January 31, 2021

   

KUDOS!!!  

• BIG shout out and thank you to Jon Nelson for assisting with administrative coverage at both BHS and Karcher!  Really appreciated your assistance and support when Annie, Ryan, and Emily were attending the Assistant Principal Conference.  
• Kudos to Stephanie Rummler and Patti Tenhagen for their time putting together the snow cone incentive for students to use their KCBs!  
• Thank you to the 6-8 Building Leadership Team for your ongoing conversations and intentionality behind your thoughts and ideas as we work to flush out the ins and outs for the 6-8 building!  
• We will continue to meet weekly from 12-1 until we have everything flushed out!  
• Kudos for a great parent/teacher conference night!  We had a lot of positive comments from parents - calling every student's family was a great idea and well received!  

Article 

HERE’S WHY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES LEAD TO THE BEST IDEAS

BY RONNA DETRICK

You’ve probably heard it before — seek input, be inclusive, welcome perspectives, collaborate with others. But why? Where does this premise come from and why is this type of inclusion beneficial for individuals, teams, or organizations?

In a recent company meeting, we discussed the effectiveness of different learning strategies. The topic got me thinking about the similarities and differences that exist from person to person, learning or otherwise. We briefly discussed strength finders, MBTI, and other tests that help people understand themselves and others better.

Although I believe these assessments are merely tools of understanding and not a diagnosis, it made me think about the diversity of thought and how our individual traits tie into the bigger picture of an organization.

Imagine, for example, an organization made up of only ESTJ personality types (extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging). An organization like this would be missing out on the valuable perspectives of introverts, intuitives, feelers, and perceivers, and any other combination of the eight different traits. This would inevitably limit your product or service by limiting your ability to provide a solution that has been approached and devised from “all angles.” Decisions and your overall business are limited when perspectives are limited.

Our model uses the term “beach ball” to describe how perspectives occur within organizations. Each person, from every level within the organization’s hierarchy, has their own color stripe on the beach ball. Of course, it takes all the individual stripes coming together collectively to make up the beach ball. The beach ball analogy comes from the idea that no single person holds the whole truth, but rather a mere sliver or “stripe” of it. And every stripe counts.

An article from Scientific America titled “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter” states that “decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups.”

Although the focus should be geared toward diversity of thought regardless of a social group, this finding illustrates that when individuals from different walks of life come together and share unique viewpoints, positive results increase.

Without diversity of thought, innovation is thwarted, initiatives may stall, and you alone cannot save your organization. You need to approach issues with a number of perspectives to be able to see the whole truth.

Barriers to Creating More Inclusion

While seeking input sounds easy enough, many organizations struggle to follow through. Here are some of the barriers that often arise.

We’re afraid our own perspective won’t be good enough.

Your perspective is valid and it matters, but it is limited by your own experience. There’s no way around this fact, and it’s true for everyone. Our egos would like us to believe that we have all the answers, or that our way is the best way, and we want to be perceived by others as competent. But there are other people to consider, including the people who your product or service will impact. It’s bigger than just you.

What we have to accept is that someone else in the room may have a better idea, and that’s ok.

We invite the wrong people to the table.

What occurs too often is that leaders will invite a select few to the critical conversations, and these “favorites” may not be the only people you need to speak with. Consider who the decision will impact, and set hierarchies aside — seek input from various levels, and actively take these alternative perspectives into account when finalizing a decision.

Deep cultural problems have yet to be addressed.

Perhaps in your organization, being inclusive isn’t the norm. Would it be unusual to host a meeting where the intention is to share perspectives? Are there silos between teams and departments? Do leaders fail to give and ask for feedback? If so, you could be facing some deep cultural issues that need some serious adjustment.

The most effective, long-term solution is leadership training, and you can get started today in shifting your organization’s current mindset by seeking input from someone on a current decision you’re facing, especially someone you may not typically involve in the process. Explain the situation fully, and ask them what they think about it.

The rewards of overcoming the barriers and creating more inclusion are worth it.

If you want to form an inclusive environment where other perspectives are welcomed, the focus should be on getting curious and expanding your thinking.

Here are some actions to overcome barriers and ignite a more inclusive culture:

1. Host a Beach Ball meeting.

Start by identifying an issue in need of resolution and invite key influencers to the meeting. Before the meeting, provide them with the issue at hand, why it matters, the ideal outcome, and what help you would like from the group.

When you need to make a decision or move a project forward, multiple heads are always better than one.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in a Beach Ball meeting and thought holy cow, I never thought of that! And the action steps we take following one of these meetings is always more informed and beneficial for the organization as a whole.

2. Abandon “right and wrong.”

Sure, there are times when objectivity is needed, and data doesn’t lie. But when it comes to our approach toward the perspectives of others, especially when subjectivity plays a role, it’s important to be open by avoiding the labels of “right” or “wrong” when we invite others ideas to the table. Instead, reframe right and wrong to what “will work” or “won’t work” for the matter at hand. Consider the following question: Based on all of the perspectives that have been shared, what’s ultimately the best decision for the organization?

3. Practice inclusion without illusion.

Don’t just implement inclusion initiatives for the sake of best practices. Do so out of genuine curiosity and interest. Check in with yourself regarding your approach—if you don’t believe another’s input to be valid or worth hearing, chances are, they’ll be able to pick up on it and see that you’re brushing their perspective under the rug. Remind yourself that every stripe has value (regardless of organizational level) and listen with an open mind.

An added benefit to inviting diverse perspectives is that on an individual level, we feel appreciated and heard. Knowing that your own stripe is being considered, regardless of the outcome, is a good feeling.

Leaders need to leverage the strengths that vary from person to person as well as our unique contexts, preferences, and life experiences. And contributors, bring all of who you are to the conversation because your unique experience of the world is valid. Every perspective matters. We’re all moving in a direction toward a common goal in our organizations, and when everyone contributes their perspective to this goal, we can get there more efficiently, more effectively, and more successfully.

Information/Reminders

• Elective Teachers:  
• Friendly reminder to make sure all of the new course proposals are in  THIS folder no later than 3:00 on Monday, February 1.  
• It is VITAL that you put each of the new course proposals in the folder by tomorrow, Monday.  If they are not in the folder we will not be able to offer them.  
• The courses will be presented to the board on Monday, February 8 along with some additional updates and information pertaining to the 6-8 building.  
• 2020-2021 Budgets
• We are approaching that time of year where your 2020-2021 budgets should be accounted for.  As an administrative team we will be meeting on Tuesday, February 2 to talk through how the budgets for the 2021-2022 will work - working to streamline our process K-12!
• Bwell: Bio-metric Screening 
• This link is a 15 minute video explaining how Bwell works!  It is similar to former programs used in the past with challenges to gain points, etc. 
•  link to the Portal Demonstration Video
• It pays to participate! Completing the biometric screening earns points in the Measure Up portal challenge. Employees who meet the eligibility criteria, will receive an additional HSA contribution in 2022. 
• The Bwell Biometric Screening will be taking place on February 11 and 12.  
• Click HERE to schedule your appointment.  

• Friday, February 12 - 8:00-4:00 Inservice Day 
• ALL staff (certified & non-certified) are asked to be in the virtual attendance from 8:00-11:30.  Non-certified staff, you have hours for the 12th on your return to work notices but they were subject to change.  Therefore, wanting you to know the hours shifted a bit!  
• 8:00-8:30  Welcome from Dr. Plank, Longevity Awards 
• 8:30-11:30  Reggie Jackson Presentation 
• 11:30-12:30 Lunch on your own. 
• 12:30-2:00  Teacher work time.  
• This time for 7-8 teachers will be to purge and organize materials that are currently in old Karcher.  
• 2:30-4:00
• Building Level Time with our 2021-2022 6-8 grade team!  
• We have shifted/switched the building level time and teacher work time so that we can be in the new building for a portion of our building level time! 
• February is Black History Month!  
• Black History Art/Essay Contest!!! 
• The due date for grades 7-12 will be February 19th by 3:00  so that both A and B Day students have the same amount of in-person days!   

This Week:  

• Wednesday, February 3 
• 6-8 BLT Meeting from 12:00-1:00 via Zoom!
• Thursday, February 4 
• 6-8 Social Studies review of a resource by Discovery Education starting at 3:30 via Zoom.  HERE is the link for the Zoom!  
• This is just for our social studies teachers :) 

Pictures from this week!!!

Students in 7th grade math with Scott Staude and Briana Harris working to become bargain shoppers by applying what they know about unit rates!  

Students in 8th grade ELA with Kurt Rummler and Alyssa Riggs collaborating in small groups about what surprised them the most (character wise) within their book club books!