MY  SPACE & PLACE

EDPL 502(c)

metaphor

My metaphoric image depicts the co-operative relationships between the leader (farmer), the tools (plough)employed and the methods that are used to keep the organisation moving forward (horses). Making progress and overturning old ways that no longer produce harvest is a critical element of this metaphor and indeed of Positive Organisational Scholarship, namely the striving for “optimal functioning” and “life-giving dynamics” ( Sandelands & Worline: 2011, p 134).

This metaphor reflects the essence of teamwork and respect for differentiated strengths. Although the success of this triumvirate of progress appear non-divisible, the single parts are of as equal importance as the whole. The sense of communion, collaboration, vitality, meaningfulness, focus and flow of this metaphor is undeniable and shares many elements with my space at this time.

502(a) presentation

For my 502(a) presentation, I made a conscious decision to create a general overview of my space in relation to Positive Organizational Scholarship and to concentrate on its development in our school. I wanted to depict movement, vibrancy, humour, colour and key words to portray my context, leaving the viewer excited about our journey and eager to learn more.

My intention herein, however, is to provide the details; to forge links between my space and theories of Positive Organisational Scholarship to demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding of the features of a healthy organization. I will follow the advice of my peer Bronwyn Paxton (personal communication: August 2015) and attempt to link my exploration of Positive Organizational Scholarship to the metaphor throughout my presentation.

My Space

My space is a regional Montessori school with approximately 200 children, 14 teaching assistants, 9 Montessori Directors and 5 administrators supporting a Principal who is accountable to the Board.

An Executive group, drawn from the administrators, are responsible for the finances, policies, compliances and the ‘business end’ of the organisation.

The Leadership group, drawn from the Directors, deals with curriculum, staff professional development, staff registration, incursions and excursions, action research projects and the holiday school program. This Leadership group serves the teaching staff whilst running their own classrooms concurrently.

The Executive, the Leadership and the Principal combined are the guiding forces behind the tools and the methods. They are represented by the farmer in the metaphor. They hold the reigns, look ahead and encourage forward movement. This movement is carried out by the Montessori Method, represented by the horses, which is guided by the leadership but creates the platform for momentum and is the strength behind change.

We are regularly encouraged to view any challenges in a positive light which , as I now understand, links in well with Frederickson’s perspective (2003) that a leaders positive emotions spread to the workers. Therefore, in order to develop a positive environment, the leadership needs to embrace this approach and model it effectively.

When reflecting on the multiple levels of a change process in The Adaptive Leadership Toolkit (www.aphsa.org), I recognise that our leader has utilized the guidelines in the following manner by:

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• Appointing new leadership within the school creating a middle tier of management.
• Incrementally preparing staff for change by way of informal conversations, discussions and memos.
• Providing the staff with opportunities to become more involved with the general school culture by encouraging staff participation in hosting activity clubs and extra-curricular activities.
• Dealing with the approach towards the schools organizational development by stressing the value of continued staff development.
• Adopting the service delivery motto of ‘Simply the Best’

We are also currently engaging in the digital software platform, ‘Aprettio’, to further develop our culture of self-reflection and mentorship. As members of the leadership group, we are encouraged to focus on the strengths of others so that we can effectively mentor and heighten potential.

There is a focus on developing collegiality and adopting a ‘whole school’ approach wherein every staff member is key to the development of every child in the school and not just the children in their individual classes.

Within the confines of this platform, provision is made for Action Research projects for the improvement of collaboration amongst colleagues to move towards a single goal.

Criteria for a healthy environment

Whilst we demonstrate collaboration, vitality and meaningfulness in our interactions, all features of a healthy environment as cited by Cameron et al (2003), there are areas where we are lacking. This is especially evident amongst the teachers who are nearing retirement who demonstrate a lack of zest and an unwillingness to examine old methods.

Amid all the changes that have taken place in our context, whilst there are some staff members who have responded with excitement and positive energy, there are others who have needed extra encouragement to develop trust in the new processes and resilience to adapt to the new regime.

We are striving for a healthy environment which adopts the Broaden and Build Theory where positive emotions build personal and social resources and signal positive individual functioning by broadening people’s thought-action responses and building on their enduring personal resources. Resilient members build a resilient organization which recovers from adversity with key personnel demonstrating optimism, decisiveness, integrity and open communication. Everly (2011) contends that as this approach is replicated by other staff members, resilient behaviour ensues.

To develop organizational citizenship behaviour, our members are encouraged to participate in voluntary actions that benefit others e.g. providing pastoral care to those who have experienced loss or illness. As an organization, we practice corporate social responsibility by donating fully funded places in the parent/toddler program to parents from a local non-profit home for mothers and babies. Although this demonstrates both honourable intention (Spreitzer & Sonenshein:2003) and voluntary actions, it cannot be described as positive deviance as many schools in the district practice the norm of providing places at no cost to indigent families.

When reminding staff that they shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes, our leadership cultivates courage. When our leadership expresses faith in our abilities, self-efficacy is promoted. When challenged to keep on learning, studying and improving qualifications to control our own lives, our staff practice self- determination and at this point in time, every member of staff is involved in study. When we focus on a servant heart and ask how we can serve each other and our community, we develop other-focus. These aspects of organizational citizenship behaviours are deeply encouraged in our environment.

The focus on positive emotions eliminates conflict and builds harmony and compassion (Cameron, et al. 2003). A case in point occurred when teacher A unwittingly offended Teacher B. The latter called a meeting to discuss the transgression and since teacher B described her perspective calmly and teacher B responded with contrition and compassion, the conflict was averted.

We highlight positive emotions and foster joy, interest and pride in our work, which Frederickson (2003) suggests, contribute to the optimal functioning of an organisation and contribute to general well-being.

Fostering a healthy organization

During the past 8 months, we have engaged in approaching discussions, complaints, comments and meetings from a positive perspective with both parents and staff. We are engaging in organisational citizenship behaviour with the mind-set that others will follow the example. In this case the leadership team is engaging in what Yaffe & Kark (2011:86) refer to as "a process of social influence…in the attainment of a collective goal”.

This positive approach to communication has a marked knock-on effect. Frederickson, within the Broaden-and-Build Theory (2003), explains how positive emotions result in an upward spiral in the workplace, leading to increased functioning and optimized output. Furthermore, we are working towards creating personal investment amongst the staff by engaging in action research.

An Action Research topic put up for consideration is ‘The impact of positive psychology interventions on the behaviour of years 1, 2 and 3 children supporting mindfulness in relationships and engagement/flow with the Montessori curriculum’.

We are encouraged to reach out to the staff, to enquire about the family, ask about their health and find out what support they need in order to fulfil their role effectively. This is modelled by the Principal who has developed a professional, authentic and caring relationship with his employees. We understand that we have a leader who cares for our well -being who will provide a tailor-made solution to any challenge we may face.

Whilst this aspect of communication is successful, we need to develop more competent methods of conveying information vital to the smooth running of the day. We are in the process of defining roles and implementing computerised systems to ensure that all aspects of communication in the school is addressed adequately.

With the implementation of a positive approach, the general tone has lifted, and although there have been many, many changes, there have also been more smiles, more jokes, more happiness. Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade (2005) argue that happiness leads to increased mental health which results in improved stress management and flourishing.

Frederickson (2003) reminds us that by building positive emotions we can help others find positive meaning in their work and to experience social connections, significance, competence, achievement and involvement.

My role at this time, as I see it, is to build faith in the leadership and develop hope for the future of the organisation and the members by fostering a positive school culture.

I am working closely with the Executive team to provide pastoral care to the staff members and to develop a sense of community which will evolve into a positive culture of embracing change.

In this capacity, I contribute to Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (Yaffe & Kark: 2011) as modelled by the principal. In my particular context this has included upgrading my personal dress code to ‘smart casual’ to convey our motto of ‘simply the best’.

I consistently draw upon the opinions of my colleagues in order to gauge the efficacy of a forthcoming decision and I request feedback regularly.

This has resulted in a gentle trend of others following suit which is slowly resulting in a general willingness to co-operate amongst the staff (a result conceptualized by Barnard in Podsakoff et al.: 2000) which, in this small way, has promoted the effective functioning of the school.

Amongst the changes that have occurred in the school recently, I have been involved in the reworking of the policies and processes on bullying and behaviour management. These changes have been implemented successfully which has resulted in further growth in confidence amongst staff and parents.

Upon realisation that new skills were needed in my new position in leadership, I enrolled in the MALPE program and made a positive step in enhancing skills that I would need in this position; an attribute of a flexible and adaptive approach to leadership as considered by Yukl & Mahsu (2010). Further to this end, I am engaged in the mentoring of my classroom assistants to develop their skills needed to prepare them for promotions and any other operational changes in the organisation.

During this process, staff were encouraged to develop these processes, discuss possible outcomes and provide feedback. There is a general sense of empowerment and a general realisation that all members of staff are accountable to the school leadership for the outcomes. In turn, it has become evident to the school leadership that we are directly accountable to the children and their families.

The American Public Human Services AssociationsAdaptive Leadership Toolkit
(A.P.H.S.A) proposes that the adaptive leadership approach builds a positive, healthy organisation with the balancing of clear direction with expectation which are in turn supported by efficient operating methods and problem solving empowerment for all.

The skills that are finely tuned and sharpened with attention are represented by the metallic ploughing the metaphor. These include demonstrating organisational citizenship behaviour, further study, resilience, reflection and feedback, flexibility, positive emotions, courage, efficacy, self-determination, well-being, abundance and other-focus.

We are not yet in that place of abundance where general well-being is boldly evident and contagious, but we do reflect humility, compassion, loyalty, respect and forgiveness. To refer back to the metaphor, we are undergoing a necessary ‘turning of the soil’ to produce a bumper crop in the future and taking a positive organisational scholarship approach is vital to our success.

References

(see notes)