Dr.Loyde's PSP Update
There's always room for improvement!
December 2017
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
The fun filled days of this month provide an opportunity for you to be creative in the ways that you continue to build capacity for success for your students, campus, and district. EOC retests have already begun for high school students and most elementary/middle schools are involved with benchmarks. There are updates to campus/district reports, TTESS observations, and the anticipation of the winter holidays. All of this can sometimes become overwhelming and take a toll on students and staff.
Here are three quick reminders for leaders to help support students and staff:
1. Be proactive by building success in your December daily schedule planning.
2. Increase your visibility on campus. Be sure that students and staff see you daily in classrooms and in common areas.
3. Be sure to maintain a positive instructional focus on your campus every day - learning never stops.
I am looking forward to observing the evidence of your progress on my December Visits to your campus/district!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
See you soon!
Dr. Loyde
Use Your Time Wisely - Holiday Time is Still Learning Time! Sharing this quote from our session with John Wink
DCSI Academy information is shared in the pdf below
Getting Better Faster - A TEA Statewide Book Study
Each month I continue to share "Book Snaps" from this book and each month the expectation is that we discuss these ideas during my monthly campus visits or via phone/email.
1. Please read the Core Ideas shared below. Which one resonates most with you?
2. Please read the Findings From the Field: Move Beyond the Simple Idea of Reteaching below. What would your teachers say is their practice of spiraling curriculum or reteaching? What would your students say is their experience?
In January, we will have a Zoom meeting on January 4, 2017 at 10:00am.
You will receive a Zoom Invite in your email before winter break.
Please mark your calendars now.
Thank you - Keep improving student outcomes!
Holiday Reading: 5 Dysfunctions of a Team - Lenconi
Patrick Lencioni’s book, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a very helpful and practical guide to overcoming the five most destructive traits in teams and learning how to become and maintain the best team possible. Patrick writes, “Teamwork remains the one sustainable competitive advantage that has been largely untapped.”
The five main team dysfunctions listed and addressed in the book are:
1. Absence of Trust
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results
The author uses a pyramid structure to illustrate the importance and priority of each dysfunction. The first dysfunction that the team must overcome and is illustrated as the foundation is, “absence of trust.” Trust is the foundation of the team as Lencioni states, “No quality or characteristic is more important than trust.” Secondly, the most important dysfunction to overcome is the “fear of conflict” because without healthy confrontation the team cannot truly grow past their individual disagreements and unify their best ideas.
Next, “lack of commitment” needs to be overcome because if a team is not equally committed to accomplishing their tasks they will never achieve their goals. Second from the peak is “avoidance of accountability” because for each team member to give his or her best to the team they must be personally assessed, critiqued, and encouraged. Lastly, but not the least important, just simply the last thing to do in an effective team, is to overcome “inattention to results” because without team assessments and goal reviews the team cannot achieve its goals and reach beyond them.
TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING
The book takes time to give practical insight to establishing each level of the healthy team pyramid by correcting the dysfunctions. In other words, the book instructs the reader on what to do right by avoiding the common pitfalls. The book ends with giving the reader a basic “Team Building Field Plan” regarding how to build a successful team on good practices that will help insure a strong foundation.
The four main circles are:
1. Individual Obstacles
2. Relationship Obstacles
3. Environmental Obstacles
4. Informational Obstacles
Therefore, when a team can properly understand and move effectively through the various obstacles they can truly resolve the conflict in a beneficial and efficient way for the team to achieve its goals. I would recommend this book to just about anyone who desires to either lead a team or be a better team member.