Chair Academy (Australia 10-11) - Week 2, Days 1, 2. 3 and 4

DAY 1 - SUNDAY, 8 MAY 2011
Wow - a whole year since I have seen most of these people and I managed to remember everyone's names (except you Sara - so sorry but it also means I will never forget again!)

I was first to arrive and was so pleased to see Pam again! She introduced me to Maria, the new facilitator, who is wonderful as well. I got to work, meeting and greeting, making sure everyone had name tags on and knew to help themselves to tea and coffee.

Starting the session we did a bit of a flashback to where our journeys had taken us since our first week in Creswick last year. As a re-introduction, and an introduction for those who didn't begin with us last year, we went around the room stating who we were, what we do (and if it was the same as last year), one thing not on our resume and what our biggest accomplishment or achievement had been in the preceeding 12 months.

As predicted, at least five people had changed jobs significantly, I would guess it would be at least double that. It was good to acknowledge what we had individually accomplished and interesting to learn that just about every TAFE is undergoing a 'restructure' of some sort. Tells you a lot about the environment we're now all working in.
There are also around a dozen people who did not return for the second week while we have a couple more who have joined us after missing their second week last year.

DAY 2 - MONDAY, 9 MAY 2011
Started bright and early and looked at the StrengthsFinder tests and results. We looked in depth at our own strengths (mine are in order: connectedness, developer, empathy, relator and intellection) and how these strengths are all positive in their own unique way. We looked at how people may describe these strengths using both 'balcony' (positive) and 'basement' (negative) language.
From this exploration I realised that I need to 'reclaim' the role of birthday morning teas and "fun days" as this is really part of my strengths and something I derive a great deal of satisfaction from. I'm also going to look to give people positive feedback based on their strengths with the belief that this will have more meaning and depth for them. I will also look to see if existing work tasks can be reframed based on the outcomes of the strengths tests my team is taking this week.
In the afternoon we began looking at the Dimensions of Leadership. We completed a survey tool which helps us assess what is getting our attention, or at least where we are focussing our efforts right now. Just being able to analyse a situation and know whether it required skills in character, analysis, accomplishment or interaction can help shape the way you approach a particular situation.


DAY 3 - TUESDAY, 10 MAY 2011
Continued looking at the dimensions of leadership and disected a survey we had to complete for homework last night. I was surprised to see that I only scored 1 from 7 characteristics in the optimal score range. I had two characteristics which were very low... Something to work on!When we moved on to leading through change we watched the animation, "Who Moved My Cheese". It was funny to identify people we have worked with who fit those stereotypical roles. Watching something like that makes it easy to see what SHOULD be done yet when we are in our workplaces we quite often don't sit back enough to really work out what we should be doing in regards to change.
We were then introduced to an eight (8) step process to most effectively introduce and lead others through change. We were broken into groups to further explore what was involved and develop an interesting or memorable way to summarise the main points. The group I was in looked at celebrating short term wins to maintain energy and commitment. Our memorable take away was an acronym highlighting the keys things to do when celebrating short term wins:
What has happened?
Individuals who need to be acknowledged
Note progress against the vision
Sell continued commitment to the end vision
After this process we were re-divided into new groups and given a predicted challenge in the vocational education sector to apply the process to.
The group I was in struggled to work out what level of detail to include in our topic; From 200 RTO's to 680 - surviving the competitive environment.
Once we refined our viewpoint we got through the stages fairly quickly. I took the role of allocating Strength characteristics to each stage of the process. this was really useful in learning how to apply what you learn through the StrengthsFinder survey to a work situation. It may mean that the same people are not involved from start to finish but may be brought in and out as the journey progresses.
I announced this morning that I had my wig collection available for anyone who'd like to borrow one for Thursday night's party... when I said I had 35 a round of applause and laughter broke out! But it's sure been a great talking point since... :)

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY, 11 MAY 2011
Half a day today. We spent the first part of the morning analysing and discussing our leadership survey results. I was pleased to see that many of my own scores had increased since the first round and were in many cases closer to those of my supervisor and/or peers. There were a couple of areas which had decreased since the first survey period last year. this may be because the focus of my role has changed somewhat or maybe because my focus has shifted. I will discuss this further with Victoria to see where she came from when rating my leadership skills.
We also looked at the difference between leading and managing and I was surprised to see that much of what I do in my day to day role is managing according to the Marcus Buckingham definition. I suspect that the amount of leading and managing varies depending on the type of work conducted by the team involved.
We were asked at one stage to tell our tables what two things our mothers would say about us... Hard to think of! I said that she's very proud of me and that my partner is her favourite daughter in law! Well that's what she's been saying a lot of lately! I actually just spoke to Mum on Skype so I asked her what she would say:
1. She's a very kind, loving and caring daughter
2. She's very passionate about everything she does
Not a bad summation at all - thanks mum! :)

End of the road

Sitting at San Francisco airport awaiting my final domestic flight to LAX where I'll connect to my flight home!

What a wonderful three weeks. I have had my beliefs challenged, my view of the world broadened, learned a little more about me and will be coming home wiser than when I left... What more could I ask for?

LA wasn't a very exciting part of my journey, felt like I was wandering a little aimlessly while I was there. The celebrity culture of Hollywood really didn't do anything for me at all. The baseball was actually my highlight, immersing myself into one of America's favorite pasttimes.

San Francisco however was fantastic and a place I wold return to again. My immediate reaction was that it was very similar to Melbourne, perhaps why it endeared itself to me so quickly. The architecture is superb, the decorative detail of the buildings sublime. The art and culture is prominent throughout the city be it street art or cultural museums. I attended the SF Muesum of Modern Art last night and enjoyed the photography exhibit which explored the voyeuristic nature of photography.

I packed a lot into the 2.5days I was there and yet there is still so much more left to see... One day I hope to return to San Fran!

The unexpected journey

Window Rock was a lovely place, I learnt a lot about the Navajo tribe and their cultural beliefs, many of which sit in alignment to my own. I fell in love with a painting called "White Shell Woman" by Shonto Begay. I wish I'd been allowed to photograph it cause it was beautiful!

I had picked Seligman on old Route 66 as my pitstop for the night. It seemed like a relativelybig dot n he map so surely it would be OK. I booked a room online and set off.

The drive was easy this time round, how quickly it becomes second nature to drive on the right hand side.

I made Seligman by about 5.30pm. I was told the were just two places to eat at night, one on the right side of the road and one on the left. As I was walking on the right hand side I stopped at The Roadkill Cafe (yes, ironic for a vegetarian) and funnily enough they didn't have any vego meals. I went across the road to Lilo's in the hope of finding something.

What I found was completely unexpected.

It happened to be one of the best nights of my trip! I sat at the countler and chose one of three vego options. The waiter, Jerry, was hilarious and a very big personality. The old man at the counter next to me, Dave, was lovely and even gave me a ride home at the end of the night.

Its often the unplanned, unexpected trips that can bring you so much joy!

Country roads... Take me home...

Found myself on the wrong side of the road today... Well wrong compared to what I am used to. Luckily I stayed on the right hand side all the way from Phoenix to Window Rock (near the border of Arizona and New Mexico).

Everything started fine, the GPS was a god send t help me get out of Phoenix and used to the new side of the road. However it died an hour out of town and I had to resort to instructions written on the back of an EFTPOS docket from a servo! When this didn't suffice I lashed out for one of those old fashed paper devices called a map - and it got me here!

The changing landscapes were fantastic today, from rocky mountains dotted wih massive cacus plants,to pine forests and snow, to flat desert plains - I feel like I saw it all. The temperature varied significantly too. Started at 83 (30ish) today and ended at 50 (10) here in Window Rock.

Will be back on the road tomorrow afternoon heading west towards Vegas. I'll stop somewhere along the way for the night and be in town by 11am Thursday (5am Friday home time)

On the road again... Just can't wat to get back on the road again...

South Texas College

Was lucky enough to sit in on on a "Great Teachers Retreat" today at South Texas College with my Chaur Academy supervisor, Pam Bergeron. I was amazed at how similar our issues are in Higher Ed despite the fact that we're continents apart. The budget cuts, students attendences, plaigerism (especially online), high school preparations or lack therof, the transition to online courses, the pedagogical issues related to that... I felt like I was sitting in a meeting in my own department only with Texan accents! Education is truly a global issue...

Airport troubles...

So it seems the best laid plans can go awry without warning...

Have arrived at the airport ready to fly down to meet Pam at McAllen only to discover the plane has been cancelled (as it was yesterday) and I now can't get out til 8.55pm (it was originally a 3.55pm flight). So I am stuck on 20 minute internet access to entertain me for five hours...

Last night I also discovered that my flight from Dallas to Phoenix on Sunday, which I had tried to line up as a connecting flight from McAllen, actually leaves at 10pm, not 10am as I had thought... no idea how I made that mistake!! One thing's for sure, I won't be spending 14 hours hanging out at the airport...

Obviously Dallas isn't finished with me for whatever reason... Only the universe knows!

Keynote Speakers 3 and 4

Keynote speaker 3 was Sharon Blackwell who spoke to the characteristics of a strategic leader. These included:
Objectivity - don't bring preconceived ideas and beliefs into the workplace
Communication Skills - honestly, truthfully, encouraging, acknowledge good work
Teaching, menotring and coaching - develop the skills of others and have a succession plan
Calculated risk taking - taking the time to studdy, explore pros and cons, make a decision and then deal with any and all consequences when you do take the risk
Energy - take care of your self (exercise, eat well and sleep well) to keep your energy levels at a sufficient level to operate optimally.

She also kept to the theme of the day by reminding us not to lose sight of the human element... our people.

This morning's fourth, and final, keynote speaker, Carl Hayne, spoke about leadership in the mirror and how we need to make time and space to reflect on our leadership journey. However, when we look deeply, and critically at ourselves, we also need to be able to forgive our shortcomings and weaknesses.