CEDO 565 - Leadership - Week 4

So this week we started "The Game".  It is an engaging leadership exercise in which you emulate the process of getting things accomplished in a school district structure.  I will admit that at first I was thoroughly confused by all of the charts, history of the players involved, and how the game was to be played.  My group quickly adapted, however, and we learned as we went along.  After a short time it became clear that this game was extremely deep and had many complex layers that made up the dynamics of how it was played.  Some things we learned after this initial "year":

• Include the Superintendent (Al) in everything - things will not advance unless he is on board
• Talk to the constituents and stakeholders a few times and gather information before forming any plans
• When performing events that ask for a group of people, try to include a diverse population of individuals making sure to cover the various categories (Admin, teachers, parents, students)
• Be aware of influential people, who they may influence, and what type of influence they provide
• You can't please everybody and sometimes it is best to just move ahead with plans once acquiring a majority of approval

We are looking forward to continuing the game next class with our newly found knowledge.