Captain's Blog

Well, I did have a Captain and Coke on Saturday for a star date! Ok, ....let's get this blogging started. It's been a little strange not to have Mondays class for 2 weeks in a row, however I am very thankful for the time off to catch up on simple domestic things. Laundry and groceries had fallen by the wayside. Interventions- conflict management: I'm sure the counselors in the cohort are very familiar with conflict management or resolution. The important thing to remember about managing conflict is the types of messages we send- verbally and physically. These messages are HUGE in effective communication. We are reading all about effective communication in the Petersen, Kowlaski, and Fusarelli text. Communication as a key is so simple, yet often overlooked or not given enough attention. We are constantly communicating and some of us are better than others, not just in sending messages, but also in receiving them. The critical aspects of transformational leadership in Leithwood, et.al. include communication. Communication of and by a leader sets the tone, sets the culture, models behavior and positive communication. This is very important in assessing for organizational learning. Is the org. learning? What is it learning? Is the learning valuable and intended? Or is the communication causing unintended or even negative learning? Management of messages in an organization are vital. I agree with the apsects of a transformational leader. This is key to org. culture- a learning org. needs a culture that fosters good communication- a civil culture. Ah, civility!