Collegial Legacy
Colleagues matter. At its best, Foresight is a not a collection of staff members working together, but an ensemble of individuals each contributing their perspective and talents to a greater whole. As any chamber musician knows, playing together is relatively simple, but performing as a dynamic and vibrant unit is incredibly difficult. Trust is required; individuals must be fundamentally invested in one another’s growth and well being. Sometimes roles need to evolve, including beyond the team.
Growth Etudes Part 2: Consonance and Dissonance
There have to be some edges. An effective consulting project, like a compelling musical performance, isn’t the result of pure harmony, but rather the navigation of the right creative tensions. Studying cello in my youth, I found the seeming glamour of the soloist’s perch the most appealing, but performing in small ensembles the most satisfying. Achieving any kind of significant sustainability-focused innovation requires a team. The work I produce at Foresight is made better by the input of my colleagues.
One of the five top leadership qualities that this summer’s Foresight Prep students identified was “inclusive.” But what does inclusivity even mean?
Read MoreOberlin Diaries 2*: Launching Pads
I’m trying to become dispensable. It can be a tricky balancing act, constantly judging when to intervene, and when to allow my teenage students to find voice and agency in the struggle to overcome whatever challenge has been created for them. They’re inherently more capable of spanning and integrating their geographical, economic and racial divides more quickly than any exercise I could devise.
Oberlin Diaries 1*: Forging Adjacencies
I’m living on an island. Surrounded by fields instead of water, the small Ohio town of some 8000 residents to which I’ve temporarily relocated is still an island. It’s quiet, pastoral, isolated, and yet connected to the other islands, and eventually the Cleveland-area mainland, by causeways extending in several directions across the fertile moat.
Last week, Jenny shared some of the nicest words about our working relationship. I sincerely value Jenny for her innate sense of responsibility and eagerness to be a “genuine source of help.” The hidden key to an effective organization is a staff that can manage up. But what does that even mean?
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