HEY everyone! Happy Sunday Evening. Let me start by saying that I am feeling great after spending an incredible 24 hours with Cousin Anne. She took the bus (a 2 hr ride from Manhattan) to spend the weekend with me in Philadelphia. It was such a relief to get off campus and see a friendly face that I could just be myself around. We had a GREAT time walking all around the historic district shopping, listening to music and watching fireworks on the pier. Cousin Anne lived in Philly for 2 years in her early 20’s so she was a great tour guide showing me her old “haunts” and favorite places. We learned that we shop well together pointing out things that the other should buy or just try on. We each indulged in a cheap bracelet and a not-so-cheap pair of shoes.
So, a few of us sneaked out on Friday night. By sneaking out, I mean that we skipped dinner and ventured out on our own in search of a good pizza and brewery pub in Philly. We had a wonderful time just being “real” and processing the past week. I know that I have buddies here now that were feeling the same way I was. I am so grateful that we had that time to just have fun with no pressure or expectations.
This past Thursday and Friday, we spent a lot of time talking about a reframing methodology that I am sure my organizational development colleagues are probably familiar with. A hilarious and brilliant woman named Brenda J. Allen (Associate Dean for Planning & Resources at the University of Colorado) presented the methodology by introducing the word “frame”. What does it mean to frame something? The word itself means so many different things depending on one’s background, experience and personal bias. So, she described 4 basic models to approach organizational change. They are structural (rules/policies/organizational charts), human resources (focus on people), political (coalitions formed to influence) and symbolic (culture/ritual/inspire). We spent hours applying these concepts to case studies and within small group work. It is clear to me that I lean much more to the structural and human resource frame to solve problems and then consider political and symbolic last. It was really neat to test each other’s thinking and then point out gaps in their framework. The goal of this was for us to practice using all 4 of the frameworks as they all have value and create a more complete and holistic solution. During the lecture, my mind wondered to when I interviewed President Gee in preparation for the summer institute. He described how he wished OSU was more like a ballerina (flexible, elegant & creative) and less like an elephant (slow moving and difficult to control). I would suspect from my limited understanding of his leadership style that he tends to operate from a symbolic and political framework. If I get the chance, I’ll ask him if I am right.
I think that some of my attendees are getting quite jealous! I am getting mail almost every day. Rick definitely gets the prize for the longest letter so far... 3 single spaced pages! THANK you for your words of encouragement and insight. Lisa and Sadie send me another card but this one was from Vinny and I got my first JT related mail from Kristen. You are all wonderful!!!
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