I've been chided for sharing with too many, yet when people share with only a few, often share becomes similar to a game of "telephone" with information morphing and changing all along the way.
Yet who wants their email boxes filled with detailed writing about big issues?
What makes up good share protocols and venues? Why does this matter?
In old time factory model organizations, this was not a big problem. The leaders made all the decisions and workers followed them, but today many organizations follow new research about organization vitality and strength, and use distributive models of leadership. Similar to our democracy, distributive models of leadership broaden voice and choice to all stakeholders. This has potential to complicate matters first, but in the end result in better effort and result.
Yet how do you orchestrate a conversation with many?
What does that conversation look like?
I think conversations like these profit from regular, transparent share.
For example an administrator in my school system sends out a collaborative newsletter every Friday. He states the news and invites others to add relevant news as well. This shared newsletter is a powerful model for share since it invites voice and occurs at timely intervals for information exchange.
As I think about recent math debates that have occurred via documents and emails, I'm wondering if a weekly math letter shared by all stakeholders would be helpful. At first, I imagine the letter would be thick, but in time I believe it would gain a good regularity.
The letter could include the following items:
- Updates from administrators/coaches
- Dates and learning opportunities
- "Lighthouse" and "Lightbulb" share--share of noteworthy events, practice, tools, and programs - this could be a collaborative piece.
- Questions on the table - this could be a section to enlist thoughts, ideas, and input related to current questioning.
Regular share like this has the potential to elevate a teaching/learning team with timely, targeted share and response. Perhaps this would take the place of irregular and cumbersome email "share all." Just thinking. Let me know if you have thoughts, examples, or ideas related to this.
