When"manage the message" is the mainstay of organizational communication, planning, and share, what happens is that you generally hear about information that impacts your work via hallway conversations and indirect communication. That leaves one with partial information and the feeling that you really aren't a respected or valued member of the team, but instead a do-it--someone charged with carrying out the big think and collaboration from others without your voice, choice, experience, or leadership. "Manage the message" generally uses a very static hierarchical process that lasts a long time, and the problem with that is that in today's world learning and teaching is changing at a tremendous pace hence when decision making depends on yearly patterns or long-term strategic process, by the time you finally make a decision is is outdated. Instead, what's preferable in today's world, is a more organic, living system process that embraces ongoing communication, share, and change. This better meets today's world and potential, and generally saves time and money too.
So how does an educator deal with the feeling of being left out, not consulted, and managed rather than embraced, included, and valued? That's a tricky question to answer since every situation will be different, but as I think about this quandary this morning, I have a few ideas.
- Ask questions
- Suggest and use new processes of inclusive, transparent, evolving share/decision making
- Work with colleagues to promote more modern processes of communication, share, and decision making
- Reach out to work with others who value and utilize modern processes, and learn with and from them.
It will take time from "manage the message" systems and processes to change to more inclusive, evolving, and organic systems of growth and change, but it will happen as that's the way the world is moving and to keep up with and respond well to the world we live in, it will be important to make this change.
