1. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability

2. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Learning Objectives Participants will be able to: Identify the importance of creating a work environment that supports critical thinking; Identify the four quadrants of psychological safety and accountability; List the key elements necessary for the creation of a learning environment; Assess their work environment related to psychological safety and critical thinking; Identify strategies to create and support a learning environment within their agency; and Develop a communication plan to transfer information from this session to staff at their agency. 2

3. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Agenda Welcome and Introductions The Connection Between Work Environment and Critical Thinking The Desired Future State Assessing the Work Environment Next Steps Wrap-Up and Evaluations 3

4. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program What is “Learning by Doing” and how does it relate to critical thinking? 4

5. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program What is a Leaders Role in Developing a Learning Environment? Make it safe for employees to ask questions. Only then… 5

6. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program What is a Leaders Role in Developing a Learning Environment? (continued) Provide process guidelines, using the best available knowledge; Encourage collaborative decision making; Collect process data describing how work unfolds; and Use the data to identify process-improvement opportunities. Used with permission from “The Competitive Imperative of Learning" by Amy C. Edmondson. Harvard Business Review, July 2008. 6

7. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Learning Environments Companies that support a learning environment have a dual focus: –Carrying out key processes more efficiently than rivals; and –Learning faster than rivals. –Used with permission from “The Competitive Imperative of Learning" by Amy C. Edmondson. Harvard Business Review, July 2008. 7

8. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Efficiency-Focused Environment Leaders provide answers; Employees follow directions; Optimal work processes are designed and set up in advance; Learning Environment Leaders set direction and articulate the mission; Employees (usually in teams) discover answers; Tentative work processes are set up as a starting point; 8

9. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Efficiency-Focused Environment New work process are developed infrequently, implementing change is a huge undertaking; Feedback is typically one- way (from boss to employee) and corrective (“You’re not doing it right”) Learning Environment Work processes keep developing; small changes- experiments and improvements- are a way of life.; Feedback is always two-way: The boss gives feedback such coaching and advice; team members give feedback about what they are learning from doing the ever-changing) work. 9

10. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Efficiency-Focused Environment Problem solving is rarely required; judgment is not expected; staff ask managers when they are unsure; Learning Environment Problem solving is constantly needed, so valuable information is provided to guide staff’s judgment; 10

11. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Efficiency-Focused Environment Fear (of boss or of consequences) is part of the work environment and generally does not appreciably harm the quality of execution; It may even motivate effort and attentiveness in those facing an otherwise dull task. Learning Environment Fear cripple the learning process; It inhibits experimentation, lowers awareness of options, and discourages people from sharing and analyzing insights, questions, and problems. Adapted from Amy C. Edmondson. Used with permission of the Harvard Business Review. 11

12. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program 12

13. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Ben and Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzvVx6PbYpI http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/04/ben-and- jerrys-flavor-graveyard-vermont-factory-tour- slideshow.html#show-84139 http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/04/ben-and- jerrys-flavor-graveyard-vermont-factory-tour- slideshow.html#show-84139 http://www.benjerry.com/fun/halloween/?fg=1 13

14. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Small Group Discussion If an agency was operating under each zone quadrant, –what would you see? –what would you hear? –what would external stakeholders see and hear? –what three suggestions can you make to move this agency toward the learning zone? 14

15. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Possible Approaches to Assess for a Learning Environment Readiness Model Quick Tool; Knowledge Management Assessment Conducted Using Knowledge Management Principles; and Organizational Readiness for Change (TCU ORC). What might be some of the merits and pitfalls to such an assessment of a learning environment? 15

16. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Assessing for a Learning Environment Safety 1510 Accountability 1510 16

17. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Communication Planning Develop a communication plan to transfer information from this session to staff at your agency. 17

18. 700: Agency Culture: Promoting and Supporting Critical Thinking Through Psychological Safety and Accountability The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Thoughts? Comments? Questions? 18