Community of Practice

During the last community of practice meeting that took place about a month ago, I realized that the support of people who are doing the same thing as I, albeit in different places, is really valuable. I have counted on their support and encouragement in many subtle ways, and am thankful for it.

One of the people there told me that the main thing to remember is that people will eventually start to feel the rhythm. Just watch where it goes, see where the group takes it.

Readings Review

Some updates on what I have been reading:

• Chemers, Oskamp, and Costanzo. Diversity in organizations . Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, c1995.

A scholarly monograph, written for social scientists and organizational psychologists. One chapter on diversity in decision-makinig teams seemed interesting; the main points of the chapter were that it is known that diversity affects the work of teams, but in what way is still not fully known. The authors suggest that status is an issue, and that teams with diversity in status sometimes do not function as well--for example, if there are people of various socioeconomic backgrounds in one decision-making team. They suggest that it might be useful for team members to understand the dynamics of status and diversity explicitly; hopefully, factors like expertise promote a person's status, rather than race, gender, class, etc. The authors suggest that diversity training should work both ways: high status groups should understand the issues that low-status members face, and vice-versa. Training should "seek to change the behaviors of all parties involved". (p. 152)

• Dutton, Seaman, and Ulmer. Understanding group dynamics in adult education. Englewood: Prentice-Hall, 1972.

A basic text in the Prentice-Hall Adult Education Series about group dynamics, which explains some social scientific and psychological aspects of the formation, purposes, and maintenance of "groups" (they look at groups in general, and then groups in adult education in particular). The introductory section delineated three factors that have a profound effect on the group dynamics: cohesion, structure (such as formal or informal) and atmosphere (the tenor of the relationships and communication within the group). They also mention that groups need to have goals, and that people look to groups to fulfill certain needs (both psychological and social). A section on the principles of group dynamics, which they define as the complex of forces that act upon a group which cause it to behave the way it does, was interesting; the authors point out that members of a group may learn more about themselves or others in the process of being part of a group, but it may not change the behavior of the group. In other words, just because the change is not visible in the group's actions does not mean that some learning or change hasn't taken place among the members.

As to how this relates to group drumming, I particularly resonated with the fact that people may have a changed image of themselves or others by participating in a group. Group dynamics will certainly come into play--people may be resistant due to their thinking that they are not musically inclined. Overall, I think most people will "want" to be there. My hope is to design the experience in such a way that it might stretch people's images of what they can accomplish in a group setting, by building on the metaphor of the drum circle as a unity of individual voices.

Lenses: Looking at group processes through the Individual and the Group

My reading and research has suggested these two lenses (Individual and the group as a whole), and I am planning to get key information needed from my readings of Gardner's works on multiple intelligences, as well as French and Bell's work in OD to focus on the individual as a power in the group dynamic. Also, a key theme is diversity, and I have a book that covers diversity in organizations. Then, broadening to the group, I will focus on group processes, gleaning information from the French and Bell text, as well as Schwarz's Skilled Facilitator Manual. I may need to define terms, or otherwise ground what I am looking at in psychology and social science.

I would also like to get back to my original questions, to see where I am at with them. Also, needing to post to the blog for updates on readings, as well as thoughts about the last Community of Practice meeting on October 26th.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes...

...in the words of the David Bowie song. There've been some changes in options for carrying out the HealthRhythms/teambuilding project.

Basically, I heard from my library contact at MSU Mankato that the professional development session I was pencilled in for has been taken off the agenda, due to the high number proposals that were accepted. Considering I'm not even employed at MSU anymore, it's understandable, but a disappointment nonetheless. The library contact is going to see if a smaller session could be done for just the library; I'll have to be in contact again with her about this.

However, the flip-side is that I am instead going to do some group empowerment drumming (and hoepfully just plain fun) for the library staff development day here at Southwest Minnesota State. They're looking for a way to relax and reflect at the end of a busy and challenging semester. I'm looking forward to it as my first "real" HealthRhythms session.

That's all for now by way of update.

More About Teams

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.

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.

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?

Systems in Motion

I've started researching aspects of the core questions of my project, corralling some good books together from the library I work at. Here's what I'm reading:

The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. (Peter M. Senge). Looks at teamwork and organizational effectiveness from a "systems thinking" perspective. A highly cited work.

Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. (Howard Gardner) Another highly cited work I've always wanted to read.

Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. (Howard Gardner) Updating his earlier work with new research and an several added intelligences.

This week I will be speaking with Keith Russell, a librarian colleague from Kansas who also works part time in his human resource office's Organizational Effectiveness unit (I think it's called). He's also a versed in group drumming as an staff development tool, so it will be good to ask him some questions and get his opinion on team-building.

Tempo

Some reflections on Native American drumming:

We visited the Makato Pow-wow/Wacipi this past weekend, and I was amazed by the power of the traditional drumming. It was a feeling of being deep into a way of life. The drummers and singers kept a heartbeat to which the dancers danced. In the twlight, it was a unique site to see.

I watched the men sitting around the drum during one of the dances (one group of 32 drum groups which were there that weekend!)...Each person had a unique "voice" in playing the drum, and in keeping the beat. Sometimes the beat would be steady, and then one man would start an alternate rhythm to the main one. Their singing voices were in tune with the drumming, and the drumming was in tune with the dancers. It was really a show of unity, above all else.

If I could draw some conclusions from this brief dip into another culture, one which is all too often forgotten, especially in this region, I would say that there is a culture of drumming, just as there is a culture of dancing, of traditional arts, and of singing. The fact that the drum itself, and the drum beat, was a focal point of the event, the movement, and the meaning, is sort of a revelation to me. It would be interesting to see how this native culture of drumming works--what the men did, how they feel, what they know, who they are....what lessons could I draw from them?

Someone told me that drums and drumming had been "demonized " over the past century or so, and that it's been pushed to the side in our modern culture (except perhaps in rock and jazz bands!). Thankfully, the drums are alive and well, at least in a native culture within our dominant, non-drum-friendly (that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but that's how I feel) culture.

My goals is to drum up some research, which so far is sorely lacking from this project.

SummerFall Again

The time of change between the seasons of summer and fall, SummerFall, is here again. The tone of the less hectic schedule of summer quickens to the more staccato pace of coursework, libraries, and Professional Development Plans. It is a time also a time for evaluating and reflecting, and setting off on new adventures.

I'm setting a similar course on this blog, in keeping the beat of the previous project. My goal now is to deepen my skills as a facilitator, using the Health Rhythms protocol, as well as to learn more about group dynamics, teamwork, and communication.

That's where I'm at, and I'm excited to start. Despite my nerves, I'll try to keep that beat. Watch this space for more.