Colleagues,

I typically triage my email in the morning and then do a more thorough job with it during my afternoon communication block of time.
 
That should allow me to ignore my inbox for the bulk of the day.
 
But sometimes I don’t.
 
I check my email multiple times.
 
Why?
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

This month in my work with assistant principals, we are emphasizing supporting coaching cycles by using a teacher tracking document. Essentially the document has space to record a teacher’s strengths and weaknesses, a coaching goal, and the A-B steps for coaching.
 
A tracking document is a structure that helps people make progress on their growth goals.
 
Recall that there are six dimensions to organizations. When the people, structures, and resources are aligned to the organization’s purpose, the structures will naturally support growing people.
 
If we don’t have structures in place that help us to support people’s growth, then we have mis-aligned structures.
 
Reflect:

• What organizational structures would help you to grow others?
• What organizational structures prevent you from growing others?
• Why is it like this?

 
I’d love to hear the answer to the last bullet. Please consider emailing me by clicking here!
 
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

Answer to my riddle: growth goals!
 
When I worked in higher education:

• I developed yearly growth goals for myself in an annual plan.
• I reflected on my growth goals in my annual evaluation.
• I rarely received support for meeting my goals unless I asked for it.
• There was no system to support my progress, or lack thereof.

 
The third-to-worst thing about this is that I never really noticed this as being a problem.
 
The second-to-worst thing was that there were critical areas in which I needed to grow but didn’t.
 
The worst thing was that I did not actively work to help the people around me to grow.
 
How about you?

• Do you have your own growth goals?
• Are there structures and systems that help you make progress towards your goals?
• Are there structures and systems that help you help others make progress on their goals?

 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

Last weekend I worked on my greenhouse:

• I simplified and rebuilt the north wall. 
• I re-erected the south wall and tied the walls together. 
• I simplified the roof design.
• I measured, cut, and assembled most of my rafters.

 
Realistically, I am one weekend away from having a finished roof, south, and north walls. 
 
I will take an hour to put plastic on the northeast and west walls and will have an MVP (minimally viable product). 
 
There will still be lots of improvements to make, including building permanent walls on the east and west ends, but with an MVP I can do what is most essential: plant seeds for the spring.
 
I also have plans for installing solar to power some amenities like lights and a water pump, but I may not even need those things.  I may not even need to completely finish the east and west walls. Maybe replenishing the raised beds will be more important.
 
Working A-B

• Things improve more quickly
• I conserve my resources
• I can shift priorities easily

 
Perhaps the last one is the most important. 
 
One or a few A-B cycles likely won’t solve a problem, but they create enough improvement that it might make sense to turn your focus to something else, to a bigger pain point. 
 
Now more than ever, being nimble is essential.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

Yesterday, I wrote about my epic greenhouse-shed collapse.
 
What I didn’t tell you was that I was ecstatic!
 
Why?

• I was free from a project I had come to loath.
• All the project resources were now unencumbered.
• I could now focus on what I really wanted – a greenhouse.

 
I have abandoned the shed idea. I may revisit it after the greenhouse is done, but I will be busy growing plants, which is more fun than building sheds.
 
How did this happen?

• We are naturally attracted to BIG ideas.
• We consistently underestimate implementation challenges.
• Our focus shifts from the problem to something else.

 
In my case, the original problem was that my 4-mil plastic greenhouse didn’t keep plants warm enough when the temperature got below 30 degrees. 
 
I became focused on:

• Using extra resources that came my way
• The step that came after the greenhouse
• My idealized dreams

 
I hope you are not laughing too hard, because if you have ever worked on a grant-funded project, or chased a vision, then you have built a shed when all you needed was a greenhouse!
 
Hmmmm…
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick