What is your driving passion?

There is only one true method of being able to stay in love with your work.  That is you must have a passion for what you do and the reasons why you do it.

How is it that people who work for NGO's and not for profits are able to continue with their work in spite of all the criticism, disasters and problems?  They have a passion for what they're doing.

Over the course of this last week I have been listening to a number of podcasts and other media that have all had a similar theme running through them.

Firstly I listened to a message delivered at the Teach for America conference.  The speaker was Jeremy Beard - and he was ALL GOOD!  You can view the video below.  His main theme is about making change in others lives.  using your skills and tools to be the difference.

Then I listened to a presentation by Colin Powell.  He was asked a question by a student at NYU about how we go about changing the world.  His answer was simple - one person at a time.  Yes  that is the best strategy.  It is also the only strategy with a 100% success rate.

Following on from these two listening events I had the opportunity to visit 20 young people who are currently in residence in the local Youth Justice Facility.  These kids have committed some of the worst crimes possible.  Of that there is no doubt.  The 'kids' are aged between 14 and 17 and are incarcerated for various lengths of time.

Why was I there?  I was one of a group who were tasked with letting these kids know what work and career options there are for them in the world.  These kids despite what they may have done are still human.  They have real feelings, real emotional need and real hopes and dreams.

My sincere hope is that through the 2 hours I was able to spend with them that maybe, just maybe, I have planted new seeds of hope while watering seeds already planted.  And that some of those kids get a vision for a life that is bigger than them.  Bigger than the wire fences that they live behind.  And bigger than the pasts they have to live with.

So what is my passion?  What is it that keeps me moving forward and my heart ticking?  People.

He aha te mea nui? He tangata. He tangata. He tangata. What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people.

I would happily do any job in the world provided I knew that I was making a direct difference in someone else's life.  End of story.

I have watched these next two videos and exhort you to do the same.  That way you to may just remember your passion and what it is that drives you.

 

 

The language and vocabulary of effective evaluation

The key to a successful evaluation depends upon the language that you invoke, and in turn the emotions that those words generate.  One does not have to be a literary giant or an English professor to have the right words.  Rather it is the way the words are strung together and the process used to ensure there are sharp outcomes.

So the words are not providing an answer but rather provide prompts and pricks that stimulate the mind to more deeply consider and reflect upon the matter or subject at hand.

Words that are used include - robust, well defined, appropriate, genuine,implement, critical, credible, accurate, valid, evidence, outcomes, analysis, authentic, confidence, thinking, reflection, relevant, practical, foundations.

"The self assessment is not an exercise in good writing. Rather, it is an opportunity for an employee to describe major contributions and how the work meets or exceeds the supervisor’s performance expectations." (Source: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/docs/selfassessmentfactsheet.pdf)

As far as we in education go the language focuses on the outcomes and successes of the learners.  The great thing about evaluation in education is that it allows educators to be assessed against hard data but also against the intangible outcomes and rewards that learners gain,

I certainly do not profess to be any sort of expert in this field of thinking as I have only just discovered the beauty of it.  I do however want to share my reflections on what I have learnt so far and so share my musings with you here.

For more information about evaluations I recommend you check out Jara Dean Coffey's website and blog.

Quote of the Week - Teams

“When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.”

Joe Paterno.

Excellence and Peak Performance

It was while reading the book "The Sport Psych Handbook" that I discovered this great list of attributes for people that are determiners of their success. 

Charles Garfield compiled this list of peak performer traits -

1. A sense of mission.
2. A tremendous work ethic.
3. Use of resources.
4. A strong "preparation ethic".
5. A love of challenge and change.
6. Great "team people".

My question is how often do we seek these traits in others and how often do we exhibit them personally?  If sports people need these traits to be the best how much more should we as managers be exhibiting these skills and traits as well?

There a quite a few lessons we can draw from each of these points both corporately and personally.

Here is my basic summation for reaching your own peak performance level - do something you love, have lofty but attainable goals and prepare yourself to acheive task, ask and allow people around you to assist and enable you and thank them for all their help when you are done.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travisty/4808046172/)

Quote of the Week

 

"You can only elevate individual performance by elevating that of the entire system."

W. Edwards Deming

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/1817034358/sizes/o/)

CEO Interview - Alison Andrew

Alison Andrew is a lady who knows her stuff.  She is a high flyer in the corporate world, is on a ton of different boards and still has her feet on the ground.

Before this afternoon I had never even heard of Alison Andrew before.  Now I know more about her - she has my total respect.  It was while I was checking out the new appointments to the board for Scion Research that I saw her name and did a google search.

The first result was her Linked In profile.  What struck me was the mixture of confidence and self knowledge without the arrogance or pride that often times comes across in others profiles.

Here's what it says - "Proven leader with multi-industry experience. Executive who can span all functions from technical to commercial. Deep experience in operating businesses, growing businesses and turning businesses around. Successful track record in large corporate (Fletcher Challenge and Fonterra Co-Operative), and medium private business. Engineering and business qualifications."

So what works?  The words - proven, leader, multi industry experience, deep experience, growing, turning businesses around, qualifications.

I am impressed.  Whether or not Alison herself actually wrote the specific words is neither here nor there.  The words speak for themselves as does Alison's experience and true qualities.

For an actual interview with Alison you can click here - http://www.herbusinessmagazine.com/Articles/July+2010/Alison+Andrew.html

There are some really insightful thoughts and hints in this article.  It comes highly recommended.

(Image: http://www.herbusinessmagazine.com/Articles/July+2010/Alison+Andrew.html)