Chapter 7: Managing the Dynamics of Difference Through Collaboration
The mix of values in a society provides multiple vantage points from which to view reality. Conflict and heterogeneity are resources for social learning. Although people may not share one another's values, they may learn vital information that would ordinarily be lost to view without engaging the perspectives of those who challenge them.
--Heifetz, 1994, p.35
As I read Heifetz's (1994) quote, what comes to mind for me is that the more we are exposed to a diversity of backgrounds, the more we will grow as people and professionals so that we may become stronger educators who are capable of being supportive to ALL of our students. When I come accross issues that arise from cultural differences I am not always tolerant. Sometimes I lose my patience and I may even believe that it is an excuse to not comply to the norms. However, I would like to respond with compassion and in a supportive way that encourages my students to grow and feel welcomed. As I think about issues that surface within my school, my school community responds to issues that are based in cultural differences by seeking first to understand and then to be understood. Even if we do not agree with what is happening, we do what is in the best interest of our students. My school responds in the most supportive way possible to culturally-based issues that arise from the neighborhoods that my school serves.
As I read the questions in the third column of Table 7.1 on page 89, I feel that some people might be uncomfortable with certain topics included in that column. However, in order to be more effective educators, we must go beyond our comfort zone and learn as much as possible so that when the time comes, we are prepared to help, guide and support our students as much as possible.
Questions that guide how I approach my work at the school:
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives in the classroom and in the formal curriculum?
*In what ways do we use assessment data to inform successful and unsuccessful practices?
Questions that are present in the ongoing discussions among faculty and staff at my school:
*In what ways do we foster discussions about race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomics, and faith as related to the needs of our community?
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives and views in school meetings?
*In what ways do we use assessment data to inform successful and unsuccessful practices?
Questions that pose the opportunity for further learning for me and for my school:
*In what ways are our decision-making processes transparent and subject to change based on community needs?
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives in parent and community meetings?
Reflection:
Some reasons some of the team members might disengage from the conversation or react to the topic under discussion is that they may feel attacked, uncomfortable, or that their values are being challenged. Norms for conversations that make a safe environment and lead to all participants contributing to the conversation could be co-created with all participants so that everyone has a voice as to how to establish a respectful environment in which no judgment is being passed and everyone is learning and growing from each other. Having all participants involved co-create the norms and expectations for how these sensitive meetings will take place helps create a safe environment where everyone feels free to take risks knowing that everyone else will try to see it from their point of view. If everyone agrees from the beginning to seek first to understand before being understood, it should help these meetings run a lot smoother. Stating questions in the positive as breakthrough questions, rather than barrier questions, will help challenge belief systems that may block educator effectiveness while unveiling biases that many probably were not even aware that they possessed.
Reflection:
The three speakers seemed to be somewhat closed-minded and limited to seeing the situation from only their perspective. I would react to their responses by encouraging them to try to see the situation from a different perspective so that they have a more complete picture of where this is all headed. I would invite a representative from each group to share with the rest what is most important to them so that all voices are heard and considered and then I would invite all of the participants to come up with a win-win situation. This type of response does not occur at my school meetings, however, I have been at schools where this type of response was the norm. It was very uncomfortable to sit through and I would just withdraw from the conversation altogether in order to stay out of trouble. In situations like this I would like to be able to facilitate, at least whoever happens to be sitting around me, by encouraging them to try to understand the presenter's point of view and see it their way, even if they do not agree with the option being presented to them. I would challenge them to think of what they would do or say if they were in agreement with the option and how would that impact their teaching, what would they do or say differently, what steps would they take. The role of collaborative leadership in this situation is to bring different stakeholders together to problem-solve a common issue that will impact all of them in some way or another.
Going Deeper: 3 Keys
3 Key Learnings:
*The more uncomfortable you get, the more growth you will experience.
*As leaders, we have the ability to facilitate during meetings and encourage others to expand their thinking.
*When roadblocks are seen as opportunities, we will make great positive changes in the best interest of our students.
3 Key Quotes:
*"The dynamics of acknowledging conflict as a natural part of organizational life presents leaders with opportunities to expect diversity of opinions, experiences, and perspectives" (Lindsey et. al, p.91).
*"Complexity theory identified diversity as necessary for organizational growth and development and connected personal learning that occurs in professional communities to how an individual's personal learning affects the larger community" (Lindsey et. al, p. 91).
*"Participants, in time, engage in reflection that includes recognition of how their value systems are challenged" (Lindsey et. al, p. 91).
3 Key Questions:
*How do we help staff members realize that the more uncomfortable we are the more growth we will experience in order to become more effective educators?
*How do we guide staff members to seek first to understand then to be understood so that they may gain a deeper understanding of different perspectives that will enable them to have a more complete picture of the situation at hand?
*How do we help staff members become proactive team players?
Thinking of my role as an educator, the information in this chapter causes me to think about my practice by helping me realize that I could be more proactive and use my leadership skills in order to guide my staff from the known to the unknown so that they may feel more comfortable with issues and dilemmas that once were foreign to them. This information causes me to think differently about my school or district by reminding me to think in terms of breakthrough questions vs. barrier statements and to remember that there is more than one lens from which to view situations.
The mix of values in a society provides multiple vantage points from which to view reality. Conflict and heterogeneity are resources for social learning. Although people may not share one another's values, they may learn vital information that would ordinarily be lost to view without engaging the perspectives of those who challenge them.
--Heifetz, 1994, p.35
As I read Heifetz's (1994) quote, what comes to mind for me is that the more we are exposed to a diversity of backgrounds, the more we will grow as people and professionals so that we may become stronger educators who are capable of being supportive to ALL of our students. When I come accross issues that arise from cultural differences I am not always tolerant. Sometimes I lose my patience and I may even believe that it is an excuse to not comply to the norms. However, I would like to respond with compassion and in a supportive way that encourages my students to grow and feel welcomed. As I think about issues that surface within my school, my school community responds to issues that are based in cultural differences by seeking first to understand and then to be understood. Even if we do not agree with what is happening, we do what is in the best interest of our students. My school responds in the most supportive way possible to culturally-based issues that arise from the neighborhoods that my school serves.
As I read the questions in the third column of Table 7.1 on page 89, I feel that some people might be uncomfortable with certain topics included in that column. However, in order to be more effective educators, we must go beyond our comfort zone and learn as much as possible so that when the time comes, we are prepared to help, guide and support our students as much as possible.
Questions that guide how I approach my work at the school:
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives in the classroom and in the formal curriculum?
*In what ways do we use assessment data to inform successful and unsuccessful practices?
Questions that are present in the ongoing discussions among faculty and staff at my school:
*In what ways do we foster discussions about race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomics, and faith as related to the needs of our community?
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives and views in school meetings?
*In what ways do we use assessment data to inform successful and unsuccessful practices?
Questions that pose the opportunity for further learning for me and for my school:
*In what ways are our decision-making processes transparent and subject to change based on community needs?
*In what ways do we foster alternative narratives in parent and community meetings?
Reflection:
Some reasons some of the team members might disengage from the conversation or react to the topic under discussion is that they may feel attacked, uncomfortable, or that their values are being challenged. Norms for conversations that make a safe environment and lead to all participants contributing to the conversation could be co-created with all participants so that everyone has a voice as to how to establish a respectful environment in which no judgment is being passed and everyone is learning and growing from each other. Having all participants involved co-create the norms and expectations for how these sensitive meetings will take place helps create a safe environment where everyone feels free to take risks knowing that everyone else will try to see it from their point of view. If everyone agrees from the beginning to seek first to understand before being understood, it should help these meetings run a lot smoother. Stating questions in the positive as breakthrough questions, rather than barrier questions, will help challenge belief systems that may block educator effectiveness while unveiling biases that many probably were not even aware that they possessed.
Reflection:
The three speakers seemed to be somewhat closed-minded and limited to seeing the situation from only their perspective. I would react to their responses by encouraging them to try to see the situation from a different perspective so that they have a more complete picture of where this is all headed. I would invite a representative from each group to share with the rest what is most important to them so that all voices are heard and considered and then I would invite all of the participants to come up with a win-win situation. This type of response does not occur at my school meetings, however, I have been at schools where this type of response was the norm. It was very uncomfortable to sit through and I would just withdraw from the conversation altogether in order to stay out of trouble. In situations like this I would like to be able to facilitate, at least whoever happens to be sitting around me, by encouraging them to try to understand the presenter's point of view and see it their way, even if they do not agree with the option being presented to them. I would challenge them to think of what they would do or say if they were in agreement with the option and how would that impact their teaching, what would they do or say differently, what steps would they take. The role of collaborative leadership in this situation is to bring different stakeholders together to problem-solve a common issue that will impact all of them in some way or another.
Going Deeper: 3 Keys
3 Key Learnings:
*The more uncomfortable you get, the more growth you will experience.
*As leaders, we have the ability to facilitate during meetings and encourage others to expand their thinking.
*When roadblocks are seen as opportunities, we will make great positive changes in the best interest of our students.
3 Key Quotes:
*"The dynamics of acknowledging conflict as a natural part of organizational life presents leaders with opportunities to expect diversity of opinions, experiences, and perspectives" (Lindsey et. al, p.91).
*"Complexity theory identified diversity as necessary for organizational growth and development and connected personal learning that occurs in professional communities to how an individual's personal learning affects the larger community" (Lindsey et. al, p. 91).
*"Participants, in time, engage in reflection that includes recognition of how their value systems are challenged" (Lindsey et. al, p. 91).
3 Key Questions:
*How do we help staff members realize that the more uncomfortable we are the more growth we will experience in order to become more effective educators?
*How do we guide staff members to seek first to understand then to be understood so that they may gain a deeper understanding of different perspectives that will enable them to have a more complete picture of the situation at hand?
*How do we help staff members become proactive team players?
Thinking of my role as an educator, the information in this chapter causes me to think about my practice by helping me realize that I could be more proactive and use my leadership skills in order to guide my staff from the known to the unknown so that they may feel more comfortable with issues and dilemmas that once were foreign to them. This information causes me to think differently about my school or district by reminding me to think in terms of breakthrough questions vs. barrier statements and to remember that there is more than one lens from which to view situations.