EXCELLENCE & ETHICS

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  Express Your Thanksgiving Beliefs!

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 5:21 pm on November 23, 2011 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Thanksgiving is upon us once again. It’s that time of year when we come together with family and friends to eat, watch football, and give thanks for our many blessings. Thanksgiving is a wonderful example of how shared beliefs and values manifest themselves in shared rituals or traditions, which in turn reinforce our shared beliefs and values in a circular relationship.

  The earliest tradition of Thanksgiving was based on belief in the importance of giving thanks for the bountiful harvest. The tradition was thus born of values such as wisdom, gratitude, and humility. Those values took shape in the form of a feast centering on food, faith, and friendship.  In time the tradition of Thanksgiving served to remind and reinforce those animating values behind the ritual.

  And the tradition has certainly evolved, right? I mean wouldn’t the Pilgrims be surprised at how football and parades and Black Friday have become part and parcel of the Thanksgiving tradition?  That’s not a commentary on the lost purity of Thanksgiving. The tradition was initiated by a unique group of human beings to serve their unique needs; it continues to evolve and change and manifest in countless different ways depending on geography, race, religion, and family norms.

  Traditions and rituals, our cultural norms, are neither bad or good in and of themselves; but they do shape and reinforce a set of values—either by accident or by design. So it’s important to continuously reflect on what we do and why we do it “our way.”

  For my family, Thanksgiving means a big family gathering (I mean big, too!). It’s about kids playing together, it’s about telling (and retelling) old stories and bad jokes; it’s about sitting around a fire (a “bomb” fire as one niece described it) and talking and laughing and reconnecting.  Some years back we had started a tradition of going around and having each person say what they were thankful for (not sure who or how it started, but seems like something I may have been crazy and goofy enough to propose). It was pretty cool. It was at times touching and other times tedious (think big group, young kids, and the “my family” response showing up a few times). But I truly believe that we all felt that we had tapped into some deeper part of Thanksgiving. We deepened the tradition, we tapped into some of the deeper values behind the day.

  In my opinion, there’s something about Thanksgiving that is very simple: we eat and we relax.  I don’t think we should (or could) infringe upon that core piece of Thanksgiving for our family. But, there’s also something deeper, something that begs for reflection on the important things in life. But, unless you have a routine that makes space and provides a format it simply doesn’t happen (or may end up taking the form of Uncle Al getting drunk and telling everybody what’s important—at the top of his lungs from the front lawn). (Note: I do not have an Uncle Al; Al is not a pseudonym for a real uncle either; just an example, I swear).

  Well, like lots of traditions, at some point our “what we’re thankful for” tradition fell off. Not sure why. No official proclamation. We just probably forgot, missed it one year, and then never reestablished it. But I think we lost a little something.  So it got me to thinking about some new ideas for going after the deeper part of Thanksgiving.  So, for what it’s worth, here’s one to consider adapting or adopting.

  IEE’s Culture of Excellence & Ethics Belief Box is a tool we have used to create a process by which individuals have a chance to stand up on the box and share their beliefs,
  ideas, and inspirations.  I thought it would be a good tool to adapt for a new Thanksgiving ritual. We’ve used this with individuals from all age levels and in many different settings.

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Here’s one version of how to use this tool:

  1. A set of questions is generated that are meant to be thought provoking and to probe for guiding philosophy and beliefs.
  2. Each person has the chance to “stand on the box”—in some contexts, that just means it’s their turn (no standing at all). In other instances, people have literally created a box, or a spot for each person to stand before the group to receive questions and share their response.
  3. Each person has the right to pass on any question that is too personal, too difficult, or to which they simply don’t have a response.

  Other little process hints:  figure out how many you will have people you have, and how much total time you have. Then appoint a time-keeper to make sure each person is given equal time. (Better to go for something doable the first time and have them wanting to do a second round, then push your luck and cause mayhem and revolt—but maybe I’m projecting based on my family!).

  Here are some sample questions drawn from our version of the Belief Box activity:

  • Explain what you believe is more important, fitting in or standing out.
  • What’s the best advice anybody has ever given you?
  • What advice would you offer somebody your age to help them make the most of their life?
  • What is the secret to finding happiness?
  • What’s one sure way to be unhappy?
  • What things in life are more important than money?
  • If you only had 30 days tolive, how would you spend your time?
  • What does it mean to “live a life of purpose”?
  • What is something you feel you absolutely must accomplish before you die?

  You can have each person answer them all in a rapid-fire style. Or, you can have the group pick and choose which questions to ask. There are really an unlimited number of questions and processes to follow.

  What are the advantages of the Belief Box activity? First, it’s intentional. You’re doing this with a specific intent.  If you’re lucky your group may accidentally fall on something like this, but if you think it’s important you want to ensure that it happens by design, not hope it happens by chance. Second, it’s consistent. This helps to ensure that it goes well and as you hoped (note how these questions pull for deep thinking but give a person plenty of safety and choice about what to share and how to share it). It’s structured and simple enough to do in almost any time block you have. Finally, it taps into the deeper values behind the tradition of Thanksgiving providing a simple but powerful way to connect (and reconnect) to one another and to reconnect to our shared beliefs, experiences, and values.

  As you reflect on your own Thanksgiving traditions and rituals what are the defining aspects of the experience for your family?  What makes it unique to your family? What traditions have you lost or forgotten or ruined (that happens too!)?  What if you’re tired of the same old conversations, the same old routines, the same predictable patterns; what if you don’t like what it’s become, if you want something deeper or just something different?   Don’t worry. You made them. You can change them. Changing your traditions is as easy as intentionally shaping some new norms, new ways of doing things.

  What if you’re not ready for something as “nutty” as the Belief Box? No worries. Maybe just find one place in your day where you can more intentionally shape how you will be together to better reflect your deepest hopes and intentions for the wonderful tradition that is,  Thanksgiving.

   

  

   

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  Step in! Speak out! Stand up! Do something!

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 10:38 am on November 16, 2011 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  In the wake of the disturbing case unfolding at Penn State University many are wondering how to understand and teach about the all important moral skill of intervening.  At IEE we develop research-based tools that distill complex theory and research behind a given skill or competency into replicable rubrics for guiding behavior.

  IEE’s Culture of Excellence & Ethics Intervention Continuum is a tool we have used to take the complex process of intervention and break into a framework for guiding behavior
  (email for a digital copy to reprint yourself or to obtain information on purchasing a poster).

  

   

   

  This tool builds on important research like that of Oliner & Oliner who studied the makeup of altruistic personalities to understand the knowledge, affect, and skills of those who intervene (as compared to bystanders, or those who literally “stand by”).

  The Intervention Continuum begins with the assertion that there are no innocent bystanders:  you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. It’s a powerful touchstone phrase that clearly conveys a norm or expectation.  If we don’t teach this norm (or equal) with intentionality and clarity, then we shouldn’t be surprised when individuals choose another standard to guide their behavior.  Intentionally teaching the idea “there are no innocent bystanders” introduces cognitive disequilibrium (i.e., “wait a minute; that’s not I heard or thought or have experienced”), which begins to break apart the “ignorance is bliss” mindset by introducing a new norm or standard for behavior.

  The skill of intervening is built upon an interconnected synergy of values. In particular the tool highlights the role of courage, responsibility, and good judgment in standing up for what you know is right. The Intervention Continuum shows that intervening requires discernment across a continuum of possible options, which requires prudence, or good judgment.  The tool teaches that seeking help from others and intervening yourself are both alternatives to “doing nothing”.  Essentially what the term “intervention” is addressing is responsibility.  Being responsible literally means “the ability to respond,” the ability to intervene when called upon, to stand up for what is right, and to correct what is wrong. Responsibility says, “do help”, “do step up”, “do step in”—even when helping carries a cost.  The Intervention Continuum challenges us to find a way to intervene on behalf of people or principles.

  This tool reinforces our operational definition of character as “values in action.”   Our character (in Greek, our “distinguishing mark”) is the degree to which we have alignment between our espoused values and our lived behaviors.  Just because I know or value justice, mercy, and truth does not make me a person of character necessarily. It’s when I know, commit, AND live according to my values that I may be properly considered a person of moral character.

  How does our character become strong and stable?  One way of understanding our character is to think of it as a muscle. Like any muscle, it gets stronger when we work it out; it gets weaker and atrophies when we neglect it. And, like any muscle, injuries ensue when the weight or force applied to the muscle exceeds the capacity of the muscle.

  Like any muscle, our character muscle also develops muscle memory.  When you try a new physical skill, it feels awkward; it’s not easy or natural. It’s not until you practice the skill repeatedly that a comfortable, stable habit begins to develop. Then when faced with a pressure situation requiring the skill, having practiced this skill many times, muscle memory overrides all of the fear, jitters, worries, and instinct takes over. True for any physical muscle; true also for our character muscles. Confidence in our “ability to respond”—in our “response-ability”—is developed by deliberate practice, not simply by luck or innate ability.

  So, these are the basics of the skill of intervening as presented by the Intervention Continuum. What does it take to make this standard a lived reality? How can we use the Intervention Continuum strategy to ensure more consistent ethical behavior?  First, it must be taught with intentionality and intensity. We simply cannot leave it to chance that individuals will naturally develop this skill. We must intentionally teach it. This skill/norm/behavior/expectation must also be practiced with intensity.  It’s a very challenging skill to master. Therefore it must be deliberately practiced, repeatedly, over time and in diverse and varied settings and situations. True for anything we want to get good at, right? So too with intervening:  the more difficult the challenge the more intense and intentional the practice required.

  We need these simple strategies, these replicable tools (what the brain research calls “good enough” rubrics) to guide our behaviors—especially in the most high pressure of situations.  Without replicable rubrics and rituals like the Intervention Continuum to guide behavior, both the burden of knowledge and the vacuum of ignorance will render us incapable of responding.  Just like in sports, you need to have practiced a skill many times before your habits will be available to guide you through high pressure situations. As Aristotle said, “we are what we repeatedly do.”

  Come full circle to the specific context of the Penn State scandal.  We need to objectify these situations. We need to rewind the tape, hit play; hit pause; teach and re-teach, like a coach reviewing a game tape. We often don’t teach about our great societal and community moral collapses because we’re afraid it will get ugly, that we’ll get distracted, divided, and lose sight of our purpose in discussing it, and ultimately do more harm than good. This is a tool that can take an ugly situation that most don’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole and objectify it, using the situation as a teaching experience without dwelling on the disgusting details. The tool allows us to focus instead on what we can learn and DO DIFFERENTLY given a similar situation that we might face.

  The Intervention Continuum tool is meant to be simple; mastering it is not easy. This means we can teach empathy for the victims as well as those who failed to adequately intervene. They blew it, but it could happen to any one of us if we’re not prepared. We can show on the continuum what they did do, and really teach about how different situations call for different responses.  Remember that Joe Paterno was fired not because he didn’t do anything, but because what he did was not enough given the seriousness of crimes—which is also true of many individuals engrossed in this situation.

  Here are four additional ways to practically introduce and develop the skill of intervening represented by the Intervention Continuum:

  1. Post it in your home, classroom, locker room or workplace and introduce its basic
     elements. Reinforce and expand knowledge by scaffolding to it from emerging
     teachable moments.
  2. Brainstorm a variety of practical ways to intervene with courage, responsibility, and good judgment for some of the most common situations that you will face.
  3. Identify positive examples (or negative counter-examples) drawn from literature and
     media to show what it looks like to intervene well (and what it looks like when
     you don’t) and discuss the short- and long-term consequences.
  4. Reflect as a group on how you will support, challenge, motivate and empower one another to intervene as needed (e.g., accountability partners, small support groups,
     etc.).

  The Intervention Continuum in no way guarantees that we can eradicate moral collapses like we observed at Penn State—or like we have observed in corporate and political scandals, school violence, or human atrocities throughout history. However if we can use this tool to teach and re-teach issues great and small, if we can use this to improve our knowledge, commitment and skills—our head, heart, and hands—, if we do it often enough and well enough, then just maybe when we find ourselves in a significant situation where intervening is truly required of us, maybe we are prepared to respond—to step in, to speak out, to stand up, to do something.

   

  

   
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  There are no innocent bystanders: Why I mourn for Coach Paterno and all at Penn State University, but support the decision of the trustees

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog, Character For & From Sports at 7:45 pm on November 10, 2011 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  

  I struggled as to whether I would write on the disturbing case unfolding at Penn State University. On the one hand, this is a case that is at the core of our organizational passion and expertise.  What we are witnessing and trying to make sense of as a nation lies within the cross hairs of character and culture—the very topics to which we have dedicated our lives and work at IEE. On the other and, in this media-saturated world we are bombarded with information, information that is often incomplete and inaccurate; and too often analysis and commentary offered at these times risks contributing more heat than light.

  Here’s at least one reason I decided that I needed to share some thoughts: my eight year-old son.  Since around the age of four he has exhibited a passion and exuberance for sport. Any game, anytime, anywhere, he’ll play it, watch it, or talk about it.  He can be heard day and night rolling on the floor, commentating the actions of a game, mimicking every gesture and phrase common to sport.  First hugs of the day with him are followed with either an update from some game the night before, or questions about who won or lost. He’s simply got the bug for all things sports. It’s beautiful; it’s pure and simple.

  But of course not everything in sport is pretty and nice; much is ugly and downright unethical. But still it gives us a context to talk about that too. Sometimes I hope he won’t see the ugliness and that the purity of his viewpoint on sport and people and life could be preserved forever—but I know it can’t.

  This morning he snuck down quietly to the basement for a stolen few minutes of Sports Center—one of his  great pleasures in life already.  We immediately hustled to tell him to turn it off, knowing that the Penn State story would dominate. Before we could, he ran up the stairs saying, “Dad, Joe Paterno got fired? But why?” I wasn’t ready. I should have been, but I wasn’t. Once again, I hoped he hadn’t seen it and that it would go away. But it wouldn’t.

  So I shared the following explanation with my son and my nine year-old daughter:  “Coach Paterno didn’t actually do anything illegal. There were some people at Penn State who did some bad things, and Coach Paterno and others knew and didn’t do enough to make it right.”  And then I said, “At work we sometimes say it this way:  ‘There are no innocent bystanders.’  When you stand by and watch something bad happen and don’t do anything about it, you’re not innocent. In fact, you’re as bad as the person who did the bad thing. That’s why he got fired.”  They seemed to understand that well and we talked about where and when they need to be ready to intervene like the playground, etc.

  Throughout the day as I listened to commentaries and talked with colleagues, I became unsatisfied with my response.  Why after all of the media attention was I really unsure as to who did what and who knew what? How was it that I again and again it seemed like Joe Paterno was the victim, not these young boys, who were at the time of their abuse not much older than my own son?  Why hadn’t I told my kids the whole truth? What was the truth?

  As an act of conscience I decided to read the transcript of the grand jury testimony.  If you can’t bring yourself to read it, I understand that: it’s human depravity and sickness at its worst.  Let’s just say that it wasn’t until I did that I realized that my response was inadequate, my explanation too clean and easy.  What Coach Sandusky did was pure pathology and sickness—done to the most vulnerable, done using all the trappings of power and prestige and materialism that would literally seduce those at risk boys into allowing this predator into their lives.

  But it was the words I shared with my kids this morning, the words we have shared with so many through our work here at IEE that hit me hardest as I read the testimony:  “There are no innocent bystanders.”  As I read the grand jury testimony the gravity of the moral meltdown hit me.

  As I read the transcript I compiled a list of people who knew something about Mr. Sandusky that are named in the report: a wrestling coach, an assistant principal at the local school, a 28 year-old graduate assistant, the father of the graduate assistant, Coach Paterno, AD Tim Curley, VP Gary Schultz, the Executive Director at Second Mile, the Penn State Campus Police, Child Protective Services, the University’s Counsel lawyer, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, two custodians, the custodian’s supervisor.  I’m sure if I combed the report again I would find people I missed who knew something.

  If I was from the list above to put together a logical web of colleagues and family members I would easily come up with a constellation of people who knew something that would number in the 100’s. If I were to make a list of places where the victims reported being with Mr. Sandusky they include college and pro football games, Penn State athletic facilities, offices and buildings, restaurants, local parks, and local schools. And again, were I to create a web of people who in these various settings would have seen something, sensed something, wondered something it would likely number in the thousands.  If I were to read the report again I would find in almost every case an example of where these individuals did something—but nobody, nobody did enough.

  This is not an attempt to engage in shameless self-righteousness and moral indignation pointing the fingers at “them” and what they did or didn’t do.  We must avoid this at all costs.  What we are learning in this case has been learned from world wars and holocausts past and present, from every form of human rights movement, from school shootings and acts of hazing and bullying be they in the school or in the workplace:  (1) human beings are painfully slow to intervene and to act upon what they know and believe to be wrong. (2) There is a collective instinct NOT to intervene. (3) We are all to some degree tainted and corrupted by the instincts of self-preservation self-promotion, which leads us to override the voice of conscience. (4) Our individual and collective conscience is weak, terribly weak!  And, (5) unless or until someone speaks out and steps in, there is a herd instinct NOT to step in.

  There were many with the chance to speak up and step in; no one did so with enough moral conviction to awaken the moral voice in every one. Thus no one person is to blame for not responding more fully; we are all to blame.

  Moral meltdowns such as this seem so obvious fix or avoid.  We draw them up like football analysts playing Monday morning quarterback. Should have seen this; should have done that; why didn’t they just; if they had only done. It all looks so clear when we can rewind it, slow it down, dissect it.  It seems so easy when we’re not tired, scared, worn down and weak.

  I truly think our pain and embarrassment of what is happening at Penn State is at some level the realization that we are looking on something that could have very well happened in my community, that I could have been that person who turned away, who sheepishly thought, “who am I?” “what could I possibly do?”

  We all have a responsibility to learn and grown from this tragedy.  Conscience and character are muscles, muscles that must be exercised regularly.  We cannot expect to be ready for great moral challenges when we neglect to work out on the smaller daily moral challenges.  How often do I ignore offensive humor; how often have I turned away, driven past someone or something, failed to help,failed to call, failed to do something? We have all failed and sadly, we will fail again.

  I failed this morning with my kids.  I will return to this issue tomorrow with my children to help them grow more fully from the deeper lessons and truths of this story. What I said to my son and daughter wasn’t the wrong but it was cleansed beyond effect. I failed to honestly convey what was that was done wrong and to whom it was done. As a result they will likely not learn vitally important lessons that they need to protect themselves from the Coach Sandusky’s of the world, and to prevent themselves from making the same mistakes that have been made by Coach Paterno and others at Penn State.

  Tomorrow morning I will tell my kids that an assistant football coach at Penn State did inappropriate sexual things to young boys; that he gave the boys tickets to games, and jerseys, and bought them meals so that he could trick them into letting him do things they didn’t want to do.  I will tell them that Coach Sandusky is a sick man and that there are other sick men out there like him; that they should not fear people, but that they should be careful too. I will also tell him that many people at Penn State, including Coach Paterno, knew something had happened to these boys and none of them did all that they could do to stop it, and to save these boys from this coach—and to save this sick man from himself.

  There are indeed no innocent bystanders in this case. Joe Paterno may not be guilty, but he is not innocent either. But neither are any of the others in this case. He may be getting too much attention, but as an old coach he knows very well that coaches get too much credit when teams win and too much blame when they lose. He has certainly known the thrill of victory; and this defeat is no doubt pure agony for him and his family.  He has had many victories, but I’m sure even he would acknowledge having learned more from his defeats. In time we will all hopefully learn from this defeat along with him.

  I cried this afternoon as I read the grand jury testimony. I thought of my own son and I cried. How could he? How could they?  How can we allow such terrible things to happen each day in our homes and school and communities to the most vulnerable?  I mourn for Coach Paterno and for the entire Penn State community but I believe the trustees did the right thing. I particularly mourn for those boys.

  I am reminded of Arthur Miller play, All My Sons. In it the father commits suicide after realizing that his actions, his moral failures, done for self-preservation and the benefit of his own sons, lead to the death of 21 American Pilots. A famous quote from the play, gives us all plenty to reflect on in light of the incidents at Penn State:  “You can be better. Once and for all you can know there’s a universe of people outside and you’re responsible to it.” The father in the play realizes, what we must all realize today:  “They are all our sons and daughters.”  Coach Paterno has been father to so many young men, father to so many student athletes and coaches.  He has done so much good for so many but he also knows that “from those to whom much is given, much is expected.”

  I am sad tonight. I am sad to have witnessed again the depravity of mankind and how one person’s sickness can affect so many. I am sad to see that we all lost in this battle. It is a loss will burn in my belly for a long time. I realize once again that there are no innocent bystanders and  I recommit to stand up for what is right, to speak up on what is wrong, to risk self-preservation and self-promotion for the good of humankind.

  For tonight I’ll just go home and watch a few minutes of a game with my son and hope he doesn’t see the tears run down my face or sense the depths of my sadness.

  

   
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  The Power of Intentional Routines

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 1:07 pm on October 21, 2011 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  In our family we begin meals, as many families do, by sharing in grace together:  we begin when everyone is around the table and holding hands; then we say our grace aloud together, giving thanks for the nourishment, for one another, and for all our many blessings. At the conclusion of grace we raise our hands and emphatically say, AMEN!

  On occasions when one of us—usually my wife or me finishing one last thing—is detained, the rest of the gathered group holds off saying the final Amen.  The group sings aloud AAAAAAAAAA… until the missing person final completes the circle, when we can all grab hands, raise them in the air and emphatically complete the long anticipated conclusion….AAAAAAAAMEN!

  Our kids love this part of the routine, probably because they are empowered by the routine (yes, to sing the long, loud AAAAA) to be gate-keepers of our shared routines. Once, after a few meals of less than enthusiastic AMENs! our youngest daughter, then age 3, wondered aloud, “Why don’t we say AMEN like we used to?”

  This isn’t a piece designed to get you to say grace—although, I think regardless of your faith or worldview it’s a mistake not to be mindful of every gift in our lives and to take nothing for granted.  But this is a piece about the importance of our routines.  In the book, <em>Routines for Our Times,</em> the authors argue “Every time we participate in a ritual [routine], we’re expressing our beliefs.”   Rituals and routines, habits or norms, our shared way—culture.

  Consider the simple case study of our family routine for beginning meals:  our ritual expresses our beliefs about faith, family, and fun.  We all hold hands because it may be the precious few seconds in a day when we physically touch those we love. We give thanks for our nourishment and for those who prepared it. We offer our enthusiastic AMEN from our religious values and traditions where it connotes firm, faithful, exuberant agreement, but also to simply shake us from the dangers of an unmindful, ungrateful, monotony to one of enthusiasm, celebration, and shared belief.  The AMEN also reflects our family’s shared love of simply being loud, goofy, and fun-loving.   It’s a simple but significant routine in the life of our family.

  Our routine for beginning meals is not better or worse than any other routine; there are countless purposeful routines for beginning meals. But I would argue that it fits us (that is, is aligned with our values) and expresses our beliefs. This routine shapes, renews, and challenges us to live our deepest values. Even our three-year old daughter knew we were losing something essential when we had lost our enthusiastic AMEN.  Her excitement for and belief in our routine inspired her to challenge the rest of us to stop going through the motions.

  I have had to coach up our kids when they began to use the hand holding as a time to check on who had NOT washed their hands.   I put my foot down and passionately teach, “Hey folks, listen up: first, wash your hands before you come to the table. That’s disgusting. Second, remember what we’re doing here: this is a time to connect to one another and to be mindful of our gifts. This is important. Do it the right way. Do it our way.”

  Bottom line:  our routines both  REFLECT and REINFORCE our values.  Rituals  and routines matter deeply, since, as we have argued so many times before:  Culture (our shared norms and habits) shapes character (values in action).  If we lose sight of what we do and why we do it we are in danger of expressing and reinforcing what is likely counter to our  espoused or desired values.  As Tom Lickona put so simply and powerfully: “we must practice what  we preach, but we must also preach what we practice.”

  I have been reflecting lately in earnest on the ways in which my personal routines (for prayer,  for fitness, for creative work, for busy work, for rejuvenation and relationships) contribute to or detract from my values and goals.  I am constantly reflecting on the  routines for our team at IEE, for the teams I coach, for the boards I serve on. IEE’s Culture of Excellence and Ethics Tools are research-based strategies for shaping intentional culture around attitude, effort, communication, negotiation, etc.—basically any skill or behavior that indviduals need for efficiently and effectively working and living together.

  I am constantly surprised by the power of intentional routines: proactive, positive, shared organizational habits are absolutely transformative.  I’m equally surprised by the damage incurred  by unintentional routines. Remember, if we don’t define the rituals and routines then they’re up for grabs, and when it’s all up for grabs you simply get what you get.

  I recommend that we all take some time and begin to reflect on our  rituals and routines.  Do they express our  espoused values? Do we remember how and why we do what we do?  Are our routines contributing to or  detracting from our deepest values?   If we talk about faith, family, and fun why  does dinner reflect and reinforce something totally opposite?

  So what if you, your family, class, team or company has forgotten, or never knew or even had intentional routines?  Don’t despair. It’s never too late to get intentional.  And, as the saying goes, “there’s no such  thing as justice, there’s just us.” If you don’t like how we do things, then let’s fix it, change it, reshape it, remake it. And if it’s still not quite  right, then revise it again. Because here’s a little secret: the process is the  intervention! It is in and through discussions of what we do and why we do it that  we also reflect and reinforce our shared values.  You’re never going to get perfect rituals and  routines. They’re living, breathing, evolving entities that reflect and  reinforce, support and challenge us. It’s all about discovering, uncovering, and recovering  intentionality.

  Intense and intentional culture reflects and reinforces the character and culture needed to truly achieve our unique potential. With something as important as our routines,  don’t guess or assume, hope or pray; instead, establish, reinforce, remind, and recreate  anew—get intentional.

  

   
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  "Feed the teachers so they don't eat the students"

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 12:06 pm on October 11, 2011 | 2 Permalink | Reply
  

  “Feed the teachers so they don’t eat the students.” So read a sign I remember seeing at a conference many years ago. This humorous truism has  stayed with me all these years later. In fact, the dark and humorous truth of this statement echoes in my head these days as I travel and converse with educators across the country. One thing is clear: educators today feel stressed out and maxed out, pressured by time and expectations, with too much to cover, too little time to do it, and all the while budgets continue to tighten. When you feel like you’re doing everything you can, and it’s still not enough, resentful demoralization often sets in. Whether you’re an administrator, a team or department leader, I recommend that you heed this wise advice and “feed the teachers, so they don’t eat the students.”

  There is really no bad time to invest in the culture and competencies of your professional team—but there are often times when it seems counterintuitive to do so. And I think we are in one of those time periods now:  How, you might ask, how in these difficult economic and educational circumstances can you “afford” to spend time establishing or reestablishing your organizational habits?  How can you “afford” to establish or reestablish collegiality, trust, respect, and the overall professional and ethical learning community?  Because, we would argue, precisely amid these challenging economic and educational circumstances, if you do not invest in intentionally developing the staff character and culture, the result will be a faculty and staff who are resentful and demoralized; they will turn on each other, the administrators, students and staff.  In the very time when you need to band together, to work smarter and harder, to try new ideas and strategies for reaching and teaching students, they will instead begin shutting down, tuning out, turning against the organizational leaders and turning on each other, their students and parents—and eventually the profession as a whole.

  So what can you do?  In our Culture of Excellence Ethics Professional Development Toolkits we offer to educators knowledge and tools they can use for building the culture and competencies NEEDED FOR teaching learning. I am going to offer several that we use in our Professional Development Toolkits for educators that can be used to develop more intentional organizational habits for working together. The more tense and volatile the circumstances, the more stressed and maxed out the individuals, the more important it is to get intentional about your norms for working together.  So, here’s what I would recommend:

  1. Develop a Touchstone to reestablish your shared vision and values.

  This isn’t a mission statement; it’s not meant to be a prolonged or painful organizational visioning process.  It’s meant to provide a rough and ready recalibration of current and desired state. It’s meant rally the group, to help clarify in an otherwise crazy world, your shared values. It is a simple, “good enough” process to recapture some sense of shared organizational mission and vision, to remind us we’re in this together, and that while we may have profound disagreements about many things, we can find a set of shared values from which to work together. (Contact me directly and I’ll send you the process; here’s an abbreviated description).

  Using  the streamlined process we have developed developing a touchstone simply requires you taking the group back to you foundational documents (review your  mission statement, review your strategic goals, etc.), drawing out from these  the core moral and performance character values that drive your work together.  Be sure to highlight in particular the spoken (or unspoken) operative values  that will be NEEDED FOR your work together now, in this economic and education climate, with the particular individuals on your team. I don’t have to know  your mission statement to know that you’ll need collaboration, communication,  trust, collegiality, hard work, perseverance and positive attitude.

  Take those values and then turn  them into a set of “we statements” that describe how you will carry out your  work together.  For example, “We support  and challenge each other in our quest for excellence. We are honest but  respectful. We are fair to everyone—including those not present. We learn from  our mistakes and keep moving forward.”  4  to 8 powerful statements that provide a set of operative values to guide us and  to strive for, reminding us of who we are and how we want to do our business. Those  same values that were on the wall or in those core documents before are still  relevant; but, we must make sure that they speak to us today. HOW we work  together towards our shared goals is essential; it ensures that we pursue our goals with personal and collective responsibility and integrity.   As a group we need some sense of here’s what  we’re up against, and here are the values that have sustained us in the past that we must draw upon in earnest to succeed against the challenges we face.

  How long will it takes? It  depends, of course. But I lead a retreat this summer where we did a touchstone  in about 25 minutes. I’ve done them over the course of a few weeks in steps that may have totaled about 2-3 hours, but where the overall task was done  through 20-30 minute increments. (I would also suggest as part of the process,  that each member of the staff write out their own personal touchstone that  describes the values behind why and how they teach.)  Remember, the process is the intervention. This  is the chance for discussions, for debate, for challenging ourselves. Okay, we  may not have always lived up to this statement, but we still believe in it, right? Okay, then let’s get it down in writing and let’s recommit to live this out.

  2. Develop  a Compact for Excellence.

  If the Touchstone gives you your desired state (who do we want to be and  how will we accomplish our vision?), your operational statement of espoused  values, then a Compact for Excellence is your tool for guiding lived behavior. Okay, if we say we learn from our mistakes and are honest but respectful what will do  and not do—specifically, behaviorally, in the real contexts, situations, and  interactions of our life. We take a simple prompt, “In order to do our best  work and treat each other with respect and care, we agree to do…. (or not  do)….”:  “Begin and end on time. Attack  the problem not the person. Listen actively to all ideas. Do what we say we’re  going to do. Speak with one voice once we have a decision.” We often create a  number of Portable Compacts to guide behavior in particular situations. Before  we begin discussing students of need let’s create a compact (stay on task, keep  the information in confidence, be positive, seek solutions); before meeting with an angry parent or frustrated student (let’s agree to keep our voices  down, listen to each other, seek positive solutions, etc.).  The Touchstone provides big the values-based vision; a Compact (and really a series of portable Compacts) ensures that in  our daily interactions we put into action in our lived behaviors our espoused  values.  (Again, glad to share this  particular tool with any who are interested).

  3. Develop norms for brainstorming.

  Especially  when you’re short on time and resources you need creative thinking, you need  collaboration, you need the collective talents, abilities, and insights of your  entire team. And yet, precisely when we need to work together the most, we are  often most likely to not listen, not value each other’s perspective and  experiences.  Whether we’re figuring out  what to teach, how to make the most of resources, what to cut, what to keep, or  any other important decision, setting norms for brainstorming will ensure efficient and effective deliberations. Simple, right? Yes. And yet how often do  we begin without these norms only to watch the mayhem ensue? I propose an idea,  you shoot it down; one person dominates the conversation; several people offer  nothing; all the while the group is becoming more and more toxic. We’re wasting vital time and energy and undermining collegiality.  Instead we ought to set norms intentionally  for our intended outcomes, the established process, and the allotted time.

  There’s a time for brainstorming and there’s a time for problem solving, and there’s a time for decision making. Clarity about these essential steps in the  process will go a long way to building the confidence and trust of the group  (the world may be crazy, but in our little piece of it we have some order, some  control, something that feels positive and productive).  (Again, glad to share our Culture of Excellence Ethics Brainstorming tool as a model for any who are interested).

  4. Establish a process for  negotiating differences.

  If you work in a group of  people—even if you have shared vision from a Touchstone, a Compact to guide  behavior, and norms for brainstorming—you will still have points of  disagreement where you will need to negotiate. Our Culture of Excellence &  Ethics Win-Win Negotiation tool lays out an organizational norm for negotiating  that contributes to efficient and effective group work. It takes a very complex process and breaks it down into its basics: at the core, negotiation is an I  WANT, YOU WANT, WE COULD process. We need to express clearly our needs and  desires (how many times we lose track of what we’re fighting for or about). We  have to be able to articulate what the other party wants (again, simple stuff, but if you don’t truly active listen and articulate what you hear the other party asking for, you can expect unproductive conflict). Finally, we knowing what I want, and what you want, we need to use creative thinking in coming up  with win-win solutions. We need to think outside the box, try new things, and  make principled compromises.  (Again,  glad to share this tool with any who are interested).

  It’s tough time for educators. We can’t do business as usual any  more. We need to improve and evolve the craft. We owe to ourselves and to our  students. But, as the old adage says, “you can’t give what you ain’t got.”  We need to build up our organizational habits  so that they build up our staff, so that they have the personal and collective  support they need to serve the important educational and social goals facing our students, families, and communities. Sometimes you have to slow down to go fast. Look at what you’re doing and how you’re doing it; recover or  re-establish intentionality. Your teachers will thank you, and your students will be the direct beneficiaries. “Feed the teachers, so they don’t eat the students.”

  

   
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  Intentional Culture: The Key to Improving Efficiency & Effectiveness

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 4:27 pm on September 19, 2011 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  September and January are two months in the year when I feel called to pause and reflect on my efficiency and effectiveness, both personally and professionally. These are times for me when I find myself performing an audit of what I do and how I do it, asking myself the familiar Dr. Phil question, “How’s that working for you?” In this audit-mode I am looking at inputs and outputs; I am trying to look across my life portfolio and seek out what’s working well, and what are the areas where I am losing time and energy. I’m trying to get back in control of things, to be proactive in my behaviors and rituals, not reactive, so that I don’t run around like a fire-fighter trying to stamp out little fires that threaten to engulf my productivity and peace of mind.

  I’m not sure if it is worse now than at previous historical times; I’m not sure if technology is to blame for the problem or what we should look to for the solution; but I am convinced that individuals and organizations are maxed out, stressed out, pressed for time, short on resources, and challenged to achieve greater results with less. This reality often means that our first instinct is to think that there isn’t time to reflect on what we do and how we do it; we have to go hard, go fast, go now.

  I get it; I really do. As a father of four, the head of an organization, as a person involved in  church, community and my kids’ school, I get it. We don’t have the time or resources we need to do what we want to do, the way we ought to do it. But, this is in fact, the very reason why we have to continuously establish and recover intentionality in our lives. INTENTIONALITY: there’s no more important concept, for achieving your goals with efficiency and effectiveness. Why do we do what we do, when we do it, in the way we do it?—if you’re not sure of the answers, slow down for a minute to recover some intentionality and watch your efficiency and effectiveness improve.

  This is at the center of work at the Institute for Excellence & Ethics—shaping intentional culture. Culture is generally defined as the shared values, beliefs, and operational norms of a group or organization. It’s a shared way. Leaders shape culture by establishing and reinforcing the shared norms and organizational habits. It is in and through your shared organizational habits that individual habits are shaped. As Aristotle put it, “Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. It is what we are repeatedly lead to do.”

  Whether you hold the title “leader” or not, you are a leader. In some part of your life, in some portion of your day, you are a leader, whether you’re a teacher, a coach, a parent, a spouse, an employer or employee. As the head of your group you have the opportunity (and responsibility) to repeatedly lead those in your group to do things your way; if you lead them to repeatedly and consistently do things your way they will in turn develop habits as a result. It takes time and energy; but you can either spend time intentionally shaping the culture to develop the positive habits needed for the realization of your core mission, or spend time reactively responding to the negative behaviors shaped by the unintentional de facto culture—what John Dewey called “mis-education” or “collateral learning.” (Sounds like: “No, not like that, like this.” “Not that way, this way”).

  Pick a classroom, family, team, or organization that stands out to you for its exceptionality, and you will invariably find great intentionality regarding their organizational habits—they
  do things a very specific way, for a very specific reason. There is also intensity: deliberate guided education and practice promotes fidelity; commitment of resources (especially time), and strong accountability leads to widespread buy-in ensuring that the shared norms are pervasive throughout the organization—not relegated to “pockets of excellence.”

  Intense and intentional cultures leave a mark on the individual; as the sociologist Gerald Grant described it, these are cultures that “imprint.” It’s not just that they technically
  or functionally fulfill their core mission, but rather that the organizational habits—how
  they fulfill their core mission—are done with such intensity and intentionality that a distinctive organization mark is transferred onto the individual, which is evident in their personal habits (i.e., character). For example, a school culture that imprints certainly fulfills its core mission to transfer knowledge from teachers to students; but, in an intentional culture of excellence and ethics there is significant attention paid to developing the character and culture needed for the general philosophy and specific pedagogy,paying as much attention to how we do things, as to what we do.

  The key to shaping intentional culture is developing and regularly renewing your foundational rituals and routines. Thoughtful rituals and routines are so important because they operationalize our espoused values and ensure that they are in fact lived reality—and they do so in an efficient and consistent way. So, If you espouse a commitment to trust, respect, teamwork, and collaboration, and see these as essential to accomplishing your core mission, then you can’t leave it to chance your group will figure out how to live these out in the context of your shared work together. Therefore, you need to define HOW you do things so that those animating values are experienced. The espoused values must be linked to clearly defined operative verbs. For example, espoused value: trust. Operative verbs to define: communicate like this, negotiate like this, work in groups like this, solve problems like this, etc. What we believe must be linked to intentional norms for HOW we will live.

  Defining what we do and how we do it will contribute to overall efficiency and effectiveness. In an effort to be more intentional, consider the following: Can you identify and describe the
  “signature practices”—those strategies, norms, or organizational habits that render on your group members the “distinguishing marks” (i.e., character) of the classroom, family, school, team, or organization? Not a list of things you do (we eat together, we have an awards ceremony, we go away together, etc.), but a description of HOW what you do is done with intensity and consistency so that they result in a set of shared ideas, beliefs, and habits that uniquely impact and define their group.

  Ask yourself this around any ritual or habit of your group: “how does doing this, this way, help us to more fully realize our mission and goals?” List the practices of your group and ask
  yourself, “why do we do it this way?” And, “is there anything we could change or improve to that would add intentionality so that we better reach our goals?Look across your organization or group and ask yourself: “What are the areas where we are routinely expending resources to reactively respond to problems, inefficiencies, and inconsistencies?” “What habits have begun to detract from their intended purpose and the core organizational philosophy and goals?” “What lived habits and behaviors conflict with or are in tension with their espoused value (e.g., we are doing this to build trust, but it’s being done in a way that actually undermines trust)?”

  If indeed, “we are what we are repeatedly lead to do,” then we must examine our rituals and routines to ensure that they contribute to (and do not detract from) our core mission, shared
  values, and stated goals. As Tom Lickona put it, “you must practice what you preach, but you must also preach what you practice.” What do we do? Why do we do it this way? Why is doing it this way better than the other ways? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, or the answers aren’t convincing to you or those you lead, it’s not the end of the world. Intentional culture is not a destination; it’s an ideal to strive for. However, reconsidering and reformulating the what, why, and how of your rituals and routines can pay huge dividends towards becoming more efficient and effective in achieving your goals.

   

  

   
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  Tiger Parenting and the unfortunate polarization of parenting styles

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 12:57 pm on January 28, 2011 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Unfortunately all of the media attention in the last several weeks on “Tiger Parenting” has polarized the discussion regarding the role of parents to wrongheaded extremes.  On the one hand it makes no sense to argue for the hyper-competitive, my kid can top your kid, psychological hazing that views kids as a resource to be developed and exploited. I have never met a person who was raised in this environment that I trusted as a colleague or respected as a person. Invariably this approach results in a selfish, temperamental prima donna lacking essential interpersonal skills for being a good team member, and lacking courage and grit in the face of challenge. It may seem like tough love designed to prepare kids for the “real world”, but in reality it’s a lethal combination of human neglect and overt coddling resulting in a cat without claws that is at the core soft and insecure.

  On the other hand, I see no evidence to argue for the opposite extreme, creating a young person who is removed from preparation for independence in the real world by essentially giving the child license to not work hard, fend for themselves, or do basically anything that they do not want to do. I’m all for preserving childhood—by which I mean, monitoring media, preserving unstructured play, not over scheduling, not trying to join or compete to keep up with other kids, and fundamentally nurturing your child’s unique talents and gifts without comparison to others.  

  However, I don’t’ see evidence that a child raised in this environment built to accommodate the child’s learning style, dietary likes, sleep preferences, and leisure priorities produce anything but a selfish, self-centered person.  They come to believe that the world and all those around exist to make their life enjoyable and satisfying. Teacher is too tough, switch classes. Coach challenges you to develop your weaknesses, switch coaches—or sports.  Boss needs you to work over vacation, quit—and get the money from your folks.  The result of this extreme is again a cat without claws incapable of existing outside of the safety and resources of the environment created by parents. (This may explain why today so many young people now return the safety of home—or who survive “on their own” with underwriting from home).

  This is the truly unfortunate part of the polarizing discussion that has, in my opinion, resulted from Chua’s work on Tiger Parenting: it has entrenched parents on opposite ends of equally wrongheaded approaches to developing the excellence and ethics needed for success in school work and beyond. 

  Here are 5 suggestions, offered as different vision for parenting, drawn from our work on developing Intentional Cultures of Excellence and Ethics:

  1. Love your children as an end, not a means. Don’t see in them as a scholarship. Don’t use them to achieve your hopes and dreams—past or future. Don’t play them as pawns in your game of social climbing and competition.  Love them—with their unique personalities and temperaments, with their unique talents and abilities, and with all their unique character strengths and weaknesses.
  2. View life as resistance training.  Developing the mind, body, & soul of a child is fundamentally about developing muscles.  Consider your job as teacher and coach one of structuring just the right amount of resistance to keep your child’s muscles in a healthy tension, so they grow, develop, and are prepared for greater challenges. Don’t hurt them by piling on too much; don’t hurt them by taking the weight off every time they sweat or complain or hurt. Is this teacher or coach or boss hurting my child? Or are they stretching their muscles?  If they are hurting them intellectually, physically, or emotionally by all means it is your duty to intervene. But if your child is simply unhappy, uncomfortable, or simply unfamiliar with the way their muscles are being challenged, support them, encourage them, stay close to them—but don’t rescue them.  Viewed as resistance training, helicopter parenting and Tiger Parenting are equally detrimental to development. It’s not about being mean or tough, easy or loving; it’s about promoting development. Promoting development requires knowing when and how to change your style and approach given the particular child and situation.
  3. Stop looking at the scoreboard at the game and start paying attention to practice field.  Too many parents are looking at the outcomes and wishing and hoping and worrying.  Forget about the grades, the test scores, the final score or final standing.  It’s not that those outcomes don’t matter. They do. But what matters more are the habits for excellence that you are creating each day. The research on deliberate practice (and lots of other very solid research on talent development, motivation, and the cultivation of expertise) indicates that if we teach our children to practice with focus, intensity and consistency, if we teach them to find the will to start and the grit to stick with it, if we help them seek capable coaching and constructive critique—then our children will (1) reach their potential for excellence, (2) do just fine as measured by the “scoreboards of life”.  Replace “did you win?” “did you beat?” and “how do you rank?” with “Did you do your best?” “Did you improve and grow?” “Did you push outside your comfort zone?”. The rest will take care of itself.
  4. Form in your children an ethical conscience and a conscience of craft.   In writing on the formation of conscience, Thomas Greene introduced these distinctions; our children need both. Our current economic struggles are a perfect storm of poorly formed ethical conscience—greed, selfishness, irresponsibility, dishonesty—and poorly formed conscience of craft—shoddy craftsmanship, lack of work ethic, lack of thrift, creativity, and entrepreneurship.  The three A’s of performance and moral character (originally in our Smart & Good Report) provides a self- inventory to help ensure that we develop an ethical conscience (an internal sense of right and wrong) and a conscience of craft (and internal sense of what it means to do our work well).
  5. Develop the whole person. It’s an over-used cliché—but it’s still true.  So many years ago Aristotle argued that happiness was the goal of a life well lived.  Regardless of the parent, I truly believe that happiness is what they desire for their children.  However misguided their processes, this is their desired outcome.  In order to help our children achieve happiness we must build in them a diversified portfolio of assets:  they need to be able to develop positive and productive relationships; communicate and collaborate with efficiency and effectiveness; manage priorities and stress; commit to high standards and continuous improvement; demonstrate emotional intelligence, integrity and responsibility; exhibit creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving; lead and serve others; and, live a balanced, purposeful, and fulfilling life.  

   The single greatest thing we can do for the educational and economic prosperity of this country is to raise our children well.  All the talk of Tiger Parenting brought the discussion back to the forefront; I hope that it does not distract and polarize.  We simply must recommit, beginning at home, with a commitment to intentionally building the culture of excellence and ethics.  

  

   
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  The case FOR competition

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog, Character For & From Sports, Excellence & Ethics in Business, Intentional Family Culture at 2:12 pm on January 13, 2011 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  A recent article in Ed Week’s teacher magazine argued for putting the kibosh on classroom competition, citing numerous ways that it was harmful to the classroom climate and individual psyche.  In response to that article, I’d like the make the case FOR competition—a case we originally made in the Smart & Good Report (page 19), which was informed by my previous work with David Shields and others at the Mendelson Center for Sport, Character, and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.

  I’ll only add the following the following points to what we originally wrote:

  1. Our work in schools and with sports teams since the time of the report’s publication  only reinforces our belief in the importance of competition as a valuable opportunity for building moral and performance character, for overall engagement, and enhanced achievement.  In particular we have found in our work with high school students that their engagement increases exponentially in an assignment or activity when there is an element of individual or team competition.
  2. The key to using competition to develop the culture and character of excellence and ethics is our intentionality in its use.  We must have a rationale for its use and what we hope to develop from it, and we must focus on teaching the moral and performance character NEEDED FOR competition.  If it is misunderstood, poorly designed, and left unmonitored completion can run amuck and lead to problems; but that shouldn’t surprise us, nor does it suggest that competition is the problem.

  The devil is clearly in the details when it comes to discussion and use of competition. I’m hoping that re-sharing what we wrote in S&G helps to provide some useful guidelines in the use of competition.

  —————————————————————————————————————————-

  The Case for Competition:

  5 Ways It Can Aid the Development of Performance Character & Moral Character

   At first glance, especially when there’s plenty of evidence that students cheat to get ahead academically, athletes use steroids to break records, and companies bend and break the rules to beat their competitors, the very nature of competition might seem to be antithetical to the development of performance character and moral character.  Because of the all-too-common cut-throat competition, many see competition as a necessarily war-like relationship: I win only when you lose, all means are justified, and only one thing ultimately matters—winning.  In this view of competition, all individuals—even classmates and teammates—are adversaries vying for limited external rewards (e.g., grades, playing time, promotions, championships, etc.).

  However, this notion of competition as inherently adversarial is really a corruption of competition’s root meaning.  In Latin, “com-petere” means “to strive with.”  In this original meaning, we compete with each other, not against one another.  We achieve our individual best through the challenge and support of others: I realize my personal best (which doesn’t necessarily mean I win) when your best effort pushes me to excel beyond what I would have achieved in isolation.  In this way, competition is an extension of a community that supports and challenges.

  At every level of performance competition, new levels of excellence are achieved when participants find good competitors.  Clearly, in any competition, we are striving against our personal limitations and against the marks set by other competitors. However, the goal should not be simply to win, but to pursue excellence. If schools want to foster, across all areas of school life, a culture of positive competition that promotes the pursuit of excellence and avoids the dangers of destructive competition, they must establish supportive institutional structures (and eliminate negative ones) and work to cultivate in students a positive perspective on competition.  What follows are 5 ways for young people to understand competition as having great potential to support their development of performance character and moral character:

  (1) Competition gives me unique opportunities to develop my performance character and moral character.

   (2) Being a good competitor requires that    I develop the self-understanding and skills for managing the powerful emotions and potential pitfalls of competition (e.g., stress, frustration, resentment of others, anger at perceived unfairness).

   (3) Competition is a partnership, a form of cooperation between competitors where I show respect and care for the other by agreeing to play fairly and give my personal best so as to bring out the best in others.

   (4) Seeking out good competition is a chance for me to realize a level of excellence I would not achieve in isolation; winning and losing are less important than whether I give my best effort and learn or master something that contributes to my pursuit of excellence.

   (5) The outcomes of any given competition can serve as a benchmark in my quest for excellence; engaging in post-competition reflection allows me to analyze what worked well, what improvements are necessary, and what next steps should be taken.

  

   
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  What research says about the link between character competencies and college and career readiness

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 12:32 pm on January 4, 2011 | 3 Permalink | Reply
  

  The centrality of excellence and ethics, performance character and moral character, for success in school, work, and beyond, which has been the hallmark of our work at IEE, was again on display in research highlighting the link between character dispositions and college and career readiness.  In this recent Ed Week article researchers at Michigan State found that:

  “the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by traits such as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next best predictors of college achievement.” 

  I believe this study is one of many indicating that what we call moral and performance character are inextricably linked to success in school, work, and beyond.

  One can look to the work of Anders Ericcson and colleagues and their work on expertise and expert performance, Daniel Pink’s work on drive, Carol Dweck’s work on mindset, Angela Duckworth’s work on grit, and so many more like these for what I truly believe is overwhelming evidence linking character competencies and success in all phases of life.   So shouldn’t this knowledge change the priorities of schools and organizations?  Shouldn’t this knowledge lead to a transfer of at least some of the weight of our personal and organizational energies to developing these essential character competencies?  Shouldn’t knowledge like this change policy and pedagogy? 

  Unfortunately, knowledge rarely changes behavior.  It’s the time of New Year’s resolutions, right?  How many people will stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, drive slower, put down their phones in the car, etc. etc. etc.?  There are so many things that solid research and practical experience tells us we should do; but that doesn’t mean we change our behavior.  So, what’s the problem?  If we know that developing things like hard work, perseverance, work ethic, teamwork leads to school and career readiness (and I would call it, “preparation to flourish,” more so than “readiness”) then why aren’t we developing it?

  Here are a few thoughts based on our experience:  first, most would argue (in spite of the evidence to the contrary) that WE ALREADY DO THIS. My goodness, if I had a dime for every time I heard a principal, teacher, coach, parent, or business leader say, “Oh yeah, we do that. We develop those skills.”  Even though we point out, they have no data on these outcomes to support their claims, and their success measures show plenty of room for improvement.  There’s some about character and culture that leads people to think “we do that,” which is closely linked to a second commonly held belief that “YOU CAN’T MEASURE THIS STUFF.”  It’s so much easier to argue, “we do this” when you’re basing that belief on intuition instead of evidence.  The truth is we can measure character and culture. Our Culture of Excellence & Ethics Assessment (and shorter CEEA Inventories) provides one such measure that can be a vital part of a comprehensive assessment system.

  This may surprise some to know, but based on our experience, we have not found a high school in America with systematic data on the character and culture of excellence and ethics.  In other words, high schools in America may claim to “educate the whole person” and to develop the social, moral, and performance character needed for success in school, work, and beyond, but the only evidence they site in support of these claims are disciplinary data (which frankly report the absence of problems not the presence of assets) test scores and college admissions.  When you consider the graduation rates from post-secondary institutions, I’m hardly persuaded.  (In fact most high schools report college admissions, not college graduations—who gets in, not who gets through—data that is obviously fairly easy to gather).  I hate to be jaded, but in this case, the absence of data on these essential character and culture outcomes protects everybody from having to spend the time and money to address the problem.  

  Which are, by the way, the two very next things that are cited as preventing schools and organizations from addressing the gap in dispositions for success as indicated by the college and career readiness research: WE DON’T HAVE THE TIME OR THE MONEY.  So, in our pitch to schools, we challenge them a bit and they concede they don’t have data to defend that “they’re already doing this” and that their college and career readiness indicators are, well, not  convincing, they immediately go to the “we simply don’t have time or money.”  Now, on the one hand, we’ve worked with enough schools to take them at their word. In many schools the schedule is so tight students don’t have a lunch period. Many teachers are doing 4-5 preps and teaching hundreds of students.  There are so many passing mandates, so many unfunded mandates, so many fads and get rich quick schemes that have come and gone, that it’s hard to believe that something that is simple (yet not easy), timeless (and yet backed by convincing, current research) could provide a solution to enhancing success in school, work, and beyond. All that to say, the time and money “excuses” aren’t always an excuse—they’re a real barrier to addressing these needs. 

  In other instances, however, “we don’t have time and money” are in fact excuses for not doing the hard work that it takes to develop the essential character competencies needed for true and lasting success. I have personally had educators from very good schools openly admit that developing students moral and performance character would require them to work harder, and that frankly, they don’t need to because their students test well and get into good colleges.  I’ve also had many—way too many—educators use “lack of motivation” and “it won’t make a difference because of their home-life and the media” and “kids don’t want or like to work on these things” as excuses for doing the hard work that it takes to develop the character assets that will serve kids for a lifetime.

  We know that developing the culture and competencies of excellence and ethics makes an empirical diffference on many of the most important outcomes–and that it is persistently neglected in its development. So what do you call it when you have knowledge outlining need, but you can’t effectively communicate that knowledge or mobilize the requisite behavior change?  Whatever you call it, that’s the challenge we’re going after in earnest at the start of 2011. It’s a challenge that intertwines communication, public relation, education, and social change—to name a few.  So what are we at IEE doing to translate what we know about the power of moral and performance character into action?  

  We’re working on more effective ways of communicating the essential notion that “character is power”—an age-old idea backed up by more and more cutting-edge evidence. We’re translating that knowledge into replicable programming (not a bunch of “you should” but a lot of “here’s how to do it”). We’re making that programming cost- and time-effective, using a mix of delivery options that include curriculum, professional development, and online resources so that teachers, coaches, parents, and business leaders can access resources they need. Check out our website to see the Unit 1 example of our Foundations Curriculum, and our free CEEA assessment tools, and look for many new forthcoming resources in 2011 (including our new Excellence & Ethics Parent Newsletter).  

  We can do this, we can measure it, and we can’t afford NOT to spend time and money on it—we either pay now or pay later, but we will indeed pay if we don’t develop moral and performance character.

  

   
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  An attitude of gratitude

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 12:33 pm on December 22, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  As we approach Christmas and the end of 2010, I am reminded of a quote from one of our benefactors, Sir John Templeton, which states: “an attitude of gratitude creates blessings.”  Here at IEE we are so grateful for the many individuals who give of their time, talent, and treasure to support our mission to build the culture of excellence and ethics. I thought it might tell a little of the story of IEE and to share some thanks and praise to the people who have contributed so much to our shared work.

  It’s a very difficult thing, saying thank you to loyal benefactors, since it always seems like self-serving pandering.  Yet, how can we not have an attitude of gratitude to those who support our efforts to do good—even when their direct contributions inevitably end?

  First, I’m grateful for the opportunity to have encountered Tom Lickona’s work as a graduate student in the Fall of 1993.  My experiences and beliefs came together in Tom’s course on character education. We began a friendship and a professional collaboration that has challenged and engaged me for nearly 20 years.  Tom will retire at the end of this academic year (although knowing Tom, he’ll still outwork most). IEE continues to partner with Tom Lickona and Marthe Seales at the Center; they are treasured colleagues.  IEE owes much of its original inspiration to Tom, Marthe, and the Center.  We intend always to respect and understand the foundations of our work, while hopefully advancing it to new levels of widespread enduring impact.

  It’s difficult to really put into words all the ways that the John Templeton Foundation has contributed to our growth.  Most obviously the Foundation has contributed essential financial support for our work. But I truly believe that it is the Foundations approach to philanthropy that has contributed to our growth. We founded IEE as a response to the Foundation’s challenge to grow our capacity to grow our work.  At every step they have challenged us to “do good well” by maximizing the enduring impact of what we do. They taught us to think about cost-effectiveness and really cultivated an approach to social entrepreneurship and instilled in us a desire to build a self-sustaining non-profit. They are not just a benefactor, but a collaborator in our work. They have pushed us, challenged us—and at every step made us better.

  We were recently notified that we would not be funded for a proposal that we had before the Foundation.  Humbly, we feel that it was a strong proposal, but as an organization, how can we not trust the intuitions of a foundation that has been so good to us, and has at every step helped us to improve?  On the contrary, even the difficult “no” we accept with a sense of respect and trust, believing that it is in our best interest and in the best interest of our work.

  Good funders are like good parents, I think: they don’t ever give or do for you, what you can do for yourself. They provide essential guidance and support at critical phases so that you can learn, and grow—and ultimately become strong and independent. But they don’t prepare a legacy of dependents; they don’t pamper, coddle, or prop up.  They should teach you to stand on your own. They should prepare a legacy of strong, self-sustaining, independent, values-driven organizations.  I don’t believe in spoiling nonprofits any more than I believe in spoiling children. I believe in tough love that instills deeply the values of the funder, manifested through the unique vision and talents of the particular organization. The Templeton Foundation and our other funders have parented us well, I believe.

  Along with the Templeton Foundation, no one has been a more loyal contributor to the growth of our work than Sandy McDonnell, and the McDonnell Foundation. Sandy is a passionate advocate, a dedicated learner, a true American Statesman. Aristotle once said, “What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions.” That, I believe, is Sandy personified—a statesman.

  We recently learned that Sandy is very sick, suffering with stage four pancreatic cancer—but doing so with grace and courage.  Like the Templeton Foundation, I want to genuinely thank Sandy for all of his support, and to pledge our ongoing commitment to developing the culture of excellence and ethics in St. Louis and across the country.  We are in continuing conversation with two underserved schools in St. Louis and it looks promising that they will be using our materials next year—not because Sandy will fund it (his contribution to our work is also complete), but because he helped fund our past R&D that makes it possible for us to help these schools. We pursued these schools because we want to SHOW, not just tell Sandy how grateful we are.  We want Sandy to know, in the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero, that he is a “prophet of a future not his own.”  The seeds Sandy planted at IEE will continue to grow—and God-willing, multiply.   

  IEE is a young and vulnerable nonprofit making its way in a tough economic and education climate.  We are, frankly, still poor in monetary assets. But we profoundly rich in the assets that matter most—vision, values, passion, and people. We have been shaped by a group of extraordinary individuals and organizations who have blessed us with their unique assets.  We are, always have been, and always will be rich in sweat equity.  (This, honestly, is a pretty good description of my own assets (I grew up the fourth of nine children; we were poor economically and I was “poor” in talent, but my parents grounded us in faith, family, and an unwavering belief in the value of hard work and pursuit of passion; I have been exceeding rich in social capital, making up in abundance what I lacked in economic capital).

  At IEE we will work hard to do good well and we will not rest no matter the past accomplishments or future challenges. Tom Lickona and the Center for the 4^th and 5^th Rs, The Templeton Foundation, The Sanford McDonnell Foundation—and so many other individuals and organizations have shared wisdom and insight, support and challenge.

  The staff and Board at IEE are extraordinary. Each member of the IEE team has a story of how they came to us; each story speaks of patience, commitment, and extraordinary faith in the mission. On behalf of our entire IEE team, I say thank you to the tremendous friends and benefactors who have supported us thus far.  I truly believe IEE is poised to make a significant and lasting difference by providing high quality, accessible tools, services, and support for building the culture of excellence and ethics needed for success in school, work, and beyond. 

  In this season of faith and hope, I am struck by the famous quote from the movie, Miracle on 34^th Street:  “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” We have faith in the power of character and culture; it is the foundational catalyst needed in our schools, homes, teams, organizations—and in our world.  In a fast-moving, fast-changing, technological world, common sense might say look to elsewhere for solutions to today’s challenges. We embrace new knowledge, technology, and innovation; but our faith rests in people and organizations of moral and performance character. Peace, joy and purpose to all in 2011.