Crossing the Threshold

  Three and a half years…  What can you really accomplish in three and a half years?  Is it a lot of time?  A little time?  A beginning? An end? A lifetime?

  Almost four years ago I made a decision that took my life on a new course.  It’s not the first time I’ve made a choice that set my world in motion, and I know it won’t be the last, but, as is often the case in situations like these, I had no idea of the impact the decision was about to make on my life.  After all, it was just grad school, right??

Looking back now from a vantage point  where I can survey the whole valley, mere days away from graduation, I can see that my decision to go back to school and embark on a new path of graduate study has made a huge positive change in my life.

The other night I pulled out the Educational Biography I wrote my first semester in ADLT 601.  As I read through it, I was amazed at how different I am now, yet how I’m still me.  Actually, it’s more like Me on steroids.  Me with a little more “oomph.”   And I started thinking about how I got from point A to point B…

Like navigating any new territory, we start at the beginning and work our way forward.  The Adult Learner class was my induction into the theory and framework of adult learning. (the “hooks” Dr. Carter talks about…)  I made some new friends both in class and in books.  (Cue Erica’s BFF Marvin Weisbord…this is where the love story began…)

And with each subsequent class I took, my knowledge and experience grew stronger, enabling me to apply myself more at work and explore the direction I wanted to go.  Because I work in the role of a training manager (and previously a trainer), so many of the things we learned in class were directly related to my job.  I never had a lack of material for papers.  I could always make connections between school and work.  This really helped me internalize all the theory and rhetoric.  I had so much opportunity for practice!

As I worked my way (slowly) through the program, I took things one step at a time, and it seemed like now matter what step I was at, it was exactly where I was supposed to be.  I took Program Planning at a time when I was developing a new curriculum at work.  Consulting Skills helped me gain the confidence and experience to “get a seat at the table” for a big project.  I took the Learning Disabilities class at a time when I needed to deal with someone at work with an LD.  The progression of my career always seemed to reinforce what I was learning about in class.  And along the way, I’ve had the opportunity to work with extremely talented classmates and dedicated faculty. 

Some random, stream-of-consciousness highlights of my time in the program: Tim playing the flute in Org Learning, eating Suliman’s wife’s baklava in Change Strategies, Erica navigating the construction of our class Cmap, exploring the Student Center on a field trip scavenger hunt in Instructional Strategies, being forced to listen to a crazy talking mandolin song at Gallery 5 with Andrea for our WRIR Capstone project, participating in Carmen’s Islands of Chaos, meeting with C3 at the Grapevine to begin forming, storming and norming, consulting with stones, wondering if I was ever going to finish yet another paper…

I’ve come a long way in three and a half years.  I’ve gotten married, I’ve had a baby, I’ve received two promotions, I’ve made it through 13 classes…  But most importantly, I’ve grown as a person, both personally and professionally.  My accomplishments have given me the confidence that comes from experience.

And now it’s all about to come to the big finale…graduation.  Strangely enough, after all this, I won’t even be at the graduation ceremony.  When I made plans months ago to fly to Boston for a family event (and a Patriots game the day after!), it didn’t even dawn on me that it was the same weekend as graduation.  When I did wise up, it didn’t phase me at all.  Sure, I’d like to be there, but it’s not earth-shattering.  It’s just a long, boring ceremony.

I was surprised about a month ago when it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I’m going to miss my graduation.  I didn’t realize how much it would mean to me to be there.  To see the culmination of all my hard work.  To be with my classmates and professors one last time.  To celebrate our successes.   My fellow graduates kindly declared they would take a photo at graduation in the “missing man” formation (which by the way, I hope is not literal since I am already terrified of flying and convinced I am going to crash and burn this weekend…), which meant a lot to me.  Although I won’t be there in person next Saturday, I will certainly be there in spirit.

As I sit here tonight, typing the last few words of my grad school career, it’s easy to feel a little melancholy at the closing of a chapter in my life.  But isn’t every end just a new beginning? 

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Who can believe the end of the semester is here already? Certainly not me! With each subsequent class in the program, the time seems to fly more quickly. This semester especially was a blur for me, probably because I was out for a couple of weeks following the birth of my son, and that kind of broke up the semester a little bit.

At the start of the semester, my focus was clearly on worrying how I would get through the Capstone class. Change Strategies was just a chore to be endured. I wasn’t sure how much I was really going to get out of it, or if I was even interested in getting anything out of it. (End of the program blues?)

I’m so glad my attitude about the class didn’t stay that way. Surprisingly, writing the Org Change Intervention Analysis paper was actually one of the more enjoyable experiences I’ve had in the program. I found I had so much to analyze and discuss because of the changes taking place within my own organization. The paper flowed freely and richly, and honestly, I had to rein it in at the end or I would have kept going much longer!

I’ve mentioned in class for some time now (probably enough times that people are sick of hearing about it) that my agency has been in the midst of a modernization initiative. The planned changes are so far-reaching and significant that they will revolutionize the way the entire agency does business on a day-to-day basis. While the planning for this change effort began several years ago, the actual implementation is currently in full swing. Because of this, as I read through the Burke chapters, they resonated with me in a way I hadn’t expected. Everything I read about I could relate to because I was experiencing it or seeing it in my agency. Looking at the Burke-Litwin model was like looking at a blueprint of my organization – I could trace the effects of change through each dimension.

In addition to the insight I got out of the Burke text, we explored three valuable change strategies this semester – Future Search, Open Space Technology and Appreciative Inquiry. I was part of the group that facilitated the Future Search Conference, the brainchild of our old friend Weisbord. The biggest challenge for our group was taking the three-day conference and carving it up to fit into a class period without losing the flavor of the methodology. This meant being a little bit creative in order to shave some time. We made sure we hit on the major themes of the conference – exploring past, present and future in order to construct an action plan for change. I think our facilitation was successful at giving our classmates a good representation of the model, and I hope we illustrated the activities in a way that made everyone feel confident enough to try it within their own organizational contexts.

The Open Space Technology facilitation gave us a second strategy to implement within our organizations. I can imagine how well this would work with large groups where participants would generate a multitude of session ideas and hold lively conversations around the topic at hand. I particularly appreciate the way the flexibility and openness I of the method allows for the participation and ownership of the attendees. For the facilitator though, it’s often hard to follow Weisbord’s advice and “Don’t Do Something; Just Stand There”! This hands off approach of letting participants hash it out has a lot of potential for incredible organizational growth.

The third strategy, Appreciative Inquiry, was in some ways the hardest for me to stomach. I felt so uncomfortable with the idea of rattling off the things I do well, which tells me I need to do it more! As it turned out though, I really liked the idea of using a positive spin to propel change. Building on the strengths of an organization in order to improve and move ahead makes so much sense.

I returned to work this week to find that so much had changed while I was gone. It made me realize just how much I needed this Change Strategies class. Instead of panicking that my world was changing around me, I thought about the skills in my pocket for creating, implementing and supporting change. I feel confident that I can and will use many of the techniques we explored in this class in the coming days.

Take me to your leader…  so I can convince him you need an Appreciative Inquiry session.

Megan, Jennifer, Andrea and Grace facilitated the last of our change strategies this week – a beautiful Appreciative Inquiry.  I have to say this felt a little awkward at first, commenting on the positives, tooting your own horn.  We’re so used to (or maybe it’s just me?) being overly modest about our accomplishments and concentrating on what went wrong, where we can make improvements.   What a fresh idea to celebrate your successes and look at what you’re doing right for a change!

I can tend to be a little negative, a little jaded about work sometimes.  If not aloud, at least to myself.  This whole exercise really motivated me to consider a new perspective (or reconsider an old one…the one I had before work became so predictable and mundane).  When I return to work I’m going to try bringing some of this spark with me and use some of the AI techniques with my work team.

Just wanted to say this week that Carol, Mike, Buddy and Suliman did a great job on the Open Space Technology facilitation!  I wasn’t sure at first how it was going to turn out when we were tasked to come up with sessions on Outrageous Leadership, and everyone seemed to freeze for a minute.  But once we got the hang of it, everything flowed. I thought the discussions were interesteing, adn we actually stayed on task, which I thought might be an issue, given the large chunk of time alloted for sessions. 

The only thing I would have liked to have seen was people being “butterflies” and “bees.”  Because it was such a small group, I think people felt too conspicuous to move in and out of groups.  With so few people, it might have been insulting to other group members to decide to move on to a new group.  I can see how that would be easier in a much larger group that would afford more anonymity.     

A final note that bears mentioning: the treats that the group members brought were really appreciated.  The two pieces of awesome baklava that Suliman’s wife made that were not on my diet and will keep me out of pre-baby clothes for an extra couple of weeks, but well worth it…

 One faces the future with one’s past.   ~Pearl S. Buck

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.  ~Percy Bysshe Shelley

The future is made of the same stuff as the present.  ~Simone Weil

Our group facilitated our Future Search Conference in class this week:   “The Future of Enrollment in the MEd in Adult Learning Program at VCU in 2029.”  Most of us had worked together previously on projects or in classes, so it went pretty smoothly for the most part.  It was nice to see how everyone’s individual pieces meshed when we actually facilitated it because we didn’t have a whole lot of prep time since we were the first group.  I think fellow late proponent Erica and I were both pleasantly surprised that going sooner rather than later was really a relief since we’ll get it all over with first!

I hope the class really enjoyed experiencing the Future Search.  it was definitely a challenge for us to try to cut it down to fit within the time frame.  I was afraid that curtailing some of the activities in that way would leave noticeable gaps, but I think it actually worked out pretty well.  Our modifications to the initial VCU, M.Ed. and personal timelines seemed to cause a bit of confusion, maybe because we didn’t explain what we were doing well enough.  In a full-length conference I don’t think it would have been an issue, since everyone would be writing on all three timelines. 

I have to say, I thought that Tim, Erica, Pam and Ali did a fantastic job, so THANK YOU, guys!  Putting it all together showed me how useful this strategy would actually be in the context of my own organization.  And facilitating it made me confident enough to try it or even a mini version of it.  My crystal ball forsees a little Future Search action for the training team when I get back to work… 

I knew when I started the semester it would be an extremely challenging one for me.  Having a baby in the middle of your second to last semester in grad school is what some would consider crazy, but I figured I could knock out two classes while I was home on maternity leave.   Yes, they are two challenging classes – Capstone and Change Strategies, but I thought I should be able to give them plenty of attention while I didn’t have to worry about work.  Right??!

Then I met Devin Michael…  My beautiful baby boy was born on February 4th.  The last week and a half have flown by like a dream, and I’ve been lucky enough to stay home concentrating on nothing but him (and getting myself healed!)  But thoughts of my impending return to school have been creeping in.  How in the world am I going to get any work done with this screaming baby?!  This seems so much harder than when my daughter was born 12 years ago…

I plan to return to school the week of the 16th (if all goes well).  Until then, I am going to put school out of my mind except for doing some reading in Marquardt and Burke so I don’t fall too far behind.  I just figured I’d post this quick update for the curious!

Wednesday night we were able to get our group assignments for facilitating one of the change strategies.  I was happy to hear I got my first choice – Future Search.   I’ve been interested in it ever since I heard Dr. Carter describe her experience hosting a Future Search Conference when she worked at the Fed.  A couple of semesters ago she discussed it in class and showed us clips from her Future Search video tape.  It seemed like a creative and productive way to involve all levels and types of employees in planning for change.

 An interactive planning process used world-wide in diverse cultures to achieve shared goals and fast action. Future search leads to cooperative planning that lasts for years.

THe folks assigned to the Future Search group are awesome.  I think it will be a good group experience since I’ve worked with Erica several times and been in class with Tim and Pam before.  I’m looking forward to getting to know Ali as well.  We’re going to rock the future.  Engage!

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.

Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they’re turned around.

Who’d have thought they’d lead ya (Who’d have thought they’d lead ya)
Here where we need ya (Here where we need ya)

 

 

How is it that every time we start a new semester it seems like we JUST finished the previous one?  I know we had a few weeks off for the holidays, but it seems like we never even left…

Our 625 class (Change Strategies) met for the first time on Wednesday, and I must say, I think it’s going to be better than I expected.  To be honest, I didn’t even pay attention to the course description before coming to class, and I was expecting…well, I’m not sure what I was expecting.  But I wasn’t convinced this would be a class I really needed.  Now I’m not so sure.

Not only was it actually good to see my classmates Wednesday night (I think it will be a great group – small, but we all know each other fairly well by this point), but I think the subject matter will actually be pretty timely for me.  My organization is currently undergoing a major change initiative, and I think this class will help me shed some light on what everyone in the agency is going  through, and also give me some great resources for assisting the agency through the change.  I’m really excited that we are going to get to facilitate some of the change strategies – Future Search, Open Space Technology and Appreciative Inquiry.  I’m hoping that actually facilitating one of these and participating in the others firsthand will give me some helpful ideas to bring back to my organization.

So bring on the new semester…  Welcome back!

 Well, the semester has finally come to a close. It actually seemed like a short one this fall. I have to say it was certainly an enjoyable one. Having a fairly small class of people that mostly knew each other kept converation flowing and interesting. I feel like most of us are finally coming into the home stretch of the program, and we’ve all grown a lot along the way.

Some highlights from the semester:

• Tim’s flute demonstration in conjunction with the Powell flute workshop information (AMAZING!)
• Constructing the CMAP as a class – this was such a worthwhile activity.  I feel like we got more out of the discussion generated in class than we would have from our readings alone or constructing individual maps.  What a great way to share ideas and feed off of each other!
• The case studies we delved into – WHO and NASA.  Both were interesting and provided a good means to apply our Dixon readings.
• Our blogs – my first attempt, but I really enjoyed writing my blog and reading my classmates’ blogs.  What a cool way to share ideas, be creative and engage in discussion.
• FOOD – thanks to Carmen for the pizza and Buddy’s wife for the breads!!!
• Ok, ok – the cultural analysis paper…As painful as it was to write this long thing, it was a great experience to research and write about my organization.

 Thanks everyone and Dr. Carter for a productive and enjoyable semester, and I look forward to seeing you all in the spring along with Baby Jay!

~C

I’ve always been interested in astronomy, space, NASA, imagining what lies beyond our wildest imaginations…  In fact, as a kid, I watched Carl Sagan‘s Cosmos series in the early 80′s pretty religiously.  My dad was a high school science teacher and my stepmother taught astronomy, so the pursuit of scientific knowledge was certainly encouraged in my house.  Not only did we watch the Cosmos series when it originally came out, but I still own all the VHS tapes of every episode. Some of the incredible shots of nebula, galaxies and stars in space captured my imagination and have held it latently captive all these years.

Watch the Introduction from Cosmos:

 
This semester, when given the opportunity as one of the options for our paper to research organizational learning within NASA as it related to the Hubble Telescope errors, it was a pretty safe bet I’d chose that topic. The Hubble Space Telescope has put a beautiful face to some of the vivid pictures in my mind’s eye. Its updated and improved technology has recorded some of the most amazing images known to mankind and brought the furthest corner of the universe into our sights. If only Carl Sagan had lived long enough to see the returns on this project.

Hubble Telescope Image:
 

So after the excitement of researching and writing about the Hubble Telescope and NASA as a learning organization, I got a most precious treat this week. My family and I were in Orlando for the Thanksgiving holidays to visit my brother-in-law, an avid golfer. He had made plans for himself and my husband to play golf this past Saturday, leaving me and my younger daughter an entire day with nothing to do but explore some nook and cranny of Florida in our rental car. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to drive the 40 miles to Cape Canaveral and visit NASA and the Kennedy Space Center firsthand.

The visit was even more amazing than I anticipated.  I had no idea the space center visitor complex was so big and had so much to do.  We took a bus tour from the main complex to 3 other locations to see the shuttle launch pads, learn all about the Apollo missions and tour a replica of the skylab.  Back at the main complex, we watched a great IMAX about the magnificent desolation of visiting the moon, and we saw an exhibit on…you guessed it, the Hubble Telescope.  The pictures from the “new and improved” version were stunning, and the exhibit did mention the adjustments that had to be made following the mirror fiasco.

One of the other cool things we got to do while we were there was to meet an astronaut.  The astronaut that spoke to us and hosted a presentation was none other than Story Musgrave, who, among a host of other things, worked on the Hubble Telescope.  It was fascinating to hear him talk about what it was like to practice using the delicate instruments needed to adjust the Telescope here on Earth before having to do it “for real” without the help of gravity.  He was one of the astronauts who actually performed the major repair and maintenance on the Hubble during a mission spacewalk, and they trained extensively to prepare.  At the meet and greet portion after his presentation, I was dying to ask him if he thought NASA learned anything from the Hubble mistakes, but I thought that might be a offensive, so I settled for merely telling him I wrote a grad school paper on the problems with the telescope…

All in all, visiting the space center was a hugely rewarding experience for me. It was nice to be able to put my research on paper together with the real thing, although my only regret was not being able to stay one more day to see the shuttle Endeavor land on Sunday. Of course, it wouldn’t have done me a lot of good since the weather in Florida was bad enough that the altrenate site of Edwards AFB had to be utilized as the landing site anyway…

Our Trip to the Kennedy Space Center: