Alignment-After the first week of the new year #Engage109

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”
– Mark Twain

Today while I was driving my car I noticed it felt different, it was not the normal smooth ride I typically enjoy. My wife CSWju_OUsAAJMuethought the wheels sounded different, sort of a thumping sound as opposed to the relative quiet of a regular ride. As I reflected on the quality of my driving and the quality of the ride over the past few days I noticed it felt odd, a little off, I still was able to drive from point a to point b, but something was off. Something was out of alignment.

I then began to reflect on the first week of school that we just completed in our district and I wondered how the week felt for everyone … Did it feel good, smooth, and normal, or did it feel strange, and possibly out of alignment? In our district just about 3000 students started a new school year with a new teacher, new classmates, new curricula, new expectations, and new opportunities for joy and innovation. Are we aligned with what the students need? Are we aligned with what the teacher need?

Did the students and teachers get off to a smooth start? Did they have alignment of expectations, of hopes and dreams, of feelings and results? Or was the first week bumpy, with odd sounds and perhaps an uncomfortable feel? With respect to my car, the right rear tire was flat … That I guess is why the orange tire light stayed on even though I filled the air to journeythe manufacturer’s specifications. Even though I did what I always do, drive … And I responded to the warning light (I thought) by filling the air … I still had a warning light, initially I did not change my approaches, and it turns out my wife was right (of course all husbands know that their wife is always right – but that’s for another blog).

My wife asked “did you check the tires before you left today?” I said, “no, I filled the tires the other day – clearly the yellow warning light is wrong.” You see, my approaches were the same – I filled the air, I ignored the light, and I kept driving. Clearly I was not aligned with what my car needed … A new tire and a wheel alignment, and a balance. I actually needed two new tires for balance and alignment.

So how does this relate to alignment in the first week of school? Well perhaps some of us have returned to work mis-aligned, some of us are not noticing that the signals are right but our responses might not be. Some of us are repeating the ways we have always done it and not getting new results. Perhaps the signs are right and our reactions are not. Perhaps doing what we have always done does not yield the proper results anymore. Perhaps we need to innovate and change our approaches. I want to enjoy a good, safe, meaningful ride in my car. In order to do this I need to listen to Continue reading