is primary to business. After all, it is who you know and not what you know...right?
I play golf, once in a blue moon. I know that many sales deals are closed on the golf course. I have seen sales deals closed in luxury boxes...We assume our relationships are built on product knowledge, don't we? I once spoke with a top salesperson at a major insurance company. This individual tried to persuade me to leave teaching and sell insurance packets. I have nothing against selling insurance (and this individual has a sizeable bank account) but I asked this person how I could transition...it isn't my background...The response makes sense, sort of... "they buy YOU, the product is secondary..." Hmmm...interesting...

Students nationwide embark on high stakes testing. They will be examined on the 8th grade test in California on quadratic formulas, linear equations, graphing solutions...Their scores, in many of my client schools, will prevent the schools from demonstrating Annual Yearly Progress as stipulated in No Child Left Behind. These schools will continue to fall further and further behind. They will receive additional resources to train teachers in teaching skills with the direct result expected to be INCREASED TEST SCORES. Many of our students will become well acquainted with test taking. It became so overwhelming in Los Angeles a few months ago, teachers had to protest more benchmark tests. We are testing the kids to death and this type of production is not necessarily what will put the kids in a more advantageous position for them to generate their own future...

So, what does this have to do with stress? We know that stress has the potential to have a negative influence on work productivity. But what we know is that many individuals don't understand that moderate doses of stress and anxiety are important indicators of task importance. We need to learn ways to handle and identify our stressors and learn ways to alleviate them. When you examine your work or life situation, what role does stress play? What strategies do you have to identify and tackle it? What support do you have at work to work through stressful challenges. Anxiety and stress often prevent individuals from being able to think clearly about potential solutions. One solution, find a confidant. Find a "coach" that can ask you critical questions. If you are a teacher or parent, sit your kid(s) down and have a talk about stress...
I am going to close with a quick story. My 11 year old daughter takes me for a walk every night she can. She is acutely aware of my stress levels (and I wish I was the master at controlling stress...I am better at working with others on theirs;)). We took a walk last night and she asked me why they have to take these tests. She framed this inside the conversation that she wants to go to a great university. We talked about strategies and what tests are used for and while I think she has a basic understanding, I don't think she is convinced they indicate what a diverse and wonderful child she is. That is just the way I like it...

Choice is a Challenge

I gave a presentation on Friday morning to a large group of middle school teachers working in the Alvarado part of Los Angeles. Like many of my clients, motivation (and a lackthereof) is the primary topic to address. We spent 2 hours together. We defined motivation, broke it down, talked about "how to talk to kids about failure" but the one activity I was primarily interested in was the "choice activity" mentioned in the prior blog. Choice, and consciously selecting to engage in an activity, is the entry point of motivated behavior. Having people understand they control their situation and have ownership is critical to the later discussion about the activity itself. If people don't own the task, they can't control subsequent behaviors related to it. It would be like the band member that continually blames someone else for missing a beat rather than take some amount of ownership. "I choose to continue being in a band with this knucklehead" might be one way to look at this.

Anyway, the group was directed to generate a list of things at the school site that brought them aggravation and/or frustration. At the conclusion of this exercise, I asked them to convert 3 of the statements to "I choose" activities. Most of the group felt engaged. Most of the group did, however, feel challenged. I worked with two particular groups that were struggling to understand the concepts and it highlighted the notion that many people do struggle to internalize challenges because they don't, or can't, see themselves as a responsible party to an organizational challenge.

One of my quests in working with educators in challenging environments is to help coach them into a mental shift towards responsibility, ownership, proactivity and collaboration. I notice, overwhelmingly, that newer teachers tend to possess these attributes far more often than veteran teachers.

Bottom line, I was reminded that choice is a challenge. Motivation is hard. But, educators take a silent vow to not lose hope and quit. I hope they do because the children take their cues from them. Many educators recently received their "pink slips" and were notified that they might be out of work in a few weeks. Their choice on response will be directly internalized by many young people out there on how to respond to adversity. As I have a tendency to point out...be careful, the children are always watching...

Power of Choice

In education, and in business, individuals need to understand the power of ownership through choice. On one hand, motivational theories suggest that the primary index of motivated behavior is choice. One cannot be motivated without making a conscious and deliberate choice to engage in meaningful activity. It is not my intention here to embark on a motivational journey. I anticipate that as I engage in this blog as a personal forum for my internal dialogue, these things will naturally emerge. What IU intend to describe here is that we must take ownership for behavior.

"I choose" is an essentially fundamental statement of ownership. I often speak to middle school students and teachers and quickly tire of externally attributed statements like "my boss/teacher is out to get me" or "the work is too hard." In the simplest sense, when we choose to take ownership of our behavior, we can move beyond either success or failure. This is an internal struggle as we don't want, as a natural consequence of being human, to recognize our weaknesses. However, when we can coach ourselves, or be coached, we rapidly understand that ownership gives us options for future behavior.

I spent a lot of the day in meetings today. My Facebook update stated that I had meeting narcolepsy but I chose to sit there. While I sat there, I thought about how we create our own circumstance and how easy and effortless it is to blame our circumstance on other things other than ourself. Even when we recognize that we make a mistake, it is often too late. We are blessed with the gift of reflection but the curse of spontaneity.

Homework for you...and me...make a list of the things that anger you, that make you feel as a victim, that cause you anxiety...and convert them to "I choose" statements. Take ownership of your behavior.

As a relation to teaching, it is no surprise that as a motivational psychologist, I often interact with faculty that blame their ineffectiveness on "unmotivated" or lazy students. Imagine the behavioral change from blaming the kids to "I choose to let them behave that way." The power of choice enables us to actually do something.

Dwelling in Possibility

I had lunch with an old friend/mentor yesterday. Over the years, I have learned and read and followed advice from him and he directed me, years ago, to a book called "The Art of Possibility." I have often referred clients and friends to this book written by Benjamin and Roz Zander as it provides an account for transitioning from a narrow focus to one of dwelling in the possible. It is a challenge to do this and I often find myself having to remind myself of how we can expect positivity to occur within work and our personal lives.

I am an educational/organizational consultant. The essence of what drives my work, I like to think, is working to help people see that (a) they choose their circumstances and that (b) organizations cannot influence individuals but organizations can influence how the individual perceives themselves and this effects limiting behaviors.

I do think the current economic situation is horrific and educational. While now most people I know are cutting back or cutting off, those that think about possibility remain open to options. I know people, right now, that are working with the hopes of NOT being laid off. This is oppositional behavior to working TO succeed and excel. I see these dichotomies in education and business, real estate and sports. People that see possibility and opportunity are inherently more welcoming to good things happening. Teachers that only see/observe negative student behavior rather than examine WHY this child CHOOSES to behave that way are not open to the possibility that child will change. I caught myself there yesterday...and quickly put myself in check.

So down the road toward a discussion of possibility I go. Thanks, Bob. For the rest of you that may stumble across this, go get Art of Possibility and let me know what you think...

Crisis often generates thinking

Why is it that times of crisis force individuals to think out of the box, creatively? Somehow, it must be easier to explain than simply a measure of comfort. Some psychologists suggest that when we are comfortable, we not only don't seek challenge but that we aren't wired to seek challenge. Few individuals continually focus themselves on excellence. The example to consider is that regardless of profession, the top performers on a regular basis are the best compensated. Regardless, among this top level, their are superior performers. So, connect this to times of crisis...when times are functional (not even excellent) status quo is acceptable. At schools, parents fundraise, have coffee with the principal...At my daughters school, an excellent school by many measures, parents support extraordinarily...in money, presence, participation, governance... However, it is no secret that, at this particular elementary school, that there are teaching weakspots and teaching strengths. With the current budget crisis, now there are meetings and concerns about protecting good teachers. Prior to this, test scores were good and less than exceptional teaching flew below the radar. A part of me thinks this is the great demise of our system, our culture.

In most organizations, average performance tends to get warnings, support, and potentially removal if performance is not met. Performance in most organizations is financial (units sold, houses sold, projects completed coupled with quality indicators). In schools, it is becoming increasingly clear that performance and accountability indicators are sorely in need. In addition, leadership needs support to truly learn how to hold individuals accountable.

These times we currently live in are challenging. But, the key is that we (as an educational system) learn lessons so that we are prepared to not only avoid these problems in the future but to enhance the ability of educators to do their jobs today.