It all started when…I was asked to write some week notes as part of this leadership course

Week 1

The Setting

I’m a veterinary academic and this week I had to collaborate with colleagues to write modules for a new programme that is currently under development. Some of the modules are on topics that I’m familiar with and I can write them within my comfort zone. Others are outside my area of expertise and require me to either figure them out without feeling entirely comfortable about the task, or sit down with others who have more expertise and draw on their knowledge. 

This is my first time having the responsibility of programme development: I’m aware that in a few months time a new colleague will have to deliver this material to a newly recruited group of students. The current programme has a good reputation and I’m anxious to maintain this. However, I recognise that I can’t do this all myself and I will need to delegate some aspects of the planning process. 

My actions

The first thing I did was to send the team (eight people) an update on the process and the progress we had made in the previous few weeks. I’ve realised while doing this programme that this is an area I can and should improve on: I need to keep the group informed and motivated, rather than just trying to do most of the work myself, because it’s quicker or easier. 

I have a colleague who has been challenging in the past. They tended to ignore updates and then get annoyed or disagree with decisions after they had been made. Perhaps this was partly why I had put off team updates in the past, however I’ve found so far that everything has gone smoothly this time around: this may be coincidental but it’s encouraging nevertheless!

Outcomes

Having sent out the update, two team members got in touch straight away and volunteered to meet with me to write two modules in which they have a lot more expertise than I have. I was delighted. I was hoping they would end up taking on this task but their prompt response was very encouraging.

Lessons learned

I’m happy with how this worked out, so I wouldn’t do anything differently. It reminded me of the importance of including people in the process and how this can be motivating. This is something that I can use with my educational Masters students, as they often worry about implementing new teaching methods - “what if the students don’t engage?”. You have to research the process, reflect on how to implement it effectively, and then trust in it!

 Next steps

I am going to keep a short list (I love lists!) of the team updates and goals as this project progresses, so that I can track how effective I am being at ensuring I continue to make it clear to everyone what we are doing and why. 

I feel I may struggle somewhat with these week notes as a leadership evidence base, as I don’t provide clinical care in my current job, nor do I have any formal leadership responsibilities. In addition I’m now working from home due to Covid-19, and so I’m not interacting with colleagues or students in person. The Covid-19 pandemic, and our attempts to respond to it, are the very definition of a wicked issue. It’s obviously very worrying but this situation may also present some as yet undefined or anticipated opportunities for me to provide leadership in new ways.  

Week 2

The Setting

This was the week that Covid-19 led to the campus where I work being closed and we switched to teaching online from home. The students were very concerned, both about the virus and its implications for their health and that of their friends and families and the prospect of their training being impacted with cancelled practical training sessions, work placements and exams. This was unfolding against the backdrop of the social distancing policy being rolled out across the country and lots of uncertainty about lock downs and healthcare crises. 

My actions

I got several emails from concerned students, wondering what was going to happen. I know that for every one student that gets in touch with a problem or question, there are typically several others having the same issue. Normally I would address their concerns by having a discussion in class and giving them the opportunity to clarify things, but that wasn’t an option any longer. Personally, I also found the situation to be worrying and challenging, the speed and scope of the changes was potentially overwhelming.   

I found Covey’s circle of influence to be a helpful resource in this situation. I wrote a post on the student forum outlining the plans for online teaching and how we would proceed with their module. I included a reminder in this post of the useful skills they had that they could employ to help themselves and their families, particularly effective hand washing. I reminded them that while it is absolutely natural to be concerned about the government’s response to the pandemic, supply shortages in shops and others failures’ to observe social distancing guidelines, these are all things that we cannot control. However, we can control how well we follow the government and healthcare guidelines, how much time we spend on social media, how we establish a routine at home and how we can treat ourselves and others with kindness as we navigate this new situation together. 

I scheduled a live online Q&A session for a few days later with the students. I wanted to give them an opportunity to try out the lecture recordings beforehand. I explained that the Q&A session would not be a formal lecture, but rather an opportunity for them to try out the new software and ask me any questions they might have. Several of the students, including those who I felt were most anxious earlier in the week, logged in at the appointed time and asked questions about the module, as well as broader concerns such as if the final year exams or summer work placements would go ahead. I didn’t have all the answers but I was able to tell them that we would keep them informed of decisions as soon as they arose.   

Outcomes

I found the Circle of Influence certainly made me felt better equipped to handle the situation. I was also worried myself about my family and the potential for there to be a massive surge in cases over the next few weeks. It’s empowering to remember that there are things that you can do to help navigate this strange new world and devise strategies to deal with it. 

I don’t have any direct evidence from the students that they found my guidance useful (beyond the fact that no more have been in touch with any concerns). This is a feature of the week that I have found challenging. Normally I would be interacting with my colleagues and students face to face on a daily basis. Switching everything online and working from home removes that. Email and online meetings are a help but they don’t replace that constant social feedback that you’re not normally even consciously aware of. I didn’t realise I would find this aspect of working from home difficult but it’s something I’m now aware of and I intend to try and find a way to address it in next week. 

Lessons learned

I’ve realised how important it is to try and maintain the collaborative nature of work, even from a distance. My next step will be to try and find ways to interact effectively online with my colleagues. We have started to use Microsoft Teams and I’m hoping that this will prove to be a valuable tool in this regard.

Next steps

I wrote out my own circles of concern and influence for this situation, to remind me that I need to stay focused on the controllables, especially while working is isolation like this. I am devised a daily routine and dedicated work area at home and I’m going to see if this helps to keep me on track.

I’d like to be able to establish ways for my colleagues and I to keep working together from a distance. That’s the goal for this week and next.      

Week 3

The Setting

At the end of last week I found myself missing the social and face-to-face collaborative nature of my normal workplace. My intention was to try and recreate this atmosphere in the online environment. The group of students I chose to focus on were the educational Masters students, whom I am tutoring in a small group as part of their programme. Not only were they having to cope with their day jobs being turned upside down, they were also going to have to work out how to continue their studies, as their Masters assignments are based on their own teaching practice. They were therefore facing similar challenges to me, but also needed some help in reconfiguring their studies. 

My actions

Having reviewed the situation it was apparent that this problem required an adaptive approach - there is no guidebook for navigating this pandemic and its effects on daily life. However, by stepping back and trying to observe the problem via Dilt’s Levels of Learning I reminded myself that I do have a fair degree of technical competence and I can usually figure things out when adopting new teaching tools and/or technology. In addition, I recognised that I would have the assistance of my students: they are motivated to complete their module and are prepared to work with me to achieve this.

First of all, I emailed the student group to let them know that I was available to help them reconfigure their research plans. I explained that I was keen to continue our weekly group meeting, as this is where much of the progress is made. I have found that if I ask each student to state what problems they are having and then encourage their peers to suggest solutions they end up working it out amongst themselves and learning from each other. Our college has a Microsoft subscription that includes the ‘Teams’ platform to facilitate such meetings online instead of face to face. We agreed to set up a Team for the group and have a test run later in the week.

I had previously (and serendipitously) enrolled on an online continuing education course on online teaching, which started this week. One of the first topics covered was how to create an effective social presence online to facilitate learning. This was insightful as I realised that feeling a bit isolated online is a common feature of this form of delivery. Suggested strategies to overcome it included hosting an informal online session before starting content delivery, allowing the group to introduce each other and become familiar with the tools to be used. I decided to go ahead and hold an online ‘coffee break’ with the students to facilitate this process for us all. 

Outcomes

Two of the four students joined the ‘coffee break’ session. The technology worked well and we were able to have a natural conversation. The plan had been to just have a short chat. However, we ended up discussing their study, as following my email to say that we would think about changing plans to fit the new situation, both students had come up with ideas to adapt their work and enable themselves to move it forward in the online space.  

The remaining students are employed by another organisation and I couldn’t use their work email addresses within the Teams software, as it is licensed for use within the college community only. They do have student email accounts which they have set up to forward messages to their work inboxes. However, the invitations to join the Teams group that I had sent them did not make it through. I had to refer them to the college IT support, who are obviously somewhat overwhelmed at the moment. Hopefully we will be able to solve this problem, as the meeting worked well and I would like them all to be able to participate.

Lessons learned

While I would have described myself as an introvert who enjoys recharging in my own space, I’m now more aware of how important the social and collaborative aspect of my job is to me. Previously I was unaware that I need to take steps to protect this aspect of my role. I now see that this was a blind area for me that my Johari window is hopefully now allowing more light to fall on!  

This experience also clarified the value of the advice to have an informal online session first. If I had planned to begin teaching straightaway two of the students would have missed out on the session. Running the informal meeting first allowed me to identify this technical hitch and implement a strategy to solve it before we need to rely on the technology.

Next steps

The realisation that I need to maintain social contact has been enlightening. To address this I’ve arranged to meet a friend or colleague online for a brief chat over a coffee every couple of days or so. It’s important to look after my social networks, even from a distance. It’s also a chance to check in with people and see if there’s anything practical that they might need help with e.g. dropping off groceries etc. 

Week 4 and beyond

Prior to undertaking this course, I was aware of general weaknesses in my leadership practice but I was unclear about the underlying reasons and didn’t have an action plan to address them. What I found really useful about this programme was that, by learning about the theory and practice of good leadership, I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and devise ways to address the gaps in my practice. 

My Johari window revealed to me that I have a tendency to try and do things myself, rather than enabling others by setting a clear team goal for us all to work towards. This new awareness has changed how I view my role when working in teams and I hope this will lead to an  improvement in my mentorship skills. Setting goals or targets and clearly communicating them to others is an area I’ve realised that I can improve on, and I will stay mindful of that in future projects. 

These new insights and increased self-awareness have led to a growth in confidence. I still would not, and probably never will, describe myself as a natural leader but I now view my practice as a work in progress. I’m motivated to keep gathering feedback from friends and colleagues in an effort to continue to improve.

While I don’t have a formal leadership role in my job, I do work in teams to deliver both teaching and research. I’ve always enjoyed this aspect of my job but I now realise that collaboration is a key feature of my preferred approach to work. The course content that dealt with adaptive leadership both clarified a way to make progress and achieve change in the absence of a formal management role, and highlighted some potential pitfalls; guidance which is always useful! It also made me realise that there are some aspects of my current practice which already demonstrate good leadership e.g. encouraging students to pick their own assignment topics and focus on something they are particularly interested in. I now know that this is an example of using power in a referent way, and is something I will continue to do.   

The Ladder of Inference and Dilt’s Logical Levels of Learning fleshed out concepts I was vaguely aware of. I have found them to be valuable in helping me to stand back and try and figure out why somebody else might be reacting in a way that was disconcerting to me. This in turn motivates me to try and figure out an alternative solution, instead of getting frustrated and trying to sort it out myself (being a hero instead of a host!), which would have been my default approach previously. I’ll also encourage veterinary friends and colleagues to consider taking this course when it’s next offered, as I have found it to be both rewarding and enjoyable.