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Reflector Mirror Post #5 November 24, 2009

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The thing that has been taking up most of my time for the past few days has been trying to analyze the responses I got from my inteviews for the cultural analysis paper.  I used the department where I used to work before I went out on my own in the battle against dental disease.  It is natural when one leaves a predictable work situation andgoes off into uncharted waters to have some self doubt and some 20/20 hindsight.  After doing the interviews and thinking about the responses, I am sure I made the right decision with my career.   Not to say that all things are smooth going but for me, what I did was a right decision at a right time.  It is nice to have some validation in one’s life. 

So how do I make the culture in my new place different than what I had before.  Part of it will come from the leadership that my partner and I provide.  How we lead by example and the people we get “on the bus” will be a big part of it.  Doing the interviews for the paper was definately eye opening

Reflector Mirror Post #4 October 27, 2009

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This is a last minute post to the blog this time.   I have been working on the culture of the practice and trying to make the decisions a leader should make.  We did solve one of our personnel problems.   The staff had their 90 day review and they were held to the standards that were given to them when they were hired.  One of the staff members was not presenting herself as we would totally like for the practice and her probation period was extended another 90 days.  Her behavior was not enough to fire her but her actions were enough to be annoying .  She would come in late, need to leave early and did not present herself to the patients as she was instructed even though she had been counseled more than a few times.  Also when she was hired she was told that we would expect her to do a variety of tasks and not just answer the phones.  She didn’t think we were really serious until she received the 90 day extension on her probationary period.  She also did not like the fact that when we said the office manager was in charge, we meant it.   She had a personality conflict with the office manager and we told her that she needed to report to the office manager and not to us.  This employee turned in her resignation a week ago.  She realized that her behavior did not fit the culture of the practice.  How we handled her leaving has sent a message to the other employees in that we did not make a fuss or allow her decison to “take over the office”.  We will thank her for her service and wish her well.  I think that there is some of the “what will they do without me” in her decison to quite.   We are just happy that she put her resignation in writing.   I feel that the culture of the practice is still in development.  How do I form and mold it?  I think it might be easier to change a culture rather than start one. 

In watching the film about Enron I saw how it is easy to get greedy. I really enjoyed watching the film although it did anger me to see the excesses that existed and still exist in corporate America.  It seems that as time passes people tend to forget about such things and as we have found out in the current economic climate.  I have worked with a person who thought he was clever and was very arrogant as were the leaders at Enron.   These types of people evenually create their own demise, however the sad part is that they usually destroy others with them.  In the case of the Enron executives, alot of people lost their pensions and life savings.  In the case of the person I worked with, people left where we worked or would not take a job where we worked because of him.  I often wonder how such folks get the power that they have.  How do we let them have it?  They seem to have no problem designing a culture in an organization that fulfills their needs.  How do I design and implement a culture that reflects the ideals and goals of the practice?

Sorry for the late post.  Wish I had a good reason for being deliquent.  No such luck for me, just a slacker.

Reflections for my Mirror Post #3 September 26, 2009

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This is one week when “life got in the way”.  I missed class on Tuesday due to nausea and vomiting that I was not sure was due to whatever plague I had or the new diabetes medicine I am on.  Being a red blooded American male I refused to believe I was sick (and of course acted like a baby).  Also, I started Byetta for my type II diabetes.  This stuff is made from gila monster saliva and one of the side effects is an upset stomach…yes I really said gila monster saliva.  Gila monsters eat about once a month and somebody figured out that they regulated their blood sugar in between snacks. I stopped it since I wasn’t eating but now I am back to my twice a day injections of reptile spit and seem to be handling it well.   Honestly I wish I could make this stuff up…….

Since I wasn’t in class I can’t really comment on what went on but I have been thinking about what constitutes my organization and how learning occurs in my organization.  At first pass it would seem that my organization consists of the people in my office.  However as a dental specialist that interacts with a number of referring general dentists, I am part of dental community that functions somewhat as an organization.  Many of the general dentists have not been used to working with a pediatric dentist and one of my challenges is how best to help them learn how to work with a pediatric dentist. Obviously a “top down” approach will not go over well.  The general dentists all have successful practices and are used to being the “captain of their ship”.  So I would welcome input from my mirrors as to how best create a learning organization when the organization is a made of different businesses that interact with one another.  The same would be true of “partnerships” of for profit and nonprofit entities that might come together as a coalition for a common cause.  It makes sense that you would have control over your own organization but how do you influence other organizations that your group interacts with?  Is it even important at all that the other groups be learning organizations if yours is?   Would the overall goal of the coalition be compromised if the organizations were at different levels with regards to being a learning organization?  Would the organizations tend to start to function as one if they are united for a common cause?  A lot of questions…wish I had some answers.  Are these even valid questions or do I have too much lizard in me?

Learning within my organization is somewhat different than in a larger company.  I only have 5 employees so even if you wanted to hide something from everybody, it is hard to do.  We still have our communication lapses which doesn’t seem like it should be possible with our small group.  One of the problems with communication in our office is that my partner and I each divided things up since we were on a fast track in trying to get open.  Now as things are rolling along we are finding out that we need to talk a few things over before some decisions are made.  You would think that working together most days this would be easy but somehow other things come up.  We may need to institute a regular partner’s meeting to make sure we are on the same page.

I don’t know how my ramblings relate to what went on in class but those are my thoughts for this post.

Reflections for My Mirror Post #2 September 12, 2009

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This semester I was had every intention of getting more organized with my thoughts that I put down on my blog. I did on the first blog entry but when I just when back to read it felt stiff and stilted to me.  So for this one I am going to go back to my usual rambling and since I have at least two mirrors (or is it reflectors?) anyway two folks who will be commenting on my blog, I am interested to see what each of you thinks about my writing style in addition to the content of the blog.  One of my not so deep dark secrets is that I like to listen to Coast to Coast AM.  For those of you with normal lives, it is a radio show that explores the paranormal, UFOs, alien beings, crop circles, numerology, conspiracy theory and all things of the world of the weird.  Anyway one of the hosts greets the people who call in by saying “where are you going to take us”.  So as I sit down to write this blog post I wonder where it is going to take us……

First I have to comment on the text. It is one of the most engaging books not only in the program but that I have read.   While I have felt that other texts used in the program were self proclaimed bibles that would lead you to the land of milk of honey if you followed their yellow brick road, Dixon seems to be saying throughout her book so far that she is presenting a framework or a set of tool.  It is still up to the individual organization (is that an oxymoron?) to make their decisions and apply the framework to their specific instances.  It is like the tool box in my garage.  I can take that set of tools and build a table and someone else can take the same set of tools and build a table that would be completely different from mine.  They would both be tables, they would both be functional and esthetic, but they would be different because each of the builders would be coming from their own sphere of influence.  The same is true with the tools used to facilitate organizational learning.  Each leader will give his or her flavor to the organization.

One of the other concepts I have been pondering is that learning does not occur without action.  In my new practice I have tried to cross train the front desk personnel to be chairside assistants so that if we get busy with patients they can come to the back and help.  This week I had to pull one of the front desk people to the back to help me with a procedure.  I realized that situation was a “hallway” for learning and that I had to let her learn.  Of course I have to make sure that since it is a clinical procedure that the patient receives good care.  My employee (sorry no fancy names for workers yet in my practice) struggled a little (and I let her) but she was able to help me with the procedure.  I think that this booster her confidence and I am sure that she will continue to grow and learn as the practice grows. 

I have been thinking about how I can make my practice a learning organization.  How I can make people not only feel that they are useful members of the team, but actually be useful, productive members of the team.  My business partner and I have been discussing “marketing” and what we need to do to grow the practice.   She and I can go out and talk to all the offices we want and give out pens, but we have to find a way to involve the whole office in marketing.  Our front desk has as much an impact (if not more) on how the practice is viewed than what I do.  As a new business, I have the opportunity to have the practice be learning organization from the beginning.   All of us are on a steep learning curve and as one of the leaders I need to make sure that there is opportunity to share this learning.

My final thought for this blog post is the quality of the discussion that was had in class.  The diversity of opinions is awesome and I was surprised how the time flew.  I know that this will continue for the rest of the semester and should make for a very interesting class. 

Oh last thing……when I went to make breakfast this morning, I pulled a package of sausage out of the freezer……it was made by Johnsonville.

Reflection for My Mirror Post #1 September 3, 2009

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How do organizations learn?   This is listed in the syllabus as being the focus of this course.   It is the processes of how an organization learns which is of particular interest to me as a new business owner.  How do I get my practice to learn so that it continues to move forward?  How can I harness the learning of the individuals in the practice so that the whole organization benefits?  If I go to a continuing education course and don’t bring back to the organization what I have learned then it is like the private meaning that is described in the Dixon text.  I need to figure out a way to create “hallways” in the practice so that information that I or another member of the team has can be shared and add to the knowledge of the collective.  Data, knowledge, etc needs to be made accessible to all members of the team.  In my new practice, we have already had issues come up where one member of the team had information that needed to be shared and the information was not shared because there was not an avenue to do so. I am sure there will be other instances of this as the practice continues to develop.  I wonder if the dissemination of information is harder or easier in a larger organization. 

One of the most interesting parts of the class so far was when we went around the class and shared our favorite quote from the preface of the Dixon text.  I found it very interesting to hear what others in the class thought was the most interesting passage.  The preface of this book is one of the best I have ever read.   It is defiantly rooted in the teachings of action learning.  I chose the quote by Williams James that is cited that said “The greatest discovery in our generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds can change the outer aspects of their lives”.  I have found this to be true.   However one chooses to think will shape their lives and how they project themselves will often change how others respond to them.   This fits my personal philosophy of life.  I do find the fact that this quotation is being attributed to James’ generation when it is an ancient idea that is one of the basic tenets of Buddhism.

Organizational learning should be an interesting and valuable course to me considering the fact that I have just opened an practice and one of the goals of the practice is that it becomes a learning organization.

What I’ve Learned About Organizational Change April 28, 2009

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What I’ve Learned About Organizational Change

When I came into ADLT 625, Change Strategies for the HRD Practitioner, I did not anticipate that the class would be as broad in scope as it was.  I thought that the course would cover more day to day management of change rather than change as it applies to the whole organization.   I realize now that there has to be an overall direction of change before there can be implementation at the lower levels of the organization. I also see how transformational change in an organization is usually precipitated by a change in the external environment.   Leadership has to be aware of the forces in the external environment that will affect the organization and be ready to respond to them.  Too often the force that precipitates change is economic in nature.  This could be a change or threat of change in funding as I wrote about in my paper on changes that occurred at Baylor College of Dentistry.  Proposed changes in legislative funding was a driving factor in the then independent dental school becoming a member of the Texas A&M System.   More global factors such as the general economy, political conditions, or customer behavior can also affect the transformational factors of an organization.  Burke-Litwin cited leadership, mission and strategy, organizational culture and individual and organizational performance as transformational factors that cause new behaviors from members of the organization.  To really make a change in the organization, at least one of these factors must be changed.  Changes in the transformational factors will affect the rest of the organization and subsequently affect the transactional or day to day operations of the system.

The concept of change in one part of the organization affecting another part of the organization is based on systems theory.   Systems theory comes from the natural sciences so it made sense to me.   In biology, changes in one part of the system can cause a change in what is sometimes seen as a totally unrelated part of the system.  An example from a biological system is that a decrease in oxygen reaching the tissues will cause an increase in bone marrow activity.  There is some signal from the tissues that tells the bone marrow to make more red blood cells so more oxygen can be delivered to the tissues.   This is seen in conditions such as cyanotic heart disease where deoxygenate blood is mixed with oxygenated blood due to some pathologic connection between the right and left sides of the heart.  The overproduction of red blood cells can be so great that it causes the blood to become thick and predisposes the patient to decreased blood flow which leads to more tissue hypoxia which causes the bone marrow to produce even more red blood cells.   This illustrates a feedback mechanism that can have a negative result.  In this example, the overproduction of red blood cells can lead to the blood becoming so thick that the patient is predisposed to strokes.   So a change in the cardiovascular system leads to changes in the hematopoietic system and possibly the neurological system.  Extensions of the cardiovascular  disease in this example can also lead to changes in the respiratory and renal systems.   Likewise in a organization change in one part of the system can, and often will affect changes in other parts of the system.   An obvious outcome is that a change in policies and procedures can affect work unit climate.   This can be either a negative or positive change.  For example, allowing workers to have some control over their work can lead to increased worker satisfaction and morale.  An policy that is more controlling can have the opposite effect.  If the change is severe enough something like a decrease in worker performance can affect leadership.  Probably the most common example of this is when a losing football team makes a change it is usually the head coach who gets the axe.   The burden of turning the team around is then placed on the new head coach.  Likewise in an organization when there is a decrease in organizational performance there is usually a change made in the leadership and then it is up to the new leadership to effect the changes that need to be made. 

Leading through change can be a challenge.  Leadership has to announce the change and then deal with the resistance that might be seen, communicate the need for change and be consistent in their communication.   They also have to persevere or “stay the course”, repeat the message and sustain the change.  There have also been lists compiled as to what differentiates a leader from a manager.  The characteristics of a leader can be described as being more visionary and supportive of the team.  Manager are more concerned with short term concrete goals and being more task oriented.   Since the major cause of transformational change is due to external forces as described above, leaders need to have a sense of what is going on outside the organization and be able to be make the necessary changes to maintain the organization.  Leaders who do not keep the global picture in mind will either find themselves no longer in charge or in charge of a dysfunctional organization. 

These principles can be applied to large organizations or to something as small as a solo pediatric dental practice.  As a solo practitioner of pediatric dentistry one of the main external factors that would determine where I would locate would be the number of children in the area.  It is obvious that I would locate a practice in an area that was growing in terms of families and schools.  If the area was populated by an older population, it would not be a good location for a pediatric practice.  Likewise, if the population was moving in a certain direction, it may be prudent to move the practice to follow the pediatric population. 

There were three organizational change strategies that were presented in class.  Open Space Technology, Appreciative Inquiry, and Future Search were demonstrated and involved class participation.  All of these techniques are based on systems theory and involve getting all interested parties in the same room at the same time.  They all tend to focus on global or strategic planning type of problems/questions.  They are not suited for situations where there is a single answer such as a specific technical problem.   Open Space Technology was the most different in that it resulted in dialogue with very little guidance from the facilitator.   There is no agenda, just a topic, and the agenda is determined by the participants.  This allows the group to discuss what is really important to them and not what is important to organizational leadership.  This can be used with very large groups but elements of Open Space can be used in smaller groups.   The idea of  “whoever shows up are the right people” and “when it’s over, it’s over” can be used in any sized organization.   The “when it’s over, it’s over” concept can be used in any sized organization.  A topic can be discussed as long as it need to be discussed.   There does not need to be an artificial time limit imposed which either drags out or cuts short the discussion.  This can be part of a full Open Space event or can be used in a staff meeting.

Future Search is used to examine strategic planning type problems however it is much more structured than Open Space.   There is less freedom to move around the room and join different groups.  In fact specific stakeholders are grouped for discussion in this technique.  Future Search is also much more structured in that the group first looks at the past then appreciates the present and then demonstrates what the future will be.  Then potential projects are identified.   This leads to a much more defined outcome than Open Space.   Again, Future Search can be used in either it’s full format or elements can be used in shorter meetings.  

Appreciative Inquiry is based on positive psychology that looks at possibilities instead of problems.  It involves getting the whole system in the room and the topic is determined for the group.   Appreciative Inquiry involves describing what is, imagining what might be, determining what should be and then creating what will be.   This strategy can be difficult to implement because so many people are not ready to focus on the positive aspects of what they are doing.  People are conditioned to focus on problems and what is wrong rather than what is right about what they are doing.  This method also results in positive actions for the organization.  Like Open Space Technology and Future Search elements of  Appreciative Inquiry can be used.  Just by stating issues in a positive way rather than in a negative tone can change a group.   Focusing on what is done well and using the same strategies on things that can be improved leads to increased productivity in an organization. 

The opening title of this blog is “What I’ve Learned About Organizational Change”.  I think I have learned that organizations are like living systems.  They are affected most by external forces and change in one part of the system will cause a change in another part of the system.   I also learned about various change strategies that can be used in organizations but I think the most important thing I learned in this course was the difference between a leader and a manager.   In my role at the dental school, I am viewed as a leader not only at the dental school, but also in the university, and in the community.  I need to be aware of these qualities and develop then so that I can continue to lead as various changes occur in my personal and professional life. 

MY NEW HERO March 16, 2009

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Spring break was last week and I think I have worked harder than I have all during the program.  Theory Why has been busy collecting data and trying to make sense of it all.  After our initial hesitation about the project we are digging deeper (no pun intended) and learning about the company.  We also got to see big rock crushing machines, huge trucks and hang out in the quarry.  Now we just have to sit down and try to figure out the unified field theory, the meaning of life, the origins of the universe and what our pages of interviews mean.  I have no great insight at this writing.   We are each trying to find a common theme and will meet on Thursday to try and bring it all together. 

Change strategies will be taking a new twist as we go move on to the different methods of change in an organization.   I don’t really know why I picked open space technology as the one that I would be involved in but I am glad I did.  Not only do I have a good group, but the more I learn about Harrison Owen, the more I like him.  In the interview Owen did on how he got the idea for open space he said that he made it up over a couple of cocktails.  This is a man after my own heart!!! I have found my new hero in academia!!! After all, my favorite martini is my next one.

Lest I be accused of being too flippant, I believe that some of our best ideas come while we are relaxing.  If it happens to be over a few beverages… so be it.   Well no great insights in this blog posting.  Just a few rambling thoughts.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day.

The only thing constant is change March 8, 2009

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Capstone (funny how we have given that course it’s own identity) has been taking the main stage in most of these posts since it is the course that is associated with most of the emotional ups and downs being experienced this semester.   I was sitting talking to a colleague of mine (yes, over a martini, gin, straight up, very dry, three olives)about changes in our professional organization.  It seems that the external environment is providing some impetus for transformational change due to the economy,the need to down size, limit travel and curtail spending on things like continuing education.   For the first time since the earth had cooled we have had to cancel a sedation course due to inadequate enrollment.  Sedation is a very popular topic and in the past we could have just said that we were going to have a course, sit a rock in the front of the room and we would have sold it out.   We had the lowest attendance ever for one of our courses this weekend and the clinical simulation course was the one that had to be cancelled.  Dentists have always been reluctant to attend a course that was on a Monday (as the clinical simulation course was scheduled).  Monday is typically the busiest day in a dental practice.  Dentists are just not willing to compromise a day of income to attend continuing education due to perceived and real downturns in practice income.   This has forced us to rethink the way that we present our courses.   We will not only have to look at the quality of the programs that we are providing but also when they are presented.   As part of the leadership for these courses, it is a bit easier to have a transformation with our group that it might be with a company.   The most obvious factor is that there are not multiple layers or divisions in our group. There are just six of us that present the course.  We do have to interact with leadership of the academy and with the membership but the organization is composed of just the faculty.   As transformational leaders we will have to repackage the course and make it appealing to the potential participants and also satisfy the economic constraints placed on us by the AAPD.  Up until now we have been doing more translational changes of improving the course however now it is time for a big change, a new way of doing business.  These chages will affect alot of people.  I wonder what unexpected consequences there might be.  It has been said that ignorance is bliss but ignorance of factors causing change and affected by change is a reason alot of businesses are in trouble.   Hopefully our little group will be able to anticipate, plan for and adapt ot changes that occur.

Socrates was one smart dude March 1, 2009

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In the capstone course we (I) have been wrestling with defining the purpose of the course.  Is it to help the client?  Is it to complete the project so we get a good grade? Is it for us to learn about action learning and ourselves?  We have also been learning how things are interconnected.  I had a “Aha” moment this weekend while I was listening to an astronomy lecture (don’t ask).   In the lecture there was a quote by Socrates that shows how philosophy is connected to our course and summed up what I think I should have been learning about education in the action learning course.  Socrates said that “Education is the kindling of a flame not the filling of a vessel.” I take this to mean that education is not a means to an end, nor is it an end unto itself.   Rather education is meant to spark further inquiry and ask questions.  I have blogged before that I teach by asking questions of my residents.   Maybe I need to be a better student to be a better teacher.  

Too many questions February 26, 2009

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It has been a few days, ok like 10, since I have last posted on the blog and alot has happened.  A field trip to see the big dog of action learning, Dr. Marquardt, Theory Why’s issues with the client, trying to figure out action learning, organizational change and the realization that it’s about the learning and not the the grade.  

Attending Dr. Marquardt’s workshop on action learning was enlightening.   Hearing and reading about a process is one thing but having the process demonstrated is another.  The concept of the action learning coach is key to having the process work.  The coach has a scripted part that needs to be followed.   It worked well with a group that where only one person had ownership of the problem.  When this was brought back to the class room, the process did not work as well.  Everyone in the group knew the problem and it was difficult to have the coach be someone who also owned the problem and not ask any questions.  We (the class) figured out that the coach would have to be part of the process in our situation.   Maybe Dr. Marquardt can term this the “VCU Variation” or the “Carter Change”.   Participation in an action learning session also made the process come alive.  This circulates back to some of the basics of adult learning that we have been taught in the program.  That is, that adults learn by being engaged and through participation.  

I never thought I would be going on a “field trip” while I was in graduate school.   While participating in the action learning workshop was a great experience, it also gave the folks that were able to go a chance to get to know each other outside of the classroom and to relate to each other a little differently. 

Theory Why has had a some issue with communication with our clients.  They have not been as timely with their communication as we would have liked.  I think we started to feel like we had to get the project done to fulfill the requirements of the course and that if our client did not give us what we needed we would make a good grade.   After some redirection, we came to realize that hte project is about learning and not making a grade.   It is hard to put the idea of a grade totally out of our minds.  Theory Why spent some time in class tonight talking about what we have gotten out of the program.  It was a really good discussion and we all agreed that we had changed as people.  We ask more questions, we have deeper conversation, we listen better, we try to help people more.  It was quite enlightening.  This somehow led to a discussion on leadership and Carol said that “we are all leaders”.   A simple yet profound statement given the fact that we are trying to define employee engagement for our client.   Is engagement really a form of leadership?  One ha to take responsiblty for themselves before they can lead others.   It made us stop and ponder for a bit. 

So where does organizatonal change fit in?  What about systems theory?  How does this all connect?  I seem to be having more questions than answers these days….maybe that is what is supposed to happen.