Friday, March 6, 2015

Out of the Loop

There was a vibe in the room. That's all I can say. I arrived early in a great mood ready for another amazing day with my favorite group of education leaders. But as more people arrived, it was as if dark clouds were gathering inside the room. Faces were smiling, glad to see me again, but there was something palpable.

I hadn't met with this group in a long time because of summertime then maternity leave then no meeting in January then fog grounding my flight in February. I was excited to see everyone and looking forward to a productive day of learning and creating together.

I admit I didn't read the agenda ahead of time, so I didn't realize there were some unusual conversations planned. What problems are we encountering in delivering our work? How are we collecting and using data? What do we do when group members don't follow our norms of collaboration? This last one was what finally made me turn to my neighbor and ask, "Did something happen while I was gone?"

In short, things had happened. Members had been disrespectful. Leaders were taken off guard. A lack of induction had left new members without a framework for discussion. It would be easy to say that I wasn't there so it has nothing to do with me. But the truth is my favorite days last year were the days I worked with this group. It has been some of the greatest collaboration of my career. How did things get so toxic in my absence? And how can I help resolve some of it when I'm not even exactly clear on the problem? This weighs so heavily on me, I'm writing this blog on my phone at the airport instead of waiting until I get home. Any conflict mediation experts out there? Or should I just stay out of it?

5 comments:

  1. ask the people who you trust and bring your positive energy...and new perspective...

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  2. Oh, that is awful. Negative energy can so quickly bring you down. I can't imagine how disappointing it must have been to realize that this wasn't going to be the positive energy day you had hoped it would be. I hope that things get better with your group soon.

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  3. Oh, that is awful. Negative energy can so quickly bring you down. I can't imagine how disappointing it must have been to realize that this wasn't going to be the positive energy day you had hoped it would be. I hope that things get better with your group soon.

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  4. So often we don't have the time to discuss issues that arise which then fester and boil. At some point it has to boil over coming out with too much emotion. It just seems that in our profession our work load gets higher and higher with less time to process. Hopefully you can work through whatever is frustrating your team members so you can have a productive relationship. Maybe they just need your fresh eyes.

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  5. No fun! I am glad you were at least able to get some clarification before everything blew up and no one would talk about it. I hope you were able to help get the air cleared and chart a fresh course.

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