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By Erica, February 5, 2010 4:57 pm

Yesterday afternoon I joined two other alumni to talk to the current Capstone class. There are only 7 of them this go around and they’ll be in two sets this semester.

It was comfortable walking back in the School of Ed building and I got winded on the stairs as usual. I always forget that it’s like climbing a mountain to get to the fourth floor. I think somewhere around the second floor the building slides a couple extra flights in there just to be funny.

It was great to hear the stories of the other two alumni and how they worked through their projects…when you are experiencing the project and the class you tend to say the appropriate things. When you’ve been out for one or two years as we were, you are a little more candid. No matter the struggles we experienced we were overwhelmingly positive about the learning experience.

The Capstone class was one of the most difficult because it wasn’t just about the school work. It was about working as a team, working with a client and producing a product and presentation all in 15 weeks. The class pushes you. It’s the perfect wrap-up for the program. It’s like the last lap in a foot race. You think you are going to blow out your knee and your lungs are on fire, but then you cross the finish line and you kind of want to start all over again.

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By Erica, May 3, 2009 1:00 pm

Here we are after our presentation to our client on Thursday, April 30th.

The client seemed pleased and I think we were all quite pleased with our presentation and the conversation that ensued. It was a pleasure working with our client and the Theory Why team.

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By Erica, April 27, 2009 12:11 pm

I’m taking a few days off this week to attend to some class related projects and just to have some time off. I’m working on my paper for Capstone and just looked down at the floor and realized that this may be one of the last times that I have such a scattered mess on the floor near my desk (who am I fooling). My thinking may have evolved during my time in the Adult Learning program but my method of writing papers really hasn’t.

I locate all the resources I need and they end up scattered all over the floor. The only book missing from the image below is the APA Style Guide, but that doesn’t usually make an appearance in the pile until I’m almost done with a paper. Appaprently, I need to quit procrastinating and get on with it so the APA book can make its appearance.

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By Erica, March 25, 2009 2:24 pm

Our group, Theory Why, had our project mid-point meeting with our clients yesterday. The meeting went well and we should feel good in that we’ve already given the client some valuable feedback. Our group worked well in the meeting. We each had assigned portions of the agenda but it never felt like we were “passing the microphone”. We were able to offer thoughtful comments back to our client as questions arose throughout our meeting.

We also received nice feedback that we’re on track and they are appreciative of what we’ve done so far. They are also a little more enthusiastic than I thought they’d be about the prospect of receiving a detailed report. We briefly discussed a possible date for our final presentation/meeting and it may be in front of a larger group than we anticipated. We’ll see how things pan out between now and the middle of April.

I feel lucky to work with the other members of Theory Why. We have a good dynamic going and are all intent on doing our best work on this project. We’re supportive and respond to each other in a timely fashion–we have as many conversations online as we do in person. Technology is really being used by this group.

To summarize: good client + good team=happy me.

As I am always a little ray of sunshine, I’d like to contrast this experience (briefly) to my experience in the Consulting Skills class. My partner in that class is also in Theory Why and he and I worked well on the consulting skills project last semester. I think some of our initial doubts about our clients from that project have helped inform the way we are working on this new project. I think we’ve successfully transferred some learning! I’m not so positive about our clients from that project and some of this is certainly my bias as I am able to see them in action on an almost daily basis. We’ll be sending a follow-up email to the clients to find out how they resolved the issue (they were going to try some of our solutions at a meeting held last week).

Because of my insider status, I’m already pretty sure that I know the answer to whether or not they tried our solutions. I’ll be disappointed if they didn’t try our first and best solution–to get everyone involved in the problem in the room. This solution was the overwhelming answer we got from everyone we talked to about the issue. They were enthusiastic in their desire to own the problem and help solve it. If this was ignored, I’m afraid it’s indicative of a greater issue: not listening to the voices of those affected most by the problem. How many times have we read and talked about involving others in solutions?

Update 3/27/09:
I heard back from one of our clients based on the email I sent to check on their progress. It seems they haven’t implemented our solutions, but I remain optimistic that they are moving towards the solutions we offered. They hope to have a joint scheduling meeting in October of this year. Baby steps that I hope turn into leaps.

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By Erica, March 19, 2009 12:24 pm

I like tasks. I can’t remember who I was talking to recently but she (at least I remember she was a she) absolutely hates cutting her yard. I love to cut grass—always have. You start with something raggedy and by the time you finish it looks nice and neat. Also, since I put flame decals on my riding mower, it’s a whole lot more fun to drive.

In talking about our work/learning styles– of which task-oriented stands out loud and strong for me– I told my Capstone group that sometimes I feel like I walk around with a checklist in my head: both reflection and transformation are on it. Instead of letting reflection happen (and someday hoping for transformation into a beautiful butterfly), I find myself wanting to make a check mark on the list. Silly, isn’t it? These are things that can’t be forced.

In reading the transformative action learning handout* this morning (what can I say, I was finished with my morning tasks and so read it), I was struck by how transformative action learning can be. I know we were told on the first night of Capstone that transformation was something that would happen as result of the class. I’m not sure it’s happened yet, but it’s an interesting concept to keep an eye on. I wonder if we’ll be able to see it in classmates before we see it in ourselves. Maybe it’s all internal and we’ll never see it in others. Hopefully, we’ll be able to recognize it in ourselves.

Yesterday a co-worker was going on and on about some expert in training and how this person has a MEd and is an expert in adult learning theories and she says having toys in training is ridiculous, blah, blah, blah. I cleared my throat and then said, “I think we have one of those in our midst now”. Apparently my transformation hasn’t quite hit some of the people I work with on a daily basis. Isn’t genius only recognized once you’re dead? She says with a glint in her eye.

Thinking about reflection and transformation as change (and trying to figure out how to make this post fit both the Change Strategies and Capstone classes), I wonder how much of the progress made during a Future Search conference is about individual growth through changing participant thinking processes and how much is about organizational change. I’m inclined to think it’s a tie. Without individuals growing and thinking about the problem differently there can’t be whole-scale change…the strength of a Future Search conference is that it’s completely up to the participants. They own every piece of the conference and every piece of the results. They transform their current reality and grow a new future.

* Chapter 7 from Action Learning: Images and Pathways. Professional Practices in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Series. Dilworth, Robert L.; Willis, Verna J.

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By Erica, March 6, 2009 10:27 am

We visited our client to talk to some of the guys who take big pieces of stone and turn them into counters, desk tops, sinks or whatever the customer has dreamed up. I’m not sure that they’d call themselves artisans but I’m going to call them craftsmen. The pieces they create are works of art whether it’s a highly polished piece of marble or a blue stone bench with a rock face…cut by hand.

I’m not sure what I expected from our visit earlier this week but I learned two important things that will inform my way of thinking as we proceed with data collection. The values program the company ascribes to is more than laminated cards tucked in pockets or hung on walls. It’s a living code of conduct for the employees. It will be interesting to see if this holds true as we start talking to people who are further away from the corporate office. I also learned that there are companies out there that engender a high level of loyalty in their workers.

I have to keep my cynic’s cap on so that when red flags go up I’ll recognize them but so far I’m impressed by the company.

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By Erica, February 23, 2009 5:16 pm

I’ve been trying to come up with a way to reflect on our trip to see Michael Marquardt present at the Academy of Human Resource Development last week. I’ve been nervous about doing it because he doesn’t float my boat. I agree with him that using a questioning approach and reflecting is a great way to learn and, in turn, lead. The agreement stops there. His style puts me off. Perhaps it has something to do with my problem with authority.

Whew, now that’s off my chest, I can move onto other things that I really liked about the trip. I got to talk to a classmate on the way up to Crystal City. He and I aren’t sitting together this semester and are working on different projects in both of our classes. It was nice to talk to him about what’s going on with us and our thoughts on pursuing another degree. It’s nice to hear that someone else is conflicted and we each seem to be in roughly the same place. I’d like to see our five years in the future selves to see how our stories turn out.

On the way back to Richmond another classmate and I worked out some details about a presentation we’re giving that I hope will be a beneficial starting place for when our whole group gets together to talk this week. It was nice to have the quiet time on the train to make notes, think out loud and come up with the genesis of a plan.

Being able to relax at dinner and share our thoughts on the day was also a highlight. I think we would have missed out on some great conversation had we not traveled together. I’m glad I went on the trip as it has made me think and explore the parts of the day that made me uncomfortable as well as the points that have energized me.

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By Erica, February 11, 2009 9:47 am

We visited our client site yesterday for Capstone and I have to address the physical environment they’ve created because I was trying to figure out a way to hide in a cubicle during our tour and then through the magic of Hollywood, I’d just start working there. I guess I’ve been in decaying buildings (like the one I’m in now on campus) or old office buildings with utilitarian furniture and bland beige walls for too long.

There’s been research on the effect of the physical environment on employee well-being. I’m assuming that the building our clients work out of is not a high-traffic area for outsiders so all that beauty is for the employees. And, it wasn’t just the beauty of the space but how thoughtfully it was laid out–with breakout space for formal and informal meetings. I think it shows how much this company cares about their employees and how serious they are about the subject of our project: employee engagement.

I know it’s easy to be side-tracked by the “ooh shiny” thing but it’s hard to deny the impact that building had on me. I was also impressed by everyone I met while on site. I went to the wrong door initially and a guy sneaking out for a smoke pointed me in the right direction. He was more helpful than he needed to be and I think that also says a lot about the employee population. It’s a far cry from the environment I’ve been in for the last ten years.

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By Erica, January 25, 2009 3:40 pm

Yesterday my sister’s family joined us for a Chinese New Year celebration. The actual lunar new year isn’t until Monday but we celebrated as close to the actual date as we could. I always have some arts and crafts activities focused on the holiday for the nieces to enjoy although at two years old, the youngest likes to scribble and rip things to shreds over learning about cultural traditions.

Her older sister made me a bookmark out of construction paper. I told her I had tons of reading to catch up on and it was a perfect gift. She responded by telling me she has a million books to read. That warmed my heart.

As I was getting caught up on reading today (Organization Change: Theory and Practice by W. Warner Burke), I was thinking about something we learned last semester about how some organizations are like a family. What the head of the family says and does affects how everyone else in the household behaves. This is certainly true when I watch how my sister’s family acts and reacts to each other. I know it was my experience growing up.

Our client in the Capstone class is a family-run business. It will be intriguing to see up close how the views and values of a few family leaders shape a company. In our preliminary research, it seems the leadership is quite concerned about the needs of the workers. It also seems like the family is defined by their business. I’m looking forward to see how the culture has been shaped at the company by these family members and how much outsiders have been able to influence the company. I hope we’ll be privy to that information as I think it will directly tie to whether or not our suggestions/solutions will be heard and implemented.

*That’s Happy New Year in Chinese.