November 2011 Newsletter

Civic Project Selection Day with Terri Anuszewski

November is the month the program shifts from intense personal development to skill building.   As you probably recall the RFL program seeks to offer learning experiences but is only successful when ‘knowing is transformed into doing’.  So the civic project process serves as an integral part of the program – a laboratory, so to speak – providing a safe place for participants to practice new ways of being a leader. 

Enhancing the context of ‘defining success’ for the projects – from ‘achieving project goals’ to adding that of ‘team process – learning and practicing’, we have discovered that participants are more willing to try new things, instead of reverting to their usual ways of being and acting to just ‘get it done’.  And, after experiencing success with new ways of being leaders, participants report that they are taking this to their workplace, personal lives and community leadership positions. 

So this month we offer you key learnings we have gleaned by both studying the team process, and from implementing enhancements.

Here are a few of the changes that we’ve implemented over the years that have contributed to generating successful project experiences for our graduates:

·         First – as stated earlier we shifted the purpose and/or definition of success for the teams.  But by making the  ‘team process’ more of the ‘focus’, one  can generate better results by ensuring that the team considers the environment workable and safe.   Studies show that if team members do not feel safe bringing up contrary views, they are not effective.  Some best practices for this include – reserving time to discuss flaws in a plan or play ‘devils advocate’.  By dedicating formal time to this, it allows all team members the opportunity to shift their ‘context’ and gives the ones that can clearly see issues a safe opportunity to express them.  After identifying these issues, the team can engage in contingency planning.  

·         Another best practice we have identified, is engaging the team to develop ‘ground rules’ and a team vision, including how the team will interact with each other and make decisions.  This  commitment to ‘trust the process’  is useful when provides a foundation when a situation appears unworkable.  We have also found that by discussing these things up front, it has minimized the frequency of unworkable issues, because everyone has ownership on the ground rules.  For example, there are many methods for decision-making (see Johnson & Johnson’s descriptions through this link) and by just having this discussion it can generate a host of other items that may be relevant to ground rules that support team effectiveness.  http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycomponents/teams/decision2.html

·         Distinguish between the roles of facilitator and leader.  Frequently, as leaders or managers, we run our own meetings.  And in most cases this works.  But when the stakes are high and you need to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, or you need to participate in the meeting as well, it might be best to identify someone that can ‘facilitate’ the meeting.  Facilitators focus on the process that the team is engaged in, and the leader focuses on achieving the end-results.  Ideally the leader and facilitator work together to craft the agenda, which then enables the leader to focus on being an active participant, while the facilitator focuses on team dynamics, and executing the process that was previously discussed.  For this to work best, the facilitator is not counted on to be an active participant within the team.  Therefore, securing someone from another department, or engaging a professional, may be wise.

·         As a leader, it is critical to constantly be getting feedback from your team members.  This can be tough, because the desire is to want people to be honest, and yet it can be difficult to take.  One way we have found to do this, is to build some regular feedback time into your team process.  You could do it as frequently as every meeting, or creating specific meetings just for this purpose.  Also, we have found it most useful if the leader begins by evaluating what they did that they thought ‘worked and didn’t work’.  The more frequently it is done the better the feedback received from the team over time.   It is recommended that when asking for feedback to focus on what ‘worked and didn’t work’, versus ‘good/bad’ or ‘right/wrong’. 

·         One rather unorthodox practice we have implemented within the Civic Projects is rotating roles of leader, facilitator, scribe, and logistics.  Without this structural rotation, participants were not practicing new ways of being leaders, but instead were reverting back to their usual ways of being..  Sharing the leadership roles of planning agendas, managing team dynamics, recapping meetings provides growth opportunities for  the class. 

Since 1997, civic projects have been an integral part of the program, initially with one project per class, evolving into the class being divided into multiple teams taking on multiple projects.   After the class of 2007 graduated, we started conducting focus groups with random graduates each year to learn what is working and not working with civic.  RFL has benefited from a group of committed folks that have continued to partner with me to enhance and transform the civic project experience into an opportunity for participants to create an environment of workability for high-performing work teams. 

Terri Anuszewski

RFL Graduate, Class of 2006, and November’s Session Leader

Since her departure as RFL’s Executive Director, Terri is leveraging her experiences in teaching, doing and being a student herself, and is now consulting with numerous partners in the valley.  Her focus is creating effective, sustainable, high-performing teams that generate breakthrough results.  She does this by getting to the core of what holds people back, and unites individuals to move beyond their current challenges, to create – and live into – a new future that was not possible before.

And the 2012 Projects are…

1. Valley Life for All Website – Provide opportunities for people with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives and become respected and contributing members of our community by connecting the resources we already have in the Roaring Fork Valley (Aspen to Parachute) and communicating these through the http://www.valleylifeforall.org/ website.



2. Groundwork Colorado - Groundwork Colorado needs a team to implement Take Charge! in Carbondale, Aspen, and Glenwood Springs. Project leaders will learn and use our program model that we’ve already implemented in 24 communities. The project focuses on energy conservation and natural resource development, by engaging youth and community members to Take Charge!

3. 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival - Operation Community Engagement – The Aspen Institute seeks to enlist the leadership of the RFL Class of 2012 to research, design, and execute two community events (“block parties” in Aspen and Basalt) in conjunction with the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival (June 27 – July 3) with the overall goal of increasing the community’s engagement with and exposure to the 2012 Ideas Festival.

4. Aspen’s Biggest Block Party - “Aspen’s Biggest Block Party” would be an event that attracts families and children to several fun activities using dance, make-believe, construction, and language, to a park/street in Aspen that focuses on brain development and how easy, regular playtime activities builds strong brains and a healthy community.

Catch up on the Current RFL Class

We will highlight a few class members throughout the year, so check them out and stay tuned for more. 

Jake Allen: Formerly a health care lobbyist and Congressional staffer, he is in the process of obtaining his real estate broker's license and beginning a new phase in his career.  Jake's personal objectives for participating in RFL are becoming more involved in the community and further developing his leadership skills.

Bill Crimmel: IT Operations Manager for the Aspen Skiing Company.  He is married and has  two daughters (5 & 7).  He lives and plays in Aspen and volunteers for the Silver Lining Ranch.  He is on the Board of Directors of the Aspen Tennis Association. 

Kate Erickson: Branch Manager/Commercial Lender at Community Banks of Colorado. Kate went to school at the University of Minnesota – Duluth with a major in Marketing and minor in French. She is planning to grow her leadership base and understanding of her leadership style.

Deric Sherry Gunshor: Senior Manager, Event Marketing at Aspen Ski Company. Deric has a BS degree in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts, MA. Deric expects to gain a new set of skills and knowledge through the diverse group dynamic as well as program speakers. He wants to apply them to his work and the community.





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