Reading 3: Self-Awareness and Transformation

Transcription

1 Reading 3: Self-Awareness and Transformation Reading 3: Self-Awareness and Transformation Site: Infopeople Online Learning Course: TLA50 #1 Strategic Facilitation Book: Reading 3: Self-Awareness and Transformation Printed by: Admin Nancy Nerenberg Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 06:26 AM 1 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

2 Table of Contents Overview Self-Awareness Leadership and Inspiration Transformational Leadership Feedback and Evaluation 2 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

3 Overview In this course we have explored strategic facilitation, how to develop questions to initiate creative dialogue, and the skills you will need to form and guide a group in planning for the library's future. You have started the process of outreach with your intentional conversations and have thought through the steps you will take in forming an advisory group to work with you in transforming your library to meet the needs of adults 50+. Most of this has been aimed at things that are outside of yourself: the library, library users, your community, and the city or county in which your library is located. We have discussed how to form an advisory group and develop agendas, and we have described the way a group develops over time. This week we will look inward as well as outward. We will explore how effective facilitation begins with the facilitator and the self-awareness that it requires. The leadership you will exercise is "transformational"; it involves taking risks as you inspire transformation. Finally we will briefly consider the importance of informal, ongoing evaluation, how to measure progress, and how to encourage and act on feedback. A more formal approach to evaluation will be covered in a later course taught by Cindy Mediavilla. All of this is important to successful facilitation. You will need to know these things and more if transformation is to happen for your library. 3 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

4 Self-Awareness There is one element in the process of dialogue that is the most critical. It is the basis of good process; it manifests leadership, and it is your most important tool. What is it? It's you! The person who dares to guide a group in process must have good insight into his or her "self." This "self" is not referring to the ego that we all have; it is the exact opposite of that. To be a good facilitator, you must be able to step out of your "self" and move into a self-less place. This has been described as "watching your 'self' watch as a train goes by." It is observing your thoughts, your reactions, and your world view and being careful that they do not interfere with your responsibility to the group. Good facilitation requires a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating and ways of working with others, you will be able to modify or manage those habits of belief and actions that could inhibit others' participation. Self-awareness is an understanding of one's own knowledge, attitudes, and opinions, and being able to prevent them from the preemptive evaluation of others. Self-awareness also allows you to be clearer in your purpose and direction, which enables you to guide others more effectively. The better you understand yourself, the better you are able to manage your relationships with others. Being in the dark about your own mental models means that you could get caught up in your internal habits and may not respond impartially to ideas, opinions, or input that is important to know about and understand. We are all programmed by old mental models and have beliefs and behaviors that we are not aware of. Self-awareness allows you to recognize your talents and knowledge so that you can use them wisely. Before beginning to transform your library with adults 50+ in mind, take time to look inside and to observe your "self." Find your core values and beliefs, and recall how they were shaped. Test your reservations to note any reluctance. This is not intended to deny or change your views, opinions, behaviors, or preferences. It is to see what they are, to acknowledge them, and to enable you to step away from them intentionally in order to hear others without bias or filters. One of your assignments this week is to broaden your self-awareness using a list of questions. This will help you to develop a value statement to guide your work as a facilitator. It can also be used to identify the mental models that shape your views and reactions. To this list of questions, there are no right or wrong answers just aspects of your "self" that you must factor into the process of facilitation. You are not better or worse, but you can be wiser for knowing where you may be required to step outside of your normal behaviors to let others speak, concerns be expressed, or competing ideas be 4 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

5 aired. If you want to do more of this kind of work, the article on Self Awareness and Leadership by Chris Musselwhite suggests a way to ask for feedback on your performance. This article can be found in the Week 3 section of the Supplementary Material page. "Knowing others is wisdom. Knowing the self is enlightenment." (Lao Tse) 5 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

6 Leadership and Inspiration Do you see yourself in the role of a "movement starter"? In the role of strategic facilitator, what dance will you do to attract the first follower? How will you inspire your partners to continue dancing and to attract others? Leading to something new, different, or never explored is risky business. Resistance to change is a normal response to uncertainty. Security with what we know is our comfort zone and a safe place to stay, so when you introduce something new, not tested, and unfamiliar, you might meet resistance borne from fear of the unknown. You may just simply be working with people who need time to integrate the new idea into their view of the situation or time to grow a new sense of how things are! Leadership is one of the most studied human characteristics in business management courses. Theories about leadership abound, from behavioral trait theory, to personality studies, to situational theories. With as much attention as the topic has received, one would expect that we would have a good idea of what is needed to lead a group. In broad terms, there are several types of leaders. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, and laissez-faire leaders don't interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses. A more recent theory of leadership describes leaders as "stewards." Steward leaders get results by giving attention to the needs of their organizations as caretakers of the resources human, monetary, and physical. They are often not recognized as leaders but as those who serve the team. This style of leadership is closely akin to strategic facilitation. 6 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

7 Transformational Leadership In the early 1980s, Noel Tichy and David Ulrich described a new kind of "transformational" leadership to respond to the changing nature of the economy and globalization. They recognized a new breed of leaders who could help an organization develop a new vision, gather support from stakeholders, and guide the organization through change over time. Today's notion of transformational leadership may come from our sense of the fast pace of change in combination with our understanding of how large systems resist it. A useful definition is one adapted from James McGregor Burns (1978)(wikipedia.org/wiki/James_MacGregor_Burns), who introduced the concept: Transformational leaders are those who able to inspire followers to change perceptions, recognize opportunities and instill motivations to help others work towards common goals. Bernard M. Bass (1985) expanded this definition still further, describing the benefits to the followers and suggesting that there are four different components of transformational leadership. This approach focuses on what's in it for the participants and gives a foundation for what will attract participation with your planning group and the library. Intellectual Stimulation Continuous learning is a reason to participate in a new endeavor. Followers find ways to use their creativity, to provide the insight of their experiences, and to contribute to developing new ways of doing things.transformational leaders will often challenge the status quo; they encourage creativity and invite the followers to explore new ways of doing things. They offer new opportunities to learn. Individualized Consideration Most people appreciate being acknowledged for their skills and talents and being encouraged to use them for a common goal. Transformational leadership involves offering support and encouragement to each member of the team. To promote relationships, they rely on open lines of communication so that members feel free to share ideas. This allows leaders to give direct recognition of each contribution. Inspirational Motivation We are all attracted to an ideal, a promise, a dream, a hope. Team members are no different in their reasons for engagement. Transformational leaders have a clear vision of what is possible that they communicate to the members. These leaders are also able to instill in the members a similar passion for fulfilling their goals. Idealized Influence Letting members know you, experience your passion, and observe your enthusiasm translates into learning. 7 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

8 The transformational leader serves as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate the leader and internalize his or her ideals. 8 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

9 Feedback and Evaluation As we wrap up this course on Strategic Facilitation, we should consider measuring progress and acting on feedback. You can't really celebrate change unless you mark progress by measuring results, and you can't manage change successfully unless you continually incorporate feedback. There will be a course on Evaluating Results (taught by Cindy Mediavilla) during your Fellowship, but informal evaluation is what guides effective facilitation. My advice is to keep the door open to input and feedback on process. A check-up on a regular basis provides a time and way for the group to test its comfort level with the meeting process, the facilitation, and the substantive discussions and direction toward which they have agreed to work. In the planning process you will be asking for the members' time and attention, so it is important to find out if you are using these valuable commodities well. Making evaluation a regular part of the group's activities will make everyone more aware of what and how they are doing in reaching their goals. It respects their time and indicates that you value their expertise and wisdom. If done well, evaluation can also release hidden tensions, if any have accumulated, and challenge the group to create ways to tackle tough issues. The evaluation can be as simple as a concluding process check at each meeting. It could unfold in a couple of ways. One way is to ask for a "thumb vote": Good, I liked it, do more of this. Not so good, do less of this, or none of it Change something, add something, or do something differently to improve This can be informal, using hand signals with a brief discussion, or responses can be charted on a flipchart page. When the need for change is registered, be sure to follow up and remind the group when the change is made. (The group may revert to the old ways over time, but this simple evaluation allows everyone to influence the process.) Another option is to offer an anonymous method for giving more in-depth feedback. If you do this occasionally it reinforces your willingness to listen and shows that you care about the group's wishes. You should report out to the group, without attribution, again noting when a change is implemented. A Sample Written Feedback Form for Meetings is included as a handout in the Week 3 section of the Supplementary Material page. Periodically a group should evaluate its performance more fully. This can be done by measuring results and achievements, by examining the process by which the 9 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM

10 group operates, or by evaluating both parts of performance process and production. Spending time in dialogue about continuous improvement keeps the group, its purpose, and its path, in view. It is also a way to renew individual commitments, invite new participants to enter the group, and mark milestones. I've provided an evaluation tool handout, Ten Characteristics of Well-Functioning Teams, in the Week 3 section of the Supplementary Material. These informal evaluation processes are natural ways to recognize successes and celebrate achievements. Make sure to include celebration in your plans! Congratulations on your commitment to Strategic Facilitation! In these few weeks you have learned to lead from within from within the group and from within your "self." You have pre-planned and thought about building a team and the structures for promoting creative dialogue. Now you are on your way to an exciting adventure that will produce great things for your library. One last thought to speed you on your way: A good facilitator is best when people barely know he or she is there. A facilitator talks little, observes well, monitors the process, and when the work is done, and the goals achieved, participants will say, "We did this ourselves." I am privileged to have guided you through the basics of facilitation, and I sincerely wish you all good fortune with the transformational work in your libraries. What to Do Next: Proceed to Week 3, Assignment 1: Self-Awareness and Identification. 10 of 10 11/5/10 6:26 AM