The “Systems Thinking
Conference” at Puget Sound Educational Service District provided a powerful
opportunity for our Tahoma team of approximately 20 classified staff members,
supervisors and administrators to work with coaches who are well grounded in
systems thinking to begin to tackle a complex issue with which our district has
struggled over time.
The Issue:
There are few administrators
in comparison with the number of classified staff members. It presents
a significant challenge to provide a system of feedback that genuinely promotes
growth and accurately describes the employees’ performance. Our conference team agreed that if we are to
commit to a supervision and evaluation process which promotes a sense of value
and professionalism, we need to look deeper using systems thinking tools to
challenge the mental models and structures we have developed around this
issue for many years. As a result of the two and one-half
days our team engaged in meaningful learning and the application of systems
thinking to this issue, I have a strong belief that the collaborative efforts
of the team members will draw many others in our system into related planning
and change efforts in the near future in order to create and implement a more
effective process.
The conference team was composed
of staff members which included some who have a solid grounding in systems
thinking, concepts and tools through their work over a number of
years. Mike Maryanski presented the “Tahoma Leadership Journey” in
support of our Classroom 10 Vision which really served to energize the
conference and provided an overview of the tools and terminology which many in
our system now apply routinely. Dawn Wakely and Mike Hanson contributed
greatly by sharing their expertise and assisting Steve Byers, our PSESD primary
team coach. For some on our team the terminology and concepts were
completely new, however their contributions to the discussions were
invaluable. For me the structure of this experience allowed me to
understand the application of systems thinking tools far more deeply than I
have previously experienced. We worked intently to apply learning
to this very real and complex issue in our school system. We know
so well that the best learning occurs when teachers “Make it real,” and this a
great example of professional development providing new learning made real
through the applications to a genuine and complex issue.
All of our team members shared
their meaningful insights as the conference concluded. Some partial
comments which were similar to views shared by others included:
“What an experience. I
have lived my life by what’s possible. I had the opportunity to spend
these days reminding myself of what’s possible and a new and exciting tool to
use for stretching myself to what’s possible.” Barbara Roessler
“ The experience was exciting
and at times very eye opening because of the stakeholders in the process.
Thanks for an awesome learning experience!” Sharon Monaco
“Awesome training for
professional and personal growth. Great to see how our team grew,
opened up, and collaborated for a shared commitment.” Cindy
Erickson.
“ I learned that while I
thought I understood my ladders, I didn’t realize that my mental models are
driving my decisions.” Lori Cloud
“In order for us to see the
whole picture we all need to make a constant effort to seek a deeper
understanding that helps build relationships that promotes success for
all.” Ruth Mackie
“This conference has been meaningful
for me because it gave me a context for using tools I had previously been
exposed to in isolation” Rhonda Ham
Thanks Bruce for sharing this with us.
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