How are you feeling?

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My awesome learning community met on Monday and Tuesday night. Monday night was our class call, but we were the only ones who remembered. Tuesday night was a meeting we scheduled over the weekend as an accountability and support for each other. One of my awesome group asked, “How are you feeling about your innovation update, Dawn?” and here’s what I had to say (speaking from the heart, in the moment)

I’m not in the same role as my innovation. I can follow my innovation until November, but then I changed roles, and my priority became less about pushing my innovation forward and more about creating a team.

Creating a culture in which I could then propose my innovation idea. I could not walk into that workplace and say, “Hey, nice to meet you. I am here to solve all your problems, and we will do it my way.” Talk about alienating people right out of the gate. I have instead worked to build relationships. It really has been a year of just stepping back and observing. I constantly think about Crucial Conversations, and undoubtedly that guides me in my interactions with team members. I am constantly thinking about the Influencer strategies and those vital behaviors. I have listened to the 4DX something like three times because I really believe in the idea of it, but it is very overwhelming to say I’m going to lead a staff meeting by saying “okay, we’re all going to come up with a wildly important goal. Then we are going to identify our lead measures. Together we can create a compelling scoreboard and we will have weekly WIG meetings and we’re going to do this thing.

I guess I have been setting the stage for future innovation.

I feel like I am in a much better position now, having done that work. By helping to create a positive workplace culture, we now have teams that are prepared to move forward together. Armed with these strategies, my innovation idea can continue to grow and evolve as additional brainpower and ideas are put toward the challenges our students face.

My classmate acknowledged that due to my change in roles, this delay in my innovation plans made perfect sense. I really did need to take this time to get to know my situation. Without taking this last year to step back I wouldn’t be able to identify those key players. I had to invest the time to assess what has been happening. I did not want to step into my role making changes just for change sake. I really wanted to know what would really make these advisors’ jobs more enjoyable, their work more accurate, and their workload more manageable, while equipping students with the self-efficacy they need to develop to successfully navigate college life. I want to be that catalyst for change! I want to help learners get the best possible experience out of their time at our institution. I want to help people achieve their dreams and be self-advocates throughout their lives.