More specific feedback . . .

If you follow my blog you know that I shared parts of our journey on two occasions this summer, last week at the ESD system conference and earlier this summer at Camp Snowball.  As always I get the usual feedback; great message, impressive what you have accomplished and are doing, and . . .  I usually just say thanks and don't pay much attention to it. 

Something changed, however, with these last two presentations.  An ESD staff person shadowing our system coach stopped me Friday morning and asked when I was going to write our book.  I thought she was asking a question about one of the books I mentioned in the presentation.  No, she was so impressed with our work and the quality of the conversations she was hearing she said we should be documenting it.  She searched for words to describe it and came up with genuine, real, and caring.  The funny part of this is that Connie is always saying we should be writing our book and often I feel the same thing when reading about the journey of other systems or in conferences.

I received similar feedback following the Camp Snowball presentation and from others that were in our core module.  I now believe that we are different than most systems when the focus is on collaboration and conversation.  Though we sometimes think we aren't very effective, we don't talk over each other and we do understand and value the need for inquiry.  Though some in our staff may take exception and could respond to this post with examples of when this does not take place, today I am feeling very good about who we are, what we have accomplished, and where we are going. 

Thank you for making this a productive and energizing journey.