Restructuring Attendance Policy and Procedures in a Secondary School Through Process Consultation A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Leadership Institute of Seattle, City University Jim Force ©1992 Note: This document has been reformatted from its original format. In this chapter I will explore my personal impact on this action research project. Unlike empirical research which is highly objective, action research is an interactive process strongly affected by the consultant's style, skills and personality. I will discuss my impact on the project in terms of the following themes: family of origin, birth order, and personality type. While each of these aspects of my functioning will be discussed separately, in practice they operate in a continuous integrated fashion.
Family of Origin I find it easiest as an "outsider" to develop relationships on a one-to-one basis rather than in groups. During the project I would often take the time to talk informally with individual team members. I believe this was an important factor in developing trusting and productive relationships within the group. A comment from one team member indicated that they were able to "function fully as people rather than from their roles." Additionally, my functioning as an outsider during the project helped me maintain an objective view of the issues the school was experiencing. Various team members observed that I was able to "provide an unbiased view" and to "keep them on track" throughout the intervention. Playing the role of the outsider in my family triangle has left me with the notion that I am unable to influence the insiders. Consequently, I have difficulty asking for what I want. During the project this difficulty was evident in my requests for the amount of time I required at meetings. Being fearful of imposing on or being rejected by others, I tended to not ask for adequate time. This was particularly true of the first meeting with the assistant principals and the first staff meeting. In each case I left the meeting feeling incomplete and determined to ask for exactly the amount of time I required on the next occasion. This was an important challenge for me. My ability to ask for what I wanted increased significantly over the course of the intervention. I was proud that by the end of the project I was able to comfortably ask each of the process team members for an hour of their time for an evaluation interview. This achievement signified an important personal growth for me. Another trait associated with the outsider position in my family of origin triangle is that, being the "child" in the triangle, I assume that others, especially adults, already know what I know. This, combined with my perception that there is little possibility of my influencing other adults, inhibits me from inquiring as to what groups members know or need to know. This characteristic influenced how I brought information to the client group. Initially in the project, I brought information in regarding the dimensions for collecting data for a problem. However, other than that, I seldom took the time to supply the group with the kind of applied behavioural science information required to implement the interventions we were using. In hindsight I can see that it would have been valuable to inquire into the needs of the group prior to the start of each new intervention. This was particularly true of the process we developed for collecting information from the staff at the January 1991 staff meeting as well as for the work done with the staff during the feedback session in February 1991. For example, in referring to the feedback session, one process team member commented that the "staff was not clear on the meaning of it all." A final challenge for me in terms of family or origin issues was to avoid "adapting" as anxiety within the group increased. I tended to be more effective in responding to anxiety in the staff meetings than in the process team meetings. During the staff meetings I was occasionally confronted with comments like "how long is this going to take," or "I was never told about this." On these occasions I was able to respond rather than react to these comments. However, in small group meetings when my ideas bumped up against other people's ideas or emotions, I was the one who usually adjusted. For the most part this was appropriate, but at other times it was "adapting" to relieve or avoid creating anxiety. This was most significant in the feedback meeting with the assistant principals. Upon presenting the data summary to them, I received a very intense reaction. They came at me with comments like "what do they [the teachers] mean?" and "these comments are too vague to have any meaning". Unfortunately, I reacted to this situation by trying to "explain" the data to them rather than explore their reaction to it. This was certainly a lost opportunity. I was disappointed in how I had responded.
Birth Order Balancing my risk taking and my cautious/conservative traits, proved to be a constant challenge for me throughout the project. As a risk taker, I am not always aware of my limitations. I am prone to getting into situations which overwhelm me. When this happens, I respond with knee-jerk reactions of extreme cautiousness. My goal for this project was to take moderate risks; thus, remaining responsive to situations rather than reactive. Throughout the project I was constantly challenged, yet never overwhelmed. I attribute my success in this regard to the collaborative team process which helped me keep my perspective on how the intervention was progressing. My leadership skills were significantly influenced by my perfectionistic and scholarly nature. In order to lead this project "properly," I needed to be "totally" prepared. Therefore, I read extensively about consulting and organization development in schools before engaging in each phase of the intervention. This preparation served to my benefit as well as to my detriment. To my benefit, the results of this studying, in the words of various process team members, allowed me to "provide a sense of direction" to the project, and to facilitate a "directed approach to attaining goals." Meetings were described as being "effective" and "well organized." Additionally, my scholastic efforts provided me with a sense of confidence in my consulting and leadership skills. Twice during the project, I was hindered by my perfectionistic need to adhere to the "proper" way of doing things. The first was regarding who constituted the primary client. Initially from my reading, I understood that the entire teaching staff "should" be the primary client. With this notion in mind, I expected and planned that the entire staff should be involved in the analysis of the data and in the development of the action plan. I learned from the general response at the feedback presentation that they were not prepared to do this. Instead they abdicated this responsibility to the process team. This experience influenced the perfectionist in me to re-think my position. During the second half of the project, I began to view the principal as the primary client. The implication of this change was that I then focussed my attention on how the interventions would affect the thinking and functioning of the principal, rather than that of the entire staff. The second situation occurred during the development of the action plan. In the action planning meeting I found myself trying very hard to convince the others to include actions regarding the communications and decision making concerns that had surfaced in the data collection. While I believe it was important to raise this issue with the team, the difficulty I encountered was in that I had it in my mind that this was, not simply one possible way, but the only way to proceed. As one team member pointed out to me, I entered the meeting with a "predetermined agenda which was mine, not that of the team." I believe an inquiry approach with more sensitivity to the emotional content of the issue would have been a more productive way to handle this situation.
Personality Type Data collection during this project was significantly influenced by my functioning as an extroverted intuitive type. I prefer to perceive my environment, as Myers and Myers (1980, p. 2) so aptly state, "by way of the unconscious, incorporating ideas or associations that the unconscious tacks on to perceptions coming from outside." Thus, person-to-person interviews with open-ended questions providing answers in which I could "read between the lines," were for me the kind of data, which brought "possibilities" to mind. Similarly, the interactive style of questionnaire we used to obtain information about the nature of the problem fit this method of perceiving. As a result of the data collection, I had in my mind a clear idea of the nature of the problem and the direction to take the interventions. This was not the case for everyone. As is characteristic of the extroverted intuitive type, I lacked good judgement in not anticipating how others would respond to this type of data. The inferior function of the extroverted intuitive personality is introverted sensation (Sharp, 1987, p. 60). I was totally caught off guard when "sensing/thinking" members of the process team did not accept the information regarding communications and decision making as being significant. However, this did not create any great difficulty for me. Being an extroverted intuitive type who is constantly on the lookout for new opportunities, I simply let go of this aspect of the data, joined the team in exploring the possibilities in other aspects of the problem, and adjusted the next questionnaire to provide a more concrete type of data. Personality type in conjunction with family of origin issues and birth order played a significant role in the implementation of my leadership role during this project. As a leader I often functioned from an extroverted feeling position. During the course of the intervention, I was true to type in that I would "value, above all, harmonious human contacts" (Myers and Myers, 1980, p. 93). Process team members responded that I created "a safe environment in which people could disagree" and provided "an open opportunity for sharing ideas." Comments from the principal during the follow-up meeting indicated that this harmonizing attitude was beneficial in providing the process team members with a sense of ownership in the project's direction. The team was able to pursue the issues in a way which was of value and comfort to them. In general my harmonizing attitude was of value to the team. However, at other times it served only to avoid conflict within the group and to avoid pushing for clarity. As an extroverted feeling type I tended to concentrate on their viewpoints losing sight of the value of my own. This was particularly evident to me in team discussions around the wording of the inclusion of a question for a questionnaire or interview. In these discussions I typically abdicated my position in order to remain the "harmonizer" and avoid conflict or pushing for clarity.
Summary
References
May the FORCE be with you! |
