I've said it before and I'll say it again---I love my professional learning team! We hit it off almost from the beginning and just plain enjoy our time together. There's no underestimating the importance of the humor and the friendships that we share--our strong feelings for one another personally translate into professional success because we are willing to challenge one another and are constantly striving to move forward together.
Yet all that nearly came to an end last year.
In one sudden flashpoint, a conflict developed that could have destroyed us. A simple misunderstanding quickly became a pool of doubt that we were drowning in. The trust that we had developed was gone in an instant, and our meetings became uncomfortable and tense. In the span of two weeks, we went from a strong and confident learning team to a group wondering whether or not we were failures. We were miserable.
Hoping to understand what was going on with our group, I began to read as much as I could about team development. I picked up The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencoini and Camel Makers: Building Effective Teacher Teams Together by Daniel L. Kain. What I found gave me great comfort: The conflict that our team was working through was normal--and in some ways healthy! It was evidence of our passion for our work and our commitment to the ideas that formed the basis of our educational philosophies.
Just knowing that conflict was normal helped---It opened lines of dialogue in our group and helped us to recognize that difficult times could be used as levers for moving forward. Our team is now confident that we can handle conflict instead of afraid of what it might do to us. While we walked into our work as a learning team with no real knowledge about teaming and the dynamics of human interactions, we're now pretty well-versed in what to expect when the sparks start to fly!
But that knowledge was hard-earned. The conflict we wrestled with was real and could have destroyed us had we not investigated teaming and team dynamics on our own. There is no doubt that we were hanging by a thread, ready to throw away all that we had worked for.
What I wonder is how could things have been different if we had some training on team development during our formative stages? Would we have approached conflict differently knowing that it was normal? Would we have had some practical strategies for working through disagreements or understood one another's actions better?
One of the things that I have always found interesting in conversations about PLCs is that most people simply assume that teachers have the necessary skills to work together in meaningful ways from day one. In reality, just because we are accomplished teachers doesn't mean that we are accomplished facilitators or comfortable with group interactions. In fact, because our profession has traditionally been an isolated one, it is often unusual for teachers to have the skills necessary to engage in collaborative work from day one.
I see this reality in myself all the time. I mean, I'm great in my classroom---no one would disagree with that---but I sometimes struggle when working with my peers. I tend to step on toes and hurt feelings, confident in my own ability and skeptical of the ideas of others. Finding compromises just isn't something that I work hard at.
What do you think? Is there a knowledge gap for most teachers when it comes to "having meetings?" Do you feel comfortable within your groups and teams or is there a sense of unease? What skills and training would you like to see your team receive?
More importantly, are schools that start PLCs without building an understanding of team dynamics in their faculties flirting with disaster?
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2 comments:
I think you touch on a theme that is common to all groups, whether in the public or private sphere: learning how to tackle group dynamics in a productive way. What makes education additionally problematic, however, is the fact that teachers have so few opportunities to work together in teams, and therefore may find it more challenging to work collaboratively with colleagues when they are accustomed to working and making decisions individually.
From what I've read, and in my (granted somewhat limited) experience working with PLCs, one factor that can alleviate this challenge is a language and structure for examining group dynamics. Both of the books that you mentioned provide these things: explicit descriptions of group challenges, with corresponding language, and suggested norms/procedures to address those challenges. When a group is going through a difficult time, I think that simply knowing that tough times are normal and common makes the process of addressing those difficulties much easier. Rather than responding individually to an indescribable frustration, groups can say "Hey, guys, it looks like we're storming, what sort of advice do we have for addressing this?"
From an administrator's standpoint, I think that group dynamics present a particularly difficult challenge. On the one hand, teachers may welcome administrative intervention to solve a dispute, but this intervention can come at the cost of undermining a team's ability to address its own challenges independently. Too much structure can stifle team development and personality, whereas too little structure can lead to frequent frustrations and unresolvable conflicts.
From your perspectives, what is the right response from administrators when teams are experiencing frustrations? Should administrators take a laissez faire approach, or should they be more involved in managing team dynamics?
Parry asked:
From an administrator's standpoint, I think that group dynamics present a particularly difficult challenge. On the one hand, teachers may welcome administrative intervention to solve a dispute, but this intervention can come at the cost of undermining a team's ability to address its own challenges independently. Too much structure can stifle team development and personality, whereas too little structure can lead to frequent frustrations and unresolvable conflicts.
From your perspectives, what is the right response from administrators when teams are experiencing frustrations? Should administrators take a laissez faire approach, or should they be more involved in managing team dynamics?
Great questions, Parry....and ones I'll address in a full blog later!
The quick answers:
My first reaction would be that administrator involvement in a direct conflict between members of a team could be devastating---after all, PLCs are about empowerment and coming in to "solve a problem" for teachers is decidedly unempowering!
But I also agree that some teams may not solve their problems on their own without structures in place to support them....
So what is the right answer?
My guess is that it lies in providing significant knowledge and know-how around team development to "key members" of your professional learning teams. Find those people who are likely to be your best team-builders--personality wise---and engage them in conversations and readings about team dynamics.
That way, you're "seeding" your PLTs with someone who is knowledgeable about "what looks right" when it comes to teaming. Those individuals--because they are members of the learning team---carry more credibility than your administrators and can, therefore, affect change in positive ways that support teacher empowerment.
The key is developing these "teacher leaders" on each team BEFORE conflict strikes!
Anyone else agree or disagree? Teachers, how would you react to administrators coming in to "solve" conflict on your PLT? Administrators, have you ever been in the position where you didn't have a choice BUT to solve a conflict for a team?
Bill
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