Category Archives: Teaching

About Religion and Family

December 30, 2024 By in Family, Learning, Teaching Tags: , , Leave a comment

The world seems to be losing religion. Churches seem less busy, at least when it comes to attendance. That’s my limited Canadian observation. Some researchers observe the same trend typically attributing low attendance to slow recovery post pandemic. My observation also suggests the pews that are full seem to be occupied by older people. The average age in masses today seems to be declining although some research suggests otherwise. I have done rough math a few times and guesstimated a mean age of over 65 years more often than not. That doesn’t seem sustainable.

Last week we celebrated Jesus’ birthday which would arguably lead to more people, like me, thinking about religion related topics. One question I asked myself (and some partying friends) is “why do you go to church?” I found my answer was strongly related to respect for my long deceased parents as the primary reason. While I have faith sometimes I feel more obliged to attend a service than motivated in spiritual ways. I often think of my parents and deceased love ones when at church and, truth told, my mind wanders a lot even when the most compelling pastor is preaching.

My grandson accompanied my wife and I at mass this past weekend. He was precious as always and he actually seemed to enjoy the service. Sometimes just being calm for an hour can be a good thing for children of all ages. Its possible that he might one day attend church regularly although hockey seems to be in the way of that at least for now. Ice time is scarcer than church time. There may be a marketing opportunity in that reality especially for religions and churches.

My mom taught religious education at my high school. She was considered a cool teacher because she taught the origins and the definition of ‘F.U.C.K.’ in her classes since the word has a religious etymology. In the 70’s if you could say that word in your high school classroom it was cool. She got a lot of great feedback from students for more than just being cool. She made a difference in their lives. She loved to teach, she loved her students, and they knew it. My Dad was also greatly appreciated by many of my high school friends not just for being a kind and gentle person but for going out of his way to help them, typically by driving them wherever and whenever needed.

I find myself thinking about my family a lot these days, especially the ones who have died which regrettably for me is the majority. I guess that comes with age. Family thoughts lead me to thoughts about religion or so it seems. No matter what you believe, I believe we’re all God’s children.

Build resilience with gratitude

December 22, 2023 By in Family, Learning, Strategy, Teaching Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Most are familiar with the expression ~ what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. Many will look back on 2023 with strong memories of painful things. Thinking about those things can hurt like a bad new year’s hangover. It was a tough year from many perspectives. Maybe a cure for that hangover is gratitude.

Lately, gratitude is talked about a lot and is a theme of many social posts. People have tuned into the power of gratitude. Its a popular topic. So is resilience. You don’t have to look far to find suffering these days. There are plenty of circumstances from which people need to ‘bounce back’ at individual, international, and intercultural levels. There seem to be countless things to be overcome lately – for everyone everywhere. The world needs more resilience.

Appreciating what’s good helps to manage through the not so good – the things we need to overcome. Expressing gratitude helps, but more than just feeling grateful – being grateful is the ticket. That’s my experience and what I have observed in many others. Acts of gratitude trump darkness every time. Ongoing authentic expressions of gratitude build resilience. They help you to get past challenges. Gratitude is fuel for your resilience muscle.

So here’s a little new years work out. Be grateful. Express your gratitude. Find some good from all the darkness. Consider what didn’t kill you in 2023, but maybe felt like it might. Be grateful for what didn’t kill you – it gave you insight. You learned something about you and the world by your suffering. Be bright with what you learned from your experiences. Find a way to share what you learned maybe framed as gratitude. Depending on your experience that could be asking a lot. It doesn’t take much to start. The smallest, quietest acts of kindness, born of gratitude, can build the biggest resilience muscle.

Photo Credit Louis Simmons pexels.com

Listening, Leadership, Action or Exit…

June 26, 2023 By in Change Management, Fun, leadership, Learning, Strategy, Teaching Leave a comment

I experienced the euphoria of convocation again this season and I’m a better person because of it. I witnessed and shared in the feeling of pride among the graduates and the community. Its a beautiful thing – finishing. Accomplishments need to be celebrated together, as a community, especially after too many years apart. It was wonderful. And it seemed different this time compared to a few years ago, pre-covid and pre-ChatGpt. The human side of the experience was noticeably more powerful.

There’s a lot being said about artificial intelligence these days especially in education. There was nothing ‘bot ish’ about this convocation. Where ChatGPT seeks to predict, the behaviour I observed at convocation was quite unpredictable – at least less predictable than pre-covid, and pre-ChatGpt. I’ve seen it in business meetings too lately. People didn’t hold back at convocation and they don’t seme to be holding back in general. Fear and futility are the two most common reasons for people not speaking out in organizations. Could it be that people want to speak their mind and they are less afraid of the consequences? Could it be that they are bustin’ out? I think so, and its likely that they expect their feedback will be heard and acted upon.

Lets assume there is a shift underway towards people wanting to speak up and speak out more. What would organizations and leaders need to do differently to succeed in that new world? Well, they would probably need to get better at listening. And they seem to be trying. I have repeatedly observed increased effort among leaders to actively listen in large face-to-face settings. They are listening for what the future holds and how to get there first. They are listening with innovative tools like Design Thinking. They are listening for for what customers say, think, feel, and do. They are listening to find solutions. That’s what (good) leaders do.

The tools we may need now more than ever (i.e. more than ChatGPT) relate to human communication and relationships. Increasingly I apply the Haven Communications Model but alas I am a novice. Purposeful human centered interaction is as important as it is unpredictable now. Design Thinking including applying related tools made available from IBM are very appropriate now as powerful listening frameworks. These real intelligence tools all require work. Artificial intelligence could not predict what I felt at convocation nor what I chose to share in large group problem solving meetings. AI can’t make judgements and have a sense of timing, or nuance, or fun. That’s where we humans come in. Hi, its me, I’m the problem its me. As machines get better with the easy stuff we humans need to get better at the tough stuff, the human stuff, the full catastrophe.

In a few years I’m confident that society (and my students) will have figured out how to get the most out of emerging AI tools like ChatGPT. I’m also confident that in a few short years the currently evident abundance of leadership listening will wind down. By then followers will expect that their leaders to take action – to change and improve. Better an OK strategy well executed than a perfect one not done. “We value your input and intend to take action based on your feedback.” These are important but dangerous words for leaders post-covid and post-ChaptGPT. They may be met with a follower’s response, “Thanks for asking, and for listening, now where’s the action and the payback?” If followers see no action or results after speaking up they will inevitably reach one of two conclusions. “I won’t waste my voice anymore,” or “I’m gone.” That’s not the kind of graduation leaders are typically looking for these days.

The Oaks and The Maples

May 25, 2023 By in Change Management, Strategy, Teaching Tags: Leave a comment

There’s a lot of labour unrest brewing in the western world these days and lots of general world unrest to go round. Wages and working conditions seem to be popular negotiating items in the free world. The post-covid employee love affair with remote work and the associated freedoms it brings remains strong. Many organizations are leaning in to the new reality with flexible policies and retention strategies to beat the band. Many people are negotiating their way through the changing world and coping, while many are struggling.

Differences are growing and in some ways gaps are widening on many measures where they are intended to narrow. Gaps in affordable housing, gaps in availability of healthcare, wage gaps, debt-to-income ratio gaps, social safety net gaps. Recent estimates of household income distribution reveal that wealth decreased for a broad range of households, but especially for the most vulnerable, including the least wealthy and households younger than 45 years (StatsCan, 2022). Since 1995 the global share of billionaire wealth tripled – the largest increase ever (UNESCO, 2022). Arguably there are gaps in the gaps.

I’ve been increasingly inspired by the great drummer and music legend Neil Pert lately and the iconic Canadian band Rush. Their song The Oaks and the Maples is amazing. While its generally reported that Pert did not write the song as a social statement, it does have a certain appropriateness for our present time and the unrest attributable to many social gaps. Even if Pert didn’t intend the double entendre its worth noting the song’s finale highlited below. Differences and gaps are often resolved with blunt tools. Mind the gap! I remember the days of wage and price controls.

There is unrest in the Forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the Maples want more sunlight
And the Oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the Maples
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the Oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the Oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the Maples
Can’t be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the Forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the Maples scream ‘Oppression!’
And the Oaks, just shake their heads

So the Maples formed a Union
And demanded equal rights
‘The Oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light’
Now there’s no more Oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw…

Oaks and Maples in Harmony?

Image courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/bg/ (Creative Commons Share Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Sometimes – Just a little push…

March 8, 2023 By in Career Management, Change Management, Diversity, Family, Learning, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

A senior executive once described her career as “remarkably tougher than that of my male counterparts. All of them.” Science says she’s in the majority, at least when it comes to male dominated sectors of which there are far too many. Research says senior executive women in the technology sector feel career drag because of their gender (Fauteux, 2017). Progress has been made but the gap persists. Like many I look forward to the day when the reality of equity and diversity is here. Alas it’s not here yet. You don’t need to look far to find local examples of what is all too visible around the world. Its tough for women and girls.

We know that there is a gender gap in the tech sector, especially in the senior ranks, yet we seem powerless do do much about it. One reason we sometimes avoid the ‘dirty little secret’ relates to our fear of overcompensating. ‘If our affirmative action goes too far then we’d just tip the scales the other way and that’s not equity, yada yada.’ So we do less or little.

Today on International Women’s day lets try to “give a little push” to what seems to have been screwed up otherwise. Lets find small (and big) ways to tip the scales more towards equity for women and girls, and in general. Let’s say something or do something that might feel uncomfortable to us in the interest of advancing women. These suggestions are especially for men, today, but they apply to everyone always (at least a bit).

Try using pronouns in your stories of ‘she/ her’ instead of ‘he/him.’ When you tell a story about Steve Jobs, mirror it with a story about Ursula Burns. When you walk into a room of 90% women, notice that, and do something to make it better. If you have oversight of salaries take a closer look to ensure your organization has achieved pay equity and not just talked about it. And finally, offer opportunities and encouragement to women and girls. Sometimes just a little push in the right direction can make a big difference.

I can’t write a post to support women on International Women’s Day without acknowledging two especially amazing women – my wife Mary and my daughter Julia. I am blessed to have you in my life. We are all blessed to have you in this world. Thank you for being my inspiration and for being shining examples of hard work, dedication, and love.

Photo Credit http://www.isCute.com

Quality and Free Coast to Coast

March 8, 2023 By in Change Management, Learning, Strategy, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: , Leave a comment

A student once asked me if they ‘really’ needed to buy our course textbook, hoping to buy a pair of children’s birthday shoes instead. I loaned the text. About that time I met David Porter, Ed.D. and learned about Open Education Resources (OER’s i.e. good quality and freely accessible textbooks). Since then I have been an advocate for OER’s and the idea of students curating them.

We have made lots of OER progress in Nova Scotia including at Nova Scotia Community College – NSCC, of which I am very proud. Today, in the middle of Open Education Week, my appreciation goes to British Columbia and open.bccampus.ca. Thank you for leading the way!

Check out the BC story about their 10 year journey with OER’s and then check back here for NS news in a couple of years. Quality, free, and coast to coast!

#education #students #community #accessability #democratizingeducation

Celebrating 10 Years of Open Textbooks in B.C.

Spark followers with respect for a leadership turnaround

February 18, 2023 By in leadership, Learning, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: , , Leave a comment

Extinguishing leadership behaviour is said to demotivate a team – like putting water on a fire. Whether you study leadership or not that can be a painful thing to observe and worse to experience. The ‘fire inside’ individuals weakens, and the energy level among the team members is drained bit by bit. Sadly, it happens a lot especially when managers are not well suited for the job. Which also happens a lot. In most organizations there are heroes who help the team push past the leadership void. And sometimes there are leadership turn arounds where the extinguishing behaviour is discovered and ended.

In large matrixed professional organizations there can be many leadership successes as well as gaps and inconsistencies. Followers increasingly hold their leaders to account including how leaders carry themselves – how they set the tone. Science suggests good followship in a professional setting involves followers asserting themselves. Good leaders get the message but what happens when they don’t? One possibility is that trust for the leader erodes. A feeling of futility among the followers fuels a leadership death spiral and eventually the leader’s messages fall on deaf ears. When a leader is tone deaf to how their team is feeling about their leadership the team finds a new de facto leader for matters not requiring position authority. Follow-to-rule attitudes develop – kind of like work-to-rule but of the heart and mind not the body. As a leader s/he’s “dead to me” becomes more palpable. It stands to reason in this situation that the team’s performance would decline.

Don’t extinguish. Spark the fire inside (Source: https://alchetron.com/Spark-(fire)).

There’s another narrative that could emerge from a leader’s failure to spark their followers – when leaders who aren’t leading well do get the message from the assertive unhappy professionals. The starting point for this better leadership story is a leader head-shake and acceptance of the likelihood that something’s wrong and its time to eat some humble pie. The key ingredient here is respect.

When leaders become disconnected from the team and followers show signs of declining trust maybe its time for some simple respectful listening by the leader. “You’ve stopped speaking up. We need you to speak up or we’ll lose the customer perspective. I’m not sure I’m giving you what you need or supporting you the way you need right now. What do you need from me as a leader?”

There’s no script for these situations – they’re all different but the starting point is the realization that, its (probably) you leader! Take a deep breathe and respect the years of experience on your team, especially in a professional setting where the followers often know much more about the core business than you do as leader. If its not your style as leader, if you’re an introvert in a sea of extraverts for example, then get to work on how you can warm up to your team of professionals. Learn and practice listening with respect. Leaders in tough situations like this had better figure it out fast or risk the death spiral of ‘follow-to-rule’ among your team of professionals. Listen, feed the fire, and make it a leadership turnaround instead of becoming ‘dead to them.’

Patagonia Doubles Down on Planet

October 2, 2022 By in Entrepreneurship, leadership, Strategy, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I was pretty excited last week with the news of Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard essentially giving away the company to a tightly managed trust committed to his dream of saving the planet. While I haven’t researched the news other than casually it seems super impressive that he took such a bold step now.

Chouinard is not the first business leader to take such a non-monetary long-term unorthodox view. Apparently ‘giving away the farm’ to save the planet is all the rage in Europe and the Nordic countries. My students quickly pointed out the tax savings it would bring to Chouinard and his family. But overall they paused to think how they could one day offer a similar gift.

If you’re like me you might marvel at how someone can be so focused. Chouinard has been saving the planet his entire life. Wow. One single focus. That’s impressive. Its inspiring to have leaders like him to study and hopefully to model. What the world needs now is more than just people marveling at the bold moves of others. We need to make some bold moves our selves.

Lots of things are different now. If you wanted to participate wardrobe is as good a place to start as any. After all you are what you <insert wear>. Your wardrobe might become smaller as you give it away to those more needy. More of your wardrobe in future might be like Patagonia’s – more function than fashion. But wardrobe is not the point! One could change life style – being more outdoors and grounded. A big change for some could be much more biking and a lot less motoring. Ultimately Chouinard has challenged us all to think about this rock and how we either save it or kill it. I chose to save it – or at least try. I’m going to figure out how I can best do that now. Thanks for the push Yvon!

Labour of love

September 5, 2022 By in Learning, Teaching Tags: , Leave a comment

It’s September! While we respect (today) Labour Day as a day to celebrate workers’ rights, we also get excited about tomorrow when we get to practice our trade. At least I do. I’m a teacher and school’s back baby! I’m giddy with excitement. Microsoft Teams was great but now we’re back to face-to-face teaching and learning.

Now I get to do really important work with amazing real (aka not digital) people in an amazing real building (aka not my home office). Digital tools bailed us out and are here to stay but real people face-to-face is where its at for me now! I’m ready now. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Pinch me!

I’m feeling really good about what post pandemic teaching and learning will be like. Welcome back!!!

“Sometimes it helps to be a little deaf”

September 27, 2020 By in Career Management, Change Management, Diversity, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

If you believe what the media has been reporting about The White House lately (and it’s hard not to) there’s a lot of lying going on in Washington. And there may be a lot more to come. Isn’t it ironic that one of the greatest truth finders of our time will be watching it all from a bench too far? Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), ‘lying in state’ are words of sadness.

Whenever a new US Supreme Court Justice is confirmed s/he will no doubt quickly make a supreme impact on the world. In a time of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity policy makers are facing decisions which call for new ways of thinking in response to our new ways of being. S/he will have a difficult job to do.

Navigating in these times will continue to be tough for everyone and there will be many appeals to the supreme court – in search of truth.

These days while people go to their corners and get ready to disagree on what can be very important conversations, it might be wise for us to practice something RGB taught us. When asked about keys to success in life, she once said, “Every now and then it helps to be a little deaf.” She seemed to be speaking about more than just family relationships. She may have been foreshadowing the growing need for tolerance in society and the value of self reflection rather than instantly voicing dissent.

Together with her colleagues, RGB left the world a rule book for the bigger questions, the more important moments, the ones with right and wrong answers. Alas our world is full of smaller questions and many more casual moments with less definitive answers. And they sometimes seem to be full of lies. Many of society’s conversations these days could be de-escalated by each of us being more tolerant of other perspectives, by more turning of a cheek, and as Ruth suggested, by being a little deaf from time to time.