UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

Dear Colleagues,
Thank you all for your challenging questions and informational insights. I have learned from all of you. Dr. Hampshire your questions have been very challenging and have helped me gain a greater knowledge of effective communication.  

We all have many struggles and challenges in our lives but we seem to persevere. My challenge has been losing my daughter in March and dealing with grief while trying to work a full time job and go to school. The little things my classmates have said and done throughout the class may not seem to matter but they really do help to carry us through.  

Sharmel you have been the leader in the class always being first to get your discussions posted that shows me that you are dedicated to your cause and a hard worker. Samantha I commend you for hanging in there while you have to balance so much in your personal life. I can only tell you to live for today, forget yesterday because there are things that cannot be changed and start your tomorrows with a positive mindset and that will help you in your personal challenges. I believe there are so many things we are not in control of so we just need to worry about how we control ourselves and that is though effective communication and being compassionate.

I am blessed that the next class is my last in the Master’s Program. I wish you all luck and success as you venture off into your careers. The Early Childhood Field needs competent caring people to make quality programs. We all will be able to achieve this as we go forward. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I would welcome an e-mail from all of you. My e-mail address is diana.hardin@waldenu.edu or my personal diana.hardin@yahoo.com

Best of Luck,
Diana

Adjourning a Team

I have been involved in different team groups throughout my employment as a Director for a Large Childcare Center. The center was a part of a non-profit organization whose mission was to lead through action to make a difference in people’s lives for all ages. They are a big non-profit in our area and provide programs for families including babies up into late adulthood.

As a supervisor I was asked to sit in a group with other supervisors to listen to all of the workman’s comp injuries for the month, to assure that the company was following protocol and employees were also being truthful about their injury disclosures. The leader of the group was the person who gathered the workman’s comp information from the employee. Other dynamics of the group were her supervisor and 8 supervisors like me.

Our group was very successful. We had a leader that stayed on task and facilitated. Her supervisor was there only as an observer. The rest of us did a good job talking through injury scenarios and really looking at what as a company we could do better to insure staff would not get hurt. One big issue we found was that staff who worked with the brain injured adults had a lot of back injuries because they were not trained properly on transfer procedures and on individual care plans.  

Monthly we would get an agenda of the cases. It was noted that they would serve us lunch. When we arrived they told us that we had been doing such a good job they wanted to give us a nice lunch. They gave us a certificate of appreciation. As the meeting was to adjourn they informed us that this was the last time we would meet because they felt that it would be better if the workman’s comp investigator would meet individually with the supervisor of the injured party and her team leads to come up with solutions within individual departments. We were all dismayed because we felt that we had provided a very important service to the company. They did not ask us how we felt they just made the decision to change their procedures. 

Having a lunch was a good way to adjourn the group as well as giving us certificates of appreciation. Abudi argues when adjourning it gives the team an opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavor (Abudi, 2010). We were grateful for that opportunity to come together for one last time but we were unhappy the group was disbanded.

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Conflict in Communication

When I put on the hat of a wife, mother or grandmother, I did not like conflict and so I worked very hard at making sure situations were handled promptly. I have 5 children and as they grew we worked through a lot of situations. For my family I would always show them empathy and listen to their situations without making assumptions. We would sit down and I would get a clear picture of what was happening. Sometimes that took a long time but we worked through the situation.  I think my children probably got tired of me using I statements but they learned I was going to call them out on their conflict and we would come up with a solution whether it was in their favor or not. 
 

Conflict at the workplace can take place daily.  I have 25 employees and it seems like there is always some sort of conflict going on.  One major cause of conflict in my workplace is the mixed messages staff gets from the owner who is my supervisor and me. My supervisor always says, well I do not know what you are going to do about…… but then steps in before I can do anything. The information in the book listed three conflict strategies. I think when dealing with my supervisor, I tend to be the escapist. I do not want to have conflict with her so I avoid her until I know her mood has changed and she becomes approachable. It is a very hard situation to be in. 

As a supervisor I work very hard to address conflicts as soon as they happen. My role becomes that as a mediator if it is with two employees.  I am objective and do not take sides. I make sure the environment is non-threatening. I do not judge the employees but I make sure they both have the opportunity to give their side of the situation. Then I hope the parties involved can come to a compromised conclusion such as being in a win win situation.  

During my employment as a Head Start teacher we were given a training from the book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People “by Stephen Covey. In the book he talks about 7 habits that can make people highly effective by following seven certain techniques. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood (Covey, 2003). I think this is a great strategy for conflict. What this does is take you personal feelings out of the situation and lets you concentrate on the conflict at hand. Just as the Platinum Rule.  From following these seven habits Covey has developed  people are able to be in win win situations. 

The information provided from the Conflict Resolution Network suggests that a win/win approach rests on strategies involving:

1                     1.)      Going back to underlying needs

2.)     Recognition of individual differences

3.)     Openness to adapting ones position in the light of shared information and attitudes

4.)     Attacking the problem, not the people. (http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3)

References

Covey, Stephen R., and Stephen R. Covey. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook. New York: Fireside, 2003. Print.

Content Resolution Network. (http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3)