Target Audience - This course has been designed for Heads of Department that coordinate the work of many teachers (6-16 teachers), and desire to foster a more collaborative department culture, such as: Vice-Principals, Heads of Department, Grade Level Leaders and Coordinators. 

Essential Question – What do I need to know and be able to do to lead a department to work interdependently to achieve a shared purpose?

Over-Arching Goal – By the end of the workshop, participants will understand and have confidence to facilitate department meetings, establish a shared purposed for the team that aligns with the schools guiding statements, as well as to develop and foster strong relationships with and amongst department members..

Workshop Outcomes:

 During this learning experience you will learn and practice how to excel in the following aspects:

• Understand and appreciate different leadership expectations.
• Practice effective communication skills.
• Gain awareness of self and others and how to manage the disparity.
• Learn how to facilitate effective meetings, ensure equity and foster interdependence.
• Understand your role during different stages of team development.
• Learn strategies to ensure your team works interdependently to achieve its goal.
• Learn to give feedback relative to the team goal.

The speaker will facilitate the workshop, meaning learning will be activated and reinforced through discussion and team planning, so participants must come prepared to talk about their teams and experience.

The facilitator will survey each participant to understand their expectations, assess their familiarity with the proposed content and identify case material for activities.

Every participant will be given Michael Iannini’s online self-guided book study: Hidden in Plain Sight: Realizing the Full Potential of Middle Leaders, from which they will be assigned at least 2 chapters of reading assignments for each module.

DiSC Workplace Behavioral Survey – Participants will complete the DiSC Behavior Survey prior to the workshop. Participants’ customized Behavioral Profile reports will be reviewed in the workshop and used throughout the workshop as a tool for developing greater awareness about self and other.

The DISC model groups four common behavioural patterns found universally in all people on earth. This simple four quadrant model is used to articulate the common ways that all human beings tend to act and communicate.

DiSC Outcomes:

• DiSC provides a common language to help teams understand one another and work better together
• Develop awareness of self and other to improve communication
• Identify and hone key facilitation skills
• Improve confidence and influencing skills
• Reduce conflict and avoid misunderstandings
• Demonstrate capacity to devise and deliver a compelling value proposition

For the purpose of this course, the term ‘team' refers to departments or any group of teachers that you have a responsibility for coordinating the activities of and desire to foster greater interdependence between those teachers. This program is divided into four (4) modules, 2 modules will be covered on each day:

Module 1 - Team Formation
Group norms are formed in the first meeting, whether you intend them to be or not, and once formed can be incredibly difficult to address in later stages of team development. This module will help you define your role as a leader, establish processes to facilitate effective team meetings and provide you the tools necessary to ensure your team is clear about its purpose and buys into the processes that will govern the team.

Essential Question: What do I need to know and be able to do to lead a collaborative team?

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore the why, what, and how of collaboration
• Participants will learn how teams develop in stages and activities appropriate for each stage
• Participants will learn how to manage effective meetings, ensure equity and foster interdependence.
• Participants will use tools and strategies to establish group norms.

Module 2 - Collaborative Communication (DiSC) and Meeting Management 
To be influential and capable of motivating disparate team members, team leaders must understand how to adapt their leadership style to accommodate the beliefs and behavioral patterns of team members. Participants will use their DiSC results to learn to adapt communication for different team members and use communication strategies to mitigate barriers to communication.

2-3 months into the school year group norms begin to get tested and members will begin to question their role on the team. The team leaders role at this stage should be more focused on reinforcing the purpose of the team, the role that each member plays and how to foster greater interdependency between each team member. Effective meeting management at this stage of the team’s development is crucial.

Essential Questions: How can I adapt my communication and leadership style to improve my influence and effectiveness as a meeting facilitator?

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore and understand how to accommodate different beliefs about leadership.
• Participants will gain an understanding and appreciation of different work styles.
• Participants will learn how to manage 5 difficult team member behaviors.
• Participants will demonstrate assertive communication skills.
• Participants will assess meeting management practices and identify strategies to improve them.

Module 3 - Delegation
Delegating is one of the most important management skills you can develop, but most middle leaders don’t delegate well, if at all. Learning to delegate effectively saves time, develops the team, motivates the team and keeps the team focused on its primary objectives. Without appropriate delegation, a team will become inefficient and demoralized. 

In this module participants will learn when it is appropriate to delegate, what to delegate, to whom to delegate, and how to delegate. This training will cover the steps to proper delegation and discuss some of the problems that result in not delegating correctly.

Essential Question: How do I identify and delegate tasks effectively to peers?

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will identify barriers for delegating effectively and how to overcome them.
• Participants will complete a delegation inventory.
• Participants will learn a 5-step delegation process.
• Participants will role play delegation conversations.

Module 4 - Navigating Difficult Conversations 
As a Head of Department or colleague, you will come up against situations where difficult topics must be addressed.  What do you know about the best strategies for those moments?  What questions should you be asking yourself before you address the matter?  How do you challenge assumptions respectfully to ensure both parties are focused on realizing the same outcome?

This module draws upon research from several communication experts to help participants understand why some topics have become ‘difficult’ and open their awareness to how untested assumptions can undermine collaborative communication. Participants will be introduced to strategies to surface and challenge their own assumptions, as well as given communication prompts to help them facilitate difficult conversations.

Essential Question:  How can I challenge assumptions in such a way that I can preserve our relationship and broaden professional dialog?

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will develop consultative communication skills;
• Participants will understand how assumptions develop and when gone untested undermine collaboration; and
• Participants will demonstrate the ability to test assumptions and facilitate professional dialog that broadens perspective.

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