Pearl Mattenson : Alt Shift

A 3-part
Administrative Leadership Team Coaching experience

You have a team of administrators who report to you. You may actually have done some work to form them into a collaborative team. Or you may just be starting to think of ‘team’ as a potentially valuable structure. Teams are complex systems. Given the opportunity to be more conscious of their way of working, and the skills to manage their functions, team members can intentionally choose to improve their capacity. They can better collaborate and deliver results for the school.

4.5 hours of teams coaching (spread out over 3/ 90 minutes sessions) can jumpstart the process and open the door to important ongoing conversations for you and your administrative team. I will work with you to design the appropriate content for this coaching to best meet your needs.

How do the coaching sessions work?

Each 90 minute session is comprised of 2 ‘segments.’ Thus, in 3 sessions, you have a total of 6 segments. The first and last segments are fixed. You will be able to choose 4 other segments out of 7 possible options (F1-F7 below) so that you can better tailor the experience to your specific needs.

First Fixed Segment

We begin with a Designed Partnership Alliance (DPA). This means that we will establish the foundation that will support the rest of our work together. Some people call this establishing ground rules but in coaching we go a little further. Your team will have an opportunity to clarify the culture you would like to create as you work together and you will all make personal commitments to behaviors that will support and sustain that culture. You will also consider how you will respond when things get difficult or commitments are broken.

Clarifying Outer Roles

Each member of the team has a job and (hopefully) a job description. They may also perform tasks which were not formally assigned. This is not uncommon. People step in where there is a void or where they have a particular personal interest. Ideally, these roles enable the team (and the school) to function smoothly. Problems arise when there is role confusion, role nausea (people tired of their assigned roles), missing roles or poorly occupied roles. Together we will explore the value of the roles on the team, uncover shifts which may need to happen and brainstorm new approaches to filling these roles.

Clarifying Inner Roles

Inner roles maintain the emotional functioning of the system. Every system requires a complex set of inner roles. (e.g There might be disturbers who signal the need for a change, and peacemakers who smooth things over.) In contrast to outer roles, all the members of the system ought to be able to occupy these different inner roles. The danger arises when a person becomes synonymous with their inner role. It can be useful to look at what inner roles will support the future you are trying to create. Are there needed roles that currently no one is playing? Are there roles that some people have gotten tired of playing and may need others to take on? Is there role confusion? Are people unsure of what their role should be? We will look at where this is working and how it can be improved.

Aligning Visions—High Dream/Lo Dream

Each member of your team has both high expectations and worst fears which are actively or tacitly shaping your work. There is likely to be both alignment and dissonance in these visions/dreams. Awareness leads to your ability to make conscious choices to move toward the outcomes you want. You will look toward creating alignment of your dreams, taking the pulse of the group to see if you are closer to your high dream or your low dream right now and begin to explore what would actually support the high dream and what would support the low dream. We can also look at this in conjunction with a more overarching school vision.

Breaking Down Silos-Landswork

The metaphor of travelling to new lands is a useful one when we think about helping various departments or divisions understand each other’s realities. The members will become tourists in each other’s lands and discover what is important, what is challenging and what support is needed in each land. You will then all have an opportunity to talk about how to create an “Our Land” which honors the differing realities and moves you toward a unified team.

Coping With Toxic Behaviors

There are at least 4 common team toxins: blame, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling. Most teams experience this behavior some of the time. This is normal. When toxic behavior becomes the dominant mode of expression, even if it is located in a part of the team, the whole system can become dysfunctional. This segment will enable you to explore these in a non-threatening way, and help you to consider useful responses and antidotes for when they show up. You will, at the same time be building your skills to manage these behaviors in other parts of the school system.

Creating Systemic Change—A Meta View

In this segment team members will create visual maps to enable you to see the strengths and weaknesses of the various relationships on the team. Members will have an opportunity to compare their various perspectives. You will explore both how things are now, and how you would like them to be and develop strategies for moving toward a more desired state.

Exploring Rank and Privilege

Rank consists of the power and privileges, earned and unearned, that accompanies each person. Rank is not an absolute or sustained characteristic but is continually being negotiated and is a fluid attribute. In this segment the team will become conscious of the rank that each member has and the privilege that is attributed to them (real or not). You will then explore how to more mindfully develop your working relationships so as to use your rank and privilege in a constructive way.

Final Fixed Segment

In this closing segment we will explore what has been learned, create an opportunity to identify and appreciate that which is working well and if appropriate set SMART goals for the team moving forward.

Our team is well established. Is this appropriate for a team that has worked together for awhile?

Yes, absolutely. The process will enable the team to get more conscious of its own way of working and become more intentional and able to work in ways that yield results as well as more skilled at navigating the inevitable bumps in the road.

How much does this cost?

The total cost is $999.00. For maximum impact, I strongly recommend that you spread the coaching sessions out over 3, 90 minute segments. However, if absolutely necessary, it is possible to combine them into one longer session.

Will you come to our school?

If you are located in NY/NJ/CT or New England I can do the sessions in person with an extra charge for my car travel. If you are located outside of this area, I have experience delivering this coaching over the phone. You will need a room with conference calling capacity. I can also come to your school provided that you have a budget to accommodate my travel.

Should I be participating in this as the Head of School?

Yes absolutely. You are an essential member of the team and a critical component of the system.

When can we schedule this?

I am scheduling now for sessions beginning August 2010 for the ’10-’11 academic year. A 50% deposit will be required with the balance due by the first of the three sessions. Please contact me so we can discuss your specific needs.

Download a printable version of this program.