NE-II-108 Eagle Patrol Before we get going let me explain my totem. Course Overview

Self Assessment Values, Mission, and Vision

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this presentation you will: Understand the importance of self-assessment in maximizing your leadership potential View self-assessment as a valuable avenue for receiving feedback Understand how to build your own tools for the self-assessment of your roles in Scouting and in other leadership situations Have participants read these. Course Overview

Assessment is part of Wood Badge Help choose leadership styles. Informal assessment during PLC’s How are we doing?” “How are you feeling?” Patrol Project Assessments You will be given the opportunity to assess this Wood Badge course We’ve talked a lot this week about assessing team performance. ■ We learned that assessing the enthusiasm and skill level of a team can help us understand its stages of development—Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing—and then apply the appropriate leadership styles. ■ We assessed each troop meeting during that day’s patrol leaders’ council meeting. And how does the senior patrol leader conclude those patrol leaders’ council meetings? By asking “How are you feeling? How are we doing?” It is an informal assessment, but one that may reveal important information. ■ After the presentation of patrol projects, you will have the opportunity to assess your project and presentation. ■ Near the end of Day Six, you’ll also be asked to assess this Wood Badge course. Does it seem as though there is a great deal of assessment going on? Well, there is, and for good reason. If we know where we are, we can be much more effective in charting a course to get us to where we want to go Course Overview

Good Self-Assessment Comes from Others We assess ourselves all the time We measure against others Measure against standards BUT, we are limited by our own perspective, history and background We tend to see things the way we want to see them, instead of how the way things actually are. We need feedback from others Ask, “We assess ourselves all the time – is this true?” Ask, “How do we measure ourselves against others?” Ask, “What are some standards we use assess ourselves?” For example, Wood Badge patrols are limited in how they can assess themselves, because they are new to WB. From the patrols point of view, they are always “high performers”. Moral is always a “5” The staff has a much better perspective. This is why we need feedback from others. Some may be going through what we have been through. Course Overview

Tips for Receiving Feedback Seek out feedback. It will nearly always provide you with information that will in some way help you improve your performance. Listen carefully. Receiving feedback requires a heightened awareness of yourself and of the person offering the feedback. Listen actively. Restate the feedback in your own words so that the speaker knows that the message you are receiving is the same as the one the speaker intended to send. Listen emphatically. Put feedback in its proper context by observing the speaker’s body language, tone of voice, and emotions. Consider the speaker’s reasons for offering feedback. Asking for feedback is not easy. Why? What you have learned in the course will help you receive feedback more effectively. Course Overview

Tips (continued) Notice how you feel when someone offers you feedback. Becoming angry or defensive can cloud your ability to listen effectively. Consider feedback to be a gift. It truly is. How do we feel when others give us feedback? Why is feedback a gift? We talked about the Gift of Feedback in the Listening to Learn presentation last month. In it, there were number of tips for both giving and receiving feedback. In case you have forgotten, here they are … Course Overview

Giving Feedback Tips Consider your motives. Feedback should always be helpful. Otherwise, there is no reason to offer it. Find out if the other people involved are open to receiving feedback. Listen carefully, then rephrase what they are saying to be sure you Understand them. Deal only with behavior that can be changed. Deal with specifics, not generalities. Describe the behavior; do not evaluate it. Go over these briefly. Course Overview

Giving Feedback (cont) Let the other person know the impact the behavior has on you. Use an “I” statement to accept responsibility for your own perceptions and emotions. To make sure the recipients of feedback have understood your message in the way you intended it, ask them to rephrase what they heard you say. You can give caring feedback without a good technique, but the slickest technique in the world will not hide a lack of caring. Go over these briefly. Course Overview

Feedback and Leadership Good leaders constantly seek feedback. They always want to learn more about where they are and how they can more effectively move forward. One of the best ways for us as leaders to encourage effective feedback is by developing and using a 360-degree assessment. How does seeking feedback make you a better leader? Course Overview

360° Assessment From the people you report to, or are accountable to “Boss” or “customers” From the people that you work with Peers and coworkers From the people who report to you Workers, “underlings” All these people are “stakeholders” Stakeholders: -- all the people that have a “stake” or “interest” in the what you do Let’s look at the first Patrol Leaders Council meeting we held. The observers were also stakeholders as they had an interest in the outcome. They each had their own perspective. You will have a lot of stakeholders in completing your Wood Badge ticket – and in anything you do Who are some of these stakeholders? Scouts, Parents, co-leaders, Ticket counselor, district committee, spouse, … Why seek feedback from all these people? Course Overview

360° Assessment Steps Determine goals to be assessed Find a facilitator Develop an assessment survey Identify representative stakeholders Facilitator compiles and shares results Make assessments ongoing A 360 degree assessment works best if done formally, using a third party “facilitator” – why is this? 1. Determine the goals for which you wish to be assessed. The goals you are writing for your Wood Badge ticket are a good example. Ideally, the goals need to be SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. 2. Join with a facilitator to help with the assessment process. This person should understand how a 360-degree assessment works. If your assessment is to be of your Wood Badge ticket goals, an appropriate facilitator may be your Wood Badge ticket counselor (often, this is your troop guide). 3. Develop an assessment survey that will provide the kind of feedback that will help you more effectively move toward your goals. 4. Identify five to 10 of your stakeholders who can offer a wide range of perceptions about your progress. Provide each with a copy of the survey and a stamped envelope addressed to your facilitator. Assure each stakeholder that only the facilitator will see the surveys. 5. Upon receiving the completed surveys, your facilitator will compile the results, then meet with you to discuss the assessment and to talk about ways that you can use the results to more effectively progress toward your goals. 6. Finally, make assessment an ongoing part of your Scouting responsibilities and, where appropriate, in other areas of your life. Self-assessment should not be a one-time event, but rather a constant tool for gaining a clearer perception of your strengths and the areas where you can improve. Course Overview

Developing Assessment Survey Clear instructions to stakeholders Questions based on your goals Feedback from what observed and can be measured Simple answers “Way to Go”, “Way to Grow” Start, Stop, Continue Green, Red, Yellow Comments and suggestions encouraged Are there standard forms that can be used and Web sites. Google 360 degree assessment and you will find them – some are free others are for a fee. Pointers on Developing a 360-Degree Assessment Survey 1. Instructions to the stakeholders should be clear and unambiguous. Stakeholders should understand why they are taking part in the assessment, how it will be used, and that only the facilitator will see their answers. 2. Questions must be developed based on the goals you are striving to reach. The feedback the questions generate should lead to real changes that will bring you closer to your goals. 3. Feedback comes from what those completing the form have actually observed and can measure. There is nothing to be gained in asking them to assess what they have not seen or cannot in some way quantify. 4. Answers to the questions can be simple and straightforward. Offer stakeholders two or three options such as the following. ■ Green Light (This is good. Keep going.) ■ Yellow Light (This could be better.) ■ Red Light (Some serious concerns here.) or ■ Way to Go ■ Ways to Grow ■ Start ■ Stop ■ Continue The survey should also encourage stakeholders to add any comments and suggestions they feel would be helpful. This kind of feedback can be extremely helpful. Course Overview

Self Assessment is a Tool for Change Leads to positive change Helps others see importance of assessment Helps you value giving & getting feedback Good 360° assessments help people discover differences between how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them. Self-assessment often leads to positive change. Change is scary – as you have been told. We resist change for all sorts of reasons. But we must want to change for the good and we must seek out the opinion of others in order to do this. For this reason, we value feedback – both giving it properly and politely – and receiving it openly and gratefully. Take the good with the bad. Try not to take it personally. Close the gap between your own perspective and that of your stakeholders. A good way to do this is shared leadership. Constant informal communication about the issues with everyone involved. Course Overview

Learning Objectives Review So, do you now: Understand the importance of self-assessment in maximizing your leadership potential View self-assessment as a valuable avenue for receiving feedback Understand how to build your own tools for the self-assessment of your roles in Scouting and in other leadership situations Now let’s get some FEEDBACK to ASSESS how well I PERFORMED against our Objectives Course Overview

Thank You! Thank you for your attention. I’ll now open up the floor for any questions that you might have. Course Overview