In my prior posting I wrote about the success of the Sedgwick County Developmental Disabilities Conference, Nov. 16 & 17 in Wichita, and what it taught me about unexpected benefits. It also provided me, personally, an unexpected benefit; a reunion with a cousin I hadn’t seen in at least 44 years.
During the lunch break on the first day of training a woman asked me a question specific to her work. We had a lovely conversation. Before we separated I wanted to remember her name. The first name on her name tag held no surprise but her last name certainly caught my attention. “Colucci” my mother’s full blooded, immigrant Italian, maiden name was displayed on the lapel of a person whose physical appearance would lead you to believe she was anything but Italian. First there was the surprise about the name and then there was surprise at the person with the name.
I explained my surprise and she quickly told me her husband’s family is from Niagara Falls, my home town. He also works in the field and was present. I excitedly said, “Go get him”. She did and I learned his father James is my age but a year behind me in school. His Dad, Jimmy and my Mom, Big Chris (Jimmy’s sister was Little Chris) were cousins. Both have past away. James remembered my Dad but had a hard time remembering Chris. But when I said, Big Chris, he remembered instantly. Way fun.
I asked James if his Dad was “Jimmy the Mailman”. He was and he was the Jimmy Colucci I worked with for a year or so in a part time job we both had during my freshman year in college. Jimmy and I would deliver the weekend edition of the Niagara Falls Gazette. On Friday evenings we delivered the preprinted section of the paper. Comics, advertising inserts, etc. At midnight on Saturday we would show up to deliver the Sunday news sections. Jimmy drove the truck and I delivered, dropped, tossed and tumbled bundles of papers. We were a team. We worked well. We had fun. We enjoyed each other. We did good work. I learned to respect and like Jimmy. He was a fine teammate and friend.
We all had dinner, told family stories and talked about the Falls.
While I thoroughly enjoyed having some time with this family branch, the most fulfilling benefit was the feelings deep inside that talking about Jimmy brought back. There are people, the briefest mention of whom, makes you smile. I have been blessed to know a few, my wife is one. Jimmy is one. His memory makes me smile and inside I feel a whole lot better. This reunion rekindled a little spirit, makes life a little bit more pleasant and gave me a valued unexpected benefit. How great is that?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Great Training; Unexpected Benefits.
InterHab is a not for profit organization in Kansas which supports the rehabilitation community. I was asked to give the keynote address and a series of breakout sessions on one day of their annual conference in October.
That Shappening proved to be a high impact day, the October day served as a natural promotion for a November Shappening at the Sedgwick County DD Service s Annual Conference in Wichita.
Topic: Shift Happens … Creating a Proactive Organization.
November 16/17, 2009
This was an amazing conference. Following an introduction to the topic at the October InterHab Conference there was a buzz in the Kansas Rehab Community about the November conference. One week beforen the traiing 80 people, about what was projected, were registered. At two days prior 100 people were registered. By the day of the training approximately 180 people showed up. The space would have been comfortable and appropriate for 80.
The Conference was a big success. On a scale of 1 (low) and 10 (high) 83 % of the attendees rated the two days a nine or better and an outstanding 53 % rated it a ten.
The audience was absolutely great. Resistance and defensiveness was absent. People were excited to be there and ready to bear an open mind. They were also gracious.
The space was not at all appropriate for the number of people. It was very nice; just too small for this size group. It looked like a packed church supper. Long rows of tables and chairs back to back so tightly one struggled to walk through their isle.
On Monday morning the first thing we tried to do was to find another space for the second day. Unfortunately none of the leads worked out and by 10:00 it was determined we would be in those tight quarters for the duration. It was then, our team of Hope Townsend, Brian Espada and myself decided we would have to make sure to stay on top of our game; keep things moving and fun. Early on we praised the group for dealing with the tight quarters so well. We continued to do so at intervals throughout the two days. At a point during the afternoon of the second day an observation lead to a thought.
I noticed that regardless of the cramped space and in spite of the normal difficulty finding a temperature that satisfies everyone people were focused. They were listening and thinking. They challenged themselves and our team. It was great. Just the kind of people we enjoy working with.
We trusted the impact of fast moving, insightful, creative material and it proved us correct. Those two days taught me that if the material is interesting and the presenters knowledgeable, passionate and fun it can make up for various inadequacies.
In this case, I was amazed at how well people tolerated the cramped conditions. No complaining, no bailing, no irritability. Just focus and learning. After a while I couldn’t help but think about the Shift Happens material and the audience’s hunger for new and better ideas.
I have always known this material is powerful, but those two days in Wichita were striking evidence of just how impressively powerful it was on those two days. If it weren’t for that, those two days would have been something people endured and perhaps resented. Instead the worries we had the first morning never materialized, the time flew, there were lots of aha moments, laughter and learning.
An unexpected and appreciated benefit of great training!
That Shappening proved to be a high impact day, the October day served as a natural promotion for a November Shappening at the Sedgwick County DD Service s Annual Conference in Wichita.
Topic: Shift Happens … Creating a Proactive Organization.
November 16/17, 2009
This was an amazing conference. Following an introduction to the topic at the October InterHab Conference there was a buzz in the Kansas Rehab Community about the November conference. One week beforen the traiing 80 people, about what was projected, were registered. At two days prior 100 people were registered. By the day of the training approximately 180 people showed up. The space would have been comfortable and appropriate for 80.
The Conference was a big success. On a scale of 1 (low) and 10 (high) 83 % of the attendees rated the two days a nine or better and an outstanding 53 % rated it a ten.
The audience was absolutely great. Resistance and defensiveness was absent. People were excited to be there and ready to bear an open mind. They were also gracious.
The space was not at all appropriate for the number of people. It was very nice; just too small for this size group. It looked like a packed church supper. Long rows of tables and chairs back to back so tightly one struggled to walk through their isle.
On Monday morning the first thing we tried to do was to find another space for the second day. Unfortunately none of the leads worked out and by 10:00 it was determined we would be in those tight quarters for the duration. It was then, our team of Hope Townsend, Brian Espada and myself decided we would have to make sure to stay on top of our game; keep things moving and fun. Early on we praised the group for dealing with the tight quarters so well. We continued to do so at intervals throughout the two days. At a point during the afternoon of the second day an observation lead to a thought.
I noticed that regardless of the cramped space and in spite of the normal difficulty finding a temperature that satisfies everyone people were focused. They were listening and thinking. They challenged themselves and our team. It was great. Just the kind of people we enjoy working with.
We trusted the impact of fast moving, insightful, creative material and it proved us correct. Those two days taught me that if the material is interesting and the presenters knowledgeable, passionate and fun it can make up for various inadequacies.
In this case, I was amazed at how well people tolerated the cramped conditions. No complaining, no bailing, no irritability. Just focus and learning. After a while I couldn’t help but think about the Shift Happens material and the audience’s hunger for new and better ideas.
I have always known this material is powerful, but those two days in Wichita were striking evidence of just how impressively powerful it was on those two days. If it weren’t for that, those two days would have been something people endured and perhaps resented. Instead the worries we had the first morning never materialized, the time flew, there were lots of aha moments, laughter and learning.
An unexpected and appreciated benefit of great training!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Style
There are schools of management, theories of management, leadership institutes and good old best practices which often come from the school of hard knocks. But we have recently been discussing leadership styles and more specifically what are the styles we most appreciate.
We are a learning organization and one of the things we want to learn about is how to bring newer recruits up to speed as quickly as possible and, correspondingly, how to we help them avoid the mistakes we all made along the way.
One way we have decided upon is to probe deeply into this thing we call style. Style can be like opinions where everyone thinks theirs is the right one. But that’s not where we want to go. We’re going in two directions.
First, we are asking ourselves 2 questions:
1 Who are the leaders we learn from?
2 What are their styles? And we are trying to be very specific, concrete here.
We are not inexperienced nor are we unaccomplished. But we all know there is more to do and more to learn. So from what leaders do we not only get direction but education or learning? How do they teach us? Some of this is their willingness to share information; some the way they do it. For some it’s the perspective they bring; for others the respect they show.
Secondly, we are approaching those people we each admire (and they may very well be different for each of us) to ask them to describe their style. What do they think makes them so effective? What is it they think makes others effectively learn from them?
So, what do you think? Please respond to this entry with the specific characteristics of the styles from which you best learn. Think about your personal guru and what is it about her/him that works for you …. And let us know.
We don’t expect this will be a fast exercise. It will take time, concentration and discussion. We will report back from time on our progress. So stay tuned.
We are a learning organization and one of the things we want to learn about is how to bring newer recruits up to speed as quickly as possible and, correspondingly, how to we help them avoid the mistakes we all made along the way.
One way we have decided upon is to probe deeply into this thing we call style. Style can be like opinions where everyone thinks theirs is the right one. But that’s not where we want to go. We’re going in two directions.
First, we are asking ourselves 2 questions:
1 Who are the leaders we learn from?
2 What are their styles? And we are trying to be very specific, concrete here.
We are not inexperienced nor are we unaccomplished. But we all know there is more to do and more to learn. So from what leaders do we not only get direction but education or learning? How do they teach us? Some of this is their willingness to share information; some the way they do it. For some it’s the perspective they bring; for others the respect they show.
Secondly, we are approaching those people we each admire (and they may very well be different for each of us) to ask them to describe their style. What do they think makes them so effective? What is it they think makes others effectively learn from them?
So, what do you think? Please respond to this entry with the specific characteristics of the styles from which you best learn. Think about your personal guru and what is it about her/him that works for you …. And let us know.
We don’t expect this will be a fast exercise. It will take time, concentration and discussion. We will report back from time on our progress. So stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
What a squad!
I’m like a lot of other folks. I don’t watch golf on TV unless Tiger’s playing. The last couple of times I’ve watched it struck me how the officials insist on absolute quiet when golfers are hitting their shots. Yet, if you turn the channel and watch a basketball championship game you see something quite different.
With one second to go all eyes are on the person taking the last free throw attempt. If he/she makes it, the game is tied and if they make the second shot, they’re the champions. If not they lose. And while on the other channel there is absolute silence, during the whole time the round ball player is getting ready and shooting the fans are screaming, waving anything they can get their hands on and doing their absolute best to distract the shooter.
Just as much riding on either sport; yet, one insists on silence while at the other disruption and commotion rule. Big money and huge prestige riding on both.
These are the kinds of things that capture my attention and make me think about our work. Some times it’s nice and quiet. Moments later it’s distraction and diversion. Yet it doesn’t prevent the Delarc Team from scoring one victory after another for the children and adults we serve and support.
What a squad!
With one second to go all eyes are on the person taking the last free throw attempt. If he/she makes it, the game is tied and if they make the second shot, they’re the champions. If not they lose. And while on the other channel there is absolute silence, during the whole time the round ball player is getting ready and shooting the fans are screaming, waving anything they can get their hands on and doing their absolute best to distract the shooter.
Just as much riding on either sport; yet, one insists on silence while at the other disruption and commotion rule. Big money and huge prestige riding on both.
These are the kinds of things that capture my attention and make me think about our work. Some times it’s nice and quiet. Moments later it’s distraction and diversion. Yet it doesn’t prevent the Delarc Team from scoring one victory after another for the children and adults we serve and support.
What a squad!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Uncluttered Minds
Yesterday afternoon the Leadership Team met to review the first draft of our proposal to introduce the Shift Happens proactive philosophy and positive approach into the NYS OMRDD system (see last post).
What an incredible group of people! After a brief introduction I distributed the draft, broke them into small groups and asked them to do their thing. And what a thing they did. Their observations, comments, criticisms, inputs, changes and questions were all on the money. At the end of the meeting we had a whole new, and needless to say, better document.
Almost 20 years ago, the late Fred McDonald, a consultant, was hired by our Board of Directors to lead a strategic planning process. He worked with us 3 to 5 days a month for over a year and in the process came to know our staff very well. At one point he commented to me about the awe he felt when working with them. He said that no matter how busy they were or what the topic, when he spoke to them individually or as a group he marvelled at their "uncluttered minds".
Quite a few of the members have changed since then; some have remained but to this day when you get these folks together their minds remain uncluttered. This does not mean they are not busy. Nor does it mean they don't live full and abundant lives. Quite the contrary. The abundance of their lives and the importance and busy ness of their jobs is what makes their ability to put everything else aside, listen to the question or examine the issue and focus clearly, thoughtfully and thoroughly on the matter at hand continues to excite and inspire me.
They never fail to impress me and they never, ever fail to accomplish the job. And, in this case, the proposal we are developing has benefited greatly.
What an talented, amazing and fun group of people. How lucky The Arc of Delaware County is to have so many fine people.
What an incredible group of people! After a brief introduction I distributed the draft, broke them into small groups and asked them to do their thing. And what a thing they did. Their observations, comments, criticisms, inputs, changes and questions were all on the money. At the end of the meeting we had a whole new, and needless to say, better document.
Almost 20 years ago, the late Fred McDonald, a consultant, was hired by our Board of Directors to lead a strategic planning process. He worked with us 3 to 5 days a month for over a year and in the process came to know our staff very well. At one point he commented to me about the awe he felt when working with them. He said that no matter how busy they were or what the topic, when he spoke to them individually or as a group he marvelled at their "uncluttered minds".
Quite a few of the members have changed since then; some have remained but to this day when you get these folks together their minds remain uncluttered. This does not mean they are not busy. Nor does it mean they don't live full and abundant lives. Quite the contrary. The abundance of their lives and the importance and busy ness of their jobs is what makes their ability to put everything else aside, listen to the question or examine the issue and focus clearly, thoughtfully and thoroughly on the matter at hand continues to excite and inspire me.
They never fail to impress me and they never, ever fail to accomplish the job. And, in this case, the proposal we are developing has benefited greatly.
What an talented, amazing and fun group of people. How lucky The Arc of Delaware County is to have so many fine people.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Shifting New York
Over the spring and summer the Executive Directors Association of NYSARC (EDA) sponsored three regional training sessions for Executive Teams. The results were strong and a conference call is scheduled for later this week to discuss possible next steps. While timing may not be right for some and others may have other priorities, it seems very likely several organizations will be interested in more training or consultations.
At the third session, three high level officials from the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) attended. They felt the material offered serious implications for their organization and today our CFO, Teresa Skinner and I met with them and several other officials along with the EDA Chair. The meeting couldn’t have gone better. All agree the Shift Happens model is worth bringing forward to District offices for further review. A Nov. 4 date was set to introduce them to the model.
At the same time we will be developing a state wide plan/proposal. One of the foundation pieces will be to develop a pilot the model within the Broome District.
While all this is going on we continue to work with Orange County AHRC.
New York may not be Shifting yet, but it looks like it is about to.
At the third session, three high level officials from the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) attended. They felt the material offered serious implications for their organization and today our CFO, Teresa Skinner and I met with them and several other officials along with the EDA Chair. The meeting couldn’t have gone better. All agree the Shift Happens model is worth bringing forward to District offices for further review. A Nov. 4 date was set to introduce them to the model.
At the same time we will be developing a state wide plan/proposal. One of the foundation pieces will be to develop a pilot the model within the Broome District.
While all this is going on we continue to work with Orange County AHRC.
New York may not be Shifting yet, but it looks like it is about to.
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