Does Monitoring Help?

There is a feeling of nervousness and guilt that dries my mouth. I sheepishly sit and wait for her to arrive. Her bland green mask hides her grin as she greets me for my 6-month checkup. Even though Gail has great intentions, I loathe the experience of her inquisitive style as she probes into my mouth. All she does is ask questions to answers she already knows. “Have you been brushing after each meal? Flossing? Gargling?” I shake my head in response to “No, no, no…” I hate this! Through a series of pokes and prods leaving my gums sore and the floss bloody she evaluates the current reality of my dental heath. Form her perspective, things are not bad, not good either, and could be much better.

Yet despite my own investment in caring for my teeth and gums she proceeds to bring my smile to a point of shiny brightness. She informs me of specific flossing techniques that MUST be done routinely after each meal. Lack of this type of maintenance will only lead to receding gums- YUCK! That was six months ago.

This time I follow her advice and I change my flossing behavior. I add flossing to my routine; even became quite obsessed with it. I did everything she suggested just to avoid hearing her questions. The first few days were not easy, my gums were still tender from her deep cleaning and the used floss still radiated crimson. I don’t remember the actual day when my mouth stated feeling better and when the multiple daily cleanings no longer felt like a chore. Before I knew it my 6 month visit was due. While at the dentist waiting for Gail was different; my nervousness was replaced with eagerness and now I looked forward to her questions. Quite honestly I already knew of my progress without Gail.

Lucky Number 12

Did you know that…
In astrology, there are 12 signs in the Zodiac.
In English, twelve is the number of greatest magnitude that has just one syllable.
There are normally twelve pairs of ribs in the human body.
As of today November 14, 2007 there have been 12 starting quarterbacks for the Miami Dolphins since the retirement of Dan Marino.

You might have known some if not all of these facts yet I would bet the last one is probably the most relevant for South Florida natives. I like most have been frustrated with the lack of team performance of our Miami Dolphins these past few years yet to be honest I did not expect much with the revolving door of quarterbacks. More often than not the offensive leader of a football team is the man who stands behind the Center, that being the case, just how can a team reach greatness without leadership ability …or is it stability? Right now the only change I can handle is the structuring of the team around quarterback number 12, John Beck.

Just imagine the possibilities if the right people are placed around him.
Just imagine the possibilities if this team starts to align their beliefs to their actions.
Just imagine the possibilities if the Dolphins front office have the patience to rebuild.
Just imagine the possibilities if the fans return. Then again some have never left.

Doctors preparing their replacements

A few days ago Kimberly Dozier’s story shared her story of survival from a car bombing in Iraq on Memorial Day 2006 on National Public Radio. I wondered if she new about the concept of Induction.

What caught my attention was the part of her story regarding the interest her doctors had when after her full recovery she returned to see them. She shared that since medical treatment in Iraq is administered in different stages, the doctors are not always able to receive feedback on whether they were a success. From what I understand from her interview it appears that there is a fast turnover with medical doctors in Iraq and they sought to identify and record the proper procedures to share with the "newbies" in the field. Perhaps it would be better I share an email I received from Kimberly describing her situation.

Kimberly writes, “...it's not so much an attrition rate I was aware of, but the year-in-year-out turnover of doctors just like all the other troops. One set rotates in, gains expertise, then has a short overlap with the new set of about a month, and rotates out. The new guys have to start from scratch, relying on what they learned in the few weeks of exchange. That's one of the reasons my trauma docs said they need a database that everyone can refer to, so the newly acquired knowledge isn't lost.” Kimberly’s story is unique in that a doctor’s Induction system is essential in saving lives.

I replied to her email, “Would you believe that a similar situation exists with teachers, department chairs, office managers, and administrators in our schools? The problem is similar with the Doctors in that since the routines and procedures of the work are people driven as soon as someone leaves that position the organization drops back down to a point of zero. The doctor database might just be a possible solution. In our schools identifying and developing a written plan facilitates the move away from being people centered. If the work has value then by all means it should stay with the organization just as the doctors look to develop a process that retains the most effective medical routines and procedures available.”

What processes exist to prepare your replacement?

Additional information on preparing your replacement is available as an HRD Podcast. Search for “Induction Air #2” and “Induction Planning”

Exceeding Expectations

Have you ever found yourself glued to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? While most of the show is considered a glorified commercial for Sears, Pier One, and many other name brands there is something interesting that happens during the first 10 minutes and the last 15.

If you never watched before, the show is focused around a Design Team that facilitates and participates in the remodeling of a home for a needy family—with a completed project deadline in 7 days. During the first 10 minutes the Design Team reviews the family’s submission tape and assesses the housing needs by interviewing each family member of his/her current living situation. After listening to the family, the Design Team collaborates on their vision of the house and they begin to talk about the barriers, dreams and passion that each family member shared with them. The bulk of the show is a fast-paced timeline of Days 2 through 6 of the builders, interior designers, landscapers, woodworkers, electricians and hundreds of volunteers who work together to complete the job.

What strikes my interest in the show is always found in the last 15 minutes. It seems that regardless of the housing needs the outcome always exceeds the expectations of the homeowners. Why? Is the key to success the interview process that identifies the needs of family? What made the interview valuable to the process? What fostered the development of the collective conscience of the hundreds of volunteers? Why is it even important to study the process that led to the results when the outcome exceeded the expectations? Isn't that enough?

There is a procedure...no need to worry.

By now most of us had the opportunity to see or at least hear the taser incident at the University of Florida this past weekend. What I find interesting is the statement made by the university spokesman Steve Orlando, "The police department does have a standard procedure for when they use force, including when they use a Taser. That is what the internal investigation would address — whether the proper procedures were followed, whether the officers acted appropriately."

Okay, Steve is letting us all know that the police department had a plan and now an internal investigation will determine if the plan was followed. Great, yet I would like to know if the plan had a procedure that addressed accountability for its members. Can you imagine if this internal investigation is that process? Would there even be any thought of following the plan (or accountability) if it wasn’t for the YouTube video? Perhaps the department is just happy that the investigation is internal and not being investigated by an external source.

Should the ownership of accountability fall with the internal investigation? The police officers? The video? The man that was tasered? Or his attorney?

I had a mentor who believed that sometimes folks only think about accountability when they hit their wall. Unfortunately I believe that she was right. Why is it that some only react to situations while others plan for them? Why are ownership lines of accountability too easily passed to others? Is integrity challenged when people are quick to point the finger and not look in the mirror? When you have undesirable results, who should ask why?

It is all about Scrubs

Now that summer is over and the routine of my job seeps back into my life there is one daily pleasure that I noticed missing…my hour of Scrubs. I will admit that for practically every day Monday through Friday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Comedy Central I sat, watched and reflected along with John “JD” Dorian as he struggled with making sense of understanding friends, work, and the big picture of life.

Watching Scrubs was not always a staple in my TV viewing habit, heck I have not watched NBC’s “Much Watch TV” night since Sam and Diane has their thirteenth break-up. Yet on one of the first Sunday’s of the summer, the staff at Sacred Heart Hospital was featured in a 22-episode marathon. I would not be exaggerating if I confessed to watching all 22 episodes, but since the show has a strong connection to coaching and mentoring I’ll just chalk this up as my professional learning time.

If you are unfamiliar with the show, each episode chronicles the lives of a close-set group of doctors and nurses as they find their niche in each other lives and in a profession they hold dear. I was amazed on how each episode touched a day in my life, as if the writers were secretly watching my every boring move. Perhaps I sympathized with JD as he grew from a newbie intern into a confident resident or maybe it was the callous big-hearted Dr. Cox whose favorite coaching tool was his own sharp-witted tongue. What I do know is that the episode called, “My Fifteen Minutes” had me a believer that the writers in the show knew much more about professional development than they did medicine.

After his first year as an intern, Dr. Cox asks JD to evaluate himself. Unfortunately JD was more concerned in the motivation behind this demand than in actually fulfilling his coach’s request. The storyline leads up to a pivotal point in understanding Dr. Cox’s role as a mentor and the true nature of accountability and evaluation.

How come Hollywood writers understand that the value of accountability and evaluation does not stem from a paper form but from the SELF? When looking back at your experiences as a coach or being coached do you find yourself acting like Dr. Cox or JD?

Below is the best version of the script from the conclusion of “My Fifteen Minutes” or now know as “Evaluation Drama.”

Dr. Cox: (emerging from the shadows) It's time. Sit down.
[J.D. sits]
Now what do you want me to say? That you're great? That you're raising the bar for interns everywhere?
J.D.: I'm cool with that.
Dr. Cox: Well I'm not gonna say that. You're okay. You might be better than that someday, but right now all I see is a guy who's so worried about what everybody else thinks of him that he has no real belief in himself. I mean, did you even wonder why I told you to do your own evaluation?
J.D.: I can't think of a safe answer, I just figured...
Dr. Cox: CLAM UP! I wanted you to think about yourself, and I mean really think. What are you good at? What do you suck at? And then I want you to put it down on paper. And not so I could see it, and not so somebody else could see it, but so you could see it. Because ultimately, you don't have to answer to me, and you don't have to answer to Kelso...you don't even have to answer to your patients, for God's sake! You only have to answer to one guy, newbie, and that's you! There. You are...evaluated. (tosses evaluation to J.D.) Now get out of my sight. You get me so angry I'm afraid I just might hurt myself.

Is Cam Preparing a Replacement?

It’s far easier to make a decision that yields guaranteed quick results than to opt for a plan with mediocre results yet with long-term gains. With Miami Dolphin’s new head coach looking towards the future, Cam Cameron brought in an old friend that has experience on the field. Instead of tossing his top draft pick (fresh out of college) against an angry NFL defensive line, Cam opted for experience over hype and fought to bring in Trent Green (see pic). Most of the Dolphin fans already know that Cameron served as Trent’s coach back in the 1995-96 season at Washington. At the time who would have known that his was the start of their relationship.

Trent Green was acquired by Cam as the Dolphins starter and this year’s second-round pick John Beck was placed as the third-stringer. The Dolphins are hoping that Green serves as a mentor to Beck, who is projected as the Dolphins' long-term starter. Trent too is hoping that he will meet the team’s expectations and mentor this NFL future hall of fame superstar.

The idea of the Dolphins bringing in an experienced quarterback to hold things down and mentor until John Beck is ready to take over isn't too far-fetched. If an organization is producing positive results, then maintain status quo and focus on continuous improvement. If an organization is not producing results, then it time for change. When it comes to the quarterback position in Miami a change is necessary. With Trent, Cam knows what he is getting on the field. Cameron walked in to his new job thinking, "It's not going to be about any individual. We're going to build a team here. You're going to see a football team.''

Only time will tell if Cam’s beliefs, actions, and commitment support a system of preparing a replacement quarterback. I wonder whom Cam is mentoring.

You Can Do It, We Can Help.

Training support for Home Depot’s new employees usually came in the form of plumbing, electrical, flooring, hardware, and lightening content. Now it is common to hear professional development terms such as online training, coaching, demonstration, mastery, role-playing, and mentoring.

When looking at developing new employees, Home Depot’s director of learning believes in a balance between online training and on the job training. New knowledge and skill content area comes in the form of online training. The balance of the employees’ professional development comes in the form of job-embedded coaching.

They key to Depot’s training success lies with the combination of coaching and demonstration of mastery of new employee skills. How are knowledge and skills introduced at your work site? How does your coaches add value to the work of your new employees?

Customer needs assistance in hardware!

What a TEAM can do

There have been hundreds of articles and commentaries written regarding the University of Florida Gators 2nd NCAA basketball national championship. A lot has been expressed about their success as repeat champions, yet when I think about Induction and professional development I am drawn to the story about the TEAM.

Head Coach Billy Donovan’s after the game press conference mentioned that this team may not have the best players in history, or the most skilled or have the slick style, yet when it comes to the word TEAM they are the national benchmark. In a NCAA basketball world where talented players regardless of years on the court leave for the NBA, the 2006 Gator National Champions all agreed to pass up millions (this is plural) and return for another trip to the Final Four. That was a year ago. How did they know they would reach their goal? Sixty-three other teams all had the same opportunity to cut the net, yet after a month of tournament playing, after the final buzzer, Florida was the one with the scissors.

Donovan described his team using words like: Unselfishness, Sacrifice, and Together. What words would use to describe your team?

If you are trying to figure out the secret to their success, perhaps listening to Joakim Noah’s reflective comments might help, “I feel like it's always about what is going to happen next….”

As with Induction, for them it was not about the now it was always about their future.

How do you measure commitment?

How do you measure commitment? Integrity? Beliefs? The Buddhist monks of the Hong Hock See Temple in Malaysia have been faced with an interesting and for some a dangerous situation.

In the past month the Buddhist temple have been infested with poisonous red ants. The ant situation has become aggressive enough where on worshipper was already sent to the hospital for excessive bites.

Most if not everyone we know would have called an exterminator, sprayed RAID, stomped, squished, drowned, burned, or done anything imaginable to remove the ants. Yet the Buddhist monks are bound by a belief of nonviolence and have maintained actions that have yet to deviate from their belief. They have demonstrated integrity by minimizing the gap between beliefs and actions.

Current efforts to remove the ants peacefully have not been successful. It would be quite easy, when the temple is closed from the worshipers, to secretly react in a way (that would make Tony Soprano proud), where no one would know and remove the ants.

And where would that leave commitment? Integrity? Beliefs?

When was the last time you had the opportunity to demonstrate integrity? To practice the application of beliefs and actions?

Does Real Matter?

Is it difficult to find time and opportunities to collaborate? Meet new people? Learn something new? Would you believe that the video game world can do all of this and more? The multiplayer online gaming industry, has over 3 million users where they have expanded their universe and experienced an environment that encourages scientific thinking, cooperation, possibilities for solving real-world problems, and cross-cultural learning and connections.

Additionally, the health-care community is exploring the virtual world and finding use for veterans and patients with a range of phobias.
Medial surgeons who excel in video gaming are significantly faster and more accurate at laparoscopic surgery and suturing, due in part to improved hand-eye coordination.

When analyzing the possible user outcomes to video gaming, what possibilities exist for training and learning?

Learn more at http://secondlife.com/

Inspired and referenced from Bryn Nelson, Newsday Staff Writer, San Francisco

Up, Up, and Away...

Although quite similar in the role of support, the selection process for mentoring is different from coaching. In terms of selection, Coaches are usually assigned to the less experienced and Mentees select their Mentors. Recommendations, influence, knowledge, skills and even personality all take part in the selection process.

A friend shared this hero personality test. It is quite fun and can be used to begin the process of finding the right support. Now I need to rescue Mary Jane!

Click here to take a "superhero personality quiz"

Google Docs & Collaboration

Collaboration is now available without meeting!

With transition of support members each year and teacher turnover, site-based support has the potential to always start at “Ground Zero”- always reinventing the work. Google Docs & Spreadsheets has the capacity to assist support teams to move from reactive to proactive by providing a way to collaborate with peers on written documents without the barriers of scheduling meeting times for every stage in the collaborative process.

A school that collaborates on being plan-centered can have:

• written criteria for the selection of the support staff
• specific responsibilities of each support team member
• developed a written list of expectations for every staff member
• scheduled time, opportunity, and resources to support staff members
• developed written induction protocols

Google Docs can be used to collaborate on a document online in real time without the need to download additional software or pay for a license fee. The Google Docs interface is similar to Word and supports tables, images, and the ability to revert to older versions.

If you have a Google Account, you are ready to begin. At Google.com select MORE (found above the search window) and then select EVEN MORE. In the Communicate, Show, and Share section click on the Docs & Spreadsheets.

By utilizing Google Docs & Spreadsheets as a collaboration tool, what possibilities exist with your support team that was not available before?

A tour of the Google Docs service is available by clicking HERE

Google Docs user information can be found by clicking HERE

Rock-N-Roll Coaching

Just last week the new rock band Supernova put on a rock and roll demonstration for their fans. New lead singer Lucas Rossi had the pleasure to perform with rock veterans Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses) and Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) for the first time as their US tour kicked off in Hollywood, FL at the Hard Rock Live.

It was a thrill to see Dave Navarro standing off stage to observe one of the newest members to the tour, Toby Rand. While on the show, Rock Star Supernova, Dave was responsible for providing performance feedback to Toby after his weekly performance. Now that auditions are over, Dave is continuing his role as a coach.

It was interesting to see how every stage member has a significant role and responsibility. There was one stagehand whose only job during the live set was to watch Dave Navarro and assist with the exchange of his guitars. At the right time he brought out the new guitar and took away the old. Seamless and without interruption to the work. If he was too busy admiring someone else, say the drums or the bass guitar, there would have been a complete breakdown of the song set.

The band took months to prepare for their 2 hour set. It shows.

The Devil Needs Induction

I am not going to bother you with a complete synopsis of the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”, but the story tells the professional adventure of Andrea, whose greatest dream is to become a journalist

This was not my first choice of film (nor my second), and I managed to watch the entire film and publicly state that it was “OK”. Translation= Pretty good for a rental.

The hook for me was the trials of Andrea’s first job: the weak orientation and and the lack of new hire support. This is a classic non-example!! If you have seen the movie, what areas of Orientation and Induction need improvement?

Passing the Torch

Tim Tebow (pictured with Coach Myer) described the Florida Gator's National Championship year as a “Dream Season.” As a freshman he focused on learning from the senior he was replacing, BCS National Champion MVP Chris Leak.

Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen noticed Tim’s commitment early on the season. “Yet in meeting rooms and film sessions, Tebow started to see the game from a broader perspective. He said he thought like the starter, making each week a dress rehearsal for the coming year. At every turn leading up to the game, Mullen said, Tebow followed Leak's lead.”

If the work you do has value, then someone will be needed to continue the work. Induction provides the system for building capacity in order for the organization to limit loss with transition.

With a true Induction system in place with the Florida Gator football team, Senior Chris Leak and Coach Urban Myer utilized this past year to prepare a replacement. How have you prepared yours?

Turnover

Since the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino the Miami Dolphins have experienced three different head coaches with the hiring of Jimmy Johnson in 1996, Dave Wannstedt in 2000 and now Nick Saban in 2005. Additionally the quarterback position has been a revolving door with 13 players identified for that coveted position.

With such a high number of turnovers, what expectations does H. Wayne Huizenga have when it comes to the Dolphins success?

Analogy of the Day:
Dolphin Head Coach is to Principal as Quarterback is to …?

QB Roster from 2000-Present
A.J Feeley, Brian Griese, Cade McNown, Cleo Lemon, Damon Huard, Daunte Culpepper, Gus Frerotte, Jay Fielder, Joey Harrington, Mike Quinn, Ray Lucas, Sage Rosenfels, Shane Matthews