Decision-making model

Reflect on the strength and limitations of the decision-making model you were assigned. Is this a model that you might use in the future? If so, what situations do you think may be helpful?

My reading was "Dilts Pyramid of Logical Levels" 

In summary, this model is a decision-making framework that helps us understand the factors that influence our choices. By considering the levels of Environment, Behavior, Capabilities, Belief and Values, Identity and Purpose, we can analyze the factors that affect our decisions. 

In a school setting, this model would be very helpful, because if we understand this model we can analyze and solve problems more effectively and lead change more effectively. 

The main idea of the model is that there is a hierarchy of learning and change. For me as a team leader, it was very interesting to look at all these multiple levels to consider to achieve change. Each stage incorporates a "Wh" question that helps us ask questions in different ways. 

I think the model would be really helpful when the school is making a change, or aiming at making a change. It could be a very effective way to reflect on where we are in the process and to identify challenges that would help us move forward. 

For example: we as a school have been trying to increase parent involvement in the past few years, but for some reason, it has not been achieved. The model could be used to identify key points and challenges to be considered in decision-making regarding parental engagement. 

1. Environment level (Where? When?). At this level, we would identify the place and time where the school staff works: buildings, outdoor/indoor spaces, rooms, etc. 

2. Behavior level (What?). We identify and reflect on what each member does in their relationship with parents (eg. parent communication, information sharing, etc). 

3. Capabilities and Skills (How?). We identify and reflect on a combination of behaviors, for example, are teachers highly committed and skilled, is there family support, intervention, or early help? How effective the school is at parental engagement? 

4. Beliefs and values (Why?). We reflect on our values as a school and the beliefs that we hold true. Why are we doing what we are doing? Why is it important to us and does it connect to our vision and mission?

5. Identity (Who?), reflect on who the school staff and team members think they are? Is everyone on the same page about the school's identity? Does the parent community know who we are? Are we communicating our identity effectively to the parents? 

6. Purpose and Mission (for Whom?) reflect on whether are we part of something bigger, what is it? for whom we are doing what we are doing? is our purpose and mission accessible and visible to parents, is there a common understanding of what our purpose and mission is? Do parents have access to it and understand it?

Going through and reflecting on these steps as a school or leadership team would give valuable insight into the parental engagement problem. It would help the team identify the challenges and would be very helpful in decision-making. 

Eisenhower Matrix

How might using the Eisenhower Matrix impact your productivity and decision-making approach? 

In teaching the Eisenhower Matrix would be very helpful to act as a to-do list. I personally used to jot down deadlines or important tasks on post-it notes that were all over my computer and board. As a team leader, there are additional tasks to remember, and often times I get overwhelmed. I used Google Calendar for important notes and deadlines. 

I had not heard about the Matrix before and it amazed me how simple the grid was. It can help my productivity and decision-making simply by categorizing my tasks and deciding how to best utilize my time as a teacher and team leader. 

What really stayed with me about the matrix was "delegation". It made me rethink how I tackle my tasks and think about delegating urgent and not important tasks to increase my productivity. This refers to delegating tasks in the classroom with the students and delegating tasks in my team. 

In the classroom for example we have created classroom jobs, and we are adding to it as new "jobs" come up. This way, the students do some of the work in the classroom that I used to do, for example, cleaning up, arranging the books and classroom stationary, or organizing the classroom before dismissal time and getting it ready for the next day. This saves me so much time. 

In my team, we have started to look into the tasks and divided them more thoughtfully. Who is responsible for what, especially if it is about repeating tasks such as the weekly newsletters to parents, getting supplies from the stationery room, and so on. The delegation will be very useful in the long term to manage my and the team's workload and give everyone an opportunity to expand their skill set. 

My favorite worse decision - dilemmas present

My favorite worse decision

My favorite worst decision was dealing with the most challenging colleague I have ever had. From the first meeting, she challenged me as a person and as a professional. Refusing to cooperate, arguing with my decisions, questioning the way I was leading the group. I decided to ignore her, not to react to her comments and negative attitude. After about half a year I realized that my decision of ignoring her (and the problem) was a very bad one. It undermined the team spirit, every meeting was uncomfortable for each team member, and there was almost no cooperation, no sharing, and learning from each other. There were just individual teachers sitting in a meeting, waiting to get out of there as soon as possible.  

I changed my approach and decided to get to know her, I listened to what she was saying and considered it when making decisions. I asked questions, interacted with her, and involved her in team interactions, making sure to change the subjects or guide the discussion in a positive way. Second year of working together we ended up having a quite friendly but professional relationship. We are sharing our practices, collaborating, and even having meals together with the team outside of school.  

Dilemmas

Taking into consideration the dilemmas we talked about I think, that sticking to my bad decision for months was the result of me being unable to recognize how my emotions caused my bad choice. Reflecting on the above-described decision I think my decision of not facing a challenging colleague came from my unconscious biases. I considered this colleague a traditional teacher with a fixed mindset, who is unable to change her ways just because of her origin. 

I did fall into the framing trap a couple of times, the way she framed the problems for me, I did not go deeper into the problem but accepted the initial frame. I know now that when others recommend a decision (or push for it, as this colleague used to do) I need to examine the way they are framed for me.

Another dilemma I was facing in this case was the ethical considerations. For a couple of months, I failed to recognize the moral implications of my choice. I focused more on the individual rather than on the group's/team's interest and positive collaboration. 

My favorite worse decision - hidden traps

My favorite worse decision

My favorite worst decision was dealing with the most challenging colleague I have ever had. From the first meeting, she challenged me as a person and as a professional. Refusing to cooperate, arguing with my decisions, questioning the way I was leading the group. I decided to ignore her, not to react to her comments and negative attitude. After about half a year I realized that my decision of ignoring her (and the problem) was a very bad one. It undermined the team spirit, every meeting was uncomfortable for each team member, and there was almost no cooperation, no sharing, and learning from each other. There were just individual teachers sitting in a meeting, waiting to get out of there as soon as possible.  

I changed my approach and decided to get to know her, I listened to what she was saying and considered it when making decisions. I asked questions, interacted with her, and involved her in team interactions, making sure to change the subjects or guide the discussion in a positive way. Second year of working together we ended up having a quite friendly but professional relationship. We are sharing our practices, collaborating, and even having meals together with the team outside of school.   

Hidden Traps

One of the dilemmas that I had was about relationships.  As a new team leader, not knowing my colleagues, I was afraid that some of my decisions would have a negative effect on our relationship, harm the team spirit, and undermine my goal to build a cooperative team, where team members feel welcomed with their ideas and are confidently sharing and contributing.  

Another dilemma I had was stepping out of my comfort zone. It was my first time dealing with such a challenging colleague. I always thought I was able to handle conflicts and challenging team members, but I had to learn my ways too, think outside the box, and face the challenge after all.  

Day 4 Leadership Reflection

Leadership Reflection

One of the main takeaways for me today was the discussion and the new perspective I got from looking at addressing symptoms versus looking at the root cause. I understand now that oftentimes my decision was not based on trying to solve the root cause of a problem but rather stayed on the surface, treating the symptoms. We need to slow down and look deeper into what causes the problem, and take the time to figure the root cause out. Finding the root cause means for example to talk to everyone involved, individually, to get to know our team. We have to ask ourselves "WHY is this happening?" We should look at data from different sources and be objective when investigating further. The activity of asking at least five times "WHY?" to answer a problem was very interesting and difficult as well. I felt that finding the root cause of a problem is not always easy. 

Another interesting learning for me today was the discussion about organizational alignment. We looked at the Congruence Model and how the five building blocks (critical tasks and interdependences; culture; structures; capabilities and leadership) have to work together and be aligned. We also discussed how each component affects one another. I think using this model in a school setting is a must, to improve the effectiveness of a school, especially if new learning methods or structures are implemented.