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! :)

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.

Session 5: 6 Hats theory

This session focused on the work of Edward De Bono, the 6 hats theory. I've heard briefly about it before but hadn't completed any work in it. I found the concept interesting and could see how a couple of my leadership team members clearly play roles under these guises. I know Victoria won't mind me saying but she will often play the "Black Hat" - challenging our thinking and asking us to turn the situation on its head to see another point of view. Jenny V is just about always the green hat, the one who says, "this might be crazy but..." and throws in a left-of-centre idea to shake things up. Where do I sit? I kind of pegged myself as perhaps a white or blue, the data and process driven person... But I could also see yellow, where I try to see a positive in all situations. Sometimes we're not the best person to judge our own characters...

The example we were given is that the college involved its entire staff, on a voluntary basis, to assess a certain situation and think of it from the six hats perspectives. They could only contribute ideas when that particular hat's station... The outcome being that people who get stuck on a set way of thinking often hold up the flow of ideas and progress so by providing a valid place for them to contribute those thoughts, you freed the rest of the group to get on with it.

If I combine this lesson with the collaboration ideas from this morning, it would be good for us to see if the major teams we work in are comprised of people with differing strengths and who wear different coloured hats.

Gala Dinner

What a BLAST!! I've just finished dancing to "A Hard Night's Day" (Beatles cover band) and had such a good time! The only problem now is that I am wired and ready to go (on Aussie time!) and everyone else has gone to sleep... and it is Wednesday night!!

Music makes my heart smile...

Session 2: Putting Gen Y in the Leadership Chair (me!!)

Wow... I am completely buzzing right now... What a thrill. My delivery went exactly to plan and I finished with just 2 minutes remaining out of 90... And people stayed back, forgoing their afternoon tea break so they could continue their discussions.

I had 34 people attend with a capacity of 45 so I was delighted with the turnout. There was predominantly Baby Boomers followed by Gen X's, exactly my target audience. I did have one veteran and one Gen Y, both of whom got a lot out of the session.

There was some good dialogue and interactivity in the table-based work. There were also great contributions from the crowd which prompted some good philosophical discussions.

Many people took down my details, especially for my slide download. I've created "bit.ly" addresses for all of my links which will allow me to track how many times people click on them within my presentation. That way I can evaluate what was of most interest or relevance to people.

Lots of people approached me afterwards to keep talking and one guy is also going to see whether I might be able to squeeze in a visit to his college in LA before I head off! The formal feedback was fantastic with the majority of responses being 'excellent' or 'good'.

There is also now discussion around this topic being expanded into a whole day pre-conference session for 2012...

I'm one very happy Gen Y presenter right now! :)

Session 1: Learner-centred Leadership

My original session, the Four Stages of Intelligence was cancelled this morning which was disappointing so I needed to choose a different session. Many of the topics relate directly to an American education environment and so are hard to transfer to an Australian situation. However, this Learner-centred talk seemed like it would be a good general session to attend.

The conversations centered around what creates a learner-centered environment and how the learning environment has changed. Teachers are no longer content deliverers - "Guide on the side not sage on the stage".

In this new paradigm, students are requiring more and constant feedback rather than the traditional formal assessment feedback strategies deployed in most educational institutions.

Things to Google at a later date:
1. "The student learning imperative"
2. "21st Century Learning, A Crash Course"

Pre-conference workshop and Richland College tour

Today was the pre-conference workshop and the topic I chose to go to was “Leading Teams”. We spent a lot of time dissecting what makes a team, as opposed to work groups and what the functions and roles of each of these were.

The content was a good reminder of the principles of teams and sparked a number of ideas I would like to explore in more depth once back in Australia. In particular it gave me the ability to stop and review each of my team members and see what their unique strength is within the team and why their contribution as an individual is important. This will hopefully guide me when putting together a project team for the assigned responsibilities I have for 2011/12.

One great piece of information I took away today was a new model of business implemented by Georgia Perimeter College who have reduced their committees by 67%. Their approach sees specific task teams established to deal with problems or issues and given a timeline of just 28 days to resolve it. I made contact with the college representative and he has directed me to the reports based on this model.

I also made contact with the Director of Enrolments, Norah, whom I happened to sit with on a table today and whom I also shared dinner with tonight. They have established a “One Stop” model for enrolments very similar to what we are proposing with the introduction of the new SMS. I will get her contact details tomorrow and be in touch with her as our project rolls out.

Yesterday was a fabulous day. I joined a visit to Richland College with two other Australians, David Bruce and Jenni Hardy from GippsTAFE. Richland had set up a magnificent five hour program for us with specialists from all across their business. We got some great insight into some of their programs as well as some reading material to take away. The biggest difference between our businesses was that they are predominantly involved in preparing students for university (70% of business). I was paired with Donna Walker, who is also involved in enrolments. We had a fascinating conversation about how they use data to drive all their business decisions and specifically how it informs their marketing activities. One thing I was amazed about is that to be an entry level teacher you must have a Masters degree! To reach the top end of the scale you need a PhD!

I had dinner last night with Pam Berger, my Chair Academy facilitator, and also Sonya who is the wife of Academy founder, Gary Filan. Sonya is hopefully going to be able to set me up with some people for a visit to a couple of the Maricopa Colleges once I reach Phoenix next Monday.

I present my paper tomorrow, 1.45pm – 3.15pm local time (5.45am – 7.15am Aussie time!). Not feeling too nervous... There could be 3 people, there could be 30 people – only time will tell!

Next is Now - Dallas is calling

Only three more days til I fly out of Australia and on to Dallas, Texas, to take part in my first international conference. My topic is "Putting Gen Y in the Leadership Chair" and I will explore new media and web-based technologies which can help engage Gen Y employees in the workplace.

I'll be posting up links to my presentation and to other resources I make reference to during the concurrent session. Looking forward to making my conference debut!