Reflective Entry 8 - Evaluating the outcomes of a digital and collaborative innovation in my practice

My Digital and Collaborative Innovation (abstract from Reflection 4):

My digital and collaborative innovation began with the original question:

• If we use Kanban boards to streamline strategic decision making how will it affect the communication, cohesion and collaboration in a Team? (particularly, in this case, a Senior Leadership Team).

This question has evolved as I have been on this reflective journey. What started as a critique focused on the existence of siloed teams within a school and how they came to be, narrowed to focus on the Senior Leadership Team. I see the actions of a team as a direct reflection of leadership - siloed teams could mean siloed leadership.

The focus was narrowed even further to use the Kanban Board Innovation with Team Leaders (4) and one Associate Principal. The Kanban Board was then narrowed to streamlining communication connected to school-wide events / surveys / decision-making.

KEY ASPECTS from RESEARCH:

At the beginning of the innovation a survey was sent out to 12 leaders within the school:

• 3 Senior Leaders
• 4 Team Leaders
• 5 Middle Leaders (MU Holders for initiative projects within the school).

The survey found that most stakeholders felt communication was clear, concise and cohesive across the school with only two disagreeing with the statement. However, when critically unpacking the survey analysis with the four team leaders they identified that communication was NOT clear, concise or cohesive. This was the group that was most prepared to make change - the Senior Leaders did not want to try the innovation or see the need for it.

The Kanban Innovation was introduced and was narrowed down to a Communication focus on upcoming ‘events’ (see image below):

Communication Kanban Board

The Kanban Board was used for 5 weeks with 4 Team Leaders and 1 Senior Leader. These are the stakeholders for this innovation.

KEY FINDINGS:

A Feedback capture grid was used after 5 weeks of the innovation being in practice (see image below).

Feedback Capture Grid

COLLABORATION:

A key focus for the Kanban Innovation was on collaboration. The research into my practice found that having a shared online space to collaborate, streamlined communication more effectively.

1. Collaboration was able to occur without having to all be online at the same time.
2. They found the tool truly collaborative in that everybody could contribute to each task and with their own strengths.
3. Everybody had a voice in the decision making / activity.
4. Collaboration led to more timely and effective communication

Collaboration is essential amongst leaders and the Kanban tool allowed for this seamlessly. DeWitt's Collaborative Leadership Framework identifies Collaborators as the most desired form of leadership. Collaborators work with others to co-construct goals. They are driven by open communication and transparency. The Kanban Board innovation achieves this.

https://www.slideshare.net/itslearningusa/february-2017-webinar-collaborative-leadership

COMMUNICATION:

The second  key focus for the Kanban Innovation was on cohesive communication. The research into my practice found that the Kanban Board created clear, concise and coherent communication because:

1. every stakeholder received the same message / content at the same time
2. streamlined communication - one message, in one place for all stakeholders
3. communication occurred even if stakeholders couldn't meet face to face.

The Kanban Board innovation did appear, on the surface to improve communication. Sheninger (2014) identifies 7 Pillars of digital leadership - Communication tops the list of these. Using a digital Kanban Board to improve communication is a useful digital leadership tool.

LIMITATIONS:

Although there were many positive outcomes from the Kanban Innovation there were some limitations.

1. Its success relied on the digital capability of the user (stakeholder). If a user finds it too difficult to navigate collaboration and communication will not be cohesive.
2. If the Kanban Board is not the only space to collaborate and communicate around decision making it becomes another layer to add to an already overloaded teacher - this needs to be considered when introducing the tool.
3. If alerts weren't set accurately messages / discussions could be missed

A Kanban Board can be used to create cohesive and collaborative communication if the right conditions are set.

POTENTIAL for FURTHER RESEARCH:

A Kanban Board can bring coherence to communication and collaboration within a small leadership group. What potential might it have for schoolwide communication with different stakeholders? And furthermore, what impact can this have on aligning teaching and learning practice throughout a school?

REFERENCES:

DeWitt, P. (2016). Collaborative Leadership: Six Influences That Matter Most. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Communication_Kanban Boards_Survey_Melinda Bell