Our family enjoys traveling to Southern California during the cold, wet winter months in the PNW. One of our favorite spots is the Mission Bay area of San Diego. I typically enjoy a good long walk in the mornings.
Building a High Functioning Team
Each month, I have the honor of facilitating our Tech Team meetings at Snoqualmie Valley School District. We come together to connect with each other, discuss tech issues, problem solve, make plans, etc. I also make it a point to focus on various aspects of team dynamics such as communication, trust and productive conflict. This month’s focus was accountability. How can we hold each other to account for our agreed upon standards of behavior? How should we respond when someone falls short? There was some great conversation in small groups and some good ideas generated. Ultimately, one meeting alone is not a panacea that will solve longstanding cultural patterns that a team may have fallen into. But by continually focusing on productive ways of being and leaning into a focus on how we interact with each other, over time a positive dynamic will flourish.
The Reality for Civil Servants
I texted a friend of mine this evening who works for a federal agency. “How's everything going at work?” I asked him. He replied, “It's a guessing game everyday I show up. Every email I worry it will tell me I’m fired.” This friend has literally worked as a loyal civil servant for two decades.