Monday, August 20, 2007
Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants.
Hello team we are up and running! I am so excited to be part of this team! It is time for some new comments on our blog. As we move into our PLC process I have been studying like mad. Currently I am reading "Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants." As a team member I want to be as valuable to you as possible. One thing that I read in this book really caught my attention. "To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another." I thought I would put this out on the blog to get some thoughts from you about it. How can we work at seeing teammates as collaborators and not competitors? How can we work at being supportive and not suspicious of each other? What are some ways that we can concentrate on team rather than ourselves and our own classrooms? How can we create victories through collaboration? How can we develop the habit of asking what is best for the team? How do we celebrate the successes of others without feeling slighted ourselves? How can we celebrate our strengths and help with weaknesses? These are some questions to get you thinking. Tell me what you think Branson Intermediate! Lets hear it loud and proud!
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6 comments:
Our "Pirate Time" team just finished meeting. There were many great ideas of how to work with our kids. Working as a team we came up with something we're very excited about that will address the needs of our diverse students and accompany our yearlong calendars. As we spend more time in collaboration, it will become easier to be collaborators and not competitors. Basically, if we just put kids first, we should be able to work through the kinks that sometimes trip the best of teams. We're excited, focused, and ready to roll.
Saying "I think" at the beginning of this comment is really at the heart of collaborating, which is really quite funny to me. The real root of being able to overcome competitiveness is being able to feel vulnerable enough with your teammates to say "I think" and know that your opinion will be valued and taken into consideration. The challenge is to be able to remember the finish line and have a true desire to want to see everyone reach it at the same time. Another difference between collaboration and competitiveness is the way in which you present your ideas. It really takes us sharing our opinions and ideas with a focus on helping each other be the best as a group instead of for our own glory and recognition. I think all of us struggle with that in our hearts, because we all desire recognition at some level. Maybe we will be more apt to collaborate instead of compete if we make it a goal of ours to show appreciation more often for people's hard work. I know that when I feel appreciated, whether it's at home or at school, I'm much more likely to want to be a team player!
Good questions, Shawn. Honestly, I think it's going to take a little bit of time for all of us to be truly comfortable in our collaboration time. I know that for myself, I have to feel a true sense of "safeness" before I really reveal my thoughts. I'm learning that even if you are unsure, it is often helpful to reveal what you are thinking or your questions because more than likely, there are others sitting there wondering the same thing. After today's PLC time, I must say that I'm very excited about getting to meet and really share what's going on in our school. Over all I give it a thumbs up!!
We should all work at seeing teammates as collaborators and not competitors while taking "baby steps" in the PLC process and being open minded enough to really listen to great ideas of the other professionals we work with. When we learn to really listen (along with being respectful of others' opinions and ideas),we will work at being supportive and not suspicious of each other. We need to agree to disagree sometimes. That is human nature. If we all agreed on everything, life would be really boring and unoriginal. We can concentrate on team rather than ourselves and our own classrooms by embracing a positive attitude and going at everything we do every single day to focus on what is best for the students. This job is not only about us as teachers, folks. It is also about how we can provide information, knowledge, support, nurturing, and safety to children while modeling how to be good, productive citizens in a community.
I love that idea of being completers of one another because it speaks of need- for growth, for being changed, for one another. It demands a personal humility and assessment of one's motivations. It requires that we be honest with ourselves and each other about our strengths and weaknesses, and invite others in to help us. It creates an environment where we feel a part of one another struggles and successes; part of each other's lives. I've already told several people how much I am loving our PLC times, if only for the greater feeling of connectedness I am experiencing! I feel like I'm a part of a team, and that has increased my excitement to be here, and my confidence in being able to meet each of my students' needs this year.
We need to keep in mind that PLC does mean a "professional" learning community. We are not fragile preteens that constantly need reassurance. We have a job to do; therefore, we need to take things less personally and more professionally. Don't complain, get involved, don't whine, ask what can I do to help, don't question decisions look for the results they will get!
Remember we are here for the kids, not for what is convenient for us.
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