Hi WOL Friends,
Have you ever heard of the idea or concept of body doubling? It’s a concept that has come to the forefront as the research on ADHD is making its way into popular culture. It was a new idea for me, too, when a friend talked about our ability to be more productive by working side-by-side. It was helpful as she supported me in getting my garden ready last year. I miss her these days as I prep my garden for Spring planting.
While the concept has made its way to the forefront because of ADHD - its usefulness can benefit all of us, ADHD, or not!
Recently, we have been talking about AI and how it might help us to be more productive, how it can lighten our load, and how important it is to keep humans in the loop! Our discussions have centered on why purpose and ethics must be front and center. So, the idea of learning to work with each other as humans is critical. Our communication, body language, work preferences, and personality all play a part in our collaboration as a team.
With the addition of WOL Extended Campus this year, we have been stretched - and welcomed some time to learn as a team. In this episode, Lauren, Erin, and I talked about our amazing experience working with Allision Rodman to strengthen our working relationships and build our team's capacity. It has been a breath of fresh air - and reminded me of just how important working on our human relationships is to the success of our team.
Allison's most recent book Still Learning and her gentle guidance helped us to recognize and value our work preferences and strengths - and gave us insight that has helped us to be more in tune with each other as we tackle the day to day and plan for the future.
As you listen in you will hear how Allie helped us to recognize our priorities and learn to work with each other's strengths and blind spots.
Here are a few of the big ideas:
Allie helped us focus on setting clear goals (referred to as "wildly important goals" or WIGs), prioritizing tasks, and enhancing our team efficiency through better time management and a clear definition of our responsibilities. She helped us to understand and leverage our team's collective strengths while acknowledging individual differences in personality and work styles.
Engaging with an expert consultant (Allison Rodman) helped us to navigate the challenges of expansion and manage our workload, the external guidance was crucial in enhancing our organizational capacity and navigating the big change we faced this fall by adding Extended Campus.
Our team's journey underscores the value of resilience and adaptability in leadership and organizational culture. And while we were in the thick of it we couldn’t see our strengths - it was great to know that we had the resilience to navigate the uncertainties and capacity to support continuous learning and growth.
I loved that our discussion highlighted the critical role of soft skills (like understanding and empathy) and their value in effective leadership and team collaboration. We believe that integrity, trust, competence, and personal regard are vital, not only for our internal team dynamics, but also for enhancing our interactions with students, facilitators, and district contacts. And on a larger scale, we know their broad applicability in creating a more inclusive and supportive educational environment.
We value and are committed to improving the human side of learning. We recognize that we must pay attention to and regard each person as they navigate their daily tasks.
Often, we want to go it alone when we are struggling - and often as leaders, we have the skills. Yet, working with Allie brought out the best in our team. As a leader, it was much like the body-doubling concept my friend introduced me to. Sometimes it is so important to get another perspective!
The World of Learning Institute and Extended Campus can be a partner for you as well (Allie could, too). Whether you are struggling to find a teacher, need support with your own online/remote learning program, or just want to think about a new way to approach an old problem - we are here to help.
As always you can reach me at pmulroy@iu08.org or pmulroy@worldoflearninginstitute.com.
Have a great day,
Pat
Capacity and Collective Efficacy