A Simulation of Administration

This week's class was different, to say the least. This week, we took the form of a team in a 3-hour simulation of what it's like to try to win over an entire school system with a new idea or plan. I wish it only took 3 hours in the real world, too...

Well, the simulation was interesting. We spent a lot of the first year of our administration trying to come up with a plan that the staff would buy into. Luckily, the team I was on was agreeable and flexible; there weren't any hidden agendas that others were trying to force, and I didn't notice anyone trying to be the "Alpha Male" who tried to take over all decision-making (wish I could say the same for real-life school situations, too...) After a lot of confusion, we were able to get through the first year with some progress. We didn't blow our budget, either.

Year 2, we began learning from our mistakes. There were fewer miscues with the budget, and we started to look past the step we were on. For a lot of the first part of the simulation, we were SO focused on making one step work, that in some cases, we weren't thinking of the next item to do. In this part, though, we started thinking ahead. Another strategy we came across was trying to level the field. We didn't want 1 individual at mastery; we were looking for several. Our strategy became one in which we tried to involve as many characters as possible in the act of progression. In 90% of the situations, it worked. The only negative; again, we didn't utilize all of our budget.

The final year, year 3, we had our system down, and jumped right into it. After 2+ hours of learning from mistakes, we certainly had our strategy down pat. Our poor runner barely had time to sit; by the time he would come back, we already had our next step of the program in place, and we were planning for steps 2-3 levels down the road, with specific people in mind. This part of the simulation flew. For the first time, we utilized all of the budget.

Simulation ending, I now have a chance to reflect about this and the real world. I was able to make a lot of connections to my current situation as Instructional Technology Leader and Teacher. We realized as a team that no matter how good the plan, you may not get 100% support from your staff. As the ITL for my school, I need to realize that as well. I may be able to share hundreds of great ideas, but not everyone will commit to it. The reasons are many, but the results may not be the ones that I want. Instead, I need to focus on those who DO want to commit to improvement; they are the key to progression.

In terms of my team, I learned that communication and sacrifice are key. There may have been decisions that I didn't agree with, but I had to support the team if a majority of them believed in it. The same could be said for my ideas. By all means, there wasn't arguing within my team. I'm just saying that you need to be willing to meet others halfway in order to get progress going. If your peers or subordinates see you and your team arguing, what motivation does that give them to follow you and your ideas?

Overall, it was interesting, far more than I was expecting (no, I'm not sucking up...) I saw a lot of connections to myself and my situation, and I think that I may be able to see my situations differently once I step back and look at the "entire level playing board", to connect it back to this week's activity (sorry, lame connection, I couldn't think of anything witty to say...)

Well, any comments, please feel free to share.