Seek Permission to ride the RAFT
This has been such an extraordinary 10-months in terms of professional and personal growth. I am utterly amazed at what has been accomplished during a 10-month period that saw continued restrictions in travel, lock-downs and geo-political upheaval. During this period, I took significant risks premised on the belief that doing nothing would only make living in a post-pandemic world much more difficult.
The last 4-months, though, have also been the toughest of my life. Like so many who read my monthly posts, my family has had to contend with isolation related to COVID Zero policies. We have missed important celebrations and not been able to console grieving loved ones. We have lived in fear about our kids being separated from us, but also balancing the same fear that if we fled we wouldn’t be able to financially support our family.
I write this post to you from Southern California. My wife and I sought permission from each other, and from those to whom we are contractually obligated, to put ourselves first. We sought permission from colleagues and friends, in hopes that when we return, we would be able to continue learning and growing with them. We also wanted to ensure that when we returned, the scars of the past school year wouldn’t prevent us from forming new attachments and taking new risks.
So, my wish for you, is to seek permission from your colleagues and loved ones to ride the RAFT. Yes, this is an acronym, one that a good friend and colleague, Jane Barron, introduced to me. If you are ending this school year feeling incredibly weighed down, and feel that you and your colleagues, or loved ones, would benefit from being seen and heard regarding your experience this year, then consider this for scaffolding the conversation:
R – Reconciliation: Seek and give forgiveness. Reconciliation requires coming together and demonstrating respect for one another and strengthening relationships. Just because the school year ends, or you move schools’, doesn’t mean the problem goes away.
A – Affirmation: Show appreciation for how those from whom you seek permission have positively influenced your life. This isn’t just about seeking permission to move on from those that we are leaving, but also those we may continue working with in the future.
F – Farewells: “You have to say a clear goodbye before you can say a clear hello.” This is SPAN’s first law of transition. Find an appropriate way to bring closure to this school year. Even if your year has already ended, consider writing a letter to them.
T – Thinking Ahead: What have you learned this year that will help you more positively influence your relationships next year? How do you want to grow from the challenges you faced?
Setting sail on the RAFT should help you to think more clearly about where you want to go and what you will do when you get there. When you arrive at that destination you should be bouyed to reaffirm relationships, and seek out new attachments. This renewed energy is the glue that will make transformative collaboration more likely in the new school year.
If collaborating transformatively with your colleagues is a destination that you would like to arrive at in the Fall, then I have 2 resources for you to take on your journey, and one that awaits you when you arrive.
Firstly, I just finished upgrading my book on how to effectively lead teams by narrating every chapter into a series of videos with captions and graphics; it’s a V-Book. The updated content of the original book is also paired with each video. Feel free to watch, listen or read how you can lead transformative collaboration in the Fall. The V-Book also includes interviews with thought leaders and activities to engage in with peers and will be released June 20. Anyone that uses this link to register for the V-Book will get a special promotion code to purchase it for USD 5.00. Please know, that a great amount has been invested in developing this V-Book, as I want to make the learning more impactful.
Secondly, as always, there are a series of articles at the bottom of this post that are intended to provoke thought about what possibilities lie ahead. You can also learn more about the RAFT model, which was originally introduced in Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, by David C. Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken, and Michael V. Pollock (3rd ed), Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2017.
And lastly, for those that are in very specialized roles that often find it difficult to transformatively collaborate with colleagues at their school, I am launching Peer-Learning Networks (PLNs) for ACAMIS to support the professional learning of educators and administrators that are underserved by traditional PD offerings. There is a lot of untapped potential and expertise in all schools. PLNs are an opportunity to promote collaboration among education professionals with similar job responsibilities in a similar regional context.
