I'm reading about Team Learning as described by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Senge espouses "systems thinking" (a way of thinking in more holistic terms) as a path to creating the "Learning Organization". The book has a philosophical bent that aligns with my own thinking in some ways, and so it has been hard to put down.
According to Senge, team learning (as opposed to individuals in a team learning as separate entities) is learning together, and it must be practiced continually; he uses the analogy of a jazz ensemble being "in the groove", or a sports team that has learned together to get "into the zone". He also characterizes team learning as a mysterious phenomenon which, in order for it to be more fully understood, must be practiced and built into teams in the workplace (p. 268). My overall impression is that team learning is a "frontier" experience.
In the section on Team Learning, Senge makes a strong point that problems aren't usually "out there" coming from some uncontrollable external force, but come from the individual or group's actions interacting with "the system". He also talks in-depth about the technique of dialogue (as developed in a theory by quantum physicist David Bohm), where assumptions are brought out into the open and examined in a non-threatening way. He views this as an antidote to unproductive group thinking and decision-making. (pages 238-243).
I wonder where the HealthRhythms protocol might fit into this picture of team learning. Could the process of going through a facilitated drum circle give insights into how the group might learn together? (What does it mean to "learn together"?? That could be something to explore in a session). Or could it show them what happens when their thoughts and assumptions get in the way of learning to "play together"? Is a drum group that is "locked in the groove" an example of team learning in action?
I'm excited to read more of this book. I would like to tie in some of his ideas to what the participants in a facilitated drum circle may be doing--learning to interact as a whole group, and in a different way than they are used to...the drumming way.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
About Teams
This project about team building would do well with a definition of teams, so here is a working definition, taken from a very popular work called "The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organization", by Jon Katzebach and Douglas Smith.
"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." (p.45)
Katzenbach and Smith go on to explain facets of this definition. One point they made (that may be applicable to teams in education) is that, while the right mix of skills is important when a team is forming, it is not absolutely necessary that all the needed skills are there at the outset; essentially, good teams allow people in them to develop and learn, and there should be that room for growth within the team. Seems to resonate with the mission of schools, lifelong learning.
They also stress that both a well-realized vision/purpose, and specific goals to measure success with, are important to functioning teams. Basically, if the purpose of the team is murky or unclear, that's not a good thing; also, goals need to be set. People have to believe in what they are doing, and have an idea of what they are trying to attain. Sometimes, the authors point out, the direction comes from a "higher authority", such as management or administration, and sometimes is comes from within the team. The point is that both elements, an overall purpose to guide the team, and concrete goals, are important for a functioning team.
"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." (p.45)
Katzenbach and Smith go on to explain facets of this definition. One point they made (that may be applicable to teams in education) is that, while the right mix of skills is important when a team is forming, it is not absolutely necessary that all the needed skills are there at the outset; essentially, good teams allow people in them to develop and learn, and there should be that room for growth within the team. Seems to resonate with the mission of schools, lifelong learning.
They also stress that both a well-realized vision/purpose, and specific goals to measure success with, are important to functioning teams. Basically, if the purpose of the team is murky or unclear, that's not a good thing; also, goals need to be set. People have to believe in what they are doing, and have an idea of what they are trying to attain. Sometimes, the authors point out, the direction comes from a "higher authority", such as management or administration, and sometimes is comes from within the team. The point is that both elements, an overall purpose to guide the team, and concrete goals, are important for a functioning team.
Friday, October 3, 2008
What, So What, and What Now?
This facilitator's question is a good introduction to where I'm at with the project right now. On the one hand, I have some awesome resources collected (books!) that I will take a look at, and received some great leads and helpful bibliography from librarian/organizational development expert Keith Russell.
A side note:
As a person who is versed in Organizational Development techniques (such as group drumming, a new method, but one gaining popularity), Keith Russell pointed me to some fruitful resources that give a scholarly grounding to team building and OD (Organizational Development). I hope to translate these into practical steps that participants in the session can take away with them. In addition, Keith pointed out that grounding an experiential exercise like HealthRhythms on a scholarly basis, for people in educational organizations says to them "we're not making this stuff up"--it's based on actual research.
On the other hand, I'm questioning where I'm going in the project...questioning my key questions.
Key Question #1: "What relevance do techniques of group team-building have for educational organizations?"
My Question: Why does this question matter to my project?
I'm grappling with this question because I don't necessarily see anymore how it serves the end-product of the project--to present at a professional development day. I guess I wanted to give validity to the use of a team-building exercise; to convince participants that group drumming is a tool that can be used.
But, perhaps they can take away something of value from an investigation of what it means to work as a team. What kinds of situations they might find themselves in at work where team-building might be relevant, where more group unity/togetherness is needed, or where communication (as symbolized by the group drumming) could be a key to attaining group goals. The circle functions as a symbol of a group's common purpose, and perhaps this is where research into work teams could inform the session (ideas from Katzenbach and Smith, or from Senge).
The angle of using this particular team-building approach as a way to talk about teams and team building in general....I could ask for ideas from the group about the "what, so what, and now what" of the session, and what they might take away from the session to bring back to their areas, teams, etc. This feedback could provide some kind of answer to the question--how do team building techniques "matter" to educational organizations?
A side note:
As a person who is versed in Organizational Development techniques (such as group drumming, a new method, but one gaining popularity), Keith Russell pointed me to some fruitful resources that give a scholarly grounding to team building and OD (Organizational Development). I hope to translate these into practical steps that participants in the session can take away with them. In addition, Keith pointed out that grounding an experiential exercise like HealthRhythms on a scholarly basis, for people in educational organizations says to them "we're not making this stuff up"--it's based on actual research.
On the other hand, I'm questioning where I'm going in the project...questioning my key questions.
Key Question #1: "What relevance do techniques of group team-building have for educational organizations?"
My Question: Why does this question matter to my project?
I'm grappling with this question because I don't necessarily see anymore how it serves the end-product of the project--to present at a professional development day. I guess I wanted to give validity to the use of a team-building exercise; to convince participants that group drumming is a tool that can be used.
But, perhaps they can take away something of value from an investigation of what it means to work as a team. What kinds of situations they might find themselves in at work where team-building might be relevant, where more group unity/togetherness is needed, or where communication (as symbolized by the group drumming) could be a key to attaining group goals. The circle functions as a symbol of a group's common purpose, and perhaps this is where research into work teams could inform the session (ideas from Katzenbach and Smith, or from Senge).
The angle of using this particular team-building approach as a way to talk about teams and team building in general....I could ask for ideas from the group about the "what, so what, and now what" of the session, and what they might take away from the session to bring back to their areas, teams, etc. This feedback could provide some kind of answer to the question--how do team building techniques "matter" to educational organizations?
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